After five months on the lam, Dr. Crane is strained to the point of breaking—he just wants it to be over. But, with his mental and physical health in decline, living where he doesn’t speak the language and relying on his partner for everything, he feels trapped.

Just the way Max likes it, of course.

When Crane is presented with an opportunity to clear his name once and for all, he’s compelled to take it… But, it means betraying the young man who thoroughly intoxicates him in ways he had never imagined possible.

Can Crane break his addiction or is he too far down the rabbit hole to escape?

This book is available through Kindle Unlimited.

Guest Post By Bey Deckard

Of all my books, Max gets recommended the most. I also get loads of emails, blog queries, and questions on Goodreads about whether or not I would write a sequel.

Well, here it is. It was a long time coming. A year ago, had written the end, then started the beginning, then the middle; then, I changed my mind about some stuff, did rewrites, had a real crisis of confidence, scrapped a bunch of chapters . . . but, in the end, I ended up going back to the way it was originally. A lot of words were written just to go back to the basics.

Hey, it happens. I think the book is actually better for the journey taken.

What should you know about the book? Well, first off, as the title says, it’s a sequel. You can’t go into Max, the Sequel, without reading Max. I mean, you could, but why would you? Second, read the content warnings. They’re at the beginning of the book. You can see them on Amazon by using the “Look inside” feature. Pay attention to them. This is not a puppy and rainbows and unicorn book. It is not about a healthy relationship. It’s the complete opposite of that.

That said, it’s an awful lot of (sometimes uncomfortable) fun.

It’s also hard to say what the book is about without spoiling said fun.

One thing I can leave you with is the soundtrack. I like to make a soundtrack for all (or almost all) my books. Sometimes the songs inspired the book . . . sometimes the book inspired the song choice.

Max, the Sequel – The Soundtrack

Listen to it at Apple Music or Spotify or YouTube

A Thousand Kisses Deep – Leonard Cohen, The Good Thief OST
Severed – The Decemberists, I’ll Be Your Girl
Hotel California (Spanish Mix), The Gipsy Kings, The Essential Gipsy Kings
Stuck in the Middle With You, Stealers Wheel, Reservoir Dogs OST
Two Hearts, Chris Isaak, Best of Chris Isaak (Remastered)
Waitin’ ‘Round to Die, Townes Van Zandt, Townes Van Zandt
Quien Es el Patron?, Systema Solar, Savages OST
Are You Serious, Andrew Bird, Are You Serious
Al Compas de Mi Caballo, Los Imperials, Color y Ritmo, Vol. 2
La Vida Es Una Lenteja, Unaesta, GTA Vice City (Radio Espantoso)
Fool Moon, Anteros, When We Land
Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Devil Inside Me, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Blossom
Borombon, Camilo Azuquita, Panama! 2: Latin Sounds, et al.
Every You and Every Me, Placebo, Without Your I’m Nothing
Blood Like Lemonade, Morcheeba, Blood like Lemonade (Deluxe Ver)
Goodbye, Steve Earle, Train a Comin’
Sway, Dean Martin, Greatest Hits

Excerpt

Crane left a note for Max, letting him know he’d gone out for errands and closed the door quietly behind him so he wouldn’t wake Max from his well-deserved nap. Whistling, he took the stairs down, spinning the key ring on his finger as he shielded his eyes against the midafternoon sun. He stopped on the last step and stood there momentarily, just glad to be out of the house. It felt great. He felt great. Crane watched a family of four cross the street, the mother squinting down at the phone in her hand while dragging along a little boy in bathing trunks. From the pallor of their skin, Crane assumed they’d just arrived and weren’t familiar yet with the area. Sure enough, the father spotted Crane and steered the baby stroller towards him, a smile on his face.

“Howdy! Hablar Ang-lays?” the man asked in a twangy accent as he touched the rim of his cap.

“I do,” Crane replied. “Are you looking for the beach?”

“We are,” the man replied, then called to his wife. “Mags, I found help!”

Crane grinned. “Just keep following this road, then turn left at the fence. You’ll see the access to the beach right away.”

“Thank you. We got turned ‘round,” the man said, jiggling the stroller back and forth a few times to soothe its cranky occupant. “Much obliged. Mags, it’s this way!”

Watching them go, Crane felt his mood shift. Soberly, he thought about how foreign it all seemed to him now. Just a nice little family vacation where no one was trying to drug or manipulate anyone, where no one had to worry about winding up in jail or whether someone was going to sodomize them while drunk . . .

Booooring.

With a rueful chuckle, Crane shook his head and went up the street in the opposite direction of the tourist family and had to admit the voice in his head had a point. If there was one thing life with Max certainly wasn’t, it was boring.

Giveaway

Bey is giving away one Signed paperback copy

Of book one in the series, “Max”

Audio Excerpt

Bey Deckard

Pulling words from the air.

Biography

Artist, Writer, Dog Lover.

Bey Deckard is the author of a number of novels including the Baal’s Heart books, Max, Beauty and His Beast, and Better the Devil You Know.

Bey lives in Montréal, Canada where he spends most of his time writing, doing graphic work, painting portraits, speaking French, cooking tasty vegetarian eats, or watching more movies than is good for him. If you’re the curious type, www.beydeckard.com is where you’ll find art and free stories by Bey as well as information on his published works.