Kimberly Gardner

Available now  from MLR Press.

EXCERPT

“Hey, is Jason here?” Rain, now wearing a pair of jeans so low-slung they showed those little divots just beside his hipbones, sashayed into the room and over to the desk. He leaned across the paper-strewn surface and smiled. “It’s Benny, right?”

“Right.” Like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Benny tried to close the page so the man wouldn’t see what he was doing. But the damn mouse chose that moment to stop working. He clicked and clicked and nothing happened.

Fuck.

“I’m Rain. But you probably knew that already. You got a problem there?”

Before Benny could answer, Rain slipped around to his side of the desk. He reached for the mouse and stopped, staring at the computer screen.

Oh fucking shit! Continue Reading »

Now available in ebook from Aspen Mountain Press and in print from MLR Press.

EXCERPT

Zach paused in the arch that separated the café from the bookstore. As he watched Keith work, wiping down the counter with the rag in his hand, Zach’s chest tightened. How could he have known how goddamn hard it would be to see another man, a man who was not Jay, moving around the café and looking so at home there? Or maybe, on some level, he had always known and that was why he’d left the café empty for so long.
Keith hummed softly as he worked, rinsing the rag then moving from the counter to the espresso machine. It looked like he was just about done for the day too. He’d closed the blinds on the wide window that looked out on the street and turned off all but the single light over the counter, throwing most of the café into shadow. Continue Reading »

Now available at MLR Press

Copyright 2010 by Kimberly Gardner, all rights reserved.

Vinn went over to the box and lifted the lid. “Look, are they weird looking, or what?”

Julien looked and felt the stirring of a nearly forgotten pleasure. He picked up one of the small globes. It was cool in his palm. He held it up. “They’re called Moros.”

“Moros? You’ve seen these before?”

“Indeed. They’re blood oranges and I’ve eaten them.”

“I thought–”

“Not in a very long time, Vincent. But I have tasted their flesh.” With his thumbnail, Julien split the skin of the fruit and pulled the halves apart. The air was immediately filled with the rich tangy scent of citrus, so sweet it was nearly painful to breathe, or maybe that was the memory.

Vinn’s stared down at the fruit. “It looks almost black, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” Julien separated a slice of the orange. Held it out. Juice ran through his fingers and over the back of his hand. The urge to lick it away, to taste that sparkling sweetness was almost irresistible. But instead he held it to Vinn’s lips. “Taste.”

Vinn hesitated only a moment then he opened his mouth and took the fruit from Julien’s fingers. He bit down, his eyes drifting closed on a moan of the purest appreciation.

“Mmm. Oh man.”

“You like?” Continue Reading »

At long last my second novel, Bound To Please is available from MLR Press.

Check it out.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=BOUNDPL1

I’m thrilled that this book is finally releasing. It’s been a long time coming. And to celebrate its arrival, here’s a little excerpt. Enjoy!

Continue Reading »

Buy the anthology from MLR Press

Buy the single story from MLR Press

Visit the site’s main page for Woman’s Weeds

Excerpt

The outside door banged open, admitting a rush of frigid air.

David and Bethany both turned to look, and David’s breath caught. Coming toward them down the center aisle was the beautiful young man from the Macy’s fragrance counter. Their gazes met and he smiled. “Am I too late?”

David opened his mouth but found he had forgotten how to form words.

“Too late for what?” Bethany stepped forward.

“To audition.” The young man glanced at Bethany then his gaze turned back toward David. He bit his lip. “Do you remember me? From Macy’s—”

David nodded and found his voice. “Of course I remember you. No, you’re not too late, but how did you know—”

“You said you were a director. And you told me the name of your theatre company. So I Googled it and,” he made a little voila gesture, “here I am.” Continue Reading »

Buy the anthology from MLR Press

So here’s an excerpt from my novella, His Leading Man.

Blurb

Once David thought he and Kieran would be together forever. But when their careers take different paths, the powerful lure of ambition pulls them apart. Thrown together again by fate and introduced as strangers, each tries to resist the spark of desire that still burns bright. But when sparks turn to flames, the resulting blaze threatens to consume them both.

Afraid of future heartbreak, yet bound by love, each must find a way to convince the other that, at long last, he’s found His Leading Man. Continue Reading »

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am still alive and still working on revisions for Bound To Please, my next novel due out later this summer from MLR Press.

The revisions are going slower than I’d like, but I am making progress. Thanks to everyone who has given me such lovely feedback on the teaser excerpts I’d posted both here and in various chats.

As I said, the book should be out later this summer. It’s a long one, longer than I had originally planned which is probably why it’s taken longer than I had hoped. But the story is nearing completion. Yay! And I hope to be moving on to other projects very soon.

Now available from Aspen Mountain Press

The Shape Of A Heart

This story has been a long time coming and I’m very excited about the release. I also got a gorgeous cover from Tuesday Dube at AMP, so a huge thanks to her for that.

You can read an excerpt and buy the book at the following link.

http://www.kimberlygardner.com/home/published-work/the-shape-of-a-heart/

Available from MLR Press in ebook and print

Print ISBNs:

ISBN-10: 1934531170
ISBN-13: 978-1934531174

© 2008 Kimberly Gardner, all rights reserved

The apartment had that closed-up smell, a little dusty, a little damp, but nothing an open window wouldn’t fix. Jimmy must have smelled it too because he went directly to one of the windows. The glass rattled in the frame. The muscles in Jimmy’s shoulders and back rippled and flexed as he pushed up the sash.

Mmm, nice view. Continue Reading »

Available from MLR Press in both print and ebook

Print ISBNs:

• ISBN-10: 193453109X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934531099

©2008 Kimberly Gardner, all rights reserved

“The classical cannon of Greek and Latin literature does not treat Eros with particular reverence.” Professor Anton MacDonnough stepped out from behind his podium. He paced across the front of the classroom, his eyes alighting first on one student, then another. “In fact, any sensible reader will come away from a careful reading of the ancient texts with the clear impression that rather than a god to be adored, we would do better to treat Eros as….” Here he paused for effect. “Frankly, a psychopath.”

Laughter rippled through the room. MacDonnough smiled. Val sighed.

Of course he’d heard this line before in others of Mac’s lectures over the last four years. Mac had been his faculty advisor since his freshman year and was now advising on the writing of Val’s senior thesis. Mac always delivered the psychopath line in that exact cadence, always paused at that exact place and always smiled when the students laughed. Continue Reading »