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Tumbling Dreams

by Kaje Harper

Tyler Bannichek has spent his whole life training for this moment, his shot at the 2012 US Olympic team, and gymnastics gold. He's worked past the injuries and the blocks, focused every moment of every day on improving his skills. Now, at the peak of his talent, just in time for the world's biggest stage, he should be thrilled. Instead, long-suppressed fear is rising like ice water in his veins.

Eli Nelson has roomed with Tyler for two years, cheered him on through every obstacle. But now, watching Tyler in the trials, Eli is also afraid. When does friendship mean letting someone take their own risks? When does it mean speaking out to save them? And how can he pretend to be just a friend when he's falling in love with Tyler?

Tumbling Dreams is a 21,000-word stand-alone novella about two young men weighing goals, risks, fear, and love, in the crucible of Olympic sports. (This story originally appeared in the 2012 anthology "Going For Gold.")

This book is on:
  • 1 Read list
Published:
Publisher: Independently Published
Editors:
EM Lynley

Cover Artists:
Kaje Harper

Genres:
Contemporary, Sports

Tags:
format - novella 15k-40K, format - self published, what - condition - injury, what - topic - sports

Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 3
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: 18-25
Tropes: Coming Out / Closeted, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort
Word Count: 21000
Languages Available: English

About the Author

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname.

I live in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kindly, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home now.

I’ve been writing for far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty years*), mostly for my own entertainment. I mainly publish M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories released under the pen name Kira Harp.

My husband finally convinced me that after all that time writing for fun, I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts, and teachers who speak their minds, and I had fun writing the four novels and three freebie short stories in the series. I’ve been delighted by the reception Mac and Tony have received.

I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published. A complete list with links can be found on my Books page.
I also have  an author page on Goodreads where I do a lot of book reviews. You can find me to chat there– I hang out on Goodreads a lot because I moderate the  Goodreads YA LGBT Books group there. I also post free short YA stories on that group, more than 50 of them so far. Or find me on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarper