Tag: Interlude Press

INTERLUDE PRESS TOUR: Storm Season by Pene Henson (excerpt and giveaway)

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Storm Season by Pene Henson
Interlude Press
Release Date: February 2, 2017

Available for Purchase at

Interlude Press

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Pene Henson here today.  Welcome, Pene!

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Today Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is very lucky to be interviewing Pene Henson author of Storm Season.

Hi Pene, thanks for stopping by today! Could you tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

I’m Australian, extroverted and hard to ruffle. Also I’m pretty tall, mostly lacking in sporting prowess, and way less funny than I’d like to be. I live with my wife and our two divinely awesome kids in Sydney, along with a ferociously loving cat. Right now it’s summer and the days are long and hot. We spend our weekends in the grassy backyard with friends and champagne, playing whatever sports are currently in season. It’s a good life. Though with work and writing, it’s sometimes busier than I’d like.

I grew up dreaming of being an astronaut or an experimental physicist. I love sciences and mechanics but I’d do a dreadful job of either of those things so fortunately surprised myself by developing a career in law and writing.

I’ve always written poetry and short fiction. I never really dreamed of a novel until I was writing one. It was delightful to build a whole world, the first in Hawaii and on the ocean, and fall in love with my own characters.  

Storm Season is my second novel. It’s set on the Australian East Coast, in land and in cities that I know well. Like my previous novel, it’s essentially a happy queer story. It’s a romance between a bubbly and adorable fashion blogger and a capable park ranger living alone in a remote cabin. As you’d imagine, these women have vastly different experiences. They think they have vastly different priorities. Trapped together by a storm, however, they uncover not just a deep attraction to one another but also all the ways they fit together. And then, of course, the storm breaks and they have to work out what will happen when they return to their ordinary lives. 

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

Mostly I want to write stories that focus on queer characters falling in love, over and over. If I can do that, and continue writing stories that are mostly outside, then I’ll be happy. I want readers to be moved by the characters, and to see the beautiful world and new loves through their eyes. It sounds a little boring, I don’t want to move on. But every story is different because every character is different and their character dictates how things move forward and how they love. I just want to write romances that are happy and kind and moving and make one or two people feel less alone.

How many published books do you have? Can you tell us something about them?

So far, there’s only the two.

The first is called Into the Blue. The book’s set in a ramshackle blue beach house on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. Its leads are young men, surfers and best friends, who’ve grown up on the ocean. They love one another as friends and have built a found family with three others in their home on the beach. Early in the book, one of them has the chance to head off on a world pro-surfing tour and the other tags along.

Time in new places, on new beaches, brings these friends to explore a physical relationship. It’s this perfect bubble of time, private hotels and cabins, gorgeous views interspersed by surfing competitions. Things only get real when they have to return home and work out how to be around one another.

The second is this one, Storm Season. In some ways it’s the same story. Two people with a deep connection and chemistry that they explore while away from real life. In this book, that perfect bubble away from the world is Lien and Claudie’s time trapped together in a cabin in a storm. Their connection might be new but they have time to develop it as the rain goes on and on outside. But just like Into the Blue, these women need to return to homes and jobs someday. Once they’re home they can learn what their connection means in real life.

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

Lien is this sort of sparkling, outgoing bundle of optimism and fashion. She’s kind of ridiculous and adorable. She’s confident of her ability to make people like her. She lives in Sydney and is surrounded by friends, she’s popular on social media, she’s successful as a journalist in her own light way. With all this going on, she keeps her head busy and her heart busy. Underneath that buzz, she’s kind and thoughtful, she apologizes too much, she wants to make the world better, and she cares too much what people think. The story watches her grow into herself a bit, not all the way, and gain confidence in herself without other people. This gives her room to be about more than just a busy social life and fashion blogging. However much she still loves her friends and her social life and fashion blogging!

Claudie is a wilderness ranger living alone in the middle of nowhere NSW. Unsurprisingly, she’s kind of reclusive and pretty cranky. She’s innately capable. She keeps her own company and plays guitars to the wildlife. She has history beyond that, of course. She’s a talented songwriter and full of charisma. She left her career as an up and coming indie rockstar in some pretty awful circumstances and she’s been hiding ever since. Time with Lien wakes her up a bit, shows her that there are possibilities out there that she’d forgotten. 

What are you working on at the moment? What’s it about?

I’ve just started working on a short that I hope to have published by late in the year. It’s an f/f romance about a pro-basketballer coming home to Montana, to wide open skies and odd small towns. It’s about remembering who you are, and it’s about falling back in love with an old crush. 

Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

In the midst of deadlines I do, I use Pacemaker at pacemaker.press to give myself a chance of having word count goals that vary daily depending on my needs. With two young kids and a more than full time job I need all the help I can get.

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About Storm Season

The great outdoors isn’t so great for Sydney It-Girl Lien Hong. It’s too dark, too quiet, and there are spiders in the toilet of the cabin she is sharing with friends on the way to a New South Wales music festival. To make matters worse, she’s been separated from her companions and taken a bad fall. With a storm approaching, her rescue comes in the form of a striking wilderness ranger named Claudia Sokolov, whose isolated cabin, soulful voice and collection of guitars bely a complicated history. While they wait out the weather, the women find an undeniable connection—one that puts them both on new trajectories that last long after the storm has cleared.

 

Excerpt from Storm Season

 

Two weeks ago, Lien had to resign herself to coming up north in the first place. Now she’s resigning herself to going home to Sydney. Of course, not everything will be terrible. She’s pretty sure a shower with no line outside the door will change her life. She’ll have her local restaurants back, rather than dealing with her friends’ inconsistent cooking. She can’t wait for clean sheets and clean clothes and a full length mirror so she can feel like herself again. Also, there’ll be way fewer flies.

But Sydney also means she has no chance to bump into a gorgeous park ranger while grabbing groceries or walking to the train. Somehow Claudie’s had no last minute change of heart. Not that Lien was holding out hope but—damn it, Lien was completely holding out hope.

* * *

Lien’s focus is on Claudie. “You’re being unfair. I never thought of you as a cause,” she says. Her voice is choked.

“I only meant that you want to build my band for me. I need to do it for myself.”

“I never wanted that. I wanted to help. You could definitely use help.” Lien’s eyes glitter in the streetlight. She lifts her chin. “But more than that, I wanted to spend time with you, Claudie. Look, I had this whole plan to ask you to go on a date with me.” She swallows. “I didn’t want a cause. I was kind of hoping for a girlfriend.” Car headlights arc behind them. Lien goes on. “What I said up at the cabin? That I thought we could be something? Nothing changed for me. I still think we could work. But you don’t. You push me away if I come close. So I’m done. I’m not going to trail around after you trying to prove that I’m a different person from the one you made up in your head. I can’t make you believe this would work when you’ve already made up your mind that it won’t.”

She whirls around and strides away. She’s across the road in a break in the traffic before Claudie has time to think. Lien’s white dress reflects the green and red and white of the city lights. Her hair flies out behind her.

Claudie can’t breathe. The rest of the world keeps moving. Wind spirals in the trees that line the street. A few clouds tumble across the sky and block the moon. A siren wails in the distance.

Lien’s the opposite of what Claudie needs. She’s hectic. She’s interfering. She’ll move on. It’s taken months for Claudie to realize that none of that matters.

* * *

“Come out here,” calls Claudie from the deck.

Claudie’s leaning on the railing looking over the vast expanse of nothing. “Come and stand at the edge here,” she says. “It’s like the edge of the universe.”

It’s dark; there’s nothing out there. The world smells rich and wet. Lien holds herself still and looks out with the cabin lights behind her.

“Wait a sec,” says Claudie.

She steps back toward the house and reaches inside the cabin door. Everything goes dark.

“Hey—” Lien can’t see a thing. They haven’t had lights in days, and now Claudie’s turning them off. The blackness seems complete.

“You’re okay,” says Claudie. “It’ll take a moment for your eyes to adjust. I figured—It’s been raining so much. You haven’t had a clear night up here. I wanted to show you.” She moves beside Lien against the railing.

And as Lien’s eyes accustom themselves to the dark, the sky opens up above them. The Milky Way sweeps a path of light across the great black bowl. Around that the night extends from one clear horizon to the other, lit by a thousand layers of stars on stars, dazzling bright in the dark.

The universe goes on forever. It’s huge, and Lien’s tiny and breathless in front of it.

In that moment nothing is worth thinking about beyond that sky, nothing but the huge universe and Claudie’s hand, steady and close beside Lien’s on the railing, Claudie’s warm body so near. Lien twines her pinkie around Claudie’s. They stand under the stars, still and silent.

When Lien turns, Claudie’s cheekbones are traced in blue-white and her eyes reflect a thousand pinprick lights. She’s beautiful. She’s from a whole other world.

* * *

Storm Season will be published by Interlude Press on February 2, 2017. Connect with author Pene Henson at PeneHenson.com; on Facebook at facebook.com/penewrites and on Twitter at @penehenson.

About the Author

Pene Henson has gone from British boarding schools to New York City law firms. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where she is an intellectual property lawyer and published poet who is deeply immersed in the city’s LGBTQIA community. She spends her spare time enjoying the outdoors and gazing at the ocean with her gorgeous wife and two unexpectedly exceptional sons. Into the Blue, her first novel, was published by Interlude Press in 2016 and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Storm Season will be published by Interlude Press on February 2, 2017. Connect with author Pene Henson at PeneHenson.com; on Facebook at facebook.com/penewrites and on Twitter at @penehenson.

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A Free Dreamer Review: Speakeasy by Suzey Ingold

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

speakeasy-by-suzey-ingoldIn the height of the Prohibition era, recent Yale graduate Heath Johnson falls for Art, the proprietor of a unique speakeasy tucked away beneath the streets of Manhattan where men are free to explore their sexuality. When Art’s sanctuary is raided, Heath is forced to choose between love and the structured life his parents planned for him.

I totally have a thing for the Prohibition era and the whole air of forbidden love and fun it brings, so I was thrilled to discover “Speakeasy”. I will say that while I find the era fascinating, my historical knowledge about is pretty much non-existent. If you want to know if this story sticks to historic facts, then I’m not the right person to ask.

Heath is a good boy. Quiet, obedient, good grades and never disputes his parents’ decisions. Of course they don’t know that he actually prefers men and has no intention of marrying the girl his mother picked for him. I really liked Heath from the very beginning. He really matures over the course of the book and finally starts living his own life.

Art was a true gentleman and I loved the way he wooed Heath. It was charming. He can easily relate to Heath’s need to keep quiet and please his parents, having a very similar background. There’s no unnecessary drama about money, since both MCs aren’t exactly poor. This way, there was more room for real plot.

The romance was rather slow burn and there was absolutely no explicit sex. Every time, Heath and Art were together, I truly felt their infatuation and got that silly grin of the newly in love myself. It was wonderful.

There were only two minor things I didn’t like so much. The HEA was a bit too easy for me, given the circumstances. And I’m not a huge fan of first person present tense POV. I decided to give this book 5 stars anyway, simply because it was such a very charming love story.

Overall, I really, really liked “Speakeasy” and I will definitely keep an eye out to other works Suzey Ingold.

The cover is absolutely gorgeous. It’s what made me take a closer look at the book in the first place.

Sales Links

Interlude Press

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Book details:

Kindle Edition, 218 pages
Published February 18th 2016 by Interlude Press
Original TitleSpeakeasy
ASINB01BN54KOM
Edition LanguageEnglish

Killian B. Brewer on Writing, and his release ‘Lunch With the Do Nothings at the Tammy Dinette by Killian B. Brewer (author interview, excerpt and giveaway)

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Lunch With the Do Nothings at the Tammy Dinette

by Killian B. Brewer
Interlude Press
Cover Design by C.B. Messer

Purchase Links

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Today Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is very lucky to be interviewing Killian Brewer author of Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette.

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Hi Killian, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hey, y’all! I’m Killian Brewer, though most people just call me Brew. I’m a Southern boy, raised in the land of peaches and peanuts. I grew up in a tiny little town in a house where we would entertain each other by telling stories. My father can spin a yarn with the best of them and taught me early to enjoy the fellowship of storytelling. I went to college and earned my degree in English Literature, mostly because of my love of a good story. Of course, like most English majors, I don’t use that degree at all in my day job, but it does come in handy for my writing.

My current novel, Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette, was inspired by the people I grew up around in South Georgia. I wanted to explore what life could be like for a young gay man who is suddenly transplanted in a small town with little understanding of the way of life there. In particular, I wanted to follow his search for love and a sense of family in a world where he feels like a fish out of water. I also wanted to write about older southern women, because I think they are awesome.

  • What is the biggest thing people think they know about your subject/genre that isn’t so?

I think a lot of people assume that most people in the South are conservative, close-minded and bigoted. While it is true that we have more than our fair share of people like that, I discover that the older I get the more people I meet who are not that way. One big area where this has changed is acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues. As a teenager, I never could have imagined living as an openly gay person in Georgia. But now I do just that. My very religious and conservative family and friends have come a long way and are now very open and accepting of me and my partner. I think the biggest reason for this change is that with more people being out of the closet, Southerners are discovering they already know and love someone who is gay. Once you realize you care for one gay person, it is easier to be accepting of all gay people.

  • What are some references you used while writing this book?

I really didn’t have to use too many references while writing this book since so much of it is based on my own life experience. The ways of small-town life are very familiar to me and these women in this book are all amalgamations of various women I grew up around. However, I did find myself on the web checking on diner slang. I knew a few phrases from many a late night cup of joe at the local diner, but I needed more to flesh out the story. I found a few websites that listed diner slang, and found myself laughing out loud at some of the funnier phrases. I also had to check the web a few times to make sure that references I made to some classic country singers were accurate.

  1. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

My family is a group of storytellers. Whenever we are together, eventually the conversation rolls around to everyone telling their favorite stories from our past and amusing anecdotes about people we all know. Humor is always an important part of these stories. We also love wordplay, puns and music. In college, I decided to take some writing classes and discovered that the storytelling I grew up learning from my family translated well into writing. I was always a voracious reader as well, but would sometimes find myself wishing a story had gone a different direction. From this I began to think of my own stories that I would like to tell.

  • What do your plans for future projects include?

I currently have several projects in the very early stages. Most of them are just ideas for characters and situations that I need to see what they can develop into. One is a much darker and less humorous story than I normally write. Another involves a paranormal element, which will be a departure for me in style as well. But mainly, I am working on a possible sequel to Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette that will focus more on the lives of the waitresses who work in the diner and one of the supporting characters, Skeet Warner.

  • Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Mainly that I hope they will enjoy spending time in the little town that I have created. I love my home state of Georgia and it pleases me to be sharing a(albeit fictionalized) piece of it with the world. I also encourage my readers to create their own Do-Nothing club. Find a group of people you really enjoy being around and set aside a little time each week or month to get together and do absolutely nothing. I think the enjoyment and fellowship it brings will be infinitely rewarding.

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Blurb

When Marcus Sumter, a short order cook with dreams of being a chef, inherits a house in small town Marathon, Georgia, he leaves his big city life behind. Marcus intends to sell the house to finance his dreams, but a group of lovable busybodies called the Do Nothings, a new job at the local diner, the Tammy Dinette, and a handsome mechanic named Hank cause Marcus to rethink his plans. Will he return to the life he knew, or will he finally put down roots?

Excerpt

The diner took up a quarter of the city block; its silvery siding glimmered in the morning sun. A metal bracket jutted over the diner door and held a bright neon sign that flashed The Tammy Dinette: Stand By your Ham and Eggs. Below the sign, two tall and wide single-paned windows showed the bustle of the crowd inside. Marcus could see that most of the booths along the windows were occupied, and a tall redheaded waitress stood next to one of the booths furiously scribbling on a pad and nodding her head.

“Let’s go,” Skeet said as he hopped to the door and yanked it open. He swept his arm across his body and said in a terrible British accent, “After you, my good sir.”

Marcus grinned at the boy and stepped into the diner. The sudden rush of country music mixed with the murmur of the restaurant crowd, the smell of greasy food and coffee, and the glare of fluorescent lights from the Formica tables and counter tops flooded Marcus with a sense of relief and comfort. The last bits of tension slipped from his shoulders as he watched the two waitresses in pink uniform tops and skirts scurry from table to table as different patrons raised their hands to get each woman’s attention.

**

“Now sign here.” Raff pointed out a line at the bottom of a paper. “Then initial here.”

Marcus scribbled his name where instructed, then set the pen gently on the table. He read the final paragraph of the will to himself one more time. To my grandson Marcus, I leave all my other worldly possessions, my assets and most importantly, my house, so that maybe, just once in his life, that poor boy can have a real home.

“So, it’s all mine?”

“Well, it has to go through probate and such, but yes. Basically, it’s all yours.”

“And I have to live in the house? I mean, she says she wants it to be my home.”

“Oh, good lord, boy,” Helen said and laughed. “Your grandmother was a former mayor’s wife, not the queen of England. It’s a will, not a proclamation.”

“My mother is correct. You can do with the assets as you see fit, once her few debts are paid off.”

“So I could sell it?”

“If that’s what you desire. As a matter of fact, my wife, Katie Nell, is one of the most successful realtors in Marathon. I’m sure she could sell it for you in a heartbeat if you want.”

“Raff, you quit trying to drum up business for that nitwit wife of yours.” Helen picked up the pen from the table and inspected it before opening her purse and dropping it in. “Marcus, you don’t have to decide anything right now. Why don’t you spend a little time here and see what you want to do with it? How soon do you have to be back where you came from? Back in…?”

“Um, Atlanta.” Marcus let his eyes wander off from Helen to the photographs on the wall behind her. “No rush. Nothing important waiting on me there.”

“Then it’s settled. You stay here for a few weeks at least and see what you want to do. The other Do Nothings and I have already gone through your grandmother’s house and got it nice and clean for you. Of course, there’s no real food in there, but we’ll get you settled, and I’ll bring over something for you to eat tonight. Tomorrow, we will run you up to the Piggly Wiggly and stock you up.”

“Well, I guess I can stay until the house sells at least.” Marcus looked at the table as Raff slid a manila envelope across the table to him.

“Here are your copies of all the paperwork. There are a bunch of things in there. Here are the keys to the house.” Raff pushed a key ring across the table. “And I wrote Katie Nell’s number on the front of the envelope so when you get ready to sell—”

“If you sell it,” Helen interrupted her son. “You never know, little man, we might just charm you into staying.”

**

Over the course of the next month, Marcus fell easily into the rhythm of his new life in the diner. The black ring around his eye faded, and thoughts of Robert and his mangled car began to fade as well. Francine and he perfected their frenzied dance around each other behind the grill when the diner was filled to capacity. As he worked, the familiar tools of spatula, whisk, and knife once again became extensions of his hand, and the smells of bacon frying and eggs cooking made his appetite for food and life return. The silly names the sisters invented for customers made Marcus belly laugh, the sensation of it bubbling up in his chest an almost-forgotten pleasure. With each passing day, it grew easier to rise early in the morning and catch a ride to the diner with Francine or one of the girls.

The only part of the day he dreaded was life outside the diner and returning to a too-quiet house filled with photographs of people who shared his face and name, but who were complete strangers. The house was in theory his home, but it still seemed as if he was intruding on someone else’s space. He hadn’t bothered to unpack the few clothes left in his duffel bag or put away the clean clothes from the laundry basket on the bedroom floor. In the silence of his grandmother’s house, he would hear the ringing of Robert’s plaintive texts, the nagging thoughts about what to do with his wrecked car, and the haunting words of his mother, “Baby, it’s time to move on.”

More and more, he lingered well past the end of his shift at the diner to avoid going to the house. Usually he would end his day by wandering over to the Do Nothing’s corner booth to check on the latest town gossip or to see how preparations for the hoedown were going. Marcus would shuffle his way into the booth and tuck himself between Helen and Inez so that the women could explain to him who each person they gossiped about was. Most of the names meant nothing to him until he began to connect them with their usual orders, just as he had at the Waffle Barn. The more stories the Do Nothings told about the customers who hurried in and out of the diner daily, the more the citizens of Marathon seemed like friends. He would sit happily silent and let the women’s laughter and rapid-fire words sooth his work-weary muscles as he sank into the padding of the booth.

But not today.

He had finished cleaning the cooking area, flung his apron onto its hook, and headed into the dining room. He’d been tired but, for the first time since Robert had pressured him to quit working at the Waffle Barn in Atlanta, he’d felt useful again. As he’d reached the kitchen door, he’d caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Despite the hard work and grueling heat of the kitchen, he’d seen that he wore a pleased smile, a smile he wasn’t sure he had worn since the days after his mother and before Robert. He’d straightened his back and nodded at himself in the mirror. Hello, stranger. Where’ve you been? With the smile lingering on his lips, he had glanced through the porthole window in the swinging door and seen Hank Hudson standing at the counter.

**

About the Author

Killian B. Brewer grew up in a family where the best way to be heard was to tell a good story, therefore he developed an early love of storytelling, puns and wordplay. He began writing poetry and short fiction at 15 and continued in college where he earned a BA in English. He does not use this degree in his job in the banking industry. He currently lives in Georgia with his partner and their dog. Growing up in the South gave him a funny accent and a love of grits. The Rules of Ever After is his first novel.

Website
http://www.killianbbrewer.com
Goodreads Author site
Twitter
killianbbrewer

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A Stella Review: Idlewild by Jude Sierra

RATING 4,25 out of 5 stars

idlewildIn a last ditch effort to bring the downtown Detroit gastro pub he started with his late husband back to life, Asher Schenck fires everyone and hires a completely new staff. Among them is Tyler Heyward, a 23-year-old recent college graduate in need of funds to pay for med school. As their relationship shifts from business to friendship, Tyler falls for Asher and finds himself caught between the things he thought he wanted and the things he hasn’t allowed himself to dream about. Working together, they get to know each other’s dreams. Set in the backdrop of Detroit’s revival, Idlewild is a story about love and healing.

Asher is reopening Idlewild, the restaurant he neglected during the last difficult years, years where after losing his husband, he let himself be swallowed by the grief and overlooked his business. Asher is hiring new people, Tyler is one of waiters. He has decided to take a break from med school and work doing something he actually like. What both of them aren’t expecting is  the strong friendship that born between them.

Idlewild by Jude Sierra is a very good story, it packs a lot of feelings, real ones, the emotions come out through the pages so clearly. I liked how it is paced and I adored how I was able to see the love Tyler and Asher had for each other even before they realized it.

This is a book relation focused, there are some second characters, well defined too, but they don’t play huge roles in the plot, the focus remained spotted on the MCs and their initial friendship and it follows them in the discovery of a new unexpected love later. We see them deal with life, with their fears and the happiness found in each other arms.

I liked how John and Malik were presented and often mentioned, as it could have been in real life; because ex boyfriends and dead husbands can’t be forgotten in the span of a moment like  too often happens in books, while in RL you hurt, suffer and recover with time and the help of your beloved ones. And I saw exactly this in Idlewild, although maybe Asher isn’t really ready yet to go on, but he’s there, and Tyler is just waiting for him.

The only little negative note I want to make and the reason why I didn’t give the novel the five full stars, is the use of the present tense as verbal form, I’m usually not a fan of it but in this particular case it bothered me quite a lot because it seems it clashed with the writing. I can assure you the book is very well written but to me it wasn’t perfect just for the verbal form.

I feel to recommend Idlewild, especially if you are looking for a real story, with real characters and a real setting. I quite enjoyed it and I’m now interested in reading more by Jude Sierra.

The cover art by CB Messer caught my eyes at first sight, it’s well done and fits the story.

Sales Links

Interlude Press

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BOOK DETAILS

Published December 1st 2016 by Interlude Press

Kindle Edition, 250 pages

ASIN B01MAXJFMU

Edition Language English

In the Spotlight: The King and the Criminal by Charlotte Ashe (author interview, excerpt and giveaway)

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The King and the Criminal (The Heart of All Worlds #2) by Charlotte Ashe
Interlude Press

Available for Purchase at

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Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Charlotte Ashe, author of The Heart of All Worlds Book 2: The King and the Criminal.

Hi Charlotte, thank you for agreeing to this interview and welcome to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Thank you so much for having me! I’m excited to be here!

I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and it has always been a passion of mine. Recently, I decided it was time to dust off that old dream and seriously pursue it. My first novel, The Heart of All Worlds, Book 1: The Sidhe was published in 2015, and The King and the Criminal is the second book in the series. It is a love story at its heart, about an elfin king’s uneasy alliance with a criminal he was supposed to bring to justice, against a backdrop of political upheaval.

  • Why did you choose to write LGBTQ stories?

As a queer person myself, I grew up wanting to read more stories about people like me, so that is definitely part of it. I also love speculative fiction, and I believe it is the perfect genre for really exploring issues of gender and sexuality in the social structures of fictional worlds. Fantasy can be an amazing escape, but it can be difficult to sink into that escape as an LGBTQ person when it’s just an escape to another homophobic and rigidly gendered world.  LGBTQ stories are the stories of myself and the people in my community, even when those stories are set in completely fantastical worlds.

  • What inspired you to write your first book?

Basically, I set out to write something that I’d always wanted to read but hadn’t been able to find. While many published works of science fiction and fantasy do explore issues of gender and sexuality, high fantasy tends to stick to stories told in rigidly heterosexist and patriarchal worlds. I started writing The Heart of All Worlds trilogy because I wanted to write a work of high fantasy that really felt like high fantasy, while breaking a lot of the traditional rules of the genre.

  • When and why did you begin writing?

I can’t remember a time that I didn’t write! I really started writing probably around age 8, and I would create “books” of photocopied stories. I especially loved writing horror stories as a kid, and that ended up progressing to fantasy and science fiction by the time I was in middle school. I always had a ridiculously active imagination—my mother kept audio tapes of me spinning stories as early as 3 years old. I came up with all sorts of things—one of my favorites was that there were apparently purple people with flat bodies that lived between the inner and outer walls of our house. I even made up some words in their language. I was 4. If I hadn’t started writing, I don’t know what I would have done with an imagination like that.

  • What are you current projects?

Right now I’m working on the final book in The Heart of All Worlds trilogy, which will be coming out sometime in 2017. I am also plotting out my next trilogy, which will be set in the same universe as The Heart of All Worlds and will feature some of the same characters, but with a particular focus on the women in the Keshell family. And I’m always thinking of new ideas for future books—I keep a little notebook in my purse that is brimming with ideas.

  • Off topic: What secret talents do you have?

That’s a tough one! I’m really good at Tetris, does that count? I’m also pretty fantastic at making those little origami stars out of strips of magazine pages. More seriously, though, I am very good at crisis management. It is a skill I have honed in my day job working with homeless teens, but it has always come naturally to me. For whatever reason, I am able to stay very calm, with laser focus on what needs to get done, when a crisis occurs. I think it’s just how I’m wired. It has been vitally helpful in many situations throughout my life.

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Blurb

The Heart of All Worlds series continues with Sehrys and Brieden living in Khryslee. But when King Firae is trapped by an ancient pact and Sehrys is forced to rule in his absence, Firae relys on an exiled criminal to get home. Meanwhile, a more urgent truth confronts them: Their world is in grave danger and they all play a part in its fate.

Purchase Links:

Interlude Press

http://store.interludepress.com/collections/the-king-the-criminal-by-charlotte-ashe

Amazon

http://amzn.to/2gAH5tc

Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-king-and-the-criminal-charlotte-ashe/1123885989?ean=2940153056081

Apple

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-king-and-the-criminal/id1121125169?mt=11

All Romance eBooks

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thekingandthecriminal-2179899-153.html?referrer=55feb862851f8

 Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/641540

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-king-and-the-criminal 

Book Depository

Not yet available (as of 12/8/16)

Indiebound

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530863&aff=InterludePress

The King & The Criminal ~ EXCERPT

It came back to Firae like a cold fist slowly squeezing his heart, so slowly that he didn’t realize it was happening until the pain was overwhelming. He swallowed. They couldn’t avoid the truth. And he couldn’t bear another dishonest moment between them.

“Five months,” Firae said.

Tash made an inquisitive noise; his eyes never left Firae’s.

“I have five months to complete my mission. I promised to help Brissa, and I intend to keep that promise, but…”

“But we don’t know if we will fulfill the prophecy in time,” Tash supplied.

“The Doctrine has been compromised. The Border is unstable.”

Tash nodded. “I know.” His voice had grown very soft.

“If I don’t return with the elf responsible…” Firae forced himself to maintain eye contact rather than close his eyes and cower in the face of reality. For, whatever Tash might think, Firae was king of Yestralekrezerche, and The Border and its surrounding lands were his responsibility. “I can sacrifice tens of thousands of lives or I can sacrifice you, Tash. I—I don’t want to, but—”

Tash closed his eyes. “I know,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He swallowed thickly. “I know.”

Firae searched for anything else he could say, but everything that came to mind sounded hollow. It was true that the Council might show Tash mercy for his pure intent, but the amount of blood and essence they would need from him to restabilize The Border would likely be more than his body could withstand, even if they did wish to spare him. So Firae just watched Tash until he opened his eyes again.

“I know,” Tash said one final time, looking at Firae with such resignation that it was painful to witness. And then Tash turned to face the wall with his arms wrapped tightly around himself. Firae moved to fit behind him and wrapped an arm tentatively around Tash’s waist.

“I would like you to go back to your own quarters now,” Tash said firmly.

“Tash—” Firae began to protest.

“Just go, Firae. Please.”

Firae swallowed around a lump that had found its way into his throat and slowly removed his arm. “Of course. I…” There was nothing left to say. “Goodnight, Tash.”

Tash didn’t say anything.

* * *

The doctor waved them through the house and into the back garden without even offering a pot of tea; he seemed quite aware of the urgency of the situation.

Tash and Cliope inhaled sharply at the scene that greeted them.

The sidhe lay on his stomach in the soft grass with a thin blanket draped over his buttocks and back. His features were illuminated by the moons, and he was—

He was lovely: long dark hair and full pink lips; skin pale but warm-hued, smooth as marble; sweet, lean muscles. The boy—man, he was a man, but he couldn’t have been one for long—was as perfect as a sculpture. Tash could barely breathe at the sight of him.

“Well,” Cliope whispered on an exhale. “That—that is a good-looking man.”

Tash laughed softly and looked to Dr. Lasceli, who nodded his assent for Tash to approach the other sidhe.

Tash walked to the unconscious elf and bent down beside him. He knew nothing about the man; he could be friend, foe, or someone to whom Tash would be indifferent if they’d met under different circumstances. But he was sidhe and he was in need of assistance, and Tash—

Well. Tash was different now. At least he was trying to be.

Tash settled cross-legged in the damp grass beside the other elf and took the man’s cool, limp hand in his own. Up close, the man was even more striking. He looked younger than Tash, perhaps by fifty years or even a century, and his dark hair was a glossy near-black. His eyelashes were equally black, sweeping to dramatic lengths against his fine cheekbones. His long, slender ears were dotted with small hoops and cuffs of copper and silver all the way up to their points. Some of the earrings were connected to one another with tangled chains.

Tash closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could feast upon the other man’s beauty like the greedy, touch-starved celibate he was, or he could do what he could to save the man’s life.

Centering his own power, Tash released the man’s hand and checked the four points of his body.

His midsection gave no response, which didn’t surprise Tash. If the man wielded water, being submerged would probably have revived him, even if he had lost consciousness before falling into the water. His forehead pulsed warm but not hot—probably low-grade compulsion, healing, or telekinesis, but not the center of his power, unless he wielded an even weaker expression of the Common caste than Tash himself. If this was the man’s only point of power, his chances of survival were slim.

Tash moved his hands to the tops of the other man’s feet and felt warmth again, which was a relief—two points of power made his survival that much more likely, after all.

Tash wet his lips nervously before proceeding to the final point. He hadn’t dared to hope that the one way in which he was most likely to help would be available to him, but as he gently lifted the man’s shoulder so that he could slip his hand below the sidhe’s chest and hold it over his heart, Tash’s entire body gave a jolt and he gasped. His eyes slipped closed at the heat that shot up his arm and into his own heart.

* * *

About the Author

Charlotte Ashe works in the nonprofit world by day and writes romantic fantasy by night. A long-time fan of speculative fiction that skews feminist and features LGBT characters, Charlotte loves writing stories that are sexy, heartfelt, and full of magic and adventure. She has put her BA in literature and creative writing to use over the years as a writer of fan fiction, and her most popular work has drawn more than one million readers worldwide, been translated into several languages, and been featured in online publications including The Backlot. Her first novel, The Sidhe, was published in 2015 by Interlude Press and named a finalist for a Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award.

The King & The Crikminal will be published by Interlude Press on December 8, 2016. Connect with author Charlotte Ashe at CharlotteAshe.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/charlotteashewrites and on Twitter at @CobwebsandAshes

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A Stella Review: With or Without You (Go Your Own Way #2) by Zane Riley

RATING  5+ out of 5 stars

With or Without You by Zane RileyIn the much-anticipated sequel to Go Your Own Way, high school seniors Lennox McAvoy and Will Osborne pick up right where they left off—navigating the tumultuous waters of a new relationship and dealing with Will’s disapproving father.

When a violent incident forces Lennox to give up his independent ways, he must come to terms with his past just as Will is grappling with his future. As Will’s college plans become reality, will Lennox have the courage to go after the opportunities he doesn’t think he deserves?

If you follow my reviews, it’s probably not a mystery I’m a devoted lover of Interlude Press books. Without a doubt Zane Riley  is one of their best authors. I fell in love with Go Your Own Way and this sequel was sublime. I anxiously waited for With Or Without You  and I can say Zane couldn’t have written something better. Now if I could only read the third book right this second it would be perfect.

The story starts where the first book ended. Will’s dad is finally back from the hospital, still recovering and still not liking Lennox at all. Lennox who is living (or trying to live) with Will, although the need to be back to the nasty hotel room his grampa is renting for him is strong, the place where he can escape from all the good things his life is throwing at him.

Will is rightly a little obsessed with college, he’s planning to move to NY while Lennox can’t see a future for him, or a future with his boyfriend. He is still wearing the ankle monitor from when he left the juvinile prison. But despite his pessimism, amazing events are going to present to Lennox.

Why I loved this book so much? First of all, the characters. Zane did an awesome work. The growth and the changes in Lennox and Will were clear, they are becoming strong adult who everyone should be pride of. They are only eighteen years old but Will is a force of nature and Lennox has seen so much in his life all his fears are naturally understandable. What truly caught my heart was the ability of the author at showing me the deep love the characters, main and second ones, feel for each other. It came to me powerfully in every form love can be shown. I submerged myself in the story, sexy and funny, emotional and brave. A warning, this is not a YA book so be ready for some hot scenes.

With Or Without You was so perfect I can’t wait for more. I feel to highly recommend the series (to  read in order) to everyone who is looking for a new, talented author who can greatly write and engage you in beautiful stories.

Book Design by CB Messer and Cover Illustration by Colleen M. Good. It seems to me the cover is a little different in style from the cover of the first book, still I like it a lot.

Sales Links

Interlude Press

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BOOK DETAILS:

Published July 21st 2016 by Interlude Press
Kindle Edition, 348 pages
ASIN B01F7PBIEE
Edition Language English

In the Spotlight: Amy Stilgenbauer ‘Sideshow’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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Sideshow by Amy Stilgenbauer
 Release Date: August 25, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Messer

Blurb

Abby Amaro wants to sing at La Scala Opera House, but she’s a good girl, and in 1957 good girls get married. Still, when she receives her first marriage proposal, she freezes, knowing the way her suitor makes her feel bodes trouble. When he won’t take no for an answer, she flees, joining up with a traveling carnival.

Thanks to a burlesque trapeze artist and the world’s saddest clown, Abby bides her time and fits in until she can rejoin the world she knows. She doesn’t expect a sideshow strongwoman named Suprema, who captures her imagination. As the carnival makes its way across the Midwest, Abby learns much more than she had ever imagined—about herself, about her identity, and, most importantly, about love.

 

Pages or Words: 61,000 words
 Categories: Fiction, Historical, Lesbian Romance, Romance

 

Excerpt

Abby couldn’t remember falling asleep. She only remembered the dark night and how, outside the window of Della’s trailer, the rolling slopes of Eastern Ohio slowly flattened into the farmland of the western side of the state and faded into darkness. She didn’t say much during the trip, but her mind was spinning, unable to process what she had done.

Once, when she had been a little girl, barely older than Annette was now, her mother had taken her and Natale to visit their aunt in Chicago for a week. It had been a nice visit. They had embarked on the train with a great deal of ceremony, and Za Teresa had spoiled the pair rotten, loading them up with peach-shaped marzipan and pizzelle until they were both sick. She hadn’t left Cleveland for any extended period of time since. Oh, sure, she’d talked and dreamt about it. Nonna often wistfully mentioned taking a trip back to her girlhood home one more time now that the war was over and taking Abby along to look after her, and then, if her opera career took off as she had once hoped, she would be visiting all the great cities. In her scrapbook, clippings of Palais Garnier, La Scala, and The Met were decorated with carefully drawn hearts and hopeful stars and the scrawled word: someday. Still, she had never imagined that when she departed the Coventry neighborhood again, it would be in a burlesque dancer’s trailer.

Buy the book
Interlude Press | Amazon  | Barnes and Noble  | Smashwords  | All Romance eBooks

Book Depository not yet available | Indiebound

 

 

Meet the Author ~ Amy Stilgenbauer

Amy Stilgenbauer is a writer and aspiring archivist currently based in southeast Michigan. She is the author of the novelette series, Season of the Witch, as well as the Young Adult novel, The Legend of League Park. Her short story, The Fire-Eater’s Daughter, was included in Summer Love, an LGBTQ Young Adult collection published by Duet, an imprint of Interlude Press. When she isn’t writing, Amy enjoys all things bergamot and tries to keep her cats away from her knitting.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

25-Aug: The Novel Approach, Unquietly Me, Velvet Panic, Bayou Book Junkie

26-Aug: Oh My Shelves, Book Lovers 4Ever, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, A.M. Leibowitz

29-Aug: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Love Bytes

30-Aug: Butterfly-O-Meter, Kirsty Loves Books, MM Good Book Reviews

31-Aug: My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog

1-Sep: Prism Book Alliance, Open Skye Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter

2-Sep: Foxylutely Book Reviews, Bonkers About Books

5-Sep: Divine Magazine, Havan Fellows

6-Sep: Alpha Book Club, Molly Lolly

7-Sep: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Charley Descoteaux

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Giveaway

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In the Spotlight: Burning Tracks (Spotlight Series #2) by Lilah Suzanne (author blog, excerpt and giveaway)

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Burning Tracks (Spotlight Series #2) by Lilah Suzanne
Can be read as a standalone
 Release Date: August 11, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Victoria S.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words has invited Lilah Suzanne here today to share a little bit about herself with our readers.  Welcome, Lilah. Describe your favorite rainy day activity.

I love the smell of petrichor right before rain, and I do love a good rainy day, but I lived in Seattle for a while and I have to say, the constant rain got old pretty fast. So, depending on how many days it’s been raining, my favorite rainy day activity ranges from watching movies and reading books, to getting increasingly annoyed and desperate for sunshine. The thing about rainy days in Seattle is that you can’t get cozy and wait it out or you’ll never leave the house. Even though I’m in North Carolina again, I still sometimes have the Seattle mentality of dealing with rain: suck it up and carry on as usual, or a slightly grumpier than usual.

I’ll share one of my favorite rainy day memories also:

I lived in Florida until I was eight, when we moved to North Carolina. And in the summer of North Carolina or the eternal summer of Florida, my siblings and I loved going out and playing in the rain. We’d put on our swimsuits and grab buckets and jump in puddles and have a blast. Our favorite though, was when it would rain when we were swimming in our grandparent’s pool. I don’t know why it was so exciting to get rained on when were already wet, but it just felt magical somehow, this intermingling of rain and pool water and breaking sensibility to play out in it.

On one of our last family vacations before we all grew up and moved away and got married and had kids and all that was a trip to New Orleans, staying in the French Quarter in this old hotel in an even older building with very few windows and thick walls and narrow, twisting hallways. Our room was on the first floor in a courtyard with a pool in the center. Usually we were out and about seeing the sights (two out of four of us were old enough to see the nighttime sights) but one day it rained all day. Bored and listless, we all decided to go swimming in the rain. We have a picture, and it’s one of my absolute favorites, the four of us in the pool, the rain just pouring on us. It looks magical. And even though we were all teenagers and young adults, it felt just as magical as it used it.

Thank you, Lilah!  Now more about Burning Tracks by Lilah Suzanne.

Blurb

In the sequel to Broken Records, Gwen Pasternak has it all: a job she loves as a celebrity stylist and a beautiful wife, Flora. But as her excitement in working with country music superstar Clementine Campbell grows, Gwen second-guesses her quiet domestic bliss. Meanwhile, her business partner, Nico Takahashi and his partner, reformed bad-boy musician Grady Dawson, face uncertainties of their own.

 

Pages or Words: 224 pages, 62,000 words
 Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Romance Rom-Com

 

Excerpt

“There’s a reason you two aren’t allowed to hang out alone.” Arms crossed, one impeccable eyebrow raised, lips twisted, hair artfully tousled, and dressed to the nines: Alexander Wang black-on-black tropical-printed board shorts, a slim fit black-and-white chino and matching black lapel jacket, black boots, and a black and white scarf to tie it all together. “Nico,” Gwen says.

“Nico?” Grady is up in a flash. “You came?”

Nico’s face softens into his Grady look. “Of course I came. Did you really think you were getting rid of me that easily?” Grady comes closer, and Nico brushes a spiraled lock of hair from his face. “I’m sorry it took me so long. There were storms over Dallas, and I got stuck on the tarmac with a dead phone. I barely made my connection, and the clusterfuck of morons known as the United gate at JFK could not get its shit together, and I may be banned outright from Charlotte-Douglas International, can you believe they flag you as a security risk and hold you in a room with no phone signal or Wi-Fi just for threatening one person with shoving that goddam intercom up their—” He opens his arms for Grady; his look of annoyance slips away the moment they touch. “Anyway, I’m here.”

Grady sighs, crowds into Nico’s space, and tucks himself into Nico’s body. Much better, a perfect fit. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Nico sinks one hand into his hair, strokes the nape of his neck with other, breathes him in, and closes his eyes. “I’m so sorry. About the apartment and taking off and not being here yesterday, I tried to so hard to make it because I know how difficult it is for you. You shouldn’t have been alone.”

Grady sniffs and holds him tighter. “It’s okay. We’re okay. I’m sorry, too.”

Still ensnared in the sheets and duvet and barely awake, Gwen presses her hands to her cheeks and awws. “You guys,” she coos.

Grady lifts his head from Nico’s neck to smile at Gwen. “I wasn’t alone, though.”

“Mmm” Nico says. “And how much trouble did she get you into?”

“None,” Gwen says, defensive. Here she kept Grady safe and sound, searched all over Nashville and Las Vegas while he was off burying himself in work and what thanks does she get? None.

But then Grady smirks and says, “Kind of a lot.”

“Grady.” Gwen throws a pillow at him. “You’re such a tattletale, gosh.”

He bends to whisper something in Nico’s ear, and Gwen doesn’t miss the way his lips drag and linger on the shell of it, or the way Nico’s breath catches and his eyes roll back. When Nico lifts Grady’s shirt and traces around the tattoos with reverent fingers, Gwen takes that as her cue to extricate herself from the bed, put on some pants and a bra, and go fetch her luggage.

“‘Kay you guys have fun and make sure to change the sheets when you’re finished.”

“Wait.” Nico tugs Grady’s shirt down. Then he goes to the case he always has nearby. “You have trouble of your own, Gwen. Thought you might want to know about this.”

Gwen catches the magazine and folded-up papers he tosses her way: screen grabs from a few entertainment websites printed out in black and white.

Is This Clementine Campbell’s Girlfriend? Our source says, “It wouldn’t surprise me.”

Clementine and Gal Pal Definitely More Than Pals Sunning On Vegas Pool Deck.

Our exclusive source and close confidant of both says: Clementine’s married girlfriend “would cheat for sure. She was always touching her. There’s been an energy between them from the very beginning.”

There are pictures: her rubbing sunscreen on Clementine’s bare back, which looks far steamier in a fuzzy long-range picture than it actually was; a picture of them from the back at the store in the Venetian with their hands clasped and Clementine curled in close and her lips on Gwen’s cheek; and most damning of all, grinding together at the VIP club at the Bellagio just last night.

“I don’t—” Frantic and confused, she flaps the magazine and printouts in the air. “What is this? This isn’t— Nico, I didn’t, I swear.”

Nico holds both hands up. “Hey, I am well aware of the slander of tabloids. I get it.” He gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m just not sure Flora is going to.”

 

 

Buy the book:
Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/burning-tracks-by-lilah-suzanne

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2b9OekC

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burning-tracks-lilah-suzanne/1123818262?ean=9781941530993

Apple iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/burning-tracks/id1114833507?mt=11

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-burningtracks-2058729-149.html ?referrer=55feb862851f8

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/637139

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/burning-tracks-book-two-spotlight-series

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530993&aff=interludepress

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Burning-Tracks-Lilah-Suzanne/9781941530993/?a_aid=InterludePress

 

 

Meet the author:

 

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer, she has also authored a children’s book and has a devoted following in the fan fiction community. She is also the author of the Interlude Press books Spice, Pivot and Slip, and Broken Records, which was named a Top Pick by RT Book Reviews Magazine.

 

 

Where to find the author:


Tour Dates & Stops:

11-Aug: Havan Fellows, Jessie G. Books, Divine Magazine, 3 Chicks After Dark

12-Aug: BFD Book Blog, Unquietly Me, The Novel Approach

15-Aug: Molly Lolly, Inked Rainbow Reads, Oh My Shelves

16-Aug: Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Alpha Book Club, Bayou Book Junkie

17-Aug: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Velvet Panic, Prism Book Alliance

18-Aug: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kirsty Loves Books, Bonkers About Books

19-Aug: V’s Reads, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter

22-Aug: Love Bytes, Foxylutely Book Reviews

23-Aug: Nephy Hart, MM Good Book Reviews

24-Aug: A.M. Leibowitz, Open Skye Book Reviews, Book Lovers 4Ever
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A Stella Review: Into the Blue by Penny Henson

RATING  4,5 out of 5 stars

Into the BlueTai Talagi and Ollie Birkstrom have been inseparable since they met as kids, surfing the North Shore of Oahu. Now they live with their best friends and Ollie’s kid brother in a pulled-together family, all of them piled into a run-down beach house. They share cooking, bills, and the saltwater running in their veins. They might have no money, they might argue, they might be in dead end jobs, but they live in Hawaii so it’s always summer. There’s always time for one last wave.

Tai’s spent years shutting down any feelings for Ollie. They’re friends. Their family depends on them. But with Ollie off on his first world tour, with Ollie’s dreams of a pro surfing career finally within reach, their steady world shifts. Is it worth risking their friendship, their family, their dreams for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?

I’m so happy to have read Into the Blue by Pene Henson, it was exactly what I was craving, light, sweet, with zero pauses and awesome characters. The second ones almost stole the MCs roles, and I’m not saying it as a criticism, on the contrary they were all so well done, Sunny, Jamie and Hannah deserved to be put on the spotlight. They are Tai and Ollie family, it couldn’t have been different.  After all since they met at thirteen, Tai and Ollie were inseparable and building a family with the most important persons in their life was simple a necessity of the heart. That said, the story focuses a lot on the main couple, thanks to the time they spend around the world following Ollie’s chance at finally pursuing a surfing career. They support each others dreams so it is natural to Tai to travel with Ollie and help him be the number one in the World Surf League. Just then Ollie finally realizes there is more than friendship for them to share.

Into the Blue is well written and engaging, a friends to lovers story fresh and lighthearted.  I know nothing about surfing but I wasn’t once left dubious about what was happening. It’s real, in the setting, in the characters, in the action. It is evocative with the great descriptions, I felt myself riding Tai’s boards, I smelled the ocean’s air, I felt Tahiti sand under my feet  and I was cooking with Jamie at the Blue House in Oahu.

I’m surprised this book is Pene’s debut novel, I’m hungry for more by the author. I feel to highly recommend it.

The cover art by CB Messer perfectly depicts the book.

Sales Links

Interlude Press

        

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 236 pages
Published July 7th 2016 by Interlude Press
ASIN B01F6JM4QC
Edition Language English