Blog Tour: Rivals by Jeff Adams

Holidays: Perfect Time for Rivals

Many thanks to Elisa for letting me come talk about the re-release of Rivals, a short story that was originally out from 2009-13 and is just back in ebook from JMS Books this week. Rivals takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which to me is such a wonderful time of year since the holiday spirit is all around. It seemed the perfect time to bring two former high school rivals together.

Revisiting the story to get it ready for the re-release I find that I appreciate holiday romance even more now than I did when I initially wrote this. Over the past couple years in particular, I’ve come to love Hallmark Channel holiday films, especially the more romantic ones. As I revisited the story of Mitchell and Alex, I wanted to punch up some elements around the holiday and, of course, romance. Part of that included tweaking and extending the ending to give it a more satisfying fade out. Of course, readers will be the ones who decide if the changes do the story justice.

The Thanksgiving to Christmas timeframe can be such a wonderfully romantic few weeks that I loved using it in Rivals. As I wrote it, I remembered how wonderful the first Christmas I shared with my husband, which is now nearly twenty years ago. We’d been going out about seven months and it felt like everything was amped up because of the season. Our dates had extra sparkle with the holiday lights everywhere. Figuring out just the right gift was a combination of nerve wracking and fun. Waking up together Christmas morning and making breakfast was one of the best things ever.

We had it much easier than Mitchell and Alex because we lived in the same city. They’ve got to deal with distance as they court each other following Thanksgiving. It does mean, however, that the Christmas reunion is even more special. Below is an brief excerpt from Christmas Eve to give you a glimpse of how their visit kicks off.

I hope you enjoy the excerpt, and that you’ll leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook copy of Rivals. Plus if you have any questions for me, I’ll be back later to answer them.

( EXCERPT )

Rivals by Jeff Adams
Publisher: JMS Books LLC (December 14, 2014)
Amazon Kindle: Rivals

BLURB:

Mitchell Turner and Alex Goodman squared off over a face-off dot throughout high school. Their schools were cross-country rivals. Those face-offs were tough on Mitchell because he harbored a huge crush on Alex. High school, and college, are behind the guys and they meet unexpectedly on Thanksgiving Day, once again on the ice. Mitchell is home for the holidays and is thrilled to see his crush all grown up.

Alex asks Mitchell out for coffee to catch up. Could this be the start of something magical for the holidays ... and beyond?

BIO:
Jeff Adams caught the writing bug in middle school and finally became a novelist with the Hat Trick series, which will conclude in 2015. He’s also written a number of m/m romance shorts. Jeff and his husband, Will, left the hustle and bustle of New York City to return to the more peaceful lifestyle of Humboldt County, California, during the summer of 2014, which allows more time for him to write. Extending his love of hockey beyond novels, Jeff covers the Detroit Red Wings, as well reviews books that feature LGBT hockey players, for PuckBuddys.com. To learn more about Jeff, visit jeffadamswrites.com and follow him on Twitter at @hockeyguynyc.

Find Jeff at:
Website: http://www.jeffadamswrites.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hockeyguynyc
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/jeffadams
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/writerjeff