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The Right Wrong Turn
Derek Owen has made a new life for himself in Austin after leaving his hometown of Cedar Bluff years before. In his rush to start over, he left behind his first and only love, Luke McLeod. He's moved up and moved on with a job at an accounting firm and a completely inappropriate relationship with his boss, Ben Dickson.
When Derek and Ben are caught in a compromising position, Derek is sent into exile, ostensibly to do an audit of a ranch near Cedar Bluff that's keen on expansion. Going home means confronting the past, and Luke, who is still living there. Derek soon finds himself tangled up in small-town secrets and lies. And, fighting his old feelings for Luke.
Can Derek figure out the right way forward, or has his life taken one too many wrong turns?
When Derek and Ben are caught in a compromising position, Derek is sent into exile, ostensibly to do an audit of a ranch near Cedar Bluff that's keen on expansion. Going home means confronting the past, and Luke, who is still living there. Derek soon finds himself tangled up in small-town secrets and lies. And, fighting his old feelings for Luke.
Can Derek figure out the right way forward, or has his life taken one too many wrong turns?
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 6, 2011
1 person is currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Heidi Champa
92 books39 followersHeidi Champa is a typical last-born child. Snarky, attention-seeking and rebellious, she started to create dirty stories to keep herself out of real trouble. Having tried her hand at a million terrible jobs, she bought herself a laptop and finally started typing up those handwritten tales. After much deliberation, she started to let other people read her work.
In addition to her flare with the written word, she knows every sentence of the movie Clue by heart and bakes a mean Funny Cake. She loves Aussie Rules Football (Go The Cats!!), dancing to bad music and laughing too loud in public. A natural born klutz, she has been known to fall for no reason at all and always has a bruise somewhere on her body. Her life has taken her all over the world, but a piece of her heart will always be in Australia. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.
She has been published in numerous anthologies including Best Women’s Erotica 2010, Best of Best Women's Erotica 2, Playing With Fire, Frenzy, College Boys, Like Magnets We Attract, Skater Boys and Ultimate Curves. Her first novella, White Out, was published by Amber Allure in August 2010 and her second, All Expenses Paid, was released in June. She has also steamed up the pages of Bust Magazine. If you prefer your erotica in electronic form, she can be found at Clean Sheets, Torquere Press, Ravenous Romance, Oysters and Chocolate, Dreamspinner Press, and The Erotic Woman.
In addition to her flare with the written word, she knows every sentence of the movie Clue by heart and bakes a mean Funny Cake. She loves Aussie Rules Football (Go The Cats!!), dancing to bad music and laughing too loud in public. A natural born klutz, she has been known to fall for no reason at all and always has a bruise somewhere on her body. Her life has taken her all over the world, but a piece of her heart will always be in Australia. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.
She has been published in numerous anthologies including Best Women’s Erotica 2010, Best of Best Women's Erotica 2, Playing With Fire, Frenzy, College Boys, Like Magnets We Attract, Skater Boys and Ultimate Curves. Her first novella, White Out, was published by Amber Allure in August 2010 and her second, All Expenses Paid, was released in June. She has also steamed up the pages of Bust Magazine. If you prefer your erotica in electronic form, she can be found at Clean Sheets, Torquere Press, Ravenous Romance, Oysters and Chocolate, Dreamspinner Press, and The Erotic Woman.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 11, 2011
3.5
The narrator, Derek, has left his small town roots and his small town love, Luke, far behind in his search for success in the big city. He misplaces his sense of right and wrong intermittently; it disappears when his cock goes up and manifests when he's flaccid.
Derek's supervisor Ben, theoretically in a committed relationship, summons Derek frequently, in spite of their mutual protestations that they shouldn't be involved. Furtive blowjobs in dank supply closets do not a relationship make, but his spine is a good grade of macaroni; he drops trou at the crook of Ben's finger. This isn't even an office romance, it's office tawdriness, showing Ben in his amoral self-centeredness. Derek doesn't come off much better, and when he's shipped off to pay penance by doing an audit in the boondocks, all he can think of is how fortunate he is not to be fired immediately.
The boonies in question are his old home town, and the audit, he comes to find out, touches his former lover's hopes and future. Luke, who summoned the courage years earlier to tell Derek that he didn't cherish hopes of finding his fortune in the city, is both alarmed and interested in Derek's return. Luke doesn't get a lot of honest answers at first, and by the time he does, he's well on his way to getting his heart broken again.
Luke is the voice of honesty here; he knows what he wants with his life and with his partner, and he's willing to make the hard choices that pay off in the long term. He's still a bit bitter about how things went between him and Derek, but finds enough forgiveness to start crawling through Derek's bedroom window again.
Derek's relationship with Luke, his relationship with the truth, and his job all come together with a resounding smash. Since Derek hasn't shown any great strength of character so far, reading how this shakes out was quite stomach churning. This book had me cussing and muttering instructions to the characters; Derek followed almost all of them eventually, but geeezzzzz (though he missed a chance at a final flip-off to someone who deserved it.).
The writing is smooth, letting the story unfold in first person from Derek's POV. His mental progressions flow, from disbelief to self pity, to resignation, and at last to determination and understanding that what's right isn't going to be easy. The impression that he's the sort of sleaze who deserves a Ben takes a long time to change; Luke's much too good for him, right up to the last few pages. Luke vaults from "I can't trust you" to "I still love you" which should be accounted a gift from God; all the intervening years and Derek's crappy behavior gets wiped away for doing the right thing one time.
The small town of Cedar Falls, is a puzzle; it's big enough to support a restaurant with a French trained chef but not big enough to support two accountants; it's rural Texas but one man hand-feeding another in a cowboy bar doesn't arouse comment. They feel very free to speak of intimate matters in a public place, and while that strikes me as a good sort of environment, it also, alas, doesn't seem very realistic.
The proportions of the story seem skewed—the cock-driven affair with Ben gets a lot of page time; by the time Derek gets back to Cedar Falls, half the book has elapsed. Derek doesn't examine why he's willing to screw around with a slimeball like Ben, whose lover seems ruthless enough to be a good match for him. "Not being over Luke" doesn't explain the self-destructiveness of this affair. It was interesting to read, in a "watch the car crash" way, but Derek doesn't seem to have learned anything from it. The relationship with Luke gets about half that much treatment, including the flashbacks, and quite a bit of important business between them happens offstage or in the past.
That said, I liked this story quite a bit more than its flaws would suggest: Heidi Champa somehow writes around them in a way that is a pleasure to read. The Right Wrong Turn is more about Derek's moral evolution than the romance.
The narrator, Derek, has left his small town roots and his small town love, Luke, far behind in his search for success in the big city. He misplaces his sense of right and wrong intermittently; it disappears when his cock goes up and manifests when he's flaccid.
Derek's supervisor Ben, theoretically in a committed relationship, summons Derek frequently, in spite of their mutual protestations that they shouldn't be involved. Furtive blowjobs in dank supply closets do not a relationship make, but his spine is a good grade of macaroni; he drops trou at the crook of Ben's finger. This isn't even an office romance, it's office tawdriness, showing Ben in his amoral self-centeredness. Derek doesn't come off much better, and when he's shipped off to pay penance by doing an audit in the boondocks, all he can think of is how fortunate he is not to be fired immediately.
The boonies in question are his old home town, and the audit, he comes to find out, touches his former lover's hopes and future. Luke, who summoned the courage years earlier to tell Derek that he didn't cherish hopes of finding his fortune in the city, is both alarmed and interested in Derek's return. Luke doesn't get a lot of honest answers at first, and by the time he does, he's well on his way to getting his heart broken again.
Luke is the voice of honesty here; he knows what he wants with his life and with his partner, and he's willing to make the hard choices that pay off in the long term. He's still a bit bitter about how things went between him and Derek, but finds enough forgiveness to start crawling through Derek's bedroom window again.
Derek's relationship with Luke, his relationship with the truth, and his job all come together with a resounding smash. Since Derek hasn't shown any great strength of character so far, reading how this shakes out was quite stomach churning. This book had me cussing and muttering instructions to the characters; Derek followed almost all of them eventually, but geeezzzzz (though he missed a chance at a final flip-off to someone who deserved it.).
The writing is smooth, letting the story unfold in first person from Derek's POV. His mental progressions flow, from disbelief to self pity, to resignation, and at last to determination and understanding that what's right isn't going to be easy. The impression that he's the sort of sleaze who deserves a Ben takes a long time to change; Luke's much too good for him, right up to the last few pages. Luke vaults from "I can't trust you" to "I still love you" which should be accounted a gift from God; all the intervening years and Derek's crappy behavior gets wiped away for doing the right thing one time.
The small town of Cedar Falls, is a puzzle; it's big enough to support a restaurant with a French trained chef but not big enough to support two accountants; it's rural Texas but one man hand-feeding another in a cowboy bar doesn't arouse comment. They feel very free to speak of intimate matters in a public place, and while that strikes me as a good sort of environment, it also, alas, doesn't seem very realistic.
The proportions of the story seem skewed—the cock-driven affair with Ben gets a lot of page time; by the time Derek gets back to Cedar Falls, half the book has elapsed. Derek doesn't examine why he's willing to screw around with a slimeball like Ben, whose lover seems ruthless enough to be a good match for him. "Not being over Luke" doesn't explain the self-destructiveness of this affair. It was interesting to read, in a "watch the car crash" way, but Derek doesn't seem to have learned anything from it. The relationship with Luke gets about half that much treatment, including the flashbacks, and quite a bit of important business between them happens offstage or in the past.
That said, I liked this story quite a bit more than its flaws would suggest: Heidi Champa somehow writes around them in a way that is a pleasure to read. The Right Wrong Turn is more about Derek's moral evolution than the romance.
July 2, 2012
Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/
This was a sweet "grass is always greener" story. Derek Owen fell in love with his best friend Luke McLeod back in high school but Derek hated the small town he grew up in and moved to Austin as soon as he was able to. His break up with Luke was a nasty one because Luke loved Cedar Bluff and dreamed of owning a ranch. Derek is now living in Austin and working for a prestigious accounting firm. Derek has his big city life but no one to share it with until he gets a new boss in Ben Dickson. The two start what is referred to as an office affair but it is really emotionless sex in a storage closet. Their relationship is soon discovered and Derek is soon shipped back to Cedar Bluff to audit the books for a major rancher. Totally dejected, Derek begins work on the Dalton Ranch's books and hiding in his sister's house. It's hard to hide in a small town with a pushy sister and Derek finally runs into Luke. The two men have changed over the years since their breakup but they soon find that the spark is still there. Derek doesn't plan on staying in town any longer than possible until he is asked to put his already tarnished scruples on the line. I found Derek to be a real whiner through most of the book. A lot of this could be because the story was told from Derek's POV and he was unhappy with his life. The so called relationship with Ben was nothing more than whoring for a pig already in a relationship with his boyfriend. Ms Champa did a great job of creating Ben as a total slime who was only interested in himself. Both Luke and Jenna were very well developed real feeling characters. Only with Luke was Derek a decent guy which was the point of the story. This was a simple read with a fairly predictable HEA ending with one small plot twist thrown in. I'd recommend this quick moving story for a good beach read.
This was a sweet "grass is always greener" story. Derek Owen fell in love with his best friend Luke McLeod back in high school but Derek hated the small town he grew up in and moved to Austin as soon as he was able to. His break up with Luke was a nasty one because Luke loved Cedar Bluff and dreamed of owning a ranch. Derek is now living in Austin and working for a prestigious accounting firm. Derek has his big city life but no one to share it with until he gets a new boss in Ben Dickson. The two start what is referred to as an office affair but it is really emotionless sex in a storage closet. Their relationship is soon discovered and Derek is soon shipped back to Cedar Bluff to audit the books for a major rancher. Totally dejected, Derek begins work on the Dalton Ranch's books and hiding in his sister's house. It's hard to hide in a small town with a pushy sister and Derek finally runs into Luke. The two men have changed over the years since their breakup but they soon find that the spark is still there. Derek doesn't plan on staying in town any longer than possible until he is asked to put his already tarnished scruples on the line. I found Derek to be a real whiner through most of the book. A lot of this could be because the story was told from Derek's POV and he was unhappy with his life. The so called relationship with Ben was nothing more than whoring for a pig already in a relationship with his boyfriend. Ms Champa did a great job of creating Ben as a total slime who was only interested in himself. Both Luke and Jenna were very well developed real feeling characters. Only with Luke was Derek a decent guy which was the point of the story. This was a simple read with a fairly predictable HEA ending with one small plot twist thrown in. I'd recommend this quick moving story for a good beach read.
January 27, 2013
Derek Owen left his hometown of Cedar Bluff behind and not wanting to look back, but something did or someone kept him back, his first and true love, Luke McLeod. Over the years he tried to forget Luke’s precious memory and lost himself in the process. After having an affair with his boss and getting caught, Derek, is sent to audit a ranch near his hometown in order to cover up the whole thing up. This is where the story gets more interesting.
I liked Derek Owen. At first, I was on the fence with him because he seemed like jerk. The way he acted towards his hometown made me dislike him so much. That was the place that watched him grow. Why would he detest it so much? I began to warm up to him when he went back home and began to get real. I loved Luke McLeod. The minute he hit the scene, I was hooked on him. He seemed like the perfect country boy with charming good looks and dazzling down-to-earth personality to go with. He seemed so carefree and the opposite of Derek. Opposites do attract each other. The story was solid and I loved the fact that Derek placed himself second and Luke first. He helped Luke achieved his dreams and in the process, found his own. I hated the ending because I really wanted to read more about these two lovebirds.
I recommend this novel to anyone who loves hot country boys, sex and life learning experiences with a little humor and love.
I liked Derek Owen. At first, I was on the fence with him because he seemed like jerk. The way he acted towards his hometown made me dislike him so much. That was the place that watched him grow. Why would he detest it so much? I began to warm up to him when he went back home and began to get real. I loved Luke McLeod. The minute he hit the scene, I was hooked on him. He seemed like the perfect country boy with charming good looks and dazzling down-to-earth personality to go with. He seemed so carefree and the opposite of Derek. Opposites do attract each other. The story was solid and I loved the fact that Derek placed himself second and Luke first. He helped Luke achieved his dreams and in the process, found his own. I hated the ending because I really wanted to read more about these two lovebirds.
I recommend this novel to anyone who loves hot country boys, sex and life learning experiences with a little humor and love.
February 23, 2012
This is a story about Derek, a Junior accountant that slept repeatedly with his boss, Ben, even knowing that Ben had a boyfriend. In the process, he was sent back to his small hometown to audit a big ranch there, where he met his former lover, Luke. No, Luke didn't work in the ranch where Derek was doing his auditing. Many years back, in high school, they both promised to go to college together as a couple, but Luke changed his mind and stayed to be a rancher. They broke up in bad terms. Now, they both realized they needed each other. Their newly rekindled relationship, however, would face problem that was related to Ben. What would Derek do? Should he stay in his small hometown or pursue his career in Houston?
I like this story because the antagonists are evil and smart. It may sound strange, but I don't like stories where the antagonists are stupid and lazy.
November 6, 2011
There is something so off in this story, but I just don't know what. The start was okay, the reader starts to get a picture of what kind of a character Derek is. And even his affair with Ben can be taken as acceptable, no one is perfect, who wouldn't do it. But everything else just felt off. And his past story with his ex boyfriend Luke simply didn't ring right. The emotions were not real or even couldn't be felt. All male character felt wrong and shallow and really not interesting or pulling, that I don't start about strong. Ben was a creep and a lier. Derek was s slime and lost case. Luck, hm I can't place him. In general I didn't like the characters and this made this plot bland. I was kind of disappointed in this story.
May 24, 2012
There's nothing likable about Derek. He's got no morals, no principles, no integrity, doesn't try to understand the man he supposedly loves and doesn't begin to even try to become someone better until maybe the last 15 pages of the story. Even if he didn't start off this way (in his far distant past, maybe he was a better person, but that's not in the book), we don't get to see any of this so it's hard to understand why Luke loves him. I ended up not caring what happens to Derek. A part of me even hoped Luke would find someone better for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2011
2.5 stars
September 7, 2012
Cute but I would have liked to see more interaction with Luke rather than Ben. And the sister frigging annoyed me so much! I wanted to smack her by the end.
September 11, 2013
4 stars
Another great book by Heidi Champa!
If you are a fan of Heidi, you must read this book :)
Another great book by Heidi Champa!
If you are a fan of Heidi, you must read this book :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews