Tortoise Interruptus

By JL Merrow

Cursed by an impatient witch to turn into a tortoise at inopportune moments, Tip is horrified to find himself tortoise-napped by a customer at the Isle of Wight cafe where he works.

Things start to look up when Tip ends up very literally in the capable hands of drop-dead gorgeous Steve, but Tip soon begins to wonder just how far he can trust Steve, who turns out to have a close connection with his kidnapper. Tip’s attempts at a normal life -- and love life -- seem doomed to remain frustrated in more ways than one!

Inspired by a real-life incident. Yes, really.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jan 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781634862851

JL Merrow

JL MERROW is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards finalists.JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.Find JL Merrow online at: www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jl.merrow

Book preview

Tortoise Interruptus

By JL Merrow

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2017 JL Merrow

ISBN 9781634862851

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

NOTE: This book was previously published by Torquere Press.

* * * *

For Sandra Lindsey, who, when told of the real life incident that inspired this tale, said, Tortoise-napping? Sounds a good start for a silly story…

* * * *

Tortoise Interruptus

By JL Merrow

So, that’s a Tiptree’s Tasty Ham Salad Roll, and an Isle of Wight Elderflower Juice, Janey said cheerfully. Can I interest you in a packet of red squirrel flavoured crisps? No? That’ll be six pounds seventy-five then, please. Tip, you ready with that ham salad roll? Tip?

Tip shook his head. There was an unpleasant rushing in his ears, and his sister’s voice had started to sound like it was coming from underwater. Sorry—got to go.

Janey sighed, then bellowed to her husband, Mike? Can you give us a hand? Tip’s having one of his turns.

You don’t have to shout it to the whole café, Tip muttered, untying his apron with shaking hands. You make me sound like a Victorian spinster. They’ll be offering to unlace my stays.

Moan, moan, moan. Just get out of here before you come over all peculiar, will you? Janey’s eyes narrowed as she tapped her foot in impatience. You’re already starting to look a bit grey.

It’ll be all that standing up behind the counter, the plump, white-haired woman waiting for her lunch said kindly. You shouldn’t ought to work him so hard, young lady. You can see he’s delicate.

"I am not—" Tip bit back the comment. Don’t upset the paying customers. It was the first rule Janey had drummed into him when he’d come to work for her at Tiptree’s Treats. But it still rankled—just because he wasn’t over-tall and, okay, maybe he was a bit skinny, and all right, his family routinely referred to him as the pretty one, which annoyed his sister no end…okay, maybe the lady had a point. But he didn’t have to like it. Sorry, Janey. See you in a bit.

You should take the rest of the day off, dear! Mrs. Helpful’s voice followed him through the crowded café

Reviews for Tortoise Interruptus

[sheila1957 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tip has been cursed by a witch to turn into a tortoise, mostly at inopportune times. He is tortoise-napped by a little old lady. Trying to escape her, he finds the most exquisite man ever who reads the same authors. Will he run when Tip turns into a human? Why was he tortoise-napped?I enjoyed this short story. It was funny. I would like to see it developed into a longer tale or this be the prequel to a novel on Tip and Steve. It was sweet. Poor Tip! He is lost as to what happens to him and when. He knows the why. I liked Steve trying to reassure Tip as to why he was tortoist-napped. This story made me feel good and that's okay for a rainy day.