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Blaze of Cortez

by Brent Archer

Ray Cortez returned to Seattle after fourteen years to help his pregnant best friend and her partner. He meets another fireman at his station, and is immediately attracted to blond Viking, but Ray doesn’t date straight or closeted guys.

Leif Ramsey has spent the last year trying to figure out how to come out to his mother and macho firefighter brother, terrified he’ll lose them. With Ray’s no-closeted-men policy, Leif takes the risk.

When a fire at Ray’s childhood home ignites past trauma and threatens their growing trust, can Ray and Leif survive the heat, or will their relationship go up in smoke?

Published:
Editors:
Delilah Devlin

Cover Artists:
Nia Morgan

Genres:
Contemporary

Tags:
author - american, format - book, format - kindle, format - novel, format - novel <100K, format - novel 40-100K, format - paperback, format - self published, format - series, potential trigger - bashing - fight on page, potential trigger - bullying, potential trigger - grief; past loss, potential trigger - traumatic past, potential trigger - violence, what - concept - acceptance, what - concept - family conflict, what - concept - homophobia, what - concept - isolated, what - concept - resilience, what - condition - injury, what - emotion - guilt, what - emotion - hope, what - emotion - jealousy, what - emotion - love, what - emotion - pride, what - sex - first time / exploration, what - sex - masturbation, what - topic - family, what - topic - friendship, what - topic - homelessness, what - topic - secret, when - season - fall, when - season - summer, where - city - san francisco, where - city - seattle, where - country - usa, where - state - washington, who - description - coworkers, who - description - homeless, who - description - unaccepting parent, who - nationality - latino, who - occupation - cops / law enforcement, who - occupation - firefighter

Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Coming Home, Coming Out / Closeted, Find Love and Come Out, First Time, Found Family, Office / Workplace Romance, Out for You, Thrill of the Chase
Word Count: 77816
Setting: USA, Washington, Lake City
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Excerpt:

About the Author

Brent Archer was born in Spokane, Washington, and lived there most of his adolescent life. At 18, he left for Seattle to attend the University of Washington for Electrical Engineering, but he ended up with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with a minor in History. After graduation, he pursued an acting career in musical theater and dance. Once thirty hit, however, he focused on numbers, getting a certificate in accounting, and became the Financial Controller of a non-profit arts and music organization. He was laid off during the first year of the Covid Pandemic, so he hung up his ten-key and never looked back.

Though writing most of his life, he never thought to submit his work for publication. In 2012, he visited his cousin Delilah Devlin in Arkansas, and she prodded him to write a story and submit it. So, he did, and it sold right away. With the encouragement of Delilah, his other writing cousin Elle James, and his husband, Brent embarked on a writing career. He’s loving the journey, finding inspiration and a story everywhere he goes, whether it be the local coffee shop or riding the train to explore the world.