OVERBOARD was actually the 22nd novella as written, but I published it 19th because of reasons.
One reason is that I think it’s the best thing I’ve done so far. Click the image below for product link!
(Cover image by Diego Sanchez - @ediegosanchez unsplash.com, with thanks!)
Three key things about OVERBOARD:
it contains references to domestic violence, gang violence, family rejection, and assault;
it’s an age-gap romance between two Mexican-American men;
it’s been recently expanded and revised following discovery of the new cover image (that’s Luis, by the way).
Ricky Castillo is a going-on-forty professional salsa dancer, a world champion, with a secret: his longtime boyfriend is an abuser. When Ricky finally walks away, it takes some time to see possibility in anything outside his dance partnership with Anya Ivanova.
Luis Ramirez is a couple years into his dream job as a sommelier, and is discovering that while the job is great, the venue - a cruise ship - is hell on relationships. He spends more time stalking Ricky on YouTube than trying to find a partner in real life. Then Ricky and Anya come aboard as the dance team for a Valentine’s singles cruise, and Luis makes a play.
Neither of them expect their first date to go the places it does. All they do is sit in a bar and talk. It’s what they talk about that changes them both.
Be advised: horrible things have happened to Ricky. But this story is about coming to terms - and coming to peace - with the past, and about how unconditional love opens the door to that.
Luis came to life as Silvia’s BFF in VINTAGE. I always knew I would do something else with Luis, but Ricky’s story didn’t come clear for me until I was writing Anya’s (SHAKEN & STIRRED). Once I knew where he’d been, I knew it was Luis he needed.