Category: Self Published

Into The Author Spotlight with Katey Hawthorne and her Fairy Compact Series

spotlight on books

Fairy Bound cover

 

Into the Author Spotlight with Katey Hawthorne

 

I have asked author Katey Hawthorne to stop by today to talk about her Fairy stories and the end of the series, Fairy Bound. Katey has brought an entire set of the stories to giveaway as part of this blog. To enter to win, leave a comment and an email address where you can be contacted in the body of the comment. Contest ends 5/28.

Welcome, Katey, to ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords. I love this universe you have invented for this series. Nothing quite like winged fairy sex….and the complications that ensue with human/fairy relationships….

 

 

Of Fairies and Men and the End of a Series

by Katey Hawthorne

 

There are some tropes in romance that I’m just not that into. I don’t mean that in the “these are so wrong/uninteresting no one should like them!” way, but in the “it’s just not my thing” way. Some of these, I’m really vocal about—other ones not so much. One of them happens to be forced bonding and/or magically destined lovers. It’s just not my bag.

 

But when I saw Miya Kressin’s prompt at the goodreads mmromance group’s Love is Always Write event a few years ago, I knew it had to be mine. It was about two men who had a lifelong bond and didn’t know why, one a fairy, one a human priest… and then it was wide open. Which, to me—and to Miya, as I suspected from her wording—was calling for a twist.

 

That first novella, The Dangers of Fairy Compacts, is still available as a free read at the group and from me. Life as a Fairy Thrall continued the journey for Aeron and Tam, taking them out of the mortal world and into Faerie. And with its release today, Fairy Bound brings their journey to forge their own bond to its conclusion.

 

Which makes me kind of sad, to be honest. I’m gonna miss them. The snarky fae boy. The sweet human cleric. Their house. The wingsex.

 

Yeah, you read that right. I said wingsex. It’s a thing.

 

But all good things must come to an end, right? Or at least a new beginning. Hopefully, Aeron and Tammas will be happy with theirs.

 

Life as a Fairy Thrall and Fairy Bound both contain beautiful artwork by the amazing Ruxandra Lache, and you can see thumbnails of those here at my site, along with soundtrack music.

Author Bio at Goodreads:

Hi! I’m Katey. I write superpowered and fantasy romance of an LGBTQ bent. I live at Superpowered Love — kateyhawthorne.com.

I know, I know, it looks like I don’t read anything here at GoodReads. But I do, I swear. My reviews and stuff are all over at my other GoodReads thingie, KV Taylor. Relevant shelves to Katey Hawthorne stuff:

Romance, LGBTQ, and
Comics, Graphic Novels, and Trade Paperbacks

Contact/Follow Katey Hawthorne at:

 Books in the series are in the order they were written and should be read:

Fairy Compacts #1: The Dangers of Fairy Compacts
Fairy Compacts #2: Life as a Fairy Thrall
Fairy Compacts #3: Fairy Bound

FairyCompacts_largeLife as a Fairy ThrallFairy Bound cover

 

 

Review: One Night by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

One Night coverMicah Adamson is the owner of a vineyard in Rochester NY.  Between it and his close knit family, he has had little time to find the partner he knows is out there for him. Forced by his family to take a vacation, Micah attends a wine festival in Santa Monica, seven nights in a beautiful hotel on the beach.  Micah expects to make some contacts and do some business.  What he doesn’t expect is to meet the man he has been waiting for….

Liam Wade is s rich, successful lawyer.  Scion of a wealthy family, he is expected to work for his father’s law office and conform to his family’s expectations.  But Liam is also a father to a young daughter he loves.  To do what he thinks will give her a family he has  become engaged to a woman his family approves of and has close business ties with.  And while he likes Leigh, he doesn’t love her.  Plus he is gay.  Now Liam has taken a week off to evaluate his wedding and his life.

A chance encounter on the beach brings these two men together for a night of passion and a morning after of uncertainty and questions.  Micah would like to pursue a relationship but Liam is struggling with his duties, responsibilities and commitments that he hasn’t told Micah about.  Can one night end up changing two lives forever?

Can one moment lead to your forever happiness?  That’s the question that RJ Scott tries to answer in One Night, her recently released novella.

I found One Night  an enjoyable read for many reasons.  The first is RJ Scott’s ability to present the reader with realistic characters quickly and establish a connection to them and whatever situation they find on the road to romance and HEA.  Starting with Micah and his New York vineyard, we got an immediate feel for his close knit family and Micah’s “Type A personality” that causes him to direct all his energies towards the business and family.  Only the persistence of his sisters persuades Micah to take that long overdue vacation, and even then, its to a wine festival in Santa Monica.  Of the two characters, Micah is easily to one most people will relate to and understand.  He wants a lover and partner but just hasn’t found the right man yet.  Oh how we get that.

Liam Wade is more problematic.  His best friend got pregnant and Liam married her to give the child a loving family.  But her death forced Liam to return to his wealthy parent’s home to take up his father’s expected law office responsibilities and duties in order to provide his daughter with stability and …well stability.  Liam doesn’t need the money.  So why return to a job and family obligations he doesn’t want?  Especially when it means a return to the closet?  I’m not sure Scott ever made her case for Liam’s acquiescing to his father’s demands so quickly and definitively, especially when it meant marrying a close business associate’s daughter.   If Liam is submissive by nature, we don’t get that.  Easy going and young?  Perhaps.  I just wish that RJ Scott had delivered a little more of Liam’s personality so we could get a grip on what drove him to accept the situation that he was in when he arrived in Santa Monica.

There are the small wonderful touches here that I have come to expect from this author.  A moment when Liam looks at an “all too perfect” posed picture of his daughter that his fiance arranged and realizes that it’s the messy, carefree little girl he misses.  An insightful and beautifully real instant in time, one that most parents will recognize.  RJ Scott’s ability to deliver scenes like is just one of the many reasons I love her stories.

Then there are the funny “wine tasting” questions and the lovely vineyard setting in New York, each comes across as authentically as possible, telegraphing the author’s knowledge, research, and depth given to this story and plot.

There isn’t any true or instant love here but the possibility of one as well as a great future together for them both.  I appreciated that the author didn’t have Liam just automatically follow Micah after the events of the festival.  That was especially reassuring, considering we need to see him as a responsible and caring parent.

So what was missing?  The romance.  I wish that we had been given more time, more interaction between these characters to allow us to connect with their growing love for each other and HEA that was to follow. Perhaps even more scenes with Micah, Liam and his daughter to make the idea of them as a family a reality to us instead of a given.  I wanted the “what happens next” and didn’t exactly get that full picture.  Had this story been enlarged even further then I am sure this issue would have been resolved.

That said, I did enjoy One Night.  I connected with the men, especially Micah.  I loved the wine festival and the vineyard, wine snobs, and all.  I loved the promise of a HEA and a family for that little girl in need of less structure and more love.  I know that this tale is a restructuring of a previous story but I would love for RJ Scott to revisit this universe and let us know how this little family and the vineyards are flourishing.  Until then, I will be on the lookout for the next Heroes or Sanctuary story or whatever else this wonderful and prolific author has in store for us all.

Cover design: Meredith Russell. Lovely.  I liked the pier at Santa Monica and the small wine glass. I only wish the model for Micah would have been a little less scruffy, older and more professional.  Picky, picky, picky….

Buy Links:               Love Lane Books               Amazon                   ARe

Book Details:

This title was previously available with Silver Publishing. It has been re-edited and approximately 1,800 words added as an epilogue

2nd edition
Published June 6th 2013 by Love Lane Books (first published July 8th 2011)
charactersLiam Wade, Micah Anderson
settingSanta Monica, California (United States)
Rochester, New York (United States)

Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Happily Ever After with RJ Scott!

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

spotlight on booksOne Night

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to welcome RJ Scott here today to talk about her latest release, One Night, and happy ever after endings.  RJ Scott is giving away a $10 Amazon or ARe gift card as part of her book tour.  To enter to win, simply leave a comment about how you feel about HEA or HFN endings and your email address in the body of the comment.  Contest ends 5/24.

Welcome, RJ:

Happy Ever After by RJ Scott

Anyone that reads an RJ Scott book is guaranteed a Happy Ever After. In my mind every single couple I have written is a couple that will be together forever.

Unrealistic maybe, but life is too hard not to have a fictional HEA.

That brings me to the original version of One Night, in which the last paragraph had the two guys saying *Let’s talk*. In my writer’s he

One Night

ad, off they went into the sunset with their HEA, but what I failed to do was convince the readers of that fact. The book still sold but the feedback was that people were disappointed. One of the few positive things about *breaking up* with my old publisher was that I got to re-write the ending to One Night. I added an entire new chapter and gave my readers what I hope is a practical and reasonable HEA.

The same thing happened with Joseph and Dale in Sanctuary 2. One is an active SEAL, the other worked for Sanctuary. I gave them what I thought was a perfect HEA, in as much as they told each other how they felt and Joseph promised to come home to Dale whenever he could. Again it wasn’t enough. That prompted me to write Sanctuary 7, World’s Collide, as a way of giving Joseph and Dale their HEA. I think it worked out okay.

What do you think about a HFN book? Do you prefer a HEA? Did you read the original One Night, then the new version? Which did you prefer? Were you a reader who wanted more Joseph/Dale?

Contest:

Win a $10 Amazon or All Romance voucher for commenting below with your ideas about HEA or HFN, or just leave your email! Contest ends 5/24, 17:00 GMT

RJ X

One NightOne Night

Liam Wade is facing the biggest change in his life since marrying his best friend, Janelle, and adopting her daughter. Janelle has long since passed on, losing the battle to live a few days after her daughter is born, leaving Liam a father, in need of finding a mother for his daughter Emma. He’s rich, successful, and Leigh is the perfect, approved, wife for him. Before he settles down to give his daughter the best family he can, he wants one week away, to think. Just to make sure that he can leave half of himself hidden and marry without love, because Liam has one big problem in all of this — he’s gay.

Micah Adamson is the owner of a vineyard in Rochester NY, and has yet to find the partner he knows is out there for him. he believes in love and wants forever, and one day he knows he will find his ‘forever’ man. He attends a wine festival in Santa Monica, seven nights in a beautiful hotel on the beach

Micah wants to show that love between two men includes affection, understanding, and can be forever. Will he make Liam see sense?

 

Excerpt:
The guy looked flustered for a few seconds. “Earlier…you…my camera… It was you, wasn’t it? On the beach?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, I was miles away. You’re welcome, no worries.” Blond guy thrust out his hand, the glint of a silver-colored watch on his wrist.

“Liam Wade.”

“Micah Adamson.”

“Can I get you a drink, Mr. Adamson, to say thank you?”

Micah frowned. Mr. Adamson sounded so formal. He decided his guess about this guy—this Liam—working in business wasn’t far off if he went round calling people mister.

“Call me Micah.”

“Okay, Micah. I would offer to actually buy you a drink, but they seem to be giving it away tonight.” He gestured to the layout of all the wines and frowned. “There is a bar here somewhere that probably has beer. I don’t know about you”—he lowered his voice—“but this wine is all a bit too formal for me, not really into it. I really need a beer.”

Micah nearly choked on his last strawberry, coughing and trying to get control of his breathing.

“It’s a welcome party for a small wine convention,” he finally managed to push out.

“Oh, so that explains all the wine snobs sniffing their glasses.” Liam nodded wisely, as if he had suddenly discovered the whole reason for being. Micah couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He was torn between being affronted at Liam’s humor and agreeing with the absurdity of what some of these winery reps did in the name of knowing wine.

Micah didn’t need all the dramatic sniffing and tasting and use of incredibly meaningless long words. He knew wine; he knew grapes; he wanted to share that with others. That was enough.

“I’m a snob,” he blurted out, cursing inwardly at the what the hell did I just say? moment. To his credit, Liam said nothing, which left Micah enough time to correct his statement. “I mean I own a winery. My family owns a winery, near Rochester, a vineyard and a winery, Seneca Blue.”

Liam looked at him, then down at the glass in his hand, pulling his lower lip between his teeth as if in deep thought.

“They have vineyards in New York State?” Liam asked, completely open and honest in his curiosity. Micah smiled. Now that was a question he could handle.

“The Finger Lakes region. We have snow, rain, and storms rolling in from Lake Ontario like you wouldn’t believe, but you can also find some of the sweetest, most perfect harvests you could imagine.”

“Wow,” Liam murmured in response, and Micah narrowed his eyes. Was that a genuine wow or an oh shit stop talking wow? Micah had received both in his twenty-nine years.

“Seriously, I imagine New York as this gloomy grayness. Just another Seattle, I guess.”

Clearly that had been an interested wow.

 

Book Details:

2nd edition
Published June 6th 2013 by Love Lane Books (first published July 8th 2011)
charactersLiam Wade, Micah Anderson
settingSanta Monica, California (United States)
Rochester, New York (United States)
This title was previously available with Silver Publishing. It has been re-edited and approximately 1,800 words added as an epilogue.

Buy Link at Love Lane Press, ARe, Amazon

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍
ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to welcome RJ Scott here today to talk about her latest release, One Night, and happy ever after endings. RJ Scott is giving away a $10 Amazon or ARe gift card as part of her book tour. To enter to win, simply leave a comment about how you feel about HEA or HFN endings and your email address in the body of the comment. Contest ends….

Welcome, RJ:

Happy Ever After by RJ Scott

Anyone that reads an RJ Scott book is guaranteed a Happy Ever After. In my mind every single couple I have written is a couple that will be together forever.

Unrealistic maybe, but life is too hard not to have a fictional HEA.

That brings me to the original version of One Night, in which the last paragraph had the two guys saying *Let’s talk*. In my writer’s he
ad, off they went into the sunset with their HEA, but what I failed to do was convince the readers of that fact. The book still sold but the feedback was that people were disappointed. One of the few positive things about *breaking up* with my old publisher was that I got to re-write the ending to One Night. I added an entire new chapter and gave my readers what I hope is a practical and reasonable HEA.

The same thing happened with Joseph and Dale in Sanctuary 2. One is an active SEAL, the other worked for Sanctuary. I gave them what I thought was a perfect HEA, in as much as they told each other how they felt and Joseph promised to come home to Dale whenever he could. Again it wasn’t enough. That prompted me to write Sanctuary 7, World’s Collide, as a way of giving Joseph and Dale their HEA. I think it worked out okay.

What do you think about a HFN book? Do you prefer a HEA? Did you read the original One Night, then the new version? Which did you prefer? Were you a reader who wanted more Joseph/Dale?

Contest:

Win a $10 Amazon or All Romance voucher for commenting below with your ideas about HEA or HFN, or just leave your email address in the body of the comment!

RJ X

One Night

Liam Wade is facing the biggest change in his life since marrying his best friend, Janelle, and adopting her daughter. Janelle has long since passed on, losing the battle to live a few days after her daughter is born, leaving Liam a father, in need of finding a mother for his daughter Emma. He’s rich, successful, and Leigh is the perfect, approved, wife for him. Before he settles down to give his daughter the best family he can, he wants one week away, to think. Just to make sure that he can leave half of himself hidden and marry without love, because Liam has one big problem in all of this — he’s gay.

Micah Adamson is the owner of a vineyard in Rochester NY, and has yet to find the partner he knows is out there for him. he believes in love and wants forever, and one day he knows he will find his ‘forever’ man. He attends a wine festival in Santa Monica, seven nights in a beautiful hotel on the beach

Micah wants to show that love between two men includes affection, understanding, and can be forever. Will he make Liam see sense?

 

Excerpt:
The guy looked flustered for a few seconds. “Earlier…you…my camera… It was you, wasn’t it? On the beach?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, I was miles away. You’re welcome, no worries.” Blond guy thrust out his hand, the glint of a silver-colored watch on his wrist.

“Liam Wade.”

“Micah Adamson.”

“Can I get you a drink, Mr. Adamson, to say thank you?”

Micah frowned. Mr. Adamson sounded so formal. He decided his guess about this guy—this Liam—working in business wasn’t far off if he went round calling people mister.

“Call me Micah.”

“Okay, Micah. I would offer to actually buy you a drink, but they seem to be giving it away tonight.” He gestured to the layout of all the wines and frowned. “There is a bar here somewhere that probably has beer. I don’t know about you”—he lowered his voice—“but this wine is all a bit too formal for me, not really into it. I really need a beer.”

Micah nearly choked on his last strawberry, coughing and trying to get control of his breathing.

“It’s a welcome party for a small wine convention,” he finally managed to push out.

“Oh, so that explains all the wine snobs sniffing their glasses.” Liam nodded wisely, as if he had suddenly discovered the whole reason for being. Micah couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He was torn between being affronted at Liam’s humor and agreeing with the absurdity of what some of these winery reps did in the name of knowing wine.

Micah didn’t need all the dramatic sniffing and tasting and use of incredibly meaningless long words. He knew wine; he knew grapes; he wanted to share that with others. That was enough.

“I’m a snob,” he blurted out, cursing inwardly at the what the hell did I just say? moment. To his credit, Liam said nothing, which left Micah enough time to correct his statement. “I mean I own a winery. My family owns a winery, near Rochester, a vineyard and a winery, Seneca Blue.”

Liam looked at him, then down at the glass in his hand, pulling his lower lip between his teeth as if in deep thought.

“They have vineyards in New York State?” Liam asked, completely open and honest in his curiosity. Micah smiled. Now that was a question he could handle.

“The Finger Lakes region. We have snow, rain, and storms rolling in from Lake Ontario like you wouldn’t believe, but you can also find some of the sweetest, most perfect harvests you could imagine.”

“Wow,” Liam murmured in response, and Micah narrowed his eyes. Was that a genuine wow or an oh shit stop talking wow? Micah had received both in his twenty-nine years.

“Seriously, I imagine New York as this gloomy grayness. Just another Seattle, I guess.”

Clearly that had been an interested wow.

 

Book Details:

2nd edition
Published June 6th 2013 by Love Lane Books (first published July 8th 2011)
charactersLiam Wade, Micah Anderson
settingSanta Monica, California (United States)
Rochester, New York (United States)
This title was previously available with Silver Publishing. It has been re-edited and approximately 1,800 words added as an epilogue.
Buy Link at Love Lane Press, ARe, Amazon
You can find RJ Scott at:

Website
Facebook
Pinterest
Goodreads Author Page
Twitter

Review: The Race for Second by Chase Potter

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

The Race for Second Cover smallEthan is about to start off on an adventure he has always dreamsed about, he is going to be spending his sophomore year in college abroad in the university town of Freiburg, Germany.  Leaving behind his first boyfriend at the University of Minnesota and his mom, Ethan is ready to experience new things, meet new friends and even hopefully find new love.  All he has to do is submerse himelf in the German language, figure out the Strassenbahn network of trams, his mode of transportation other than walking. and uncover why one of his new roommates hates him so.  All while carrying a heavy course load and feeling a little isolated to boot.

Of all of Ethan’s roommates, it’s only Daniel who seems to take an instant dislike to Ethan.  True, Ethan is nineteen, much younger than any of the others.  But there seems to be something more behind it, some problem that not even Florian and Paula, his other floormates, can make sense of.  However, there is something so intriguing about Daniel that not even  Daniel’s cold demeanor can stop Ethan from falling in love with his chilly roommate.  When Ethan has an accident, Daniel’s behavior and attitude towards him changes drastically, enough for Ethan to hope that his crush might be returned.

Daniel has many secrets, including the ones that made him reject Ethan to begin with.  He is also very straight.  When all his secrets are revealed, will their friendship still be there in the aftermath or will something more be possible between them.

Coming of age stories are a common rite of passage for many writers.  It is a needful retelling of that first momentous journey from childhood into the footprints of an adult and maturity.  For some authors remembering that benchmark of their lives translates into a remarkable story that stirs up  our own memories of youth and time of transition. Those tales bring forth a wellspring of emotions that speak to the heart of who we are and how we become that person we are  today.  The Race for Second by Chase Potter is one such memorable story.

In addition to conjuring up memories of our own youth,The Race for Second shines the light onto one young man’s first voyage of discovery and growth.  From Ethan’s story we glean the lessons he learned and the price paid for that experience from this rite of passage tale. And those shared elements that we all go through at that stage serves to connect us all together.  In Ethan, Chase Potter gives us a 19 year old young man on the cusp of change, a change he not only welcomes but has created for himself by choosing to spend his sophomore year abroad in Germany.  Ethan is a marvelous character and his journey of one year in Germany will pull you in from the first moment you meet him on board a plane bound for Frankfurt and a year he will never forget.

Ethan is a product of a single parent home.  His father left the family when he was three and his mother has given her all to support them both in a loving but financially straightened environment.  Ethan was also lucky in other ways including a maternal love and acceptance that never changed when Ethan came out. Even in childhood Ethan’s dreams and ambitions have always extended past the trailor park where they live into a much larger, expansive future for himself.  Potter’s descriptions of Ethan’s childhood and mother are interspersed throughout Ethan’s story, giving the reader glimpses of his life in Minnesota and clues to his emotional makeup.

One element of Ethan’s story is the automobile, a specific type of one that is powerful, expensive and beautifully designed. With the ever present Autobahn and its fast flowing river of cars interrupting Ethan’s thoughts and trips out from the university, cars play an important role in Ethan’s life that started in childhood. Ethan uses cars as a metaphor for the vehicle which will carry him away from his mundane, restricted life in the trailer park towards some unknown powerful future.  Here is an excerpt to introduce you to Ethan and his point of view:

Cars were another reason that it would have been great to have a dad— one that stuck around until middle school at least. I love them. In high school, before making dinner so Mom could eat when she got home from work, I’d go out to the road and watch the cars. The speed limit was only forty-five, and I’d sit where I could see every vehicle that passed. It let me see the make and model names inscribed on the back. We didn’t have a computer then, so it was how I learned what was out there.

It was rare that anything cool came along. No one with money had any reason to go near Twin Meadows trailer park. Except one time, the last week of class before the end of tenth grade. It was almost time to go inside and start the spaghetti and meatballs I was planning. But there were still a few more minutes. Maybe a Corvette or Mustang would zoom past, and the wait would be worth it. Wind blasting last year’s dead grass as it rolled up to the road, I lay back, crossing my legs at the ankles and staring up into the clouds. I was kidding myself. That night was just like all the others in that damn place. I stood up to head inside, and then I heard it. A deep purr with a rich timbre, coming up fast.

My head snapped to the point in the road where it would emerge from behind the trees. In a rush of gray and chrome, the enormous sedan erupted around the corner. Its flat nose and massive grille spoke of earlier times, but the flowing lines proclaimed it to be modern. It was easily the largest car I’d ever seen, both in length and girth. The rumble of its engine struck a reserved note that belied its current speed far over the limit. Then it was gone. I didn’t have any idea what the heck it was at the time, other than a really expensive car. In retrospect, it was probably a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. All I knew is that it was beautiful, every part of it. Even the sound felt like the engine was singing to my soul. Okay, sometimes I’m full of shit, but it really was awesome.

 

And there’s Ethan, that wonderful, singular American voice that narrates  The Race for Second.  It’s through his curious, adventurous eyes that we explore the town of Frieburg and its history. Or head out to Marseilles and beyond.  As Ethan wanders and explores, so does the reader. Over the cobblestones and through the old parts of town, into shoppes and market places.  Potter’s descriptions bring us immediately into the location and settings as well as Ethan’s thoughts about it all.  And never does it come across as a travelogue instead of the personal journey of one young man. Through Ethan we get both an American viewpoint as well as that of someone on the brink of self discovery and adulthood.  Trust me you are going to fall in love with this character and his year in Germany.

Along with fine tuning his German and coping with a heavy curriculum, Ethan must adjust to the German lifestyle and the situation of being alone and uncertain.  The story abounds with German phrases and information about the language.  We learn as Ethan does.  It’s a useful concept that makes Ethan’s problems accessible and easy to relate to.  But at the center is Ethan’s perception of and relationship with his roommate Daniel.  Daniel is a bit of an enigma through most of the first half of the story.  His rationale for his dislike of Ethan, his change in outlook and finally his friendship occupy Ethan’s thoughts and emotions throughout the story.  There’s more than one mystery here, both of which are buried in the past.  And its into the past Ethan must first look for answers before he can grow and accept certain things for himself.

The Race for Second abounds with lively, multidimensional characters as does the locations and settings they find themselves in.  Potter brings Freiburg and the university alive for the reader.  We are immersed in the campus life and the ancient town that surrounds the university as Potter weaves its history and its people into the tapestry of life abroad he has created for Ethan and the reader.  It is a journey fraught with disappointments and emotional outbursts, filled with moments of incredible joy and personal discoveries.  The reader will be able to laugh along with those that Ethan has gathered together for his recreation of an American Thanksgiving in his dorm and cry along with Ethan with the exposure of the harsh and painful truths that life offers up to go along with the joys.

Is this a romance? Not really, but love does play into it in many forms. And although it might not work out the way you had thought it would or had hoped for,  it is still enough to make you happy and able to go forward with Ethan and his travels into adulthood.  Chase Potter had a wonderful story to tell and in The Race for Second he has absolutely achieved that goal.

I loved The Race for Second and Ethan.  It was a remarkable journey that Potter sends Ethan and the reader on and it was one I was sorry to see end.  But Chase Potter has said that he intends to continue Ethan’s story.  The story here is somewhat open ended so I welcome the information that a sequel will be in the works.  I can’t wait to see what happens to Ethan after Germany as he is a hard character to let go.

I have been luck to find two new authors through their coming of age stories.  Both tales of young men at the start of something remarkable in their lives and each so uniquely different in character and story.  For Chase Potter, The Race for Second is his first book and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  It’s beautifully told, full of textures,vivid descriptions and of course, characters that pour from the page and into your heart.   Grab it up today and start y0ur journey with Ethan as he discovers the wonders and pitfalls of life abroad in Germany and the personal growth that important life experiences bring.

Book Details:

The Race for Second by Chase Potter
Paperback, 250 pages
Published May 1st 2014 by Chase Potter Books
ISBN 0615982603 (ISBN13: 9780615982601)
edition languageEnglish
other editions (1)
The Race for Second Copyright © 2014 Chase Potter
Buy Link: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Author Spotlight: Chase Potter, author of The Race for Second (Giveaway)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

spotlight on books

A Scattered Thoughts Spotlight Interview with Chase Potter

The Race for Second Cover small

Author of The Race for Second

 

 

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to welcome Chase Potter, author of The Race for Second, a marvelous story of one young man’s pivotal year in Germany.

Chase has brought with him a copy of The Race for Second to giveaway.  To enter to win, leave a comment below and an email address where you can be reached.  Contest ends 5/9. That’s it!  Now on to the interview.

I had quite a few questions I wanted to ask Chase after reading this wonderful story and it evolved into this interview with the author:

STRW:   1. What made you set the story in Germany?

CP:
I wrote what I knew. The setting and pacing (but not so much the plot) of The Race for Second drew from my own year abroad in Freiburg. Moving to a foreign country is an emotional rollercoaster, no matter how prepared you are. I wanted to capture both the feeling of isolation and the satisfaction of eventually assimilating into a new culture and learning a new language.

STRW:  2.  Some might say this is a “Gay for You” story, how do you see this “coming of age and coming out” novel?

CP:

I think that “Gay for You” is an interesting and enjoyable sub-genre, but generally these books are hard for me to identify with. I have a lot of straight guy friends, and I’ve even had crushes on a few of them over the years. But no matter how much you want something to be true, you can’t change someone in that way. I think that this is a common fantasy – wanting to “turn” your straight best friend – but life rarely works out this way.

Is it fun to read about the “closeted” star of the football team falling for the out skinny guy? Absolutely, because that skinny guy was me in high school. But is it realistic? Probably not so much. (The music video “All-American Boy” by openly gay artist Steve Grand is a great example of this)

I wanted to tell the story of what happens when our interest isn’t reciprocated the way we want, and I wanted to show how difficult it can be to get past our feelings, especially the ones we try to bury. It’s only when we pick ourselves up afterward that we see our own strength and resilience. This is the struggle and the triumph that I wanted to explore, and it’s how I ultimately see this novel – as a triumph of spirit.

STRW   3.  What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

CP:

Editing, by far. I can create an outline and hammer out a first draft in a couple months, but the rounds of editing really get me. I know it’s worth it, though. The final product of The Race for Second might not be perfect, but it’s barely recognizable when compared to the first draft.

STRW  4.  Which character was the hardest to write/conceive?

CP:

Ethan was definitely the hardest for me to work with. There are a few reasons for this, but the biggest one is that since the story is told from his perspective, we are in his head during every single moment. As a result, we get to know Ethan better than any other character.

Another reason was that Ethan experiences a lot of personal growth, sometimes quickly and often unwillingly, and it was challenging to make sure he was always true to himself through these changes.

STRW:  5. Is any of the plot based on real events?

CP:

My close friends who have read The Race for Second will sometimes accuse me of this. Yes, I studied abroad in Freiburg, and yes, I leveraged my own experiences to be able to tell the story of a college student living abroad, but the vast majority of the story is purely fiction. There are a few exceptions – one being the incident where Ethan trips and smashes an entire case of beer on the stairs in his dorm. This actually happened to me, except there was no Daniel to help clean it up.

 STRW:  6. The ending is somewhat open-ended. Do you have plans to continue their story in the future?

CP:
In short, yes. I’ve spent enough time with Ethan and Daniel that the idea of letting them go makes me sad in a way. I’m really looking forward to telling the story of what happens to Ethan after his year abroad ends. Currently I’m just finishing the first draft of my second novel, which isn’t about Ethan and Daniel, but the third book will include characters from both The Race for Second and my current project.

 

You can connect with Chase Potter through any of the following ways:

The Race for Second Cover smallGiveaway:  To be entered to win this wonderful ebook, just leave a comment, your name and an email address where you can be contacted .  The contest ends 5/9, 12am EST.

Buy link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1295RG/
Book to be released May 1st, 2014.

Book Details:

The Race for Second is a gay coming of age novel about an intense friendship that develops between two college students – an American studying abroad and a young German man. Told from the first person perspective of the American student, this story relates the hardships of adapting to another culture while exploring the intersecting lines of a relationship that struggles to define itself as somewhere between friends, brothers, and lovers.

 

 

Review: A Reason To Stay (Heroes #1) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A Reason To Stay coverViktor Zavodny’s first love growing up was always the Navy.  Nothing and no one was going to distract him from that goal, not even a gorgeous 16 year old with a crush on him, Aiden Coleman.  For  Aiden, 18 year old Viktor was his first and only love, but Viktor determination to become a SEAL made him callously disregard Aiden, something Aiden has never forgotten.  Then Viktor Zavodny left his family and home town of Steepleshend to join the SEALS, and  a broken hearted young Aiden Coleman joined the police force.

It would be years before the men met again. Viktor returned home on leave to recuperate from severe injuries acquired on his last mission. The last  thing he expected or wanted to do was run into Aiden. But again sparks fly between them only for Aiden to watch Viktor leave once more on a mission with his SEAL outfit.  Now Aiden swore never again would he let Viktor back into his heart but neither man expected the danger that existed on the mountains  above town.

When Viktor’s nephew is found  wounded and unconscious in the snow, lying along side a dead man. Well the traumatic events bring Viktor back to town to look after his family and look into the events that put his nephew in the hospital.  Handling the investigation is none other than Deputy Sheriff Aiden Coleman. Aiden isn’t pleased to find an angry SEAL in his office demanding to be included in the investigation, especially since its Viktor.  In order to bring down the people behind his nephew’s injuries and the dead body discovered beside him, Aiden and Viktor will have to put aside their personal issues and work  together to find the truth and maybe finally the path to each other.

In Worlds Collide (Sanctuary #7)  main character Dale needs a bomb defused aboard a plane so he calls on his lover Joseph and Joseph’s SEAL team to help him out.  The team bomb expert just happened to be a hot headed smartass by the name of Viktor Zavodny, caught in the middle of a threesome when summoned to the phone.  That fascinating first look at Viktor Zavodny, the filling in the middle of a husband and wife sexual sandwich, was enough for people to clamor to have his story.  That short glimpse into the sexy,confounding puzzle that was Viktor Zavodny made us want to know more about him and now Scott has given it to us.  A Reason To Stay, the first book in RJ Scott’s new Heroes series, delves into Viktor’s background and status in the SEAL Team we got to know through Joseph and Dale in their Sanctuary stories.

I have to admit a real fondness for those “tough as nails” inscrutable men that RJ Scott writes so well. Having Viktor comes out of the same team that gave us Joseph gives us an instant understanding of the type of man he is and the skill set he has had to acquire to  become a member of such a covert unit.  We also know what a tight knit band of brothers this group of men have become to one another.  And it’s become apparent (in the Sanctuary novels and here) that  it is a unit in flux, members deciding to op out for a family and a life less defined by a mission and danger.

Viktor’s first appearance in this story happens when he is home to recuperate from injuries received while on a mission.  He is tired, wounded, and able to see what he has been missing out on with his sister and his beloved nephew,  Then he hooks up with Aiden and things start to get emotionally scary for someone with a designated life ahead of him.  Does he come across as insensitive or a bit of a jerk? Possibly but he has never  made any effort to cover up his priorities, no matter how much others may wish differently.  I liked that about Viktor, he is not an easy person to like nor is that a requisite for his profession.  Scott paints a portrait of a man on the verge of a change even if he is not aware of it himself and it works beautifully here in context.

Aiden is a much more accessible character because so many of us can relate to him and his history.  Aiden fell early and hard for Viktor when he was sixteen and never recovered from his heartbreaking first love.  No matter what Aiden tells himself intellectually, emotionally he is still open and very vulnerable when it comes to Viktor and their past dealings.  So when Viktor returns, we absolutely get that Aiden is conflicted about his feelings for Viktor.  Scott actually builds upon those complications and complexities between the men throughout the story and it makes for a more interesting and less idealized relationship between them.  Trust me when I say this is not your heart and flowers sort of romance.  That wouldn’t be realistic for these men or their herky jerky type of romance.

Another element of RJ Scott’s stories is how well she writes adolescents.  Viktor’s nephew Ben has a rather large part to play in the events that unfold here.  Ben idolizes his uncle and wants to be exactly like him,  Ben is a wonderful character, fully realized and totally believable.  And because he is so real to us, his safety becomes as important a factor for us as it does for Viktor.

For Viktor, Ben is a mile marker is his life. On the rare occassions Viktor returns home, he notices of all the changes in Ben in his absence. And those changes highlight what Viktor has missed out on as well as the personal sacrifices he has made in order to be a SEAL.  Perspective is something that has been lacking in Viktor’s life and Ben is the one area where it snaps into place in a manner Viktor is able to accept.  Again, another very realistic element among many in this story.

I loved the setting in the Green Mountains and RJ Scott has certainly done her homework as to the level of fitness and preparation required to take on a winter hike into that terrain. Not just there either.  Scott makes mention of the fact that a sugar shack is where the maple sap is boiled into syrup.  Again, another indication that this author has done her homework even to the smallest detail.  Or the larger ones like the guns, explosions and gear needed for those wild assignments and escapades that happen in A Reason To Stay.  There is certainly a lot of flash bang excitement for the buck (or should I say pound) here in her narrative.  Several of the Sanctuary operatives make momentary appearances from Joseph (still a SEAL), Manny, and Kayden Summers.  Its great to see them however briefly as I love that series and its characters and it made sense for them to do so.

What I loved about this book?  The sheer physicality of these men and the sometimes abrasive aspect of their relationship.  It’s hard to call this a typical romance because its not.  Nor should it be.  There is plenty of action, fights, nefarious goings on to along with  the arrogance, stubbornness, and a determination that is almost cellular from Viktor as well as Aiden.  Sometimes the testosterone is only tempered by the sweetness of the scenes between Viktor and his sister, or Aiden and his friend Sam.

The writing here is as smooth as a new fallen snow and the plot has plenty of layers for everyone to enjoy.  What will some people have issues with?  Probably the lack of a romance or romantic scenes between  Viktor and Aiden.  If you are looking for that sort of romantic story, than this is probably not the story for you.  But if you are looking for an action adventure story with believable main characters with a turbulent history behind them and an attraction that just won’t go away, then you will love this story and Viktor and Aiden.

RJ Scott already has the second story, Last Marine Standing (Heroes #2), written.  It will be released in June 2014 and features Sam Larsen from A Reason To Stay.  I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for him.  In the meantime, pick this up and get acquainted with some wonderful characters sure to pop up in the next story in the series.  Consider this another highly recommended story from this wonderful author.

Cover art by Meredith Russell who does a great job in depicting the characters and flavor of the story.

Books in the Heroes series to date:

A Reason To Stay (Heroes #1)
Last Marine Standing (Heroes #2) to be released June 27, 2014

 Book Details:

ebook, 267 pages
Published April 11th 2014 by Love Lane Books (first published April 9th 2014)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/AReasonToStayHeroes.html
seriesHeroes #1

Buy Links Love Land Books,   ARe   Amazon

Review: Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 5 stars out of  5

Blown Kisses coverRowen Smithe’s world got infinitely larger and more complicated the day he met Mick Rutger, a friend of Finn’s.  Mick is determined to draw Rowen out of his cabin and confined lifestyle and into Mick’s much larger and outgoing circle of friends.  Rowen is equally determined to stay away and removed from the gregarious,handsome Mick.  But now that Mick has moved just across the road from him in another rental cabin, it has become so much harder to ignore his neighbor.

Mick Rutger is fascinated by Rowen Smithe.  Everything about the man from his long black hair to his secretive ways is attractive to Mick and he is determined to find out more and be the man’s friend, if not something even better.  His first move is into the cabin across from Rowen’s and a stray cat to share with his neighbor.   But then something more appears…a threat not only to their shared cat but to all the creatures of the woods, woods Rowen is bent on protecting.

Rowen Smithe’s top priority is no longer trying to quiet his inner demons but to put an end to the evil that has invaded the woods of Mountain Shadows leaving the bodies of small tortured animals in its wake.  And he will need the help of a very nosy neighbor to track and remove those behind the animal deaths.

I should just make this review as short and sweet as this story and just say “go, go now and get this series”.  Don’t dilly dally, or shilly shally around.  This story and series are ones everyone should be grabbing up (and its companions series to boot). Havan Fellows has created in Rowen Smithe, a tortured soul whose background and secretive ways has made the man an enigma to many (including the readers).   Rowen is alternately sexy. self assured and bold, or distressed, angst filled and withdrawn, and all within a space of 5 to 10 minutes.  His is such an unexpected personality and that aspect draws everyone to him like moths to a flame.  And that includes readers as well.  A true naturalist and outdoorsman, his respect for nature is boundless.  Less so  his regard for his fellow human beings.  Only a few have been let inside his personal space and now he is beginning to consider that Mick might be one more person to include in those he trusts.

The model on the cover is perfect for the larger than life persona that is Mick Rutger.  Charming, enthusiastic with all the energy of a Golden Retriever, Mick is determined to get close to Rowen and a kiss from the man in question has only fueled Mick’s desires.  But for every step forward he makes in his pursuit, Rowen takes twice as many in retreat.  Rowen is a puzzle Mick is intent on figuring out and the reader is just as eager as Mick is.  How I adore these characters.  This excerpt is sure to entice you:

Rowen slouched lower and watched through a crack between the curtain and window as the bane of his existence rocked slowly with that fat ass cat sitting on his lap, her head bouncing up and down from his attentions.

“Don’t fucking scratch her so hard. She may be big but she still has a tiny neck,” Rowen mumbled to no one.

He realized what he’d just said and twisted on his heels from his squat to land on his ass against the wall between the front door and the window he’d just been spying out of. He must be mad to be worried about a stray cat that did nothing but run from him every time he stepped outside.

The irony of that thought was not lost on him; he just chose to ignore it for the moment.

But you are mad, aren’t you?

He banged the back of his head against the wall once, twice…when he lifted his head for a third round of punishment, the knock of flesh on wood happened before the contact between his skull and the wall did.

Huh?

Rowen sat quiet for a second, wondering where the extra noise came from when it happened again, and he looked up to the right.

“Shit…” he muttered under his breath. Someone was knocking on his door.

He turned his body, slowly moved the curtain out of the way, and with only his right eye, peered out the window. He couldn’t see the front door from this window, but he wondered if a certain…

Two clear pale blue eyes stared back at him, crinkled around the edges undoubtedly because of the smile Rowen couldn’t see from this close.

Mick moved back enough to lift up Filigree—no, the stray cat—and wave her paw at Rowen.

Rowen gracelessly fell backward on his butt, the curtain fluttering closed when he pulled away. He flipped himself over and scuttled up the stairs to his second floor window and his blessed tree.

He easily climbed out of the cabin and onto the branch then froze with one hand on the window frame and the other on the limb above his head.

Standing beneath him and slightly to the left, a blond-haired man sans a stray feline smiled up at him.

“Thought I’d find you here. So, do you want steak for dinner?”

 

Irresistible right?  Mick waving that little paw at Rowen? Adorable.  But as sweet and funny as that moment and others are, the narrative also is quick to turn as dark as the voice inside Rowen’s mind.  When the small  dead animals start to turn up, its clear that other demons haunt the woods around Shadow Mountain.  Soon the hunt is on for the culprit or culprits and everyone around is drawn into the task.

The narrative is very much like a day on a mountain,  It can start off so promising with blue skies and a warm sun shinning down on you, but before you know it, a front moves in and you are caught out in the wild as a storm rages around you and rescue looks bleak.  That how quickly the mood and relationships twist and turn here.  It makes for a quick, provocative and suspenseful read.  It’s one of the elements that makes this story and series so successful and the Pulp Friction group as a whole.  You never know what’s coming next or which layer is going to be pulled back to reveal a tortured past or criminal element. It’s surprising how fast it all goes by.  It pulls you into the story so completely that when you reach the end you are ready for the next story because you want it to continue immediately.  But I have to wait and so do you, at least for a little while.

If you are new to these characters and series, start with the first story, Blown Away, then Blown Kisses.  So go now, get started reading.  You will fall in love with these characters and their series.  And then move on to the other connecting stories.  They are as addictive as they come and are highly  recommended for all.  All are listed below.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  I love these covers, from the models to the branding for the Pulp Friction group.  Just perfect.

Book Details:

ebook, approximately 45 pages
Published April 14th 2014 by Appleton Publishing Avenue
ISBN PF1400002
edition languageEnglish
seriesWhispering Winds #2

Round One of Pulp Friction 2014:

Firestorm (Fighting Fire# 1) by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold# 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Where the Wind Blows# 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake# 1) by Tom Webb

Round Two of Pulp Friction 2014:

Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Where the Wind Blows #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by Tom Webb

Review: Message of Love by Jim Provenzano

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Message of Love coverFebruary 1980. Philadelphia, PA.  Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester are enrolled at Temple University and have started to adjust to life as college students and life away from home.  But further challenges have to be faced by these two young men.  In addition to being out and gay, Everett Forester is still learning how to live  with his disability.  Going to class, navigating around campus in a pre Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) world presents Everett with some huge hurdles to overcome, including those of intimacy with his lover, Reid.

But Everett’s demanding mother has other plans for her son and they don’t include Everett graduating from Temple University.  After much pressure from his mother, Everett gives in and transfers to the University of Pennsylvania.  Now Everett and Reid must juggle school work and the daily struggle to be together as they attend different schools and a variety of commitments.  The solution? An apartment in the city that is perfect for them both and a landlady more friend than landlord.

As the 1980’s progress, Reid and Everett face many events and issues that will test their love and commitment to each other.  The rise of a strange disease that seems to target gay men, student protests, and the further exploration of their sexuality.  But it’s a mysterious Polaroid of Everett taken shortly before they met that may bring the most danger to Everett and Reid’s life together.  Who took the provocative photos of Everett? That answer will forever change Everett and Reid’s life together.

Message of Love opens June 1983 as Reid and Everett are attending a benefit dinner for handicapped kids in Pittsburgh.  The affair for a local non profit was organized by Everett’s mother who has moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to her son.  We get a glimpse into their present day relationship and a few remembrances of the past before we flashback to February 1980 the starting time for the majority of Message of Love.

There are so many  great elements of Message of Love, the first being the time period of the story.  The 80’s are well represented here and the in-depth research done by Jim Provenzano shows.  The story is full of 80’s cultural notations, from the ever present video stores and Sony Walkman’s to the Rocky Mountain Horror Picture Show where audience participation is starting to spread out from NYC where it started.  We get Spandau Ballet’s “True”, The Spinner’s “Working My Way Back to You” and of course The Pretenders’ “Message of Love”.  Provenzano gets the feel of the times just right. Reid and Everett’s homosexuality is somewhat more accepted by their peers and families and the protests of the 60’s and 70’s has for the most part changed from anti war demonstrations to anti-nuclear protests after the accident at Three Mile Island in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1979.  Such notable events are mentioned throughout the narrative helping to further establish the time frame and setting.

Of utmost importance to Reid and Everett’s story is Everett’s disability as it impacts every aspect of their life together.  Lumbar fracture, partial paralysis.  Four life changing words.  And it is here that Provenzano does some of his best work.  Starting in Every Time I Think of You and continuing into Message of Love, the reader is pulled first hand into Everett’s hard won adjustment to his disability, his mental and emotional state directly after his accident as viewed by Reid.  Reid not only sees the struggles that Everett goes through but also Reid’s adjustment of his long term goals in order to help support his lover in every way possible.  One of the things I loved about the first story is that they still acted like the 17 year olds dealing with all the uncertainty and pain that happens for Everett to accept his disability and go forward and for Reid to accept the change in Everett.

Now at college and away from home for the first time (the exception being Everett’s rehabilitation), they start to experience all the new freedoms and personal growth that change brings.  For Everett, it is the everyday challenge of getting around campus, dorm life, and transportation.  Reid and Everett both mention the relative ease of traveling around Temple University because of its wide sidewalks and flat ground.  Also because Temple had a Students with Disabilities Dorm.

Both stories take place prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities”.  So we watch as Everett has to work hard to get around such hurdles as a lack of ramps, too many stairs and other hardships for the disabled made easier by the handicapped accessibility we see today.  Then we get a deeper, more uncomfortable look into Everett’s daily life as Reid watches people overlook Everett and talk only to Reid when they are together.  We see the cloak of invisibility that seems to fall over people in wheelchairs as those more able to navigate pass them by without notice or equal treatment.  Or Reid’s frustration as he acknowledges that some of the people/students regard Reid as some sort of “guide dog” for Everett instead of seeing him as Everett’s boyfriend.

Provenzano describes with great sensitivity the impact of Everett’s disability on their relationship, from living arrangements to their ability to have sex.  There are moments in their relationship that just ring with authenticity where Reid is prone to be overprotective and as a result Everett needs to reinforce his own need for independence and assistance on his own terms.  That’s an honest relationship, warts and all. We see them argue and listen to their internal insecurities.  We also get a factual look at sex and the sex act between Everett and Reid.  For some readers, this aspect of the story might be more raw and factual then is wanted.  Because, honestly, the author realistically lays out the physical limitations and logistics for both Reid and the reader as to what Everett can feel, his life with catheters, and what ablutions are required in order for them to have sexual relations. Sometimes frustrations and miscommunication ensue. Spontaneity is out, planning is in. And that includes defecation.  Too much information?  Perhaps.  But it conveys to the reader exactly what Everett’s life is like and makes it and Everett real.

Jim Provenzano includes positive elements as well in Everett’s adjustment to life with a disability. It’s the joys of relating to children like Everett from the summer camp for special needs children where Everett and Reid act as counselors to the rough and tumble sports team that Everett plays on.  Bringing all these extra layers and facts into Reid and Everett’s life together helps to connect the reader intimately to their romance and growing commitment to each other.

Message of Love chillingly brings in the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the beginnings of public awareness.  Its introduction in the story is subtle but grows steadily throughout until it will have a major impact on the main characters and those around them. First a small mention in the newspaper, then an article that their landlady brings to Reid’s attention, and our knowledge of the times and the disease just ramps up our anxiety and concerns for characters we have come to love through two stories.And always at the center is the love and romance between Reid and Everett, painstaking in its growth and so satisfying in its depth of feeling and commitment that we never once question their love for each other.  I fell in love with these two young men in Every Time I Think of You and that love affair continues here in Message of Love.

The narrative moved at a slower rate than in the previous novel which is to be expected as it lacks the dramatic impact of Everett’s accident.  The details of the reality of Everett’s daily regimen and physical bodily functions sometimes slowed the tale’s momentum down to a much more leisurely pace than most readers might want.  Perhaps if you looked at it as less a total romance and more of a journey of two young men coming of age and growing together into adulthood and a loving commitment, then the richness of its details and the complexities of its characters will make this a story to remember.

If you are new to Reid and Everett’s story, then begin with Every Time I Think of You.  If you are familiar with that novel, then Message of Love is a story not to be missed.  No matter, this is a wonderfully satisfying and uplifting novel, certainly one of Scattered Thoughts Best of 2014.

 

Every Time I Think of You by Jim Provenzano
Message of You (sequel) by Jim Provenzano

Cover Art; Getty Images. Used with permission. Cover Design: Kurt Thomas

Book Details:

Paperback, first, 372 pages
Published March 15th 2014 by Myrmidude Press
ISBN 0615669247 (ISBN13: 9780615669243)
edition languageEnglish

In the Author Spotlight: Jim Provenzano

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

spotlight on booksMessage of Love cover

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to host Jim Provenzano today, talking about his latest release, Message of Love, the sequel to the Lambda Literary Award winning, Every Time I Think of You.

Giveaway:  Jim has brought with him a Kindle ebook copy of Every Time I Think of You to give away today along with a copy of Message of Love to a 2nd winner.  To enter to win, leave a comment below as well as your email address so you can be contacted. We would also appreciate it if you left your Amazon email address in the body of the comment to make it easier to send the book to you as it is a Kindle edition.  Contest closes 4/19. Thanks.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Getting It Right, the Second Time Around

by Jim Provenzano

When I started writing my fourth novel Every Time I Think of You, the first few chapters came to me in a dream in January 2011. I’d already had a few other novels nearly completed, but the story of Reid and Everett basically took over my life.Every Time I Think Of You

After finishing it in early December of that year, I agreed with the almost unanimous suggestion of friends who had read early drafts, and cut an epilogue where Reid and Everett are living ‘happily ever after’ as college roommates in Philadelphia. I realized that the last chapter was actually a draft treatment for a sequel. What happens after the rush of romance concludes with the blossoming of love? Well, a lot happens.

In the sequel, Message of Love, Reid and Everett attend separate universities in Philadelphia. While Everett’s studies focus on politics and world affairs, Reid remains devoted to his Forestry studies. And while the symbolic aspect of the City of Brotherly Love offers new adventures for them, the urban environs tests their relationship, and in particular, Reid’s once heartfelt passion for nature.

I prepared for my new novel, Message of Love, with funds generated from a small yet successful 2012 Kickstarter project. The week before attending the Lambda Literary Awards in New York City, where Every Time I Think of You won the Lammy for Gay Romance, I spent a week in Philadelphia. Combining my journalism experience with a bit of adventurous tourism, I researched the campuses, the city and Fairmont Park, where most scenes are set.

I also spent several days in the archives at both Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and at the Philadelphia Public Library, where I scanned issues of the Philadelphia Gay News, converting page after page into saved PDFs. I even found a house where the fictional version of an apartment would become their home.

Numerous personal interviews with current and former Philadelphia and Greensburg residents, and graduates of Penn and Temple, led to an insightful perspective on the novel’s setting. Sometimes a single detail or correction would lead to an entire chapter revision. But what surprised me were how often real-life events aligned with the story I had already outlined.

I spent months researching the disability issues relating to Everett’s experience, both from the perspective of a paraplegic and someone who loves him. Personal interviews with wheelchair users led to new insights into their daily lives.

As a former professional dancer, one of the most inspirational aspects came from other dancers. Like my first novel, PINS, about high school wrestlers, I took my own physical experience as a sort of muscle memory. By watching and talking with a wonderfully talented dancer and a choreographer from the Oakland, California AXIS Dance Company, I was able to feel and visualize the practicality and athleticism of a young active paraplegic.

But with a specific time frame, thirty years ago, I didn’t have the advantage of relying on contemporary aspects of disability. I bought several books from that era, specific to the limitations of the early 1980s, before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and before most sidewalks and buildings were made accessible.

As with Every Time I Think of You, the story is written from Reid’s point of view and his attempts to comprehend and understand Everett’s challenges. Despite being a pair of romance novels, I worked within the popular genre while crafting a decidedly new approach. I also read many gay and straight romance books with disabled characters. Some of them were touching and sweet. Some were uninformed and misguided.

But at the same time, while I endeavored to ‘get it right’ about such a relationship, I kept asking myself, ‘Is this a Romance?’ Reid and Everett are already boyfriends. The quest of finding love has been achieved. Their new challenge is to sustain their love through some separation. Veering from the standard romance, they live together for most of the story.

With the advantage of having already established the love between Reid and Everett, I faced new challenges with an historic time and urban setting, placed against the encroaching threat of a plague.

Many contemporary romances quickly dispense with AIDS and other difficult issues, and that’s fine. That is the decision of other authors, to make a fun, sexy escapist story. But having set this sequel after the ‘halcyon’ days of the late 1970s, when being gay wasn’t a big problem in some communities, the sequel would have to deal with realities of the era in which I came of age; infidelity, identity, and the growing, then unnamed, epidemic.

A major symbol, a small evergreen tree, served as an actual gift in Every Time I Think of You. For Message of Love, a single ivy leaf, used on the book’s cover, becomes a significant gift of apology in a crucial moment when Everett and Reid’s relationship is at its most fragile. Yet Everett’s life as a paraplegic is not a mere metaphor, but a realistic aspect of his life that’s given a thorough focus.

In the first book, the two young men’s time together is sporadic and passionate. In the sequel, their extended time together offers a new perspective on moving beyond the initial rush of first love, and growing toward a stronger form based on trust.

This four-year ‘distraction’ has led to creating two of the most endearing characters I’ve created. I really grew to love these guys, and I hope readers will, too.
* * *

Author Bio:

Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels PINS, Monkey Suits, Cyclizen, the 2012 Lambda Literary Award-winning Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love, and the stage adaptation of PINS.

A journalist in LGBT media for two decades, and the guest curator of Sporting Life, the world’s first gay athletics exhibit, he also wrote the syndicated Sports Complex column for ten years. Currently the Assistant Arts Editor at the Bay Area Reporter, he also edits its weekly BARtab nightlife section.

For more information on Jim Provenzano’s books, visit

Watch the book trailer, which features a performance of Dudley Saunders singing “Message of Love,” the title song (by The Pretenders), and enjoy the companion video playlists for Message of Love, Every Time I Think of You and PINS on Jim Provenzano’s YouTube channel: