Showing posts with label Love Is In The Title. Show all posts

Love Is...

Some of you may be familiar with a series of shorter books I wrote in 2011/2012. Love is in the title, Love is in the hallways, and Love is in the message.

They are Young Adult stories and I have decided to amalgamate them into one volume at 30,000 words. More news to follow for when this happens... meanwhile here is the art by the wonderful Meredith Russell.





Love Is In The Title - Review


Lovely review from Elisa Rolle

"Short but in a way complete, Luke and Cameron’s story is warm and feels good. I see a bright future in front of them.
Amazon Kindle: Love Is In The Title

All Romance eBooks, LLC 2011 Trend Analysis

As a self published author with All Romance Ebooks (Love is in the title and Love is in the Hallways, YA) I receive emails from them every so often and I have just have a *review of the year* email and thought you may be interested in some of their results:

They receive 5.8 million hits/month to their website - I wish I did...

All Romance, has an Alexa rank in the U.S. of 6,330 (trust me as an ex web designer that is *very good*)

Total publishers with ARe in 2011 = Approx 7600

Romance titles in inventory 2011 = over 65,000 - around 7,300 of those are labelled *GAY*

What amazes me is that it is often *GAY* books that end up in the top ten on the right hand side! We rock!
The bulk of sales are to U.S. customers. The top ten markets sold to are: United States, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, India, New Zealand Philippines, Malaysia, and the Netherlands.

*YAY UK!* ROFL

Incidentally the top ten U.S. markets are California, Texas, New York, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Last but by no means least... the most interesting statistic to me... Buying gender for all romance books: Female = 89% - Male = 11%... I wonder if that is the same for *gay* books... interesting...

Love Is In The Hallways


Love is Series

Book 1 - Love is in the title
Book 2 - Love is in the hallways
Book 3 - Love is in the message

The Book

Luke is still on cloud nine after what happened in the park with Cameron. He has a boyfriend and is in shock. At the same time he is completely and utterly head over heels in love.

Cameron wants to announce the two of them as a couple at school. He is adamant that together Luke and Cam can make changes in the way being gay is perceived at school.

Luke knows just what real life can be like. His heart wants to believe that Cameron is right but his head tells him differently.

When everyone starts to accuse Luke of changing Cameron he wonders if he can ever be happy in a relationship. Not just at school.

Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

Reviews

Top to Bottom reviews - 5/5 - "....R.J. Scott sets the perfect tone in this series, that delicate balance between elation and sorrow, hope and despair, which makes it, in my most humble opinion, a must read for fans of Young Adult fiction. This is a story of the power of friendship, of the strength that can be found in those who stand by you through the good and the bad, giving you the courage to live and love out loud...."

J.J. Lavesque - "....The author has done a brilliant job at capturing the emotions of two boys who want to be themselves, but are also afraid of the repercussions. To really understand this story, you need to read the first, because it takes place just before this one. This was a short read, but well worth it...."

Elisa - My Reviews & Ramblings - "....Considering I liked a lot the previous one, Love Is in the Title, there is no wonder I liked also this one; again, despite this being a short story, the feeling was of something bigger, of a whole novel concentrated in little more than 40 pages...."


Love Is In The Title



*Love Is In The Title* is my first foray into the world of Young Adult writing. I really enjoyed writing this story. It is a story of young love and the infinite possibilities of *Forever*.

Love is Series

Book 1 - Love is in the title
Book 2 - Love is in the hallways
Book 3 - Love is in the message

The Book

Luke requests songs for the late show with Roscoe. Songs that mean something to him and the people around him. Lately he has been requesting songs for the boy he watches from afar. The gorgeous dark haired blue eyed captain of the football team, Cameron.

One night, and the last request, and all of Luke's secrets spill. It seems though, that he isn't the only one with secrets.


Reviews

Top to Bottom reviews - 5/5 - "....RJ Scott has written an outstanding young adult story, one that can be appreciated by those who are right now living in the midst of those very trying times, as well as those who have lived through them and managed to somehow survive...."

Elisa Rolle reviews - "....A sweet, short story about boy meets boy and boy falls in love for boy. Sweet as sweeter you cannot, since it’s all about a night, and these boys have only the time to kiss and promise forever to each other… how cute they are when they are so young and innocent… but then maybe they are wiser than those adults who don’t dare to love so strongly...."

The Hope Chest reviews - 5/5 - "....It was enchantingly romantic and reminded me of the days in my own youth when I was first falling in love. Love Is in the Title is the second story by RJ Scott that I have thoroughly enjoyed. It has earned a spot on my virtual keeper shelf and Ms. Scott a spot on my favorite authors list. I'm eagerly looking forward to spending more time with Luke and Cameron and further exploring RJ Scott's backlist...."

Rainbow Book reviews - "...I loved the way Luke and Cameron are portrayed as sweet, innocent, and guileless. I really wanted their relationship to succeed. I'd recommend this story to anyone who wants to read a sweet, but informative story about the challenges of being gay in high school. Thanks, RJ! You've touched my heart once again."

Excerpt

Luke turned at the quiet hello, to face the boy of his dreams.

Cameron had sat down on a stool at the counter in all his post-game glory. His hair was still damp from the shower, and his skin looked fresh and scrubbed clean. Luke tried hard not to swallow his tongue.

“Hey,” he managed to reply. Then he searched desperately for something else to say. Something very witty and totally profound. Hell, at the moment, he would have been happy for something involving actual words.

Cameron just sat there, looking expectantly at Luke, his eyebrows quirked and a half smile on his face. He seemed to finally decide Luke needed some help. “Can I get another Coke?” he asked simply, and Luke nodded mutely. He grabbed a fresh glass and filled it to the overflow point with the brown liquid. Smiling shyly, he slid it towards the boy of his fantasies.

Why did his normally chatty, confident, some said over-confident, personality wither and die at one flash of Cameron’s beautiful blue eyes? An awkward silence fell over the three boys. Mitchell smirking, Cameron swallowing his fifth Coke of the night, and Luke standing there like a prize idiot. The same thing happened every time Luke was within speaking distance of Cameron. Luke was reaching the point where, whether Cameron was into boys or not, he was afraid he wasn’t ever going to be able to tell him his feelings anyway.

“Nights like these are the ones when being team captain must suck, huh?” Luke finally blurted out, wincing as Cameron lowered his head and half nodded.

“Yeah,” was all Cameron said, and Luke swallowed. Misery curled inside him at his stupid comment. How did he expect Cameron to feel after what had been another crushing loss for him and the rest of the team? For God’s sake, at what point had his scary brilliant brain decided it was okay to bring up the game?

“I’m sorry,” Luke offered, watching as a small smile started on Cameron’s full lips and moved to light his eyes.

“Well, I can for sure say it wasn’t your fault, Luke, since you weren’t even there.” Cameron offered. His smile broadened as he leaned forward into Luke’s space.

“I ha…have to work,” Luke stuttered quickly. Cameron’s words took a moment to register; then he did a mental double take. Cameron had noticed he wasn’t at the game.

“I know,” Cameron offered gently. “Maybe if you had been there, we mighta won?”

Hang on a damn minute! Luke blinked. Those words in that tone sounded like— well, like flirting?





Love Is In The Hallways - Book 2

Young Adult fiction

Book 2 in my Love Is In... series is now available from Amazon and All Romance Ebooks and carries on from where Book 1 left off...

Blurb:

Luke is still on cloud nine after what happened in the park with Cameron. He has a boyfriend and is in shock. At the same time he is completely and utterly head over heels in love.

Cameron wants to announce the two of them as a couple at school. He is adamant that together Luke and Cam can make changes in the way being gay is perceived at school.

Luke knows just what real life can be like. His heart wants to believe that Cameron is right but his head tells him differently.

When everyone starts to accuse Luke of changing Cameron he wonders if he can ever be happy in a relationship. Not just at school.

Excerpt:

"Are you seeing him tonight?" Mitchell changed the direction of the conversation. Luke analyzed the question for accusation or judgment. He couldn’t see either; in fact, there appeared to be a level of hope in his friend's tone.

"In the park. At eight."

"Call your mom, stay here to eat, and I'll walk you to meet him."

"You don't need to—"

"Luke, I wasn’t joking about keeping your head down. You need to have your wits about you. The rest of the team is looking to blame someone for their captain’s sudden one-eighty."

"So it didn’t matter then." Disappointment and anger at himself for letting Cam walk in alone today knifed through him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he realized his throat was tight with emotion.

"What do you mean?" Playing for time, Luke took a deep swallow of water and then fiddled with the cap to the bottle. "Luke?"

He wasn’t sure how much he needed to explain to Mitchell. Mitchell probably understood his life better than anyone, but still… there were things Mitchell could probably never understand.

Being clumsy and a math brain and gay… well, that was three strikes right there. He was different, and kids had picked on him, nothing he could change. But after a while they had just become bored, and he’d basked in the glow of having no attention at all.

"They'd given up on me, you know. I was no fun anymore to all the people that used to go out of their way to brighten their day by beating down on mine. I liked it that way." He took another gulp of water.  “I'm out of here in a few months, and I’m going to build something for myself, be someone different." He stopped talking and rolled onto his stomach, closing his eyes and resting his chin on his hands mirror to Mitchell.

"I kind of like the you that you are," Mitchell murmured, then added, "but if it makes you happy then I know you will."

"It’s not long until the end of school. I could have done that, made it to the end. Then Cam decides he wants a real ‘us’, and he wants it now." Agitation shot through Luke, and he couldn’t open his eyes. He had to make someone else see that he was making sense. "This isn’t some TV show, Mitch; this is actual life, and I'm scared."


Amazon and All Romance Ebooks

Six Sentence Sunday

Love is in the hallways

A small glimpse into book 2 in my Young Adult *Love* series about Cam and Luke. Due out 3 September on Amazon.

When kissing gets a little *heated* :-)


Suddenly it was two panting teens under the oak trees, staring wide eyed at each other. What they had just done was serious. Flirtation and innocent promise had flown out of the window. This was a connection that couldn't be unmade.

"We did that," Luke finally blurted out causing Cam to smile.


Goodreads Link

Young Adult: Love Is In The Title

*Love Is In The Title* is my first foray into the world of Young Adult writing. I really enjoyed writing this story. It is a story of young love and the infinite possibilities of *Forever*.

It is a self published title and is available on Amazon Kindle HERE and All Romance Ebooks HERE


"This was a pretty cute, quick read. I love that shy, budding love just finding each other."

Luke requests songs for the late show with Roscoe. Songs that mean something to him and the people around him. Lately he has been requesting songs for the boy he watches from afar. The gorgeous dark haired blue eyed captain of the football team, Cameron.

One night, and the last request, and all of Luke's secrets spill. It seems though, that he isn't the only one with secrets.


Excerpt

Luke turned at the quiet hello, to face the boy of his dreams.

Cameron had sat down on a stool at the counter in all his post-game glory. His hair was still damp from the shower, and his skin looked fresh and scrubbed clean. Luke tried hard not to swallow his tongue.

“Hey,” he managed to reply. Then he searched desperately for something else to say. Something very witty and totally profound. Hell, at the moment, he would have been happy for something involving actual words.

Cameron just sat there, looking expectantly at Luke, his eyebrows quirked and a half smile on his face. He seemed to finally decide Luke needed some help. “Can I get another Coke?” he asked simply, and Luke nodded mutely. He grabbed a fresh glass and filled it to the overflow point with the brown liquid. Smiling shyly, he slid it towards the boy of his fantasies.

Why did his normally chatty, confident, some said over-confident, personality wither and die at one flash of Cameron’s beautiful blue eyes? An awkward silence fell over the three boys. Mitchell smirking, Cameron swallowing his fifth Coke of the night, and Luke standing there like a prize idiot. The same thing happened every time Luke was within speaking distance of Cameron. Luke was reaching the point where, whether Cameron was into boys or not, he was afraid he wasn’t ever going to be able to tell him his feelings anyway.

“Nights like these are the ones when being team captain must suck, huh?” Luke finally blurted out, wincing as Cameron lowered his head
and half nodded.

“Yeah,” was all Cameron said, and Luke swallowed. Misery curled inside him at his stupid comment. How did he expect Cameron to feel after what had been another crushing loss for him and the rest of the team? For God’s sake, at what point had his scary brilliant brain decided it was okay to bring up the game?

“I’m sorry,” Luke offered, watching as a small smile started on Cameron’s full lips and moved to light his eyes.

“Well, I can for sure say it wasn’t your fault, Luke, since you weren’t even there.” Cameron offered. His smile broadened as he leaned forward into Luke’s space.

“I ha…have to work,” Luke stuttered quickly. Cameron’s words took a moment to register; then he did a mental double take. Cameron had noticed he wasn’t at the game.

“I know,” Cameron offered gently. “Maybe if you had been there, we mighta won?”

Hang on a damn minute! Luke blinked. Those words in that tone sounded like— well, like flirting?


Amazon Kindle HERE and All Romance Ebooks HERE

The website for my Young Adult writing is HERE