Spiffy cover, eh? I’m delighted to have A. Nybo dropping by today to share the cover and tell us a bit about her new release, Three Bears. So, drag your eyes away from those delectable water droplets covering that delectable skin, and read on to find out more.
At Three Bears surf break, the attraction between a group of friends is anything but “Luke warm….”
Dan goes to stay with his best friend Josh in Margaret River, the surfing capital of Western Australia, to sort out his sexual confusion. But his best friend is the source of that confusion. Having never been attracted to a man other than Josh, Dan fears risking their friendship just to discover men aren’t his thing.
Within the first few days, Dan meets Luke, a local barista who offers him surf lessons. Dan soon finds himself emotionally coveting not one, but two men. When they go to Three Bears, his hidden desires begin to emerge. As the ambiguity of Dan’s mixed signals clears, it becomes apparent both of his surfing companions want him—badly.
It is only when Luke and Josh hook up that they formulate “Operation Three Bears,” an adventurous plan that might lead to a satisfying outcome for all of them.
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 05 October
Dreamspinner | other outlets to follow
I decided to take Luke up on the surfing lessons, so we organized to meet that afternoon down at Redgate, a local beach he called a “beginner’s break.” I assumed that meant the waves were small—for which I was grateful. My knowledge of the ocean was limited. I knew enough to know how quickly it could take you and never give you back—not alive anyway. Not only that, but there was the myriad of ocean wildlife to deal with, such as great whites, blue-ringed octopuses, and all the other beasts that weren’t keen on intruders.
I texted Josh to see if I could borrow one of his surfboards. He told me to take one from the quiver in the shed, as those in the house were the ones he currently used.
I spent the intervening hours on the internet learning what I could about surfing. By the time I was to meet Luke, so much surfing lingo was running around in my head, I couldn’t remember what any of the terms meant. Not that it mattered. It was really only a way to while away time I normally would have spent alternately questioning my feelings toward Josh and lamenting my cowardice.
When I arrived, Luke was standing on top of a sand dune looking down at the beach. He turned and waved before heading toward me. I released the bungee cords and took the board from the roof of my station wagon before going to meet him. “Hey,” he said as he neared me. “Glad you made it.”
“I said I would.”
“Not everyone does what they say they’re going to do.” He looked at my board. “A single-fin?” He was trying really hard to hide his amusement.
“It’s okay if you laugh,” I assured him. “I’m under no misapprehensions that I know what I’m doing, so go ahead. I’ve only surfed a couple of times, and they were kind of under duress.”
He did laugh as he ran a hand over the board. “Where did you get this? I haven’t seen one of these for years. Is it yours?”
“No. It belongs to my housemate.”
“Not much of a surfer then, your housemate?”
“Yeah, he is. He told me to take one of the ones out of the shed, so I just grabbed the one closest to the door.”
For whatever reason, that seemed to spark new interest in the board. “One out of the shed, eh?” He looked it over. “Who is your housemate? Has he been in Margs for long?”
I shrugged, “Josh Stern. Been here a few years I guess.”
“Josh Stern.” Luke said it like he was sifting through an interesting catalogue. “Josh,” he tried. “Does he have shoulder-length blond hair?”
“No. Black.”
“Does he work in Margs?”
“Are you a detective?”
His frown of confusion was washed away by a sassy smile. “They get paid more than coffee-swirlers, don’t they?”
“I can’t say I’m all that familiar with the pay grades of either.”
He laughed. “I like you.”
I liked him too, but if I was to say so, it would come out weird and awkward. I couldn’t get away saying things like that. It wasn’t my style.
“No, I was simply trying to place him.” He paused. “I know most of the locals, but they tend to get a little mixed up in my head.”
“That must be painful.”
“It can be. Not to mention embarrassing.”
“Sounds like a story lurks there.”
“One or twenty.” His lewd grin made it clear he was referring to something sexual, so I let the conversation drop. Since sexual confusion was circling me like a shark, the last thing I wanted to speak of was blood.
A. Nybo has tried conventional methods (a psych degree and a GC in Forensic Mental Health) but far prefers the less conventional, such as the occasional barbecue in the rain, 400km drives at 1am for chocolate, and multiple emergency naps in any given 24hr period. Favourite things to do include that which can be seen (e.g. reading, writing, drawing, walking the dogs, travelling) and that which can’t, such as dreaming (both awake and asleep).
Western Australian born, she has been spotted on the other side of the planet several times–usually by mosquitoes. And discovered Amazonian mosquitoes love her just as much as they do in her home state.
Anna Butler 