Stronger Where it Counts released today

[jl_merrow]

Here’s the blurb for Stronger Where it Counts:

IT guy Michael figures he's in for an awkward evening when a client takes him to a girlie bar. When he gets talking to big, blond Kyle, it seems like it's his lucky night after all. But they have a shared past Michael's managed to forget and Kyle is hoping he won't remember.
Kyle's deeply ashamed of his weakness back in high school, when he stood by and watched as Michael became the victim of a gay-bashing -- by new boy Kyle's group of friends. He's going to have his work cut out to persuade Michael to take a chance at trusting him now.

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This is actually a re-release of a short story previously published in the Torquere Cherry anthology (now out of print) under the title Different Strengths. It’s been re-edited (but not substantially changed, so don’t go buying it if you’ve already got the anthology) and allowed to stand on its own two feet at last.

I have a real soft spot for this story, as I got my first ever acceptance from a publisher for it! It seems like a long time ago now, back in the days before the m/m market went big, when I wasn’t sure if you had to set stories in America to get published. So I sent in this story for the anthology call as well as a British-set one, just in case, and was delighted when they accepted this one for the anthology, and published Good Company as a stand-alone.

You can read an excerpt from Stronger Where it Counts here.