Yesterday, They Met in the Library by Nell Iris was released. Today, she’s here to tell us about it. Make sure to read the post, so you don’t miss the giveaway! Welcome, Nell š
Thank you so much to my lovely hostess Holly for allowing me to visit your blog today, talking about my newest release, They Met in the Library. I appreciate it so much!
āGuy enters library, panics at the sight of all the books, kind librarian helps himā is what I wrote in my bullet journal a long time ago when I first had the idea for this story. It was so long ago that Iāve changed notebooks several times since then, and every time Iāve transferred the idea to my new bullet journal. Iāve started writing it several times, too, but never got it right, so I dropped it and thought āmaybe this will never turn into something.ā It wouldnāt be the first idea that never panned out.
Until one day, when I got an epiphany (in the shower, all my epiphanies come to me there). What if I write the story from the other guyās point of view? My original idea was to write it from the perspective of the guy panicking, but what if I switched and wrote from the librarian’s POV instead?
I ran out of the shower, dripping wet, and jotted down the idea so I wouldnāt forget it (I really need to buy one of those shower notepads Iāve seen!), and when I sat down to try and write the story, They Met in the Library happened. Sometimes the solution to a problem is easy and right in front of our eyes, and we still canāt see it. Luckily a shower can solve most problems š
Blurb:
Adrian, book-lover extraordinaire, adores his job at the small community library. He gets to share his passion with other people and help them with all book-related questions and issues. When a big, hulking man walks into the library, looking terrified, Adrianās skills are tested in a completely different way.
Manneās relationship with books is uneasy, to say the least. Heās dyslexic and events in his past have made him fearful of books and turned libraries into his worst nightmare. But when the quirky, bowtie-wearing librarian steps in to help, the experience turns positive.
Their banter is easy and their chemistry instant. But can an accidental meeting turn into something more? Can someone who has trouble reading ever fit into the life of a man whose passion is the written word?
M/M Contemporary / 17943 words
BUY LINKS:
JMS Books: https://bit.ly/JMStmitl
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/TMITLibrary
GIVEAWAY:
Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e27e152216/?
EXCERPT
I notice him immediately when I return to my desk. Heās hard to miss; a big hulking man with a shaved head, huge gauges in both ears, and strong arms covered in tattoos.
But his looks arenāt what draws my attention. No, itās his pale face rivaling the freshly fallen snow outside the windows. And the way he barely moves at all, not even a slight rise and fall of his chest. Is he even breathing? The only thing not frozen is his gaze. It darts over the library, from one bookshelf to the next, and heās looking at them like theyāre wolves ready to strike.
Knitting my eyebrows together, I look closer. Heās swaying a little and he really isnāt breathing, so I round my desk and hurry across the floor, slowing my steps as I approach so I wonāt scare him.
āSir? Are you all right?ā I ask.
His eyes keep flitting around as though he hasnāt heard me. Heās tense; I could cut glass on the cords of his neck.
I soften my voice. āSir?ā
He tears his gaze away from one of the many book displaysāIām looking for a book and the cover was blueā and looks at me, but Iām not sure he realizes Iām a human being. His eyes are glassy and unfocused and wild. Pleading for help. He looks terrified, reminding me a little about a visitor who had a panic attack right here in the library a couple years back.
āSir?ā I keep my voice low, soothing. āSir, youāre worrying me. If you donāt take a breath, Iāll have to call the ambulance.ā No reaction. I take a couple steps closer and gently touch his arm, as I scan his face, looking for clues. Heās perspiring and his pulse flutters frantically in his neck. Heās holding his coat in one huge hand and the grip is so tight his knuckles are whitening.
This man is scared to death, and if I donāt do something quickly, heāll pass out.
I gently squeeze his arm. āSir? Youāre safe here with me. I wonāt leave you. Would you please breathe for me?ā
Thereās a glint of recognition in his eyes, as though my words are getting through to him, as though he realizes Iām a fellow human and not a dangerous predator ready to attack.
His chest rises and falls, and he dips his chin once. The acknowledgmentāand the breathingāmakes me relax, so I smile at him.
āMy name is Adrian, and I work here. Would you please come with me? My desk is just over there.ā I point. āYou can sit down for a second and Iāll get you a glass of water, okay?ā
Another dip to his chin.
āGreat. Are you all right to walk to my desk on your own, or would you like me to help you?ā
Without a word, he holds out his elbow; I link my arm through his and coax him toward my desk. After just a couple steps, he speaks. āThere are so many books. I donāt know what I was thinking, coming here. I canāt do this. I canāt. There are so many books.ā His voice is fervent. Agitated.
I give his arm a little squeeze, reminding him that Iām here. āYes sir. We have a lot of books here. A little too many if you ask me, at least when itās time to put them all back.ā Iām hoping my words and a little humor will divert his attention from whatever scares him about the books and bring him out of his state. The little huff he lets out tells me Iām onto something, so I continue to babble. Iām very good at babbling, after all.
āJust a few more steps and weāll be there. Iām the boss of the information desk, but donāt tell my coworkers I said that. Theyāll try to tell you Iām wrong. That weāre all equals here at the library. But you and I know thatās not the case, right? Only someone wearing a bowtie can be the boss of the information desk, thatās an old rule.ā I bump my shoulder to his to show Iām kidding and get another huff as a reward.
I pull out the visitorās chair. āPlease sit, sir.ā He collapses into the rickety old wooden thing thatās seen better daysāevery year, the city council cuts funding to our little library, so we canāt splurge on stuff like furnitureā and it groans underneath him. Heās way too big for the tiny little thing; heās spilling out of it, as though someone poured him into it and didnāt stop when he started flowing over. The man is muscle upon muscleāeasily double my widthāand tall, maybe even a bit taller than my own six feet four inches. I hope the chair wonāt collapse underneath him.

Nell Iris author bio and social media links
Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. Sheās a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldnāt dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along at the top of her voice but sheās no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, bullet journals, poetry, wine, coffee-flavored kisses, and fika (a Swedish cultural thing involving coffee and pastry!)
Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.
Nell is a bisexual Swedish woman married to the love of her life, a proud mama of a grown daughter, and is approaching 50 faster than sheād like. She lives in the south of Sweden where she spends her days thinking up stories about people falling in love. After dreaming about being a writer for most of her life, she finally was in a place where she could pursue her dream and released her first book in 2017.
Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, short over long, and quirky characters over alpha males.
Find me on social media:
Webpage/blog: http://www.nelliris.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nellirisauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nell_iris/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nellirisauthor/
Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/nell.iris.12
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/nelliris
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nell-iris
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.se/nelliris/