New Release: Desert Foxe (The Skyler Foxe Mysteries #5) by Hayley Walsh | #NEW #MM #Mystery #Crime #Series #Teacher

Title: Desert Foxe

Series: The Skyler Foxe Mysteries #5

Author Name: Haley Walsh

Genre: M/M Romance, Mystery, Crime

Publisher: MLR Press

Release Date: November 2014

Cover Artist: Winterheart Designs

Blurb

Skyler and his friends go to Palm Springs for the annual White Party and find murder!

Out and proud high school English teacher Skyler Foxe and his posse of friends go to the annual Palm Springs White Party for a weekend of fun, frivolity, and luscious men. But there are boy troubles of all kinds ahead. 

Skyler's boyfriend and high school coach Keith Fletcher has to endure an embarrassing number of Skyler's former hook-ups, one of the SFC might be going solo, Skyler encounters unexpected and unwelcome participants at the party, and there's a murder on the dance floor, literally at Skyler's feet! Both Skyler and Keith are drawn into investigating more than murder when the FBI asks Skyler to do the unthinkable.

 Goodreads

Excerpt

Taquito Grill was crowded for a Sunday night. Jamie and Dave had arrived not long after Skyler and Keith. Jamie, hair spiked and a fire engine red in honor of his firefighter boyfriend, clung to Dave’s arm and bounced in his seat. “We’re so excited about Palm Springs,” he squealed. Dave grinned at him fondly. “It’s going to be so much fun with Dave there.” He patted the large bicep. “And we both agreed that we can dance with other people. Isn’t that cool?” Dave nodded. “Just as long as we keep our hands above the waist.” Jamie demonstrated with jazz hands in the air.

Skyler glanced hopefully at Keith, but the man was scowling into his bottle of Dos Equis. With a defeated sigh, Skyler sat back against the bench seat. Part of the fun of the White Party was dancing with a bunch of different partners. But, he had to admit, the other part of the fun was hooking up with them, too. Under the table, he rubbed conciliatory circles on the man’s hard thigh.

Keith’s tensed muscles seemed to relax under Skyler’s ministrations and he flicked a glance at Skyler with a sheepish smile before putting the beer bottle to his lips.

“Oh, and Dave,” Jamie rambled on, “we are staying at a huge hotel. It’s fantastic. Humongous pool. And some of the activities will be there.”

“Activities?” said Keith for the first time since ordering his drink.

Jamie leaned across the bench seat toward him. “Well! One of the activities is the Splash Pool Party, with live music. It’s all day. Nothing but beautiful shirtless men in tiny white swim trunks.”

Skyler wondered if Keith’s brows could furrow any deeper.

“White? So you have to wear white?”

“It’s a ‘white party,’ Keith,” said Skyler. “Hence the name. We wear white. And you’d look fabulous in white, with your dark skin tones.” He squeezed Keith’s thigh under the table.

Keith seemed to be thinking his own thoughts about that as he studied Skyler. “You’d be in white, too. I love you in white.”

Skyler blinked. “You do?” He melted against Keith. He couldn’t help it when the man looked at him with those sultry eyes.

“Save it for the White Party,” said Jamie.

Dave turned his head toward the door. “Philip and Rodolfo. Finally! …Uh oh.”

They were in mid argument and hadn’t taken their narrowed eyes off each other as they made their way to the table. Rodolfo sat hard and crossed his arms over his magenta shirt. Philip settled on his chair and pointedly looked away from his Ecuadorian boyfriend.

Skyler instantly went on alert. “What’s the matter with you two?”

“Nothing this pene doesn’t know about,” said Rodolfo, waving his hand. His wrist clanked from his bracelets.

“Don’t start with the name-calling,” said Philip, rounding on him and pushing up his black-rimmed glasses. “Can we just stow it for now?”

“Stow it? Stow it? Fine. I can ‘stow it.’”

“Then please do,” muttered Philip, menu in front of his clenched mouth.

Rodolfo slapped his menu to the table and jerked toward Philip. “Do you know what is wrong with you, Philip?”

Clutching his menu, Philip closed his eyes and sighed. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me in florid detail.”

“You have no sense of fun or adventure. Now take amante here,” and he gestured toward Skyler.

Skyler grabbed for his margarita. “Leave me out of it.”

“Skyler has a keen sense of adventure. And look. There is Keith. He is more than willing to go to the White Party with his lover.”

“I don’t know about more than willing,” muttered Keith.

“But not you. You with your timetables and schedules and graphs and bullet points.”

“I’m just mapping out our weekend. Is that so horrible? There’s a lot to do! Things to see! Men…to avoid.”

“AHA! That’s it, isn’t it? It all comes down to this.”

“Rodolfo…”

Jamie stuck his long arm between the two. “Hey! You guys! You’re not supposed to argue anymore. Not since you started fucking.”

“Jamie,” said Skyler out of the corner of his mouth, eyes searching the busy restaurant. “Keep your voice down. Family place.”

He scrunched up his face at Skyler—as close to a sneer as he got—and leaned into the arguing couple again. “The fact is that you guys are supposed to get along now.”

“I’m getting along just fine!” said Rodolfo too loudly. “It’s him that isn’t getting along with me!”

Philip slumped back in his seat. “Oh, for the love of God, give it a rest already.”

“Give it a rest? Yes, that's exactly what I should be doing.” Rodolfo threw down the menu and lurched to his feet. “I’m suddenly not hungry.”

Philip clenched his menu so tightly it bent at the edges. “Well I am.”

“Fine! Stay here. Eat. I’m leaving.”

“Bye! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out… Much.”

Rodolfo threw his glare at each in turn before pivoting and stalking toward the entrance. He pushed open one heavy wooden door and let it swish shut. There was a pause as the restaurant patrons fell silent and stared at the double doors a split second before they were thrown open again and Rodolfo stomped toward the table. He stood over Philip with his foot tapping.

“I don’t have the keys to the car.”

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Guest Post

Skyler Foxe - character interview

Skyler Foxe is a brand new high school teacher in his old high school, teaching English Lit. He deals with a variety of issues, including great set of friends who used to be hook-ups but are humorously referred to now as the “Skyler Fuck Club” or SFC for short; he interacts with his students, particularly his favorite sophomore class and two gay teens in particular who came out to each other right in front of him; he’s best friends with a cop, his childhood friend Sidney, a pushy Jewish broad; and most recently, he’s learning to navigate the dangerous waters of his first serious relationship with the hunky football coach, Keith Fletcher.

1. Now that you’ve gotten together, what comes next?

Weeell, I mean…we live together, we both teach at the same school. So…I guess we’ll just keep doing that. Why? Have you heard something? Did Keith say something? I know he really doesn’t want me to solve any more crimes…and I totally won’t. Unless, you know. Something comes up. And he said that if it did happen, he’d help. Which was a huge thing for him. So I really admire the guy for going that extra mile. It means a lot to me and our relationship. It’s not as if I go looking to investigate crimes. I’m perfectly happy as an English teacher. They just…fall into my lap.

2. What was the hardest thing for you to overcome that you didn’t expect to be an issue?

Saying the “L” word. I mean…I don’t know. I guess in the back of my mind I thought I’d say it to someone someday. Just not yet. I mean, I’m only twenty-five. Plenty of time, right? But it was hard. And it wasn’t because I didn’t…you know…love him. I…I do. But it was just my dad. He left my mom…us…when I was twelve and I hadn’t seen him again until recently. He said it to her and didn’t mean it. Because he said it to so many other women, too. It’s just words. And so I guess I was a little gun shy about it. But when I finally did say it…it sort of opened a door. It’s pretty corny. A lot of guys—gay guys—don’t put a lot of emphasis on “I love you” in their relationships. But for me—especially for Keith—it mattered.  

3. Who or what makes you laugh out loud?

The SFC makes me laugh. Those guys. They have so much to say and they each say it in their own unique way. They lighten my soul. They are the best. I know I can call on them when I investigate something, my loyal posse.

4. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

I tend to go for the exotic ones, like mango/cherry and pineapple/mint.

5. What movie will you watch over and over again?

Sooo many. But Dreamgirls—with the Motown music, which is my favorite kind of music—just gets me. But I also love old movies and musicals. Duh, right?

Meet The Author

Haley Walsh tried acting, but decided the actor’s life was not for her. Instead, she became a successful graphic designer and art director in Los Angeles, her hometown. After fifteen years of burning money in the ’80s and early ’90s, she retired from the graphics industry and turned her interests toward writing. She became a freelance newspaper reporter, wrote articles for quirky magazines, published award-winning short stories, and now writes a critically acclaimed GLBT mystery series, the Skyler Foxe Mysteries. She’s lived all her life in southern California, sampling wines and chomping chocolate. Oh, and she also writes a multi-award nominated medieval mystery series under another name. Yeah, it’s a living. http://.SkylerFoxeMysteries.com

Where to find the author

Facebook     Facebook Author Page   Pinterest   

Skyler Foxe Mysteries Site

Tour Dates & Stops:

21-Sep Bayou Book Junkie, Divine Magazine

22-Sep Inked Rainbow Reads, Foxylutely Book Reviews

23-Sep 3 Chicks After Dark, BFD Book Blog

24-Sep Havan Fellows, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews

25-Sep Rainbow Gold Reviews, Molly Lolly

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