Hollywood Lighting by J.V. Speyer 💕 Book Blitz & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (M/M Contemporary Romance)

This blog post contains affiliate links. Click Here for details.

A rowdy superstar in danger. His resentful new guardian. It’s hate at first sight until love takes an unexpected encore.

Closeted actor Owen fears failure and betrayal. So after he’s stabbed by a crazy fan, the movie studio offers a hunky bodyguard for protection. Suspicious that the ripped security man is just a gossip-seeking plant, he pushes back at his bulging biceps, ignoring the chemistry.

Newly retired SEAL Jamal is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Reluctantly taking a Hollywood job for a bad boy with tight abs, he’s sure the star is simply paranoid. But when he discovers the sexy celebrity is in serious jeopardy, he doesn’t hesitate to jump into action mode.

As the peril hits closer to home, Owen finds himself falling for the handsome hero fighting for his life. And as the threats intensify, Jamal fears he might lose the man he has come to love.

Will Owen and Jamal go down in a catastrophic climax, or will they star in their own happy ending?

Hollywood Lighting is the red-hot first book in the Bodyguards M/M contemporary romance series. If you like tortured heroes, intense predicaments, and steamy affairs, then you’ll adore J. V. Speyer’s tale of LGBT passion.

Buy Hollywood Lighting to let desire take centerstage today!

Owen wanted to believe Jamal when he said he didn’t want to get in his way. The problem was, Jamal had been sent by the studio. Jamal had already gotten in Owen’s way more than once. And Jamal was an overbearing prick. He might be a scorching hot overbearing prick, but he was an overbearing prick nevertheless. Owen couldn’t trust him.

So he kept his mouth shut, and not much changed.

Jamal didn’t radiate so much hostility toward him, but Owen didn’t pay much attention. He concentrated on the job in front of him. Jamal’s presence alone meant he was on thin ice. He needed to be even better to make sure he still had a job, still had money coming in. And if the money dried up - well, he had no idea what he would do if the money dried up.

At least he had Beach House. It might be some of the most brainless drivel he’d ever seen on a page, but money was money. He’d take it, for now at least. Dan had been right about one thing. The production lots were so close together that he could walk from one to the other, and he wouldn’t have to worry too much about holding people up on Dark Warriors.

He hurried to get to the set. Drew was all too happy to grant him the “special accommodation” of allowing him to film on Beach House early in the morning, and then on Dark Warriors in the afternoon. Ryan filmed better in the morning anyway - it didn’t matter that he was usually hung over, since his character didn’t need to produce emotion or anything like that, and by afternoon he was usually sloshed.

Monday was the first day of work for Beach House. The whole cast did a read through of the script together for the first time, sitting around a table. Some of the actors were veterans, people Owen knew from the “good” old days. None of them gave any hint that they knew anything that had happened before, whether with Owen’s father or during the dark time afterward. They just nodded and greeted him affably.

Hell, they’d probably gone through the same thing themselves. It was Hollywood normal.

The other actors were newcomers, people a little younger than Owen but with a lot less experience. They didn’t lack for talent, though, and Owen made a mental note to introduce himself. If they hadn’t bought into the hype, if they hadn’t become convinced he was all abs and no brains, he might be able to spare them some of what he’d had to deal with. Maybe they could do better than a “beach romp” that was never intended to do more than provide a background for teenagers to make out to.

Everyone was professional, and they got through the script twice. No one balked at feedback and everyone had a good time with it. Owen wished Chris was here to see it. The cast was so remarkably free from ego and drama he almost didn’t believe it himself.

Jamal commented on it when they left to go back to Dark Warriors. “This is a whole different vibe from the other place. Which one is more normal?”

Owen hid any discomfort at the non-hostile question. Maybe Jamal was trying to turn over a new leaf, for real. “Both, I guess. Beach House is a teen summer flick. It’s not going to have a sequel, or if it does it will probably have a different cast. No one here is trying to stretch anything out. Everyone’s trying to make their money and either make a bigger name for themselves or keep their names in lights. Everyone can afford to be a little more relaxed and chill.

“On Dark Warriors, we’ve got a long-ish running series and only two people are guaranteed to have a role up until the end.” At least, only two people are supposed to be guaranteed a role. It wouldn’t be the first time a studio looked for an excuse. He kept those thoughts to himself. “So the guest actors and series regulars sometimes like to try and stretch their run out a little longer, while everyone else is trying to stretch the show’s run a little longer. It’s a different dynamic and not necessarily a healthy one.”

“No, I wouldn’t imagine.” Jamal frowned. “How long was Ryan’s character originally supposed to stick around for?”

“A season at most. He’s been around three now.” Owen noted the bitterness in his own voice and hurried to correct it. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for him, you know? All of us are happy to be working. We all know it could go away at any second. Even those of us who are lucky enough to have long term contracts have been out of work. The guy who played our dad - I know his career really took off after he ‘died’ but before Dark Warriors he took guest roles and drove a cab in the meantime, you know? The guy I’m supposed to be fighting with, Enrique? He’s a dog groomer and MMA fighter. It gives him enough flexibility to do the show, but lets him have income coming in during lean times.”

Jamal nodded. “I noticed you posted some selfies with him, some shots of him practicing.”

Owen blushed. Enrique was straight as hell, but he was still gorgeous. “Well yeah. He’s talented and he’s got a lot to offer, you know? I’d love to see him in some more roles.”

Jamal looked down and away. “He’s not hard on the eyes, either.” Then he rolled his shoulders. “But that’s neither here nor there, I guess. I’m here to protect you, not to ogle the guest actors.”

Jamal was gay? That was new and different. It shouldn’t matter. Owen couldn’t trust him with the truth. “Sadly, Enrique is incredibly straight. It’s come up in conversation.”

Jamal blinked. “Why?”

“A male fan commented on a picture I posted of the two of us. He’s comfortable with it - he’s not homophobic - but he can’t give them what they want. Twenty years ago, he’d have had to do some kind of PR campaign proving his masculinity just because the fan had commented.” Owen rolled his eyes. “There’s a lot of work left to do, but at least we’ve come this far.”

Read on ANY device, or try a Kindle eReader

(4 colors to choose from!)

💕 Click here to learn more 💕

J. V. Speyer writes LGBTQ+ romance novels heavily flavored with suspense, mystery, and adventure. She has lived in upstate New York and rural Catalonia before making the greater Boston, Massachusetts area her permanent home. She currently lives just south of Boston in a house old enough to remember when her town was a tavern community with a farming problem.

J. V. finds most of her inspiration from music. Her tastes run the gamut from traditional to industrial and back again. When not writing is a baseball fan, a hockey mom, and a devotee of all things weird and creepy about New England.

J. V. can be found on Twitter at @JVSpeyer, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JVSpeyerAuthor