Blog Tour + Giveaway: Leaning Into the Fall (Leaning Into Stories, #2) by Lane Hayes

Lane Hayes and IndiGo Marketing are celebrating the release of Book #2 from the Leaning Into Stories, Leaning Into the Fall! Hayes drops by the clubhouse to discuss her inspiration behind the series. And there's an excerpt and $25 Amazon gift card giveaway to also check out!

Title: Leaning Into the Fall

Series: Leaning Into Stories, #2

Author: Lane Hayes

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: March 10

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: Approximately 77K words

Genre: Romance, Erotica, Bisexual, humor, San Francisco, May to December romance

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Synopsis

Nick Jorgensen is a quirky genius. He's made a fortune in the competitive high tech field with his quick mind and attention to detail. He believes in hard work and trusting his gut. And he believes in karma. It’s the only thing that makes sense. People are difficult, but numbers never lie. In the disastrous wake of a broken engagement to an investor’s daughter, Nick is more certain than ever he isn’t relationship material.

Wes Conrad owns a thriving winery in Napa Valley. The relaxed atmosphere is a welcome departure from his former career as a high-rolling businessman. Wes’s laid-back nature is laced with a fierceness that appeals to Nick. In spite of his best intention to steer clear of complications, Nick can’t fight his growing attraction to the sexy older man who seems to understand him. Even the broken parts he doesn’t get himself. However, when Wes’s past collides with Nick’s present, both men will have to have to decide if they’re ready to lean into the ultimate fall.

Author Visit

Thank you for having me here to chat about my new release, Leaning Into the Fall. This is book #2 in my newest series set in San Francisco… and in California wine country, Napa Valley. Why wine? Well, first of all, I love it! I’m not a connoisseur by any means but I’m a huge fan of a nice glass of Pinot. Or Merlot. Or Cabernet. And I must say, there’s something almost magical about visiting the vineyards where grapes become wine.

All fabulous vintages share an elemental beginning. They are of the earth. As Wes explains in Leaning Into the Fall, Mother Nature is in charge of everything. The soil conditions, the sun, the rain. The rest is hard work and luck. The end result is bottled, labeled, distributed and consumed. In a way, the entire process mirrors the human experience, which is part of the reason I wrote a winery into Nick and Wes’s story.

Nick’s focus is his work. He lives in a world of numbers and codes on computer screens. Like many of us, he spends a bulk of his time in cyberland. His connection with the real world is skewed and for someone who has a difficult time communicating, it’s tempting to retreat to a place where you can interact unseen and largely unknown. But life is about balance. Too much of anything is a recipe for disaster.

The Napa backdrop in Leaning Into the Fall serves as a gentle reminder that real life is more than schedules, deadlines and ownership. However, Nick and Wes’s story is ultimately about finding truth within and learning to accept what you cannot change. It’s about letting go of preconceived notions. You never what you may discover until you lean into the fall.

In vino veritas. In wine there is truth.

Happy Reading!

Lane Hayes xo

Excerpt

Wes led me to a small room at the opposite end of the building filled with barrels. The temperature dipped at least ten degrees here and the strong scent of fermenting wine was offset by the smell of oak. I moved toward the round table in the middle and glanced up at the tower of barrels. Each was labeled and dated, but as far as I could tell, the order wasn’t chronological. I categorized and filed the numbers in my mind in an attempt to solve a mystery that probably wasn’t so mysterious after all.

“These are special reserve wines. The best of the best. Theoretically anyway,” Wes said, picking up the long-sleeved plaid shirt draped over one of the chairs at the table.

“What do the numbers mean?” I asked, running my fingers over the printed tag on the barrel.

“It’s an internal code that basically tells us exactly which vines yielded the harvest. Some have information about soil disruption or weather flux. Of course, once the wine is fermenting that information is no longer significant but—”

“Where are the dates on these labels? Isn’t timing everything in the wine business?”

“Some might argue timing is everything in every facet of life.” Wes regarded me curiously before pointing out the dates in the middle of the tag. “It’s all here. See?”

“I don’t understand your system,” I said, stuffing my hands in my back pocket and staring up at the barrels.

“It’s an internal system. You’re not meant to understand. It’s for us only. The same way you wouldn’t explain the science behind how an advanced operating system works to one of your clients. They might say they’re fascinated but they aren’t really interested in the details. Same goes for wine. People come to tour the winery every day. They want to know about grape varietals and blends and some even ask about topography, weather and the fermentation process. But the true science of wine making confounds them. At the end of the day, truth is in the bottle.”

“In vino veritas.”

Wes smiled as he pulled his shirt on. “’In wine, truth’,” he translated. “Different context, but yes… truth. Are you going to tell me why you’re here or do I have to break out a bottle of Pinot to get the real story?”

Wes’s wolfish grin spread slowly across his handsome face as he closed the distance between us. He tilted my chin with his forefinger and stared deep into my eyes as though he was trying to read my mind. Or devour me whole.

“You look like you want to eat me,” I said before I could stop myself.

“I do. I want to do lots of things to you. Is that why you’re here? You want me to eat you, Nicky?”

“You invited me.” My eyes drifted shut when he ran his fingers along my jaw then splayed his hand behind my head and tugged my hair.

“I did. I’m glad you came.”

“Well, we were in the middle of listing our all-time favorite bands or artists by decade. That’s not the kind of thing you can leave for a whole week. It’s important.”

“You’re right. What were we thinking?” He licked my bottom lip in a sensual line from one corner of my mouth to the other. “We’ll have to continue that discussion later. I want to do other things first.”

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Meet the Author

Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full-time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in an almost empty nest.