Thursday 20 February 2014

Holding on to Hope Blog Tour



Sid Love is here today for an interview! His new novella, Holding on to Hope hit the shelves on February 14th. I've had the pleasure of reading it, and I have to tell you, it's a fantastic debut novella! The world building is perfect, and you can't help but love the secondary characters as much as Brad and Ronan. A little birdy told me that there is going to be more books featuring these characters and I can't wait to read them.

Here's the official Blurb:
Bradley Parker has waited twenty years for Mr. Right, and on Valentine’s Day, he finally finds him. It’s love at first sight, and Brad even loses his virginity to the man of his dreams. But when he wakes up the next morning unable to remember anything—even what the man looked like—his best friend, Leslie, is convinced he imagined the whole thing. Brad knows he didn’t make up the best night of his life, but he has no idea of the danger he’s putting himself in as he struggles to recall the details of his perfect man. His search may lead him to parts of New York City he never dreamed existed and a war being waged in the shadows.

You can buy Holding on to Hope at Dreamspinner PressAmazon and All Romance Ebooks


And without further ado, here is the interview!

Congratulations on your first release! Can you tell us a little bit about the story and how you came up with the idea?
This story is about Brad’s search for his one true love who he meets on the beautiful day of Valentine’s and loses him as quickly. He has no memory of where this guy is or what he looks like. His love and his hopes are the motivation that keeps him believing that he’d find his man no matter what!
This story came to me when I was brainstorming over plots for an anthology challenge on GayAuthors site where all kinds of free fictions are posted. The theme was a Night to Remember and this was the second idea that popped up in my head. I loved it, so I continued with it. J

This is your first book, but you are very well known in the m/m community. What made you make the transition from reviewer to writer?
I am not THAT well-known lol… I guess we have a decent number of blog followers for which I am humbled! It’s a team effort really what we have achieved so far J
Anywho, to answer your question, I have always been a writer. My transition was from a writer to a reviewer an year ago and not the other way round J But I wasn’t published author back then. It was a passion I followed dedicatedly. I never stopped writing even after I got into blogging about the books in M/M genre.

How did you celebrate when you received the email letting you know you were going to be published?
Ha! It was like 1 AM here in India when I received that email from Elizabeth and I literally screamed in joy in the middle of the night! I bet that must have woken up our neighbors, but I didn’t care lol I was so excited, I could hardly sleep that night.

What made you drew you to paranormal romance for your first book? Will you stick to this subgenre or are there other subgenres you want to explore for your next projects?
Holding on to Hope was my first attempt at writing Paranormal actually. I am the kind of author who loves to try his hand in every genre. So no, I won’t be limited one sub-genre at all. You will see a lot of Contemporary, Mystery, Romance books from me while I will also make an attempt in writing Sci-fi, YA and some more of Paranormal, Fantasy and Urban Fantasy ;)

When you are creating characters, are they based on people you know, or are they completely fictional?
I have met some very interesting people in my life – both online and offline- whose personalities actually intrigued me. So my characters aren’t completely fictional, I have given them a touch of every interesting personality I have met to give them a refreshing feel. Also, my characters take a lot from me too. My main character in Holding on to Hope has some traits that are inspired from me.

Are there any parts of this story that are particularly special to you or parts that you wrote from personal experience?
What’s more special than a guy finding his true love on the Valentine’s Day? I personally believe in the power of love and hope for finding Mr. Right J

What made you choose to publish with Dreamspinner Press and what have you learned from publishing your first story?
Dreamspinner Press has a reputation among the writers and the readers. For a lot of them, DSP books are an auto-buy (and that includes me!) because they promise quality. I knew that they’d only make the best out of my book and present it to the whole world. And I was proved right. I have had a great experience with the DSP staff.

What is next for you?
Well, I am aiming to finish the second book I have started in the series. And I am also simultaneously working on a novel-length story. So you will be sure to see a few books coming out soon under my name.

Can you share a little bit of your story with us?
Here’s an excerpt to the story that gives you a good enough glimpse of my characters ;)

“Okay, remember how I said it is huge?” Brad finally spoke, and Leslie nodded her head to let him know she was all ears. “Well, it is. Last night, something happened, something unimaginable… beyond any of my wildest dreams. I never thought….”
“Brad.” Leslie yawned. “To the point, please. I don’t have all day.”
“Okay, all right! What happened is….” He paused, plastering a big grin on his face. She tried very hard not to roll her eyes, letting him tell her at his own pace. “Last night, my dear, I finally got laid!”
When he broke the news to her, Leslie’s subsequent yawn was cut short by the initial shock she went through. Her body jerked forward, now fully awakened. There wasn’t any amount of caffeine that would have made her feel as lively as she felt at that moment.
This was definitely huge, and not just for Brad. Over the years, Leslie had constantly tried and consequently failed in hooking him up with several guys. Bradley Joseph Parker had the arrogance of a drag queen, she thought. He was too picky when it came to dating and relationships; never wishing to settle for anything less. He dreamt of a guy whose mere presence would take his breath away, who would be so handsome that every girl and every gay guy in the world would yearn to have him in their lives. “Such a guy would only belong to me, holding my hand in a roomful of envious people,” he would say with a smirk. “I would look around and say to them ‘Suck it up, bitches! He is mine!’”
Brad had wasted years with these stupid fantasies, and he had remained a virgin. So Leslie never thought the day would come when Brad’s whining would ever end.
But it had. And Leslie thought she would faint, even with the adrenaline rushing through her veins.
“Wha—?” She became aware of the fact that she had left her mouth hanging open for too long and shut it immediately. A smile crept across her lips, getting bigger by the second, and it turned into a cheek-hurting grin. “Oh my God! Shut up. Seriously?” She quickly sat up, hopping on the bed to cross her legs.
“Very seriously, Les.” Brad’s cute face beamed with wonder and excitement. Leslie couldn’t blame him. She remembered the day she had had sex for the first time, and even though it was a while back, she couldn’t forget the bliss she’d felt after finally losing her virginity or the hunger she felt for getting some more. Leslie was ready to bet that Brad was experiencing similar whirls of emotions in him.
“Last night, on Valentine’s Day…?” she asked.
Brad gave a nod. “On Valentine’s Day.”
“That’s so funny.” Leslie laughed out loud. Even though Valentine’s Day never meant anything to her, something this huge happening to her best friend did force her to consider it a special day. “Okay, you have to tell me everything, dude! Don’t leave out a single detail. I don’t care if it’s too much information. I just have to know. How long has this been going on between you two?”
Brad laughed. “Not too long. I just met him yesterday.”
“And you slept with him already?” Leslie’s mind was drawing up the picture of the perfect guy in her imagination, a guy who had managed to entice someone like Brad in such a short time. She was sure he would be down-to-earth, with an impeccably charming personality. “Way to go! I won’t deny it; I like the spontaneous Brad. Who is this guy, by the way? Do I know him?”
“No, you don’t.” His smile wavered a bit.
“Well, what’s his name?”
Leslie watched him hesitate for a moment. “I… don’t know.”
It took her by surprise.
“I think my devilish side just had a mind-blowing orgasm. You not only have sex with a guy for the first time, but you are also telling me it was simply a one-night stand?” She put her hand over her heart and mockingly said, “Mama Les is so proud of her boy!”
“But Les,” he knitted his eyebrows together as he stood up and came over to sit by her side. He took hold of Leslie’s hand, and she felt his grip tightening when he said, “It wasn’t a one-night stand. Definitely not, uh-uh.” He shook his head, and she immediately wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself. “It was special to me, and I could tell it was special for him too. Why else would he go to extremes to make that night an unforgettable memory? He lit up hundreds of scented candles in the room for me, and there were rose petals all over the bed where we did it.” Leslie didn’t miss the blush forming on his face again as he spoke. “There was champagne, sweet music, and he was a perfect gentleman. He kept asking me if I was sure about this.”
“WOW! Sounds utterly cheesy to me….” Leslie said, although she was quite impressed by all of it and maybe a bit jealous too.
Brad let go of her hand and sighed. “It was damn romantic.”
Leslie moved her gaze around the dorm room, scrutinizing it. “I am guessing it wasn’t here you did it then?” She inquired, turning to face him and watched him slowly crossing his legs like she had.
“No, he took me to his place.” Brad had his mouth open to probably add something more, but he stopped abruptly, scrunched his nose up, and glanced at her with some doubt. “I think it was his place… I don’t know. Where else would he take me?”
Leslie noticed uncertainty, even when he shrugged. What Brad was saying didn’t make any sense to her. “The champagne! Did you have too much of it?”
He frowned. “God, no! Why would I want to give him the impression I’m an idiotic drunkard on our first meeting?”
Of course she didn’t believe him. “Right, says the one who’d put Britney Spears to shame with his underage drinking. Seriously, dude, I’ve had to pick you up in a drunken state from God knows how many parties by now. So don’t shit me by saying you didn’t have any amount of alcohol in you last night.”
Brad reddened and carefully said, “I may have had a little bit of alcohol.”
Typical. Leslie rolled her eyes. “Weren’t you at Ian’s party last night?” She tried to keep her face straight as she asked. The party he had gone to was for all the single men and ladies from their college. Leslie knew exactly how that turned out every year by the end of the night.
He gave a nod in reply.
“Well, maybe you did it at his place?”
“No, it can’t be because we were partying at a nightclub last night.”
“Since when do nightclubs allow in a bunch of twenty year-olds?” she asked, certain they must have been stopped at the door for IDs. She couldn’t say about the others, but Brad’s cute baby face did give away his age.
“They don’t, but Ian somehow knew a few guys working at this nightclub that we went to, so we were able to sneak in.” He grinned.
Leslie suddenly wished she could have joined them. “Lucky you!” Now she couldn’t wait for May to arrive; that was when she turned twenty-one. She had been planning it in her mind forever. “So you met this mysterious guy in that club?”
“Yes, I think so.” Brad chewed on his lower lip.
“Well, what did he say to you? What did he look like?”

Brad turned sorrowful. “If I only knew….” He hung his head down and began to pull on his hair. “Fuck, Les!” He yelled, then looked up, scowling at her. “I can’t seem to remember any of it. The only thing that has managed to stay stuck in my memory is the mind-blowing sex that I had with him. I even remember all the positions we did it in, and God, that guy has the stamina of a wild lion, I tell you.”


Author Bio: 
Sid Love grew up in one of busiest cities in the world, Mumbai, listening to the excerpts of Indian epics from his father every night. While it served as an inspiration back in time, he has always had an ambitious mind. In 2007, when he had just turned sixteen, he decided that he would make his lifelong dream come true—to become a well-known, respected author some day.
Ask him and he would refuse to accept that he is obsessed with books. Or movies. Or TV shows. Addicted may even be the right word. He is a die-hard fan of Jane Austen’s romance novels and loves to reread them time and again.

You can find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sid.love.16?ref=tn_tnmn or tweet him anytime: https://twitter.com/FatefulMercy, or simply e-mail him at sidlovethewriter@live.in.



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