Welcome to our first week of celebrating the amazing
In our first post, we're going to take a look at the Gay Amish Romance trilogy, plus Keira's favorite things. There's also a chance to win one of her books.
First up, A Forbidden Rumspringa
When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything?
In a world where every detail of life—down to the width of a hat brim—is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At 18, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he’ll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else—something he can’t name.
Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can’t put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family and community.
Now that they’ve found each other, are they willing to lose it all?
Excerpt:
It was cool and cloudy, but sweat prickled down Isaac’s spine. He straddled a thick joist near David, each of them working silently on the frame, although Isaac gnawed his lip to keep from rambling nonsense. Why he was nervous he had no idea. It was probably the distance to the ground below.
He glanced up beneath the brim of his straw hat. A few feet away on the other side of a post, David’s head was bowed as he hammered, his hat covering his thick dark hair and the brim obscuring his face as he bent to his work.
Isaac’s gaze roamed. The black material of David’s pants stretched over his powerful thighs, and his forearms were muscular where he’d rolled up the sleeves of his gray shirt. Dark hair sprinkled his arms, and Isaac was gripped with the bizarre urge to sweep his hand over David’s bare skin. His breath stuttered.
In an instant David’s head was up, his light blue eyes fixed on Isaac. He was clean shaven since he wasn’t following church yet, and his lips were full, and—
“I was just—” Isaac waved his arm, tearing his gaze away from David’s mouth. His stomach dropped as he veered dangerously off balance, still holding the hammer and nails. He yelped, but then David had him, clutching Isaac’s shoulder with one hand and his knee with the other. Nerves jumping, Isaac tried to smile. The calluses on David’s fingers pressed against the base of his neck.
Isaac managed to croak out a word. “Thanks.”
David didn’t let go. “Keep the nails in your pocket and pull out one at a time. That way you can drop it if you need to and it’s not likely to hit anyone down below.”
“Right. Good idea.” He nodded vigorously. David still held him and Isaac felt as though his shoulder and knee were ablaze even though it didn’t hurt at all. “How did you do that so fast?” He nodded to David’s hammer neatly hooked onto the waist of his pants, where it had been in his hand only moments ago.
David’s lips lifted into a smile and a dimple appeared in his cheek. “Practice. Sure you’re okay?” He rubbed Isaac’s knee.
Sticky desire spread through Isaac, and he prayed he wouldn’t humiliate himself by tenting his pants. Lord, what was wrong with him? He breathed deeply, tearing his gaze away from those pale eyes as he shifted back on the joist and out of David’s grasp. “I’m fine!” He laughed like a braying donkey. After a few long breaths, he glanced back up.
David still watched him, but now there was something new in his gaze—a strange and wonderful shine that made Isaac feel unbearably hot all over. He couldn’t look away, and the moment stretched out, silence between them, and the sounds of work and men all around fading into the damp spring air.
Isaac licked his dry lips, and David jerked his head down again, his face hidden and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He plucked his hammer from his pants, and didn’t say another word as he went back to work.
Isaac realized he was clenching the nails in his left hand so tightly they’d almost cut into his palm. His fingers trembled as he tucked all but one into his pocket.
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Book 2, A Clean Break
They’ve escaped to the outside world—but can they really be free?
David and Isaac have found happiness in each other’s arms. In faraway San Francisco, Isaac’s brother Aaron helps them explore confusing “English” life and move beyond the looming shadow of their Amish roots. For the first time, David and Isaac can be openly gay, yet they struggle to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. At least they don’t have to hide their relationship, which should make everything easier. Right?
But while Isaac thrives at school and makes new friends, David wrestles to come to terms with the reality of the outside world. Haunted by guilt at leaving his mother and sisters behind in Zebulon, he’s overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the city as he works to get his carpentry business off the ground.
While David and Isaac finally sleep side by side each night, fear and insecurity could drive them miles apart.
Excerpt:
Isaac took the room on one side of the narrow hallway, and David the other. He could still hear the ever-present music, which he supposed was better than silence, since he felt incredibly self-conscious all of a sudden.
After hanging up his hoodie, David perched on the little stool in the corner and removed his sneakers. He peeled off his T-shirt and with a deep breath, stood and pulled down his jeans. The air felt cool against his cock and balls, and he was acutely aware of how many strangers there were just beyond the flimsy dressing rooms.
He grabbed the first package in the bag and ripped it open. They were briefs of different colors, and he chose the white ones. He wasn’t sure if the size was right, since they felt tight as he pulled them up. They seemed to fit around the waist, but they squished everything else together, his privates bulging against the cotton even more than the man’s in the picture.
“Isaac?” he whispered. “Have you tried any on?”
“Boxers. They feel strange. What about you?”
“Briefs. Definitely strange.”
“Show me.”
“I’m not going out there! Someone might see,” David hissed.
“Just open your door and I’ll open mine. On three. One, two—”
His pulse racing foolishly, David listened to the creak of Isaac’s door and edged his open. Sure enough, he could see right into Isaac’s dressing room. Isaac stood in nothing but the little shorts, which were decorated in squares of greens and blues.
Isaac’s gaze raked over David, and he swallowed hard. “You look…”
“Silly?” David peered over his shoulder into the mirror. He could see the faint shadow of the crease in his backside through the cotton. “They’re so tight! I know this is the way they’re supposed to be, but…”
“You need to buy those.”
“Huh? Aaron already bought them.”
Isaac shook his head. “Right. I forgot.” He peeked down the hallway before adding, “You look really, really good.”
“Oh.” David flushed as he looked down at himself. “You think so?”
Isaac nodded vigorously. “You look like the man in the picture.”
Even though he was standing there practically naked—and practically in public, even though no one could see—confidence surged through David. “You should try them too. The boxers look good, but…” He could imagine how the tight cotton would hug Isaac’s lean hips, and—
As the man at the counter began speaking, they both jumped and slammed their doors. David leaned against it, heart thumping. He stared into the mirror, suddenly feeling unbearably exposed and wrong.
Aaron’s voice echoed from down the hallway. “Hey, man. My brother and his boyfriend are in there. They’re new around here and need clothes, so we’ll be here for a while. I practically filled the cart, so we’ll start with the jeans.”
As the man replied, David took a deep breath and blew it out. Boyfriend. Aaron had said it to a stranger like it was nothing at all. David couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he and Isaac didn’t have Aaron to help them. He’d thought he was so very worldly taking June’s truck to the drive-in and wearing jeans. Reading a dirty gay magazine from the gas station. What a joke—he barely knew anything.
Then Aaron’s voice was right outside the door. “You can only take eight items in at once, so I picked stuff for each of you. We’ll start with the pants.” He placed a few over the dressing room door. “I’ll sit out here and wait for the fashion show. David, I went a size smaller than the jeans you already have. And there are skinny leg, boot cut, dark wash—actually, never mind that. Just try ’em on and see what you like.”
David could barely get his feet through the bottom of the legs, so he hoped they were the skinny ones, as he couldn’t imagine anything skinnier. The dark denim hugged his thighs, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to bend over. There were two mirrors in the stall, and he looked at himself from all the angles.
The shame evaporated, and energy pulsed through him as if the music in the air was singing inside him. It was frightening, but exhilarating. With his bare chest and the jeans clinging to his body, he could almost be an English rock star, or someone in a movie. He’d never looked so different in his life. So very not Amish. He ran his hand down his chest and belly, and then lightly over his fly. He still wore the briefs, and he tingled.
“How’s it going, David?” Aaron asked.
With a deep breath, David opened the door. He grinned. “Not bad.”
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And book 3, A Way Home
Will returning to their Amish roots renew their faith in each other?
Isaac and David never thought they'd go back to the Amish world. But when Isaac’s younger brother is stricken with cancer, they don’t hesitate to return. Their relationship is on the rocks after insecurity and fear drove a wedge between them in San Francisco, and David is determined to make things right. Yet if they thought navigating “English” life was confusing, being back in Zebulon is even more complicated.
Their families are desperate to bring them back into the fold, and pressure from the community builds. Isaac and David yearn for a future together, but each day it becomes harder to hide the truth about who they really are. They're caught between two worlds, and if they’re not careful it could tear them further apart.
Can Isaac and David make their way back to each other—and find a place to call home?
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Keira's favorite things:
- The Sound of Music (also raindrops on roses)
- Soda water—I used to be a Diet Coke addict, but now it’s Club Soda
- Purple
- Anything and everything involving peanut butter
- Christmas!
- Wine
- Western Australia is one of my fave places on Earth—so untouched and gorgeous
- Did I mention wine?
About the author:
After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”
Giveaway:
Thank you for celebrating this fabulous author with us. Come back next week for more of Keira's books, five little-known facts, and another chance to win.
Until then, happy reading!
I love purple, too, and your books!
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