Excerpt and Giveaway: YES by Brad Boney

The Novel Approach is happy to welcome Brad Boney today, with an exclusive excerpt from his upcoming Dreamspinner Press novel, YES. He’s also offering the chance for one lucky reader to win an e-copy of the book upon its release! To enter for a chance to win, just leave a comment right here by Midnight Pacific time on Monday, March 9, 2015. One winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying comments on Tuesday, the 10th, and the book will be added directly to your DSP bookshelf on March 16th.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

Blurb: What if youth wasn’t wasted on the young?

On the eve of his fortieth birthday, Ian Parker is looking for a reboot. He may be the proud owner of a trendy coffee shop in Austin called La Tazza Magica, but his love life has been MIA for years. During a trip to Denver with his best friend, Mark, Ian buys an enchanted chocolate from a mysterious candy store—then wakes up from a nap two decades younger. After the initial shock, Ian realizes a quirk of the universe has given him a second chance and, with Mark’s help, he devises a plan to start over.

With a new lease on life, Ian sets his sights on handsome architect Bartley James, a regular customer at La Tazza. He pursues Bartley as Ian’s twenty-one-year-old alter ego, Ryan, with decidedly unexpected results. Joining Ryan on his adventures are Matthew, the dreamy new barista, Jeremy, the geeky high-school math teacher, and Sam, the pizza delivery boy. Even as misunderstandings and expectations collide, Ian remains determined to right his past mistakes and find his off-ramp to happiness.

Pre-Order Yes in print and/or e-book at Dreamspinner Press

Excerpt: On a flight home to Austin after his 40th birthday, Ian Parker wakes up from a nap to discover, in the airplane bathroom, that he is two decades younger. He returns to his seat and his best friend Mark.

Ian dried his hands and took a deep breath. He opened the door and practically knocked over the young woman waiting in line. He apologized and hurried past her down the aisle. He took his seat next to Mark, shook him, and lifted his sleep mask.

“Wake up,” Ian said. “I’m having a really bad trip.”

Mark opened his eyes and recoiled. “What the—? Who in the hell are you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Mark shook off his nap and looked around. “You must have overshot your row or something. Someone else is sitting there. What’s your seat number? Do you have your boarding pass?”

“It’s me. Ian.”

“Ian?” Mark glanced up and down the aisle. “Okay. If you say so. There’s no point in getting into an argument about it.” With a look of subdued terror on his face, Mark reached up and pushed the flight attendant button.

“What are you doing?” Ian said. “Don’t you recognize me? I thought I was hallucinating. Tell me I’m hallucinating.”

Mark removed the pillow from around his neck and swiped off his mask. “Let’s let the flight attendant handle this, okay? I don’t want any trouble. Please, whatever you’re doing, you don’t have to go through with it. Think about prison at your age. Have you ever seen Turned Out? Or Oz? Sure, I know it looks hot when it’s Chris Meloni, but this isn’t fiction, young man. You’re on a real plane, and I’m a real person. These things have consequences, and there’s no point in ruining your life before it’s even begun. I’m sure your cause—whatever it is, religious or otherwise—I’m sure it’s a worthy one. Have you been wronged by the American political system? Well, take a number and get in line.”

“Mark, it’s me. Can’t…? Look, I’m wearing Ian’s clothes.”

“And that’s supposed to convince me? You’re wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt. If they belong to Ian, then what have you done with him? What’s your angle here, kid? Why do you insist on pretending you’re Ian Parker?”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Then prove it,” Mark said.
“I can… I can tell you things I know about you, like your favorite TV show is RuPaul’s Drag Race. You’re obsessed with Robbie Rogers, which I totally don’t get. And you have a dog named Kitty.”

“Practically anyone who follows me on Instagram could know those things. Have you been stalking me? Does this involve sexual blackmail? Because let me tell you right now, I—”

“We met at Jester Hall twenty-two years ago. You live on West Thirty-Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. You used to have a boyfriend named Troy, but I called him Sparky for no other reason than I thought it suited him better than Troy.”

Marked paused, and it looked like maybe Ian had convinced him. But then Mark shook his head and said, “Still not conclusive. Are you Al-Qaeda? Or maybe NSA? It’s so hard to tell the difference these days. What have you done with my friend? Did you lock him in the bathroom? Is that what you did? Because if you’ve hurt him in any way, I swear I’ll—”

“I am your friend. Why can’t you look at me and see that?” Ian glanced down the aisle and saw a female flight attendant heading their way. He had to think of something fast. He turned to Mark and whispered, “Okay. I didn’t want to go there, but could practically anyone else know you have a thing for twincest porn? Maybe Elijah and Milo Peters? Or the two brothers from Brazil?”

Mark’s jaw dropped.

“I thought that would do the trick.”

Author Bio: Brad Boney lives in Austin, Texas, the 7th gayest city in America. He grew up in the Midwest and went to school at NYU. He lived in Washington, DC and Houston before settling in Austin. He blames his background in the theater for his writing style, which he calls “dialogue and stage directions.” His first book was named a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He believes the greatest romantic comedy of all time is 50 First Dates. His favorite gay film of the last ten years is Strapped. And he has never met a boy band he didn’t like.

Find Brad online at his Website, his Facebook Author Page, and on Twitter