It’s been school holidays for the past two weeks here in NZ, I love lazy mornings and crafty afternoons, but to be honest, I’m looking forward to Monday as well. I hit the wall in Secrets of the Soul, bounced back off it again, and am back to words, it’s not looking hopeful for an October release, but never say never 🙂 This week I’m excited to introduce Vicki Locey, let’s get to it!
Author Bio
I’m a full-time author who shares her life with her hubby of 32 years, my adult daughter and son-in-law, one dog, three cats, a flock of rowdy chickens, some turkeys, and a pair of geese named Jack and Diane. I call the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania home. My pronouns are she/her.
I write mostly MM hockey romance as it’s the genre of my heart, but I also dabble in contemporary, paranormal, and historical queer romances. I’ve also been coauthoring gay hockey romances with this RJ Scott bird; you may have heard of her. *winks* We’re gearing up to release the second book in our FIFTH coauthored series!
Vicki’s Quirky Questions
Holly: Would you visit the future or the past, and why?
V.L. – Oh wow, this is a tough question! Being a huge Dr. Who fan I might I say both? There is so much to learn from the past that we could apply toward making the future a better place. Hmm, maybe I answered the question without realizing it? Okay then, the past, as long as I had a companion named Jack Harkness and a sonic screwdriver. *winks*
Holly: What was the first book that made you cry?
V.L. – It has to be Charlotte’s Web. I was just a small child when I read it and it tore me up. It still does when I watch the movie.
Holly: What other artistic pursuits (if any) do you indulge in apart from writing?
V.L. – Does gardening count? If so then I garden!
Holly: How did you come up with the idea for this book?
V.L. – I’ve always wanted to do a book with a queer pastor and this new series gave me the perfect opportunity. When I was plotting out the basic storylines for the Gladiators I just knew that book three would belong to DJ and Gabe!
Holly: What do you do when you get writer’s block?
V.L. – I’m lucky that this hasn’t been too much of a problem so far. *raps on desk* But when it has I tend to step back, leave the work and do something else. I also like to talk things out with other authors. Many times they can see around the knot that has the story so tied up with more clarity than I can.
Holly: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
V.L. – Start writing as soon as those voices appear in your head. I wish I had listened to my muse when she was whispering to me in high school instead of waiting until I was in my forties to start putting any real effort into writing. Just think of all the books I could have written!
Holly: Do you ever base your characters on real people? Do you tell them?
V.L. – Sometimes I do. I pluck personality traits or quirks from real people then blend them into my characters to flavor them and make them more realistic.
Dump and Chase
Blurb:
Working side-by-side on a charity project might just prove to be the foundation of a new romance.
Deandre Jones is enjoying his single life quite nicely, thank you. He’s a defenseman on the Watkins Glen Gladiators, gets to travel, dates frequently, and isn’t tied down to anything other than his mom and brother back in the windy city. He has time to do the whole family and kids thing. Right now he’s happy to be footloose, even if his mother has different ideas. As the playoffs near his focus should be on hockey, but for some reason, he can’t seem to give the sport its due. Ever since he volunteered to help the incredibly handsome assistant pastor of a local church work on an addition to the parish, his attention seems to be locked on curly hair and bright blue eyes instead of breakaways and body checks.
Gabriel Hansley has quite the full plate. Not only is he the first openly out bisexual assistant pastor for a small but highly active parish, but he’s also got his son to tend to as well as his work at the church, which keeps him hopping all day long. And that’s a good thing as the nights alone are hard for the young widower. Just when he’s about to give up on finding a person to share his life with—chaotic as it can be—he finds himself hammering nails beside Deandre Jones. As they work side-by-side under the bright spring sun, he’s getting warmer under the collar with each shared smile and terrible carpentry pun.
Dump and Chase is a low-angst, slow burn, age gap queer hockey romance with a not-quite-as-confirmed-as-he-thought bachelor, a harried single father, plenty of nosy but well-meaning parishioners and teammates, tons of joyous song, and a harmonious happily ending.
Excerpt
“…I think you’re too hard on yourself. We’re all only human, right? None of us are perfect except your boss.” That made him smile, which lit up his whole face despite the rainy night blanketing the pier with fog and inky blackness. “You’re doing a great job with him.”
He turned to look at me, his gaze moving over my face. “Thank you. It’s not easy being a single parent as your mother can attest to, but look how incredible you and your brother are.”
“You’re pretty incredible too,” I whispered, not sure if he could hear my soft words with the winds whipping around us.
The lake was riotous, unhappy, and loud. I wanted to make sure he knew how I was feeling so I took a giant leap even though my feet were firmly on the ground. I leaned in to kiss him. His lips were soft and supple as I applied a bit more pressure. His hand rose from his side to cup my jaw, his head tipping just a bit for a better angle. Right then I wouldn’t have known if a waterspout dropped down from the tumultuous sky and sucked us right up to Oz. I’d kissed a lot of people, male and female, but I had never experienced anything to compare with that chaste kiss. It felt as if a million tiny gigs of electricity were dancing over my skin, sending white hot bursts of want to my groin. I broke the kiss after a moment to make sure my hair wasn’t standing on end because, if it was, it was time to duck under the bench.
No lightning hit us. A low grumble of thunder toward Corning could just be heard over my erratic breathing and the waves still impacting the boulders.
“Wow,” he whispered as his fingertips rested along my throat.
“Yeah, wow. And no smiting. Guess God is down with us.”
“I knew he would be. Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil and hold on to what is good.” He gripped my hand a bit tighter. And I held his just as firmly as the rain slowed, but my heart sped up.
Vicki’s Socials
I can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram!
My 5-stars reads this week
I devoured the first three books when they came out, and then sadly, I got distracted, and book #4 sat on my TRB pile, but when I saw book #5 on preorder for an October 25th release… well, I just had to, it would be rude not to, right?
Perilous Courts
Tavia Lark
I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of Holly’s Quirky Questions.
 A huge thank you to Vicki you’re awesome! Next week we have Alexa Piper and Rory Maxwell.
Until then: Find a Spark of Magic Every Day.
