Author Name: Joy
Lynn Fielding
Book Name: Blowing
Off Steam
Release
Date:
Blurb:
Two guys, a train, and lots of steam.
Sam Chancellor has been in love with the steam
engine Old Bess since he was six years old. Well, maybe not literally,
but even when he’s lost everything else in his life, he’s always had her. But
now her place in his heart has been unexpectedly challenged. Her new driver,
Ryan Saunders, is the embodiment of all Sam’s fantasies.
Ryan has written off Sam as just another geeky
trainspotter—until the moment Ryan sees him without his usual shapeless hoodie
and realizes that, for a nerd, Sam’s pretty built.
When Ryan overlooks Sam’s awkwardness long enough
to suggest a hook-up, Sam seizes the opportunity—and Ryan—with both very eager
hands. Finding common ground in their shared love of Bess, their time together
is better than Sam ever dared dream.
But there’s a reason Ryan never talks about his
past. And when Ryan’s job is threatened, Sam’s well-meaning intervention puts
both Ryan and Bess in deadly danger.
Warning: Contains train geekery, bed-hogging, a
hero with no experience and another with plenty to spare, and a spider called
Mabel.
Pages or Words: 66,000 words
Categories: Contemporary,
Fiction, M/M Romance
Excerpt:
“You’re
kind of built for a nerd, aren’t you?” Ryan said. “I guess trainspotting’s a
more active hobby than I’d thought.”
Sam
should have walked away because this guy was insufferable. Except there was humour gleaming in those eyes as
well as something else. Something that if he wasn’t entirely losing his mind
was actual, sexual interest.
In
him, Sam Chancellor.
“It’s
all that running alongside the engines to get the numbers down,” he blurted out
before he could stop himself.
To
his amazement, Ryan laughed. A true laugh that caused his eyes to crinkle at
the corners. It made him even more gorgeous than he already was.
“Ryan
Saunders,” he said. “I drive old Bessie.”
“Bessie?”
Sam was horrified at the heresy. “She’s Bess.
She’s always been Bess.”
“Given
I’m the one whose hands have been over every inch of her, I guess she’s
allowing me intimacies the general public doesn’t get,” Ryan said.
The
low seductive voice and the thought of Ryan’s hands stroking over him the way
they did over Bess meant Sam was getting hard. He clutched his satchel in front
of him like some sort of shield, except that wasn’t helping at all because it
was pressed against his dick and, God above, he was about to get a hard-on,
here and now, right in front of Ryan Saunders.
“You
haven’t told me your name,” Ryan said.
“Sam,”
he choked out. “Sam Chancellor, and I have to go.”
He
put his head down and fled.
Review
Review
This book was provided to me via Pride
promotions in exchange for an honest review.
When I saw that Joy Lynn Fielding
had a new book coming out, I was a very happy camper as I’m a big fan of her
books. Blowing Off Steam was a
wonderful book that had me smiling a lot.
Sam Chancellor, one of the main
characters, is a shy and awkward young man, with no fashion sense whatsoever.
Sam is also a trainspotter and has the hots for Ryan, the driver of the old
steam engine, Bess. Ryan isn’t interested in Sam at all—until he sees him
without his shapeless hoodie and decides to go for it.
Even though Sam is a virgin, he
seizes the opportunity and grabs onto Ryan. The two men get to know each other,
and eventually get to their happy ever after. The route to that isn’t an easy
one, but I really enjoyed reading about their slowly blossoming love. There’s
also some suspense in the story, but I don’t want to give away too much
here—you just have to read the story yourself. J
Although I liked both main
characters, I fell in love with Sam, who is so cute I wanted to cuddle him and
push Ryan to admit his love for Sam. The only thing that derailed a bit from my
enjoyment was the fact that there’s too much sex for my liking. I loved the
tender moments between Sam and Ryan the most.
If you like a tender love story with
adorable characters and an interesting plot, this is a must read. Recommended!
Guest post
Thanks
so much for having me here again, Chris.
Whenever
I mentioned to someone I was working on a book about trains, the question came
back “Why?” I guess none of my friends are train fans! But then, neither am I,
so I’m still puzzled about where the idea for this book came from.
When
I started to write Blowing Off Steam,
the sum total of my knowledge about steam trains had been gleaned from watching
The Railway Children. What I do know about, though, is how it feels
to nurse an enthusiasm for something, be it a TV show or vintage aircraft, and
to indulge that passion in as many ways as possible. As I’m writing this and
glancing around my study, I can see a wall-hanging from the Golden Hall of
Meduseld, a letter opener carved in the shape of a propeller blade, and an
action figure of Lt Col John Sheppard from Stargate Atlantis. Yes, I know a bit
about geekish enthusiasm. :)
This
meant that Sam’s obsession about railway engines in Blowing Off Steam made perfect sense to me, even if I don’t share his
love for them. I was also privately amused by the way that Ryan, after
castigating Sam as a train geek, betrayed in little ways that he’s just as much
of a geek when it comes to his own, very special engine. He’s just too cool to
show it.
I
had to start from scratch with the research and it turned out to be lots of fun.
As well as exploring some of the vast array of online sources, including lurking
on train discussion forums, I visited the museum of the Great Western Railway
in Swindon. I whole-heartedly recommend it for anyone with an interest in
either steam trains or railway history. They have some huge, beautiful
locomotives on display—absolute triumphs of engineering. It was that visit, and
conversations with some of the enthusiastic staff there, which gave me an idea
of just how much Sam and Ryan love Old
Bess.
So
although I don’t know where the idea came from, I ended up having almost as much fun with trains as Sam
and Ryan do!
About
the author:
Joy
Lynn Fielding lives in a small English market town, where she indulges her
passions for vintage aircraft, horse-riding and gardening (though not all at
the same time).
Joy has a tendency to wax lyrical about the
fascinating facts she discovers during her research for books. Thankfully she has a very patient Labrador
who has a gift for looking interested in what she’s saying while he waits for
the food to arrive.
Where to find the author:
Email: joy.fielding01@gmail.com
Goodreads
Link: Goodreads
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Cover
Artist: Syneca
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