Backlist Party - Kory Steed - From Lightning to Love

Here's my homage to the joy of older titles, those books that stayed in our hearts and we don't want to ever ever forget. I will be hosting eight romance authors (every Tuesday and Friday all through August! stay tuned, there may be giveaways!) with their favourite titles from their own backlist. 

I am truly proud of having as a guest today Kory Steed with his debut novel, From Lightning to love. Once more I find much in this book to relate to. But I will not stand in the way. Here is what Kory himself has to say about the story:

 "From Lightning to Love is the first installment in my Lightning Series, and it’s my first, published, M/M novel. It grew organically, in part, out of my past life experiences. In others, it reflects what it was like to be a gay man during the time period between the 1990 and 2010. Book two, Lightning’s Hidden Menace, will be released by Evernight Publishing soon.

The two main characters are very important to me for a few reasons. They’re personalities reflect how I see gay men in contemporary society; and I have to admit, I’ve put a little bit of myself into each of them, almost as if they were my children. In addition, the societal pressures placed on gay people plays a significant part in what their fears are and how they’ve been forced to live their lives. I also included a few of my passions, nature, the animals people have included as parts of their families, and cooking. Wherever I could, I tried to incorporate these loves into the story.

The story begins with an introduction to Jason, a gay, thirty-seven year old former American army medic who served two tours during Operation Desert Storm between 1991 and 1993. In 1994 he received a medical discharged for PTSD.

After leaving the service, Jason worked in a local hospital’s ER for a few years, but he became more and more disillusioned with his life because he had to live it in secrecy. On a whim, he bought a lottery ticket and won. Once a multi-millionaire, he used his winnings to purchase a secluded tract of land in the Bear River Mountains in southeastern Idaho where at the time that the story begins, he has lived for eleven years.

We meet the second main character, twenty-three year old Aaron, the morning after a violent autumn storm when Jason began to check his home and property for damage. He discovered Aaron dangling by a shredded parachute in a tree. We later learned that Aaron was the newly signed, star quarterback for a fictitious American professional football team. Because of the remote location, there was no way for Jason to get help, so he had to care for Aaron alone while he recovered from his injuries.

I created this scenario because it forced Jason and Aaron to interact with only each other, without any influence from the outside world. There was no plot or outline when I began the manuscript."

 

When thirty-seven year old army medic and Gulf War veteran, Jason, discovers an unconscious man hanging by a parachute from a tree on his secluded mountain property, little does he realize how his life will change. Isolated and alone, Jason uses his training to save the young man and soon learns he is Aaron, a twenty-three year old professional quarterback.

Having lived in near isolation for many years, Jason is ill-prepared for the physical attraction he develops for Aaron while tending his wounds. While Jason struggles with the emotions that begin to surface, Aaron’s strength returns, and his ravenous sexual appetite is revealed. In the weeks that follow, the two men become entwined in a passionate love affair that soon blossoms into a deep and caring bond.

Dare they hope for a future together? Will their new found love survive the separation of Aaron’s rescue?

 Lightning to Love has some lovely reviews on the web:

"The teasing back and forth as they discover each other is so tantalizing! Jason's struggle to let himself open up is held in masterful tension with Aaron's innocence and vulnerability as he is restricted to bed and discovering his own limitations and needs. Add in a dose of the medical restraints and the skilled tending of a seasoned Army medic and instead of the same, old seduction scene, Jason can't help himself but tend to all of the young jock's needs. This really opens up to some super-steamy scenes that are described in sweat-throbbing detail. It's as sultry as it is romantic when a love so unthinkable turns into something so epic."

"I think what I liked most besides the story itself was the way the writer handled the backstory. A lot of the time it's hard to tell it without it being very slow. Yes this was a slow burn but this enabled you to focus more on what led to them being there. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. No spoilers but for a first time author this really blew me away."

Would you like to know more?

Read an excerpt at Evernight 

Or get a sample on Amazon 

Or connect with Kory

On Twitter

On Facebook

On Goodreads

Or learn more about him

On his Evernight bio page

or on his Amazon author page

The second book in the series is already underway (I know that Kory is working on the edits right now! ;)  ) so stay tuned for it: Lightning’s Hidden Menace, coming soon from Evernight Publishing.