When Kyle and Daniel return to their hometown to get married, they find themselves facing an obstacle course of family drama and small-town misadventure in their quest to make it down the aisle.
Misbehaving relatives and a reformed high school bully, along with an ill-advised hookup in the wedding party and a weird late-night meal with a cabbie and his ex-wife, leave the happy couple doubting whether they want to get married at all. But a hot quickie before their walk down the aisle helps remind them that the most important part of getting married is being married." When Kyle and Daniel return to their hometown to get married, they find themselves facing an obstacle course of family drama and small-town misadventure in their quest to make it down the aisle.
Reviewers Are Raving...
"Lake Effect is a sweet, sexy story of a small town, awful families and getting gay married when it's legal but still awkward. You'll be surprised by the tiny oh-so-human moments you almost never read about and the sheer honesty of the writing. This is one smart romance." -- Amazon Reviewer
"The story is vibrant, with snappy dialogue and that sort of ""you have got to be kidding me is this actually happening"" sort of horrified hilarity recognizable to anyone who has ever been in this situation. Absolutely the best."" -- Amazon Reviewer
Excerpt
Coming back home always feels profoundly defeatist to Kyle. That's been true every time they've been back in the three years since Daniel packed up his barber shop and moved with him down to Pittsburgh. It's especially true now that they're coming back to Rochester to get married.About Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae
Part of the problem is Kyle's family, which has never been thrilled that Kyle's dating a guy nine years older than him. Or that he's dating a guy at all. At least his mother is slightly less hysterical about the situation now that he's in college. But only slightly.
Part of it is just Rochester itself. Everything feels grayer, and smaller, and more worn out every time he comes back. It's not particularly the atmosphere either of them want associated with their wedding, but the arrangements are cheaper and, as both of their mothers keep reminding them, their families are all here.
Kyle's mother has also started reminding him that he should look for jobs so he'll have ""something to do"" when he moves back after graduation next summer, as if Pittsburgh is a lark and not, clearly, a very permanent step up. She also keeps acting like he'll be coming back alone, and her whole it-will-disappear-if-I-ignore-it charade is just ridiculous when it's not absurdly offensive. Kyle's been pissed enough about it that he hasn't found a way to tell her that neither of them are coming back to Rochester all.
He wakes up the day before the wedding -- gray, hot, and humid, predictably, because Lake Ontario means Rochester gets the most unpleasant weather possible in any season -- when his phone chimes on the nightstand. Hey sleepyhead. You gonna join us today?
Kyle frowns drowsily and texts back, Couldn't come get me up yourself?
I'd love to, but I don't think the family would appreciate it ;)
Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese’s first novel, Starling, will be published on September 10, 2014; its sequel, Doves, will be out in January. Both are from Torquere Press. Racheline Maltese is a performer and storyteller focused on themes of sex, gender, desire and mourning. Erin McRae is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C.
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