Riding With Brighton by Haven Francis Guest Post & Excerpt!

Hi guys, we have Haven Francis popping in today with her upcoming young adult release Riding With Brighton, we have a brilliant guest post and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Haven Francis - Riding with Brighton Cover

Riding With Brighton

by

Haven Francis

Yesterday, Jay was convinced his life was damaged beyond repair.

Yesterday, Brighton was sure his life was perfect.

Then today happened.

Realizing he’s wasted his life in the meaningless pursuit of popularity and athleticism, Jay Hall knows he has nothing in common with alternative, free-thinking artist Brighton Bello-Adler. But he’s determined to change that. 

Brighton’s managed to fill his life with an eclectic mix of people and interests that keep him satisfied. As the only gay guy in his small town, the one thing that’s missing is a man, but Jay’s not gay, so Brighton’s not sure what he’ll gain by letting him into his life. Still, he’s willing to find out. 

Heading off on an impromptu road trip, the boys chart a course connecting their worlds, and along the way discover pieces of themselves they didn’t know were missing. As the sun rises on a new day, Jay and Brighton know their lives have changed. Now they just have to figure out how to live in them. 

In a fresh and clever romance that turns stereotypes upside down, the journey to coming out and coming of age is full of challenges and surprises, but ultimately, acceptance and love.

Release date: 27th June 2017

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THE DECISION THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

by Haven Francis

In the spirit of Riding with Brighton, I’ve decided to revisit some of the more life-changing moments that Jay and Brighton managed to flirt and laugh their way through. Stop 1 is Rocket Park (aka, where Brighton considers telling Jay to leave and almost ruins everyone’s lives).

As a seventeen-year-old I chose my college based solely on the fact that, if need be, I could drive home on the weekends which, in retrospect, seems like a stupid decision based the dumbest criteria ever. Once my generals were complete, I was forced to declare a major and minor. I teetered between marketing and communications and English literature and fine arts. I chose the latter, but it could have totally gone either way. The first quarter of my junior year, I finally got into that required ceramics class that was always full. If I hadn’t had to wait, I wouldn’t have sat next to that cute, mysterious boy that I eventually started dating. In the beginning, the toxic residue from my past relationship was a constant threat and honestly, it would have been easier to go back like I had already done a dozen times. For sure it would have been 100% reasonable for the kid from ceramics class to walk away because he didn’t ask for the psychotic crap he was suddenly involved in. But we stayed strong and eventually got married. Fifteen years later, we’re still in love and have kids and… yeah, it all turned out okay. But one wrong choice on my part and I would have ended up with a different life. It’s strange to think that the careless decision I made so long ago effects what I’m doing right now in this moment. What if I had made a different choice?

Even though I wrote, Riding with Brighton, and I know I made their story up in my head, I sometimes have these same thoughts about Jay and Brighton. What if Jay hadn’t made that terrifying call to Brighton? And what if Brighton had stuck to his, “I’m never meeting up with sexually confused guys ever again” rule and didn’t answer that call? I won’t tell you how the book ends or how many lives that phone call ended up changing but, I mean, it was significant as far as the small fictional town of Spring Valley, Minnesota goes.

When Jay made that phone call, he knew there was a pretty good chance it would lead to some significant changes in his own life, but he never stopped to think, what about Brighton? If he had, he would have seen that Brighton’s life was great: he had a ton of friends and an amazing family. He loved his job and had all kinds of interests that kept him happy and satisfied. He didn’t really need Jay bombing into his life and f-ing everything up. He didn’t ask for that.

But here’s the great thing about Brighton and one of the reasons I fell in love with him: he accepts everyone and all the baggage they’re carrying and he’s pretty much up for anything. How many of us can say that? I think it’s a given that all of us should think longer and harder about how our decisions will affect others, but it wasn’t really until I wrote Brighton’s character that I thought, I should really say yes more often: yes, I’ll help you even though I don’t really have the time; yes, I’ll go to that new place even though it scares me; yes, I’ll meet new people even though I’m pretty content with the ones I already have in my life. Yes, I’ll jump into that giant pile of crap in order to experience it with you, then help pull you out of it. Okay, maybe not the last one, but that’s what’s great about Brighton – not only does he do it, but he enjoys it… mostly.

I’m trying to say yes more often, because I want what Brighton has: the possibility for everyday to be exciting, surprising and an opportunity to grow.  If my husband wouldn’t have jumped into my pile of ex-boyfriend residue so long ago, then neither of us would be where we are now. And without Jay’s pile of crap, Brighton wouldn’t have found out that the thing he needed most was something he didn’t even realize was missing from his life.

Haven Francis - Riding with Brighton Square

Excerpt!

“Hey,” Jay says, walking up to the bench where I’m sitting. I turn my head to him with an amused smirk on my face.

With one glance I can tell the kid is nervous as hell. I figured he would be. When he called me last night to ask if I would meet him here, you could already tell he was freaking out about it. I was surprised he called at all. I thought he said that shit to prove how not-homophobic he was, and the only reason I gave him my number was because I felt bad about how much crap I had given him. “What’s up?”

“Uh….” He stalls, taking his baseball cap off, running his fingers through his blond hair, then pulling it on backward now so I have a clear view of his blue eyes. “Nothin’ really. Just, you know… finished practice.”

“Awesome.” His eyes veer farther away from mine, so I turn back around and wait for him to say something. I take the moment of silence to assess the situation. I’m pretty sure I know why he’s here. There’s really only one reason for Mr. Popular to want to meet me at the park. I mean, despite the fact that we have a class together and during that hour we’re cool, it’s not like we’re friends. And this isn’t the first time a guy has tried “getting to know me” or wanted to “meet up” because I’m the only gay guy they know and they’re curious if maybe they got some gay in them too. I learned pretty quickly that I don’t have the patience to counsel some confused kid through the perils of coming to terms with who they are, so I don’t normally do this.

But Jay… I didn’t see that one coming. I was too curious about what, exactly, he wanted from me. And a little too turned on by that athletic body to blow him off.

But one look at him and I can already tell how this is gonna go down. If he is here for the reasons I think he is, then he clearly jumped the gun—he’s not ready. And if something were to go down, it would end up in one of those shameful situations where he avoids looking at me for the rest of the year. And what the hell is up with meeting me at a park? For sure I’m not willing to be on the other side of a glory hole, which is totally how this park situation feels. I mean, isn’t a park the stereotypical place closeted guys think they should go to experiment? I keep glancing at the brick bathroom and shuddering at the thought of dried piss and sharp metal.

I’m not doing this.

“Listen, Jay…,” I say, leaning forward on my knees, cranking my head again to look at him. I stop, though, when his face tightens and his gaze hits the ground. For a second he looks completely vulnerable and not at all like the kid who runs the school.

“Shit,” he mutters, running his hands down his face. When he takes them away, he’s looking directly at me for the first time, and he smiles. And then he laughs. It’s damn cute, and I smile back. “Sorry,” he says, shaking his head and coming to sit next to me on the bench. His hesitation is gone now, the confident kid he usually is taking over again. He leans into the bench, propping his elbows on the back of it and stretching his legs out in front of him. He turns to me and gives me a crooked smile. Jay’s got a dozen smiles, but I don’t know the one he’s given me, twice now, today. By far, it’s the cutest out of all of them and, honestly, all his other smiles are damn cute already.

“What are you sorry about?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I just had a little ‘what the hell am I doing’ moment there. You gotta think I’m weird… asking you to hang out with me today.”

I laugh and sit back on the bench, mimicking his posture. “You’d be surprised how often random people ask me to hang out with them.”

“Really? I mean, we’re a little old to be making new friends, right? Like, ‘hey dude, I think the two of us would get along, and I’m tired of the friends I got, so I thought we could chill. What do you say?’” He laughs at himself and shakes his head.

And I’m confused. It almost sounds like that’s what he’s doing—trying to make a new friend. “Why do you think we’d get along?”

He narrows his eyes. “We do get along, right? I mean, when we talk in class it seems like we get along. And you’re about the only guy who wants to talk to me about something other than sports and partying and…. you know… whatever.” He looks away and shakes his head before speaking again. “I keep thinking when I get to college, I’ll just start over… choose my friends more wisely. But I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

Okay. I’m confused as fuck now. I think when he hesitated the word girls should have been inserted, which would mean it’s one of the things—along with sports and partying—that he’s sick of talking about. Or maybe he just thinks the word would offend my sensitive gay ears. I mean, yeah, sometimes in class it seems like we’re flirting, but I generally tell myself it’s my active and stupidly optimistic brain making shit up. I’m not really getting any gay vibes from him, and I get what he’s saying—the guys he hangs out with all seem like they came out of a copy machine, and I can’t imagine their conversations are breaking any virgin ground. “So you want me to be your new friend?”

He laughs again. “It’s stupid, right? You already got a ton of friends… interesting friends. People that are nothing like me. Jesus, I seriously feel like I’m in second grade. And also like a charity case. I shouldn’t have… I mean, you probably got better things to do than sit around a park with me. Sorry….” He leans forward like he’s about to stand and walk and, even though I don’t know what the hell he wants from me, I know I’m not ready to see him go yet.

“It’s cool, man. There’s always room for more friends, right? And I do have other shit I need to be doing today, but it’s nothing you can’t do with me.”

“Yeah?” he asks, that damn cute grin back on his face.

I shrug. “Sure. Why not.”

“Cool,” he says, relaxing back into the bench.

We’re silent for a few moments, staring at the archaic park in front of us. “So why’d you pick this place?” My right eye twitches with fear as it tries to avoid looking at the brick building in the corner.

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About Haven!

Haven Francis author picAn escapist filled with wanderlust, writing is Haven’s responsible adult version of getting in the car and driving without aim. Reading and music are close seconds.  She and her husband can often be found checking out their favorite bands locally or hundreds of miles away via road trips. Reading is something they don’t have in common, but he tolerates her dimly lit late-night habit.

Haven graduated with a BA, double majoring in English literature and fine arts. She made a living writing about trends in interior design but thoroughly enjoys that fact that people, unlike furniture, can fall in love. She especially loves when they fall desperately and into a forbidden kind of love. She has a slightly embarrassing fascination with the period of life that sits awkwardly between childhood and adulthood; the years when nothing is certain, lots of mistakes are made, falling in love is inevitable, and finding yourself is a struggle. For her it’s a fun place to escape to and she hopes her readers agree.

To date, Haven has published five New Adult romance novels, two of which have been Amazon best sellers. She also works as a graphic designer but considers Mom her most important title.

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