Action? Check. Suspense? Check.
Romance? Check, check, CHECK!

June 12 (Friday) is release day for 24-Karat Conspiracy!

24-Karat Conspiracy is Book 4 in the Precious Gems Series, but I’ve been planning this book since I wrote Italian Ice in 2011. This installment in the series is truly Reed’s story. You’ll learn things about him I’ve had to keep under my hat for ages, and I’m thrilled and relieved to be able to share them with you now.

Excerpt

They had the weekend to settle into Fort Sam Houston before Reed had to report for duty Monday morning, as “Rex Atwater.” Since he couldn’t start snooping right away, this investigation could take a lot longer than Trent had realized. Tom White was pretty smart sending Trent along so Reed could take his time and not risk blowing his cover just to take shortcuts.

“Whoever is running this ring is in it for the long haul,” Reed had said before they left LA. “They’ve been sitting on the gold items for years before starting to move them again. They’re not in a huge hurry, and I’ll have to bide my time and observe without tipping anyone off.”

On Monday, Trent kissed Reed and waved as he left their little house to report to work.

It took less than a week for Trent to see that Army life—at least life as a supply unit grunt—didn’t suit Reed at all. He came home in the evenings frustrated, but they couldn’t risk talking openly about it. Instead they went for walks around the neighborhood when they needed to talk.

“I had forgotten how damn stupid most of the Army is.”

“Stupid how?”

“Don’t get me started. Sometimes it seems we’re supposed to move things around just for the sake of moving them and for no real purpose.”

“It’s not your real job. Don’t let it get to you so much.”

“I can’t help it.”

“If the job’s that easy, then you should have plenty of time to use looking at things that are out of place.”

“It’s harder than it sounds, because nothing makes a lick of sense. I can’t tell what’s wrong and what’s just fucked up the Army way.”

“You’ve only been there three days. Give it some time.”

“I may kill someone before the end of the week.”

“I guess it’s not a good time to mention that at some point I’ll have to host some of the spouses for coffee.”

“As long as I’m not home when it happens, I don’t care.”

“They’re very curious about you.” Trent grinned at Reed’s discomfort at the thought of being the center of attention of a bunch of Army wives.

“Well make something up so they aren’t curious.”

“I’ll tell them you’re gay.”

“That should do it.”

######

But wait, there’s more:

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Here’s more about 24-Karat Conspiracy by EM Lynley

Love is the only gold

Former Ranger turned FBI agent Reed Acton faces his biggest challenge yet: a Christmas visit from partner Trent Copeland’s parents. He’s less equipped to handle hugs and holidays than the Taliban or international art thieves. When he’s assigned to track down a set of gold Babylonian artifacts looted from the Iraqi National Museum after the fall of Baghdad, things start to look up.

This time, Trent’s part of the mission, which takes them to exotic Istanbul. The crowded streets and labyrinthine markets fascinate Trent, but soon murder is on their trail. The investigation continues as Reed goes undercover at a US Army base, with Trent masquerading as his spouse. Surprisingly, fastidious and ever-fashionable Trent fits into base life right away and soon takes one of the suspects’ wives under his wing when domestic abuse rears its head.

Their faux marriage leads Reed to appreciate Trent in ways he never expected, strengthening their bond—until Reed has to confront the worst demons from his past: his relationship with his estranged family.

You can (pre)order this book at Amazon, Dreamspinner Press and All Romance

Read an extended excerpt at my website.

Please check out the rest of the Precious Gems Series at Amazon, Dreamspinner, All Romance, or your favorite bookseller. (24-Karat Conspiracy may not be available at all distributors until release day, 12 June).

About EM Lynley

EM Lynley writes gay romance with a touch of mystery and suspense. She loves books where the hero gets the guy and the loving is 11 on a scale of 10. A Rainbow Award winner and EPIC finalist, EM has worked in high finance, high tech, and in the wine industry, though she’d rather be writing hot, romantic man-on-man action. She spent 10 years as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., but the San Francisco Bay Area is home for now.

She is the author of Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells, the Precious Gems series from Dreamspinner Press, and the Rewriting History series starring a sexy jewel thief, among others.

Visit her online Website – Blog – Free Reads — Facebook – Twitter – Newsletter — Pinterest

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My newest novel JADED is finally here!

I’m so thrilled about this particular release.

I’ll explain my use of “particular” with a true confession: Very often, by the time a book comes out, the author has been through more rounds of edits and galley readings than we would like, and we’ve written half a dozen other pieces in the meantime. The actual release day feels almost anti-climactic. We work hard to pump up our enthusiasm to engage readers and reviewers, but many of us just want to get back to what we are writing at the moment.

However, JADED is different. This is one of the books I wanted to write for a very long time. I am a huge, HUGE fan of mysteries, and while I’ve ready thousands, I never felt confident enough to write a true murder mystery. Until now my stories have had mystery elements, but not what I would call an “official” mystery. I decided it was time to give it a try, even though I wasn’t sure I was good enough to pull it off. (still crossing fingers on that). I hope you’ll find it works.

One of the many small Shinto shrines in Tokyo. (Photo EM Lynley)

Second: I lived in Japan for five years. I worked for an international bank and did economic research on Asian financial markets. I had learned Japanese in college and studied the history, politics, and economics of Japan (historical and modern) and was so thrilled to finally get to work there. It was an incredible experience. Every single day was new, exciting, sometimes frustrating, but absolutely never ever dull. I met so many wonderful people, visited beautiful places, even learned to scuba dive off the Izu Peninsula (where Trent and Reed go in Jaded), and visited more hot springs than I could count.

It took me at least a year to get over reverse culture shock when I moved back to California. I missed everything about Japan, from seaweed on pizza to rice vending machines to the beautiful little temples dotted all over ultra-urban Tokyo, even the crowded subways (still better than a 30-mile drive in rush-hour traffic).

I wanted to share these experiences with you. Like the other Precious Gems series books, I brought Trent and Reed to places in the world I absolutely love, so I could bring you along on the journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed the change to travel and see some incredible new things almost as if you are there.

Guardhouse at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Trent goes to view cherry blossoms here. (Photo EM Lynley)

Another fun thing about this book was making a few real people into characters. There’s a real Sam Kobayashi, a Nishikatsu and absolutely a very real Shindo. In fact, they are all men I dated while living in Japan. I may write another blog just about that! There is also a real Motofuji. He was one of my Japanese professors at UC Berkeley. I loved the man. He was such a sweet person who made third-year Japanese a pleasure instead of a terror (like one of the other instructors). I discovered he recently passed away and felt a real sense of loss, though I hadn’t spoken to him for many years. While his character in Jaded is a Yakuza leader, I’ve made him a very old-fashioned and extraordinary man who has many of the same fine character traits in my Motofuji.

Not only did I included Japanese friends as characters, one of my readers, Christopher Hammel, makes an appearance in this book! Christopher asked me quite emphatically if he could be in the book, so he plays a role I think of as Reed’s Agent Coulson. He knows just how to get whatever Reed needs and has contacts all over Japan. He helps save the day.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading JADED even half as much as I enjoyed planning and writing it. I would love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment, or send me an email.

Here’s more about JADED:

It’s book 3 in the series, and to get the most enjoyment, I suggest you read them in order. While the plots do not connect, the character development and relationship progression is very important.

BLURB: Gay-romance writer Trent Copeland finds his life in a rut while his boyfriend, Special Agent Reed Acton, is away on an undercover mission. After attending a special course at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Trent’s eager for another challenge. He jumps at the opportunity for a trip to Japan to oversee appraisals of two art collections to be sold at the gallery he co-owns. But the trip isn’t all cherry blossoms and Hello Kitty. When one of the collectors he meets—rumored to be the head of a Yakuza gang—turns up dead, Trent is accused of the murder and thrown in jail.

Reed drops everything to help find out who really committed the crime. He’s in unknown territory in Japan, forced to navigate Tokyo’s sex underworld to unravel the truth and save Trent. He poses as a “host” at a seedy late-night club. When Reed’s undercover activities place him at a ruthless Yakuza leader’s sex party, he must be willing to go to any lengths to secure Trent’s safety and freedom. But trusting the wrong people brings both Reed and Trent to the Yakuza leader’s attention. If they’re ever to have a happy ever after, they’ll first have to call on every skill just to stay alive.

Read the sneak peek