My Bucket List
I am sure all of us have ideas of what we’d like to achieve before we’re unable to do what we want. A lot of my things involve family; I want Matt settled safely where he can be looked after and encouraged to become what I know he could be. I want B to have a long happy life with kids of her own so she can know what it’s like to watch one of them go away to University (ROFL). I want my kids to be safe, always, and I want hubby to be happy and well. I want family time with added mum and sis, holiday breaks with them, memories… our family are quite good at collecting memories. J I want to lose weight (working on that), I want the words to always flow and I want to always be in love…But what if, quite apart from family and miracles, I was asked to list materialistic things I want and places I’d like to visit, what would my list look like?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, so that would have been the top of this list, but I am lucky enough to have achieved that one. I’ve always wanted to go to a film premier. Not a crappy film but the newest Marvel film, or the next Star Wars, Star Trek – you can see where I’m going with this. Also I’d quite like to actually be in the audience (at the back of course) as opposed to being one of the hordes outside. So, yeah, unlikely to happen, but it’s on my bucket list nevertheless.
I’d like to see the highlands of Scotland and visit some of the more remote islands up there. Quite possible actually, it’s just the logistics – the idea of being stuck in a car so eight hours (and yes, I’m a Brit, eight hours is like a lifetime to us!). Never mind, it’s on my list and one day…
I’d like a house in the countryside. Not that towns and cities don’t have their place but isolation and land around my house, a writing room in an attic, or a garden… that would be cool. Circumstances mean that we live in a very small house on the edge of a town. Good for commutes to school and close to family, and it’s a nice house, and it’s ours. I just want something different.
So there you go, a film premier, the Highlands and Islands, and a house in the English countryside.
What is on your bucket list?
The Book
When Andrew Craig dies, he leaves his brother Jason a list of places that he wanted to visit but couldn't. Attending a school reunion, London, Stonehenge, these are all on the list and Jason is determined to cross everything off and work through his grief at the same time.Closeted soap actor Mark Wesley is shocked when a blast from the past looks him up, and devastated when he realizes he will never have a chance to make things right.
Together Jason and Mark agree to work on the list. But what happens when Jason and Mark grow closer, when passion and even love begins to grow?
Was this what Andrew wanted to happen all along between his brother and his friend?
There hasn’t been a RJ Scott book that I haven’t enjoyed, and I couldn’t help but wonder, could this be the book that didn’t work for me? Well I guess I will keep wondering because this wasn’t that time....
....This novella, well I can’t say enough good things about this one. I loved it and would highly recommend this to you if you are looking for a story with some heartache and a whole lot of love...."
Bike Book Reviews - 5/5 - "....This book is a lovely little treasure that I can't wait for you to read! Thanks Rj for another beautiful read that will be at the top of everyone's re-read list!...."
Prism Book Alliance - 4/5 - "....Scott has the ability to write characters who are real without being over-drawn. She leaves many details just out of sight, because they are not essential to the core of her story. We are not handed great amounts of angst, nor are there horrific traumas unexpectedly revealed. Yes, there is a mystery that needs explaining; and there is sorrow in Mark’s youth that needs to be exorcised. Scott gives us just enough to help us embrace both Jason and Mark for all the good things they are, and to understand their motivations as they rediscover each other through their shared love of Andrew and grief over his untimely death.
Romances can take many forms, and that variety is one of the things that appeals to me most about the genre. “The Bucket List,” however, is pretty purely a romance. In its purity and simplicity lies its success. Sometimes, less is more...."
Love Bytes Reviews - 4/5 - "....RJ packed a lot in to a small space and I liked it all. A little plot, a little sex, a little travel, a little grief, and a little healing. She uses a delicate touch, giving us just enough drama from the past to keep in interesting, and some grief over Andrew’s death, but it didn’t get mopy. I liked it very much!
Oh yes… That cover? Hello! So pretty!...."
Multitaskingmommas Book Reviews - 4.5/5 - "....This is definitely one of the best and fastest read written by RJ Scott and, well, it left me feeling really, really good. Definitely one to add to that list or just go for broke, sit with a cup of tea and finish in an afternoon...."
Mark looked directly into his eyes, and their gaze held. Even in the chaos of music and lights, Mark was absolutely focused on Jason, and Jason could see the strength in the other man as he reined himself in. Tension turned to calm, and anger slid to patience.
“Nothing new, just the same shit he used to say to me at school.” The music stopped; someone had apparently decided the little standoff by the photo display needed an audience. This was probably what most of the attendees came for tonight, not to see Ted Krantz and Mark go head to head specifically, but to see more of the high school drama spill into adult life.
Jason lowered his voice and was aware of the flash of a cameras around them. He could see the headlines now. Soap Star in Face-off with High School Bully. “Mark, you need to leave it.”
“Seems to me that Andrew wanted me to right a wrong here,” Mark replied just as quietly.
“What if he didn’t? What if he just wanted you to show off your flashy car and your money and success and prove the bullies wrong that way?”
Mark tilted his head. “You really think that?”
“I don’t know,” Jason answered as truthfully as he could. He didn’t know what his brother had been thinking with these letters and instructions. He called the list his bucket list for others to complete, but Jason knew there was more to all of this. He just couldn’t get to the core of what it was.
“So Mr. B-lister, you have something to say to me?” Ted said snidely, smirking. He loved playing to an audience, and he looked around at some of them with that knowing grin.
Mark pulled himself straight, which still left him a couple inches short of Ted’s fleshy mass, and finally yanked his arm free of Jason’s hold. “Yep,” Mark began. “I have plenty to say.”
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Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)Reviews
Rainbow Gold Reviews - 10/10 - "....Beautiful and heartbreaking in one emotionally charged, well written novella.There hasn’t been a RJ Scott book that I haven’t enjoyed, and I couldn’t help but wonder, could this be the book that didn’t work for me? Well I guess I will keep wondering because this wasn’t that time....
....This novella, well I can’t say enough good things about this one. I loved it and would highly recommend this to you if you are looking for a story with some heartache and a whole lot of love...."
Bike Book Reviews - 5/5 - "....This book is a lovely little treasure that I can't wait for you to read! Thanks Rj for another beautiful read that will be at the top of everyone's re-read list!...."
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| Click on cover to enlarge |
Prism Book Alliance - 4/5 - "....Scott has the ability to write characters who are real without being over-drawn. She leaves many details just out of sight, because they are not essential to the core of her story. We are not handed great amounts of angst, nor are there horrific traumas unexpectedly revealed. Yes, there is a mystery that needs explaining; and there is sorrow in Mark’s youth that needs to be exorcised. Scott gives us just enough to help us embrace both Jason and Mark for all the good things they are, and to understand their motivations as they rediscover each other through their shared love of Andrew and grief over his untimely death.
Romances can take many forms, and that variety is one of the things that appeals to me most about the genre. “The Bucket List,” however, is pretty purely a romance. In its purity and simplicity lies its success. Sometimes, less is more...."
Love Bytes Reviews - 4/5 - "....RJ packed a lot in to a small space and I liked it all. A little plot, a little sex, a little travel, a little grief, and a little healing. She uses a delicate touch, giving us just enough drama from the past to keep in interesting, and some grief over Andrew’s death, but it didn’t get mopy. I liked it very much!
Oh yes… That cover? Hello! So pretty!...."
Multitaskingmommas Book Reviews - 4.5/5 - "....This is definitely one of the best and fastest read written by RJ Scott and, well, it left me feeling really, really good. Definitely one to add to that list or just go for broke, sit with a cup of tea and finish in an afternoon...."
Excerpt
Jason pressed again. “What did he say, Mark? Tell me.”Mark looked directly into his eyes, and their gaze held. Even in the chaos of music and lights, Mark was absolutely focused on Jason, and Jason could see the strength in the other man as he reined himself in. Tension turned to calm, and anger slid to patience.
“Nothing new, just the same shit he used to say to me at school.” The music stopped; someone had apparently decided the little standoff by the photo display needed an audience. This was probably what most of the attendees came for tonight, not to see Ted Krantz and Mark go head to head specifically, but to see more of the high school drama spill into adult life.
Jason lowered his voice and was aware of the flash of a cameras around them. He could see the headlines now. Soap Star in Face-off with High School Bully. “Mark, you need to leave it.”
“Seems to me that Andrew wanted me to right a wrong here,” Mark replied just as quietly.
“What if he didn’t? What if he just wanted you to show off your flashy car and your money and success and prove the bullies wrong that way?”
Mark tilted his head. “You really think that?”
“I don’t know,” Jason answered as truthfully as he could. He didn’t know what his brother had been thinking with these letters and instructions. He called the list his bucket list for others to complete, but Jason knew there was more to all of this. He just couldn’t get to the core of what it was.
“So Mr. B-lister, you have something to say to me?” Ted said snidely, smirking. He loved playing to an audience, and he looked around at some of them with that knowing grin.
Mark pulled himself straight, which still left him a couple inches short of Ted’s fleshy mass, and finally yanked his arm free of Jason’s hold. “Yep,” Mark began. “I have plenty to say.”
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