One day and counting until Aria (Blue Notes #3) is released by Dreamspinner Press! Join me here every day for a different contest where you can win goodies. Enter by leaving your name and email on my blog. On Monday night, 12/24, I will draw a name from the comments for each of the drawings. So comment once, and you’re entered into all the drawings!
Today’s drawing is for an ebook copy of your choice of The Melody Thief (Blue Notes #2) or Blue Notes, in the format of your choice (or if you’ve read those, a copy of one of my other previously released books from Dreamspinner Press.
The Blue Notes Series books share characters. Secondary characters from one book become the focus of a later book. For those of you who have read Blue Notes, you’ll remember Sam Ryan as the man whom Jason meets at a gay bar in Philadelphia, a
fellow attorney practicing employment law. If you’ve read The Melody Thief, you’ve also met the other main character inAria, opera singer Aiden Lind. Aiden and Cary Redding (the cellist) are best friends.
One of my favorite scenes in Aria is Aiden’s memory of a birthday celebration with Cary Redding in Milan. Aiden is often asked to sing at parties he’s invited to, and he hates it. Cary and Aiden polish off a bottle of tequila and talk about things people shouldn’t ask other guests to do at cocktail parties.
I have to admit that in this scene, Aiden is me! I can’t tell you how many times that people would ask me to sing when they learned I was an opera singer (it’s happened a few times since I gave up singing, too!). Not only was I always completely embarrassed, but I’m pretty damn loud when I sing. I’d probably have scared half the people at the party to death. My husband used to offer to build something out of circuits (he’s an engineer) when he saw me trying to politely decline to sing. It was silly, but it helped diffuse the tension. That was the inspiration for this scene.
Here’s the short excerpt. Hope you 
enjoy it! -Shira
*********************
Blurb: Five years after a prestigious scholarship jumpstarted his opera career, Aiden Lind has it all: fame, choice roles, and Lord Cameron Sherrington to share his life with. Maintaining his façade takes effort, but under his poised, sophisticated mask, Aiden is still the insecure kid from rural Mississippi. Then he walks in on Cam with another man, and the illusion of perfection shatters.
Philadelphia attorney Sam Ryan never moved on after his partner died, though he tried. Instead of dating, he keeps himself busy with work—but when he unexpectedly runs into ex-lover Aiden while on a rare vacation in Paris, he’s inspired to give their love a second chance. First, though, he’ll have to get Aiden to forgive him. Because when Sam was still grieving five years ago, he broke Aiden’s heart.
When rekindled lust blossoms into a true romance, it seems like the start of something wonderful. But Aiden’s career has him on the road much of the time, and the physical distance between him and Sam starts translating into an emotional disconnect. If Aiden and Sam can’t learn to communicate, their separation may prove more than their love can bear.
**************
There were few things Aiden hated more than singing at parties and informal gatherings, and yet he was asked to do it all the time. He complained to his best friend, Cary Redding, about it once. After joking that playing the cello was a distinct advantage when it came to avoiding impromptu performances, Cary had been more than understanding.
“You wouldn’t ask a dentist to look at your tooth, would you?” Cary asked as he waved the tequila bottle around, then handed it to Aiden.
“I wouldn’t ask a dermatologist to check out my mole, either,” Aiden countered.
“Let me see… ‘Things not to ask at a cocktail party’… You wouldn’t ask a vet to neuter your dog.”
“Ouch!” Aiden made a face, then added, “You wouldn’t ask a computer programmer to fix your Internet connection.”
“You wouldn’t ask a beautician to wax your crack.” Cary’s smile was pure evil. Aiden snorted, sending some tequila up his nose, which made him cough.
This had rapidly deteriorated until Cary ended with, “You wouldn’t ask a proctologist to stick his finger up your ass.”
“Not without buying me dinner first,” Aiden deadpanned. Both of them laughed until they cried.
*************
Aria (Blue Notes #3) is available for preorder at the Dreamspinner Press website.
4 comments