COVER REVEAL
Book Title: Lonely
Diner
Author: Dann
Hazel
Publisher: The Original
Press
Cover Artist: Josh Fippen;
Photograph by Cura Photography
Release Date: December 4,
2023
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Military Romance, Coming Out, Overcoming Adversity,
Second Chances.
Themes: Dealing with Trauma, Gay in a New City, Forgiveness
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 109 000
words
It is part of a series, but each
novel can be read as a standalone.
It does not end on a cliffhanger.
Goodreads
Pre-Order Buy Links
Amazon US | Amazon UK
Two conflicted military men. A longing for happiness. One
Lonely Diner, where people often search for a recipe for love. (The food is good there,
too.)
Blurb
Two conflicted military men. A longing for happiness. One Lonely Diner, where
people often search for a recipe for love. (The food is good there, too.)
One man plays it straight. Another grieves over a lost best friend with
benefits.
Everyone thought they were meant for each other. Lance, an Air Force
computer engineer, and Ryan, a former submariner in the Navy and now a military college
professor, are gay men blinded by the painful wounds of their past decisions. Both men are
ready for love. But because of their pasts, they’ve slammed the brakes on their desires.
Now thirty years old, a younger Ryan Ball decides he can be happy only by
conforming to social expectations. So what does he do? He decides he must have a wife and
kids. Though he acknowledges that he can never be straight, he is convinced that with effort,
determination, alcohol and erectile dysfunction meds, he can play the necessary roles.
Vikki, Ryan’s girlfriend in high school and now his wife, begs to differ.
At thirty-one, Lance Dingle falls for his best friend and roommate, Randy, a stunt
pilot who agrees to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. From Lance’s perspective, there’s a
spark in their arrangement that Randy denies. Then, tragedy strikes. Lance finds himself
alone and lonely, living with memories of Randy and an ever-expanding list of “what-might-
have-beens.” Finally forcing himself into the dating scene, Lance discovers that Mr. Right is
more elusive than he ever imagined.
Then, Callie Yenti, transwoman, drag performer extraordinaire and
entrepreneur, enters the picture. She owns the popular Lonely Diner and possesses an
uncanny insight into the workings of the heart.
Even the complicated hearts of her two hard-headed friends, Lance and
Ryan.
An HEA gay romance.
Trigger Warning: This novel includes scenes from a sexual assault
and a PTSD episode.
Excerpt
Soon, the table beside Lance became available. A gorgeous,
dark-haired man with biceps on the verge of bursting through his shirt sleeves sat down.
Lance noticed that he was drinking Liquid Death, often a signal that a bar patron wished to
avoid alcoholic beverages. Lance also noticed that his haircut was similar in style to his own.
Lance wondered if the body builder might also be a member of a branch of the
military.
Lance’s face turned crimson when the man caught Lance
cruising him. Rather than heightening Lance’s embarrassment with silence, the man, who
also had a well-conditioned chest and stomach, asked Lance to join him.
Lance noticed the tremor in the man’s voice.
Ah, he’s an introvert, like me, Lance thought.
Lance cast him a beaming smile. “Why not? No need for the
two of us to monopolize a pair of tables when one will do.”
Lance grabbed his ale—his third for the evening—and
carried it with him as he sat in the chair next to the man. “My name is Lance Dingle,” he said.
He reached across the table for a handshake.
“My pleasure, Lance.” A very brief pause. “Wait! I think
you’re the fellow the infamous Callie Yenti has been devoting so much time finding a way to
introduce us.”
“Holy shit! Then you must be Ryan Ball. Finally, we
meet!”
Ryan laughed. “I guess she’s included us both in her match-
making scheme.”
“It’s a talent she’s very proud of,” Lance said. “You’re an
English professor at The Citadel, right? And before that, you served in the Navy?”
“Damn! She’s thorough.” Then, Ryan reciprocated with a
fact of his own. “And I think I remember her saying that you’re an Air Force man.”
“Yep. That’s me. A computer geek. Not a pilot.”
The men chatted about their backgrounds, their
experiences in the military and navigating the tricky terrain of being gay in the service,
despite the revocation of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Naturally, there were parts of their
biographies they were unwilling to share—like the sexual assault in DC and Lance’s torch-
carrying for Randy. Lance unwittingly—and because of the buzz the drinks
precipitated—came very close to telling Ryan how many physical similarities he and Randy
shared. Fortunately, he caught himself before he provided Ryan a very good excuse to abort
their conversation.
Then, Ryan popped the same question that was also on
Lance’s mind. “Would you be interested in hanging out sometimes? I mean, it’s fine with me
to call it a date. Y’know, to see if Callie still has her magic touch.”
But Lance had no chance to respond.
Because a nervous James Manigault appeared at their
table, without his cute young diversion, and kissed Lance squarely on the mouth. Lance
could taste the rum he’d drunk and smell the pot he and the young man shared before
heading to the club.
Then, Lance caught a glimpse of Ryan’s face.
But a look long enough to see that sexy face fill with
disappointment, vulnerability and perhaps even distress.
Abruptly, Ryan rose from his chair. It almost toppled over,
but Ryan grabbed it on its way to the floor. “I don’t want to intrude,” he said. “I’ll leave you
to it. And Lance? It was nice to meet you.”
Now, it was Lance’s voice that quivered. “Likewise,
Ryan.”
They shook hands like two businessmen closing a deal.
Ryan quickly pulled his hand away and headed toward the exit.
Lance looked with a mixture of anger and annoyance at
James, who was now sitting in Ryan’s chair.
And then, James had the fucking nerve to ask if they were
still on for their date the next night.
About the Author
Dann Hazel has been writing
both fiction and nonfiction for more than twenty years.
Besides writing romance, he
has taught high school English and journalism, college psychology and human sexuality,
directed federal grants and worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. His fiction genre
interests include thrillers, horror, literary and gay romance. He has published the Some Like
It Haute Gay Romance Series, including Room
for Dessert, My Own Private Biscuit and
Lonely Diner.
Nonfiction works include
Witness: Gay and Lesbian Clergy Report from
the Front and Moving On: The Gay Man’s Guide for Coping When a Relationship
Ends.
Dann’s personal interests
include reading and writing, cinema, jogging, Broadway, keeping abreast of current events
and travel.
Currently, Dann lives in
Central Florida with his husband, Josh, and their American Eskimo canine,
Flurry.
Social Media Links
Blog/Website | Facebook (Some Like It Haute) | Instagram
Hosted by Gay Book Promotions
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