Rocking Hard, Volume 1 is an anthology published by Less Than Three Press.
Word count: 104,000
Pairing: M/M, F/F
Content: Contains some explicit content.
Stories of rock stars and their loves.
Buy links: Astore, Amazon, Smashwords, Bookstrand, All Romance.
Title: Centrifical
Author: Sol Crafter
Genre: mm romance
Summary: Marty is the star of a B-rated sci-fi show. Jim is a rock god. They grew up as nerds together. Now Jim is coming home.
Blurb: “Marty Sheer, one of the stars of a B-rated sci-fi show “Centrifical,” receives a phone call letting him know that his old friend Jim Sheppard, who left years ago and has since become an acclaimed rock star, has bought a new home close by. Renewing their friendships is easy—becoming something more is a challenge that makes fame look easy.”
Read the EXCERPT.
Title: Fringe Benefits
Author: Diana Sheridan
Genre: mm romance
Summary: Depressed after the death of his lover, and having lost his job at the same time, Dale distracts himself by going to see one of his favorite rockers. But a simple concert and trip backstage lands him an unexpected job as her new assistant, and brings him into the path of her intriguing, appealing make-up artist and hair dresser, Luis. But if there’s one thing that Dale has learned, it’s that life is never easy and love doesn’t always last.
Title: Courage Wolf Never Sings the Gorram Blues
Author: Talya Andor
Genre: mm romance
Summary: Bailey Kravitz, lead singer of Courage Wolf, is a high-strung, perfectionist diva of a front man. Gunner Lansing, bassist of Courage Wolf, is a laid-back, hang loose ladies’ man who is only serious about guitars and sex. They say opposites attract, but Bailey’s terminal crush on oblivious Gunner is tearing the band apart. Meanwhile, his longtime friend, quiet but intense guitarist Tor Macleod, helps him pick up the pieces yet again. Between annihilating everything they’ve built and reeling from total rejection, there may be a third option Bailey has been overlooking all this time. Problem is, Bailey’s always been more than a little difficult when he’s out to get his way, and that may ruin his prospects after all.
Title: Put You In a Song
Author: Lacie J. Archer
Genre: mm romance
Summary: Ten months ago, on a whirlwind New Year’s Eve, Garrett and Rich enjoyed a wild night together. Back in town for the final performance of his band’s tour, Rich can’t wait to see Garrett again, unable to forget him. But a wild night and a lifetime are two different things, and the first real challenge they face may be more than their fragile new relationship can take.
Title: A Haunted Melody
Author: Angel Propps
Genre: ff romance
Summary: A decades old tragedy, an old guitar, and a bright new star … A struggling musician on the verge of losing her band, Kara spies a guitar in a pawn shop that she can’t resist. One year later she’s on the verge of fame, and meets a woman who not only can help her get there, but introduces Kara to an intriguing, beautiful woman … But bad history is coming back to haunt, and Kara stands to lose not just fame and love, but her life.
Excerpt:
Centrifical, by Sol Crafter
He was sitting on a bench with a paperback spread open on his lap, the spine strained to breaking. He’d come to the park with the idea that he was finally going to finish reading his mystery novel. Except the sun was warm on his skin and he was distracted by the sounds of distant laughter and the elusive scent of barbecue.
Finally he gave up even the pretense and folded the book closed, shoving it into the pocket of his navy blue hoodie. He just sat with his head tipped back and enjoyed the light on his closed eyelids and the way fingers of breeze stroked through his hair.
It wasn’t very often that he was allowed to simply enjoy the day. Either work or his friends were constantly pulling him in opposite directions. There were days when he didn’t feel as if his life was his own. He belonged to too many other people.
The sound of the Twilight Zone theme music started up and he sighed and pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket. He glanced down at the screen, but it was just a phone number with no name. It had to be someone he knew though, since he didn’t give his cell number out to just anyone. He answered with a shrug.
“Hello?” he said, staring down at his green and gray sneakers sticking out in front of him. He’d just bought them and they still gave him that new-sneaker thrill that had led to him having a closet overflowing with shoes.
There was a long moment of silence and he thought about hanging up, then, “Marty?”
“Yes,” he said. “Who’s this?”
There was a warm laugh from the other end of the phone and Marty couldn’t help a jolt of familiarity even though he still couldn’t name his caller. “It’s me. Jim.”
“Oh, hey man. I didn’t recognize the number. What’s up?” Marty asked. They hadn’t talked in several months, mostly due to conflicting schedules, though maybe helped along a bit by a lack of anything to say.
“I got a new phone, so this is gonna be my number from now on,” Jim said. “So you might want to save it.”
“Okay. Cool.” No matter what he did, Marty figured he sounded like some kind of clingy loser. Never mind that he’d known Jim forever and been friends with him for most of that time.
“So, hey, I know I haven’t said anything, but I kind of bought a place near where you are,” Jim said.
“What?” Marty sat up, his heels coming together. “Really? I mean, I never thought you’d leave the road. I thought the road was your life.”
“Yeah, well maybe my life is tired of being lived on a bus with four other dudes,” Jim said. “I just had the sudden need to settle down, and I’m sorry, but you’re the most settled dude I know.”
“Naw, naw, it’s cool. I’m just surprised.” Marty raked a hand through his dark brown hair. “So you, like, totally bought a house or something?”
“Yeah. It’s not like I don’t have the money for one. So even if I don’t want to live there in the future … well, I can rent it out or something. Hey, maybe you’ll want to get out of your awful condo or something. Then, if I’m not in the house, you’ll have a place to live.”
“Thanks,” Marty drolled, earning himself a laugh.
“I really have missed you, man. It will be great for us to hang out.” There were faint rattling sounds in the background. “Well, I wanted to let you know I’ll be in town some time tomorrow.”
Marty watched a woman in a light pink workout suit jog by. She had short black hair and a rather Mediterranean look to her great bone structure. She could have been a model or an actress. Though, considering this neighborhood, she probably was.
Harper Kingsley
Ko-fi: HarperWCK
Paypal: HarperKingsley
Even after seven years, he still felt like he didn’t belong.
“Hey, are you still there?”
Marty hurriedly looked away from the woman and back down at his shoes. “Yeah, sorry. Do you need me to pick you up from the airport?”
“Nah, we’re driving,” Jim said.
“Wait, so you have your band with you?” Marty asked, trying to muffle the sound of disappointment. Like Jim would be showing up just to hang out with him.
“Yeah, I had to bring them. I’ve got some work arranged, but I’ll be on a regular schedule.” Jim huffed a laugh. “It’s like I’ll be one of the Joneses. Plus we can hang out all the time and that’ll be good. I’ve missed you, buddy.”
“I’ve missed you too,” Marty said, blinking his dry eyes. He’d cried every tear years ago and forced himself to accept that they were just friends and nothing more.
“Well,” Jim said, “I’ve kinda gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Call me when you get in,” Marty ordered.
“Will do,” Jim said. “See you. Bye.”
“Bye,” Marty said, and listened until Jim hung up. Then he lowered his phone and held it between his hands.
He stared straight ahead, seeing everything as just a blur. He really wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. His mind was pulling a complete blank, yet his heart insisted on being uplifted.
/EXCERPT
