Anna Zabo

I should probably post this on WIP Wendnesday, but hey, let’s call it Snippet Saturday instead:

I want to get to know you. Beyond work, beyond play.

Favorite flavor of ice cream. Best album. Comfort movie. Not being dead like Noah.

Justin wasn’t Noah, he wasn’t like Noah. But the feelings? Those were. The tickle of anticipation, the occasional moment of vertigo, the warmth in Eli’s chest when Justin smiled. So close it almost felt like he was cheating on those memories of Noah.

Last week, I turned in the final proof of TAKEOVER. In a little over two months…it’ll be released! *bites nails* To keep myself busy, I’ve been working on the next book, JUST BUSINESS. It’s somewhat of a sequel to TAKEOVER, in that the MCs of that book appear in this one, but the focus is on an entirely different couple: Eli and Justin.

Here’s a glimpse of the two from early in the book. (Note that this *is* a draft. No guarantee that this will even end up in the final book. And if it does, it’ll be, you know, edited.)

A week and a half after Eli had handed Justin his offer letter, he let Justin back into the office. Justin held a backpack and a bike helmet. The eyeliner was back, highlighting those intense blue eyes. Black jeans, dark blue t-shirt with mottled black accents. A toned-down version of his coffee shop outfits, though Justin had added a black cord tight around his neck as an accent.

Interesting. Leather, from the looks of it. How hard would it be to tuck a finger under that and yank? Eli let his gaze linger, aware that Justin shifted from foot to foot, but that swallow, and the tick of his pulse…how lovely.

No, this man was not anything close to the man Noah would have become. What had he been thinking?

“Um.” Justin licked his lips. “You’re not going to come out here every day to let me in, are you?”

Eli met Justin’s gaze and smiled. “Only today.” He handed over a keycard to the office. “Please don’t lose that. They’re a pain to replace.”

Justin looked at the card for a moment, then slid it into his back pocket. “Wouldn’t want to cause you any extra work.” A lilt to that, and a sly grin.

Oh, Justin was going to be quite the handful. “Given that job is now yours, you’d only be causing yourself pain.”

“Self-flagellation isn’t my thing.”

Eli turned toward the inner door. “Oh?”

“It’s no fun whipping yourself.”

Eli stumbled at that and the thought that chased it—Justin’s naked back stretched out and open, the weight of a flogger in Eli’s hand, the smell of the leather and flesh—and he caught himself against the door.

“Shit, are you okay?” Justin gripped his arm at the elbow, helping him upright.

Eli had never been so grateful for his leg injury. “Yes.” He caught his breath, not that it would stop the sudden pressure in his balls or the tightness of his pants. “Sometimes it gives out when I least expect it.” True, though in this case? Not at all.

Justin let him go. But that momentary touch…Lord. He never reacted this way to anyone. Not since…

And there he was again. Noah.

In the faint reflection of the glass door, Eli saw questions chase across Justin’s features, but he was good enough not to ask a single one. Eli pulled the door open and answered anyway. “I was in a car accident when I was fifteen. My leg was crushed.”

Yes, Justin certainly had a very pretty blush. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—” He stood rooted to the floor.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Nor would grabbing that tiny cord and leading him down the hall. Instead, Eli gripped Justin’s shoulder, savoring the tiny tremor that ran through Justin, and squeezed. “It’s the question everyone asks. I’m not offended.” Turned on? Yes. But that had nothing to do with his leg and everything to do with those very blue eyes and the tongue that swept across those lips. He gave Justin a little pull. “Come on.”

This time, Justin moved and Eli followed. “We’ll start at your new desk.”

I went to RT Booklovers last week, and it was my first large romance-oriented convention. I’ve mainly gone to SF/F conventions before this.

I had a huge blast! Meeting readers and other authors who love and support romance was grand!

I was also very warmed by the reception of LGBTQ writers. I felt at home and accepted and no one turned their nose up. I know gay romance isn’t everyone’s thing, but there wasn’t a sense of rejection. In fact, I had plenty of discussions about diversity in sexuality throughout RT.

There’s so much more I want to talk about, but I’m on a deadline to get Takeover’s copyedits back and a teaser for the next book cleaned up…

Oh! Yes. There will be a teaser at the end of Takeover. Muhahahah! The working title is Just Business and I’m about 30,000 words into it and really loving the characters.

I can’t wait to share Justin and Eli with you, too. They’re… well. You’ll see.

Well, here it is! The reveal of the cover for my m/m contemporary romance, TAKEOVER! It’ll be out August 19th.

Here’s the blub:

Michael Sebastian thought Curacao would be the perfect place to have a little fun in the sun—and between the sheets. So far, no one has struck his interest, until Sam Anderson walks into the bar. With one look at his tense body and expensive suit, Michael knows that this is a man in need of release. And Michael is more than willing to lend a hand.

Shattered by the most intense sex he’s ever had, Sam has to face the facts—one night with a handsome, dominating stranger is all he gets before returning to the closet he’s been suffocating in for years. But when Sam starts his new job as the CEO of a failing technology company, he discovers that Michael is one of his new employees.

While Michael is desperate for another night with Sam, he knows he shouldn’t get involved with his boss, let alone another man who can’t accept who he is. But as they’re forced to work together to save the company, the desire sparking between them becomes impossible to ignore…

As you may have gathered, TAKEOVER is an office romance. Which means suits. Lovely, lovely suits.

Well here, take a look:

And the city is my very own Pittsburgh, where the majority of the novel takes place. In fact, you can aaaaaaaalmost see where I work in that photo. You can see where Michael and Sam work! And the Ft. Duquesne Bridge, which they walk over at one point.

I love it! Men! Pittsburgh! My name spelled correctly! What more could an author ask for?

So what do you think?

Got the lovely higher resolution cover image for TAKEOVER from Berkley InterMix! And yeah, that was worth waiting for. It’s much sharper and prettier and you’ll be able to click to embiggen and all that. I’ll share it tomorrow.

But since you stopped by tonight, here’s a tiny little snippet from TAKEOVER:

He chuckled. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone has bought me a drink? Or tried to pick me up?”

The tingling in Michael’s spine spread to his arms and legs, and down into his balls. “I’m not trying to pick you up.”

The suit stared at him.

He slid his fingers over the finely tailored fabric covering the man’s thigh and let his hand rest on the inside, near the knee. “I’ve already succeeded in that.”

See you tomorrow!

 

The DayJobbe ate my brain today…and Berkley is going to get me a higher resolution cover for the reveal, so I’m delaying the cover reveal until I that.

Sorry to be such a tease!

(Well, not that much. I love teasing. But I promise I’ll put out soon.)

So I was sitting at the DayJobbe this morning and thinking, “You know what I’d love to see? Cover art for TAKEOVER. That would rock.” Yeah, the book’s not out until August 19th, but still…nothing makes a book seem real like cover art.

And then halfway through the day, I got the email with the cover art. Because apparently the universe liked me today!

It’s NIIIICE. Every time I look at it, I love it a little more!

Come back on Monday, and I’ll show you!

In the meantime, here’s the blurb for TAKEOVER:

Michael Sebastian thought Curacao would be the perfect place to have a little fun in the sun—and between the sheets. So far, no one has struck his interest, until Sam Anderson walks into the bar. With one look at his tense body and expensive suit, Michael knows that this is a man in need of release. And Michael is more than willing to lend a hand.

Shattered by the most intense sex he’s ever had, Sam has to face the facts—one night with a handsome, dominating stranger is all he gets before returning to the closet he’s been suffocating in for years. But when Sam starts his new job as the CEO of a failing technology company, he discovers that Michael is one of his new employees.

While Michael is desperate for another night with Sam, he knows he shouldn’t get involved with his boss, let alone another man who can’t accept who he is. But as they’re forced to work together to save the company, the desire sparking between them becomes impossible to ignore…

It’s up for preorder at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also add it to GoodReads!

I am somewhat stunned to announce that Close Quarter has won the EPIC Award for Paranormal Romance for 2014.

I was up against some pretty good compition, including my friend Tiffany Alle’s Don’t Bite the Bridesmaid, which strangely is also a paranormal romance with a vampire on a cruise ship…though her vampire is much much much nicer.

In honor of the win, Loose Id is offering the book at 50% off on their site. They have every file type imaginable.

I still can’t quite believe it, but this arrived on my doorstep, so it must be true.

 

The theme I’d been using was starting to feel a bit too dark…I’ve had enough dark this winter…so I’ve switched it to something a bit brighter. So far so good. But with any rearrangement, I’m sure I’ll be tinkering with things in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, back to writing and revising. I’m juggling quite a few projects at the moment, but it’s all good stuff.