Cate Ashwood's Blog: October 2014

Friday, 31 October 2014

Book Blast: Heart by Garrett Leigh

Author Bio:

Garrett Leigh is a British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Black Jazz Press. Her protagonists will always be tortured, crippled, broken, and deeply flawed. Throw in a tale of enduring true love, some stubbly facial hair, and a bunch of tattoos, and you’ve got yourself a Garrett special.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible. That, and dreaming up new ways to torture her characters. Garrett believes in happy endings; she just likes to make her boys work for it.

Garrett also works as a freelance cover artist for various publishing houses and independent authors under the pseudonym G.D. Leigh. For cover art info, please visit blackjazzpress.com

Author Contact:

garrettleighbooks@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garrett-Leigh/484336074987986?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: G.D. Leigh (Blackjazzpress.com)

Blurb:

Cornish pastry chef Seb Wright dreads the summer tourist season. The cash injection to his artisan fudge pantry is more than welcome, the extra work, less so. Then one summer, a shadowy Good Samaritan catches his eye. Irish Traveller Dex is bewitching, a beautiful sullen enigma who turns Seb's world upside down until he disappears in the night, vanishing like a mystical summer rain.

Twelve months later Dex is in the midst of a dark storm. A slave to his master, 'Uncle' Braden, he spends his days cleaning caravans and his nights working in Braden's other businesses. His short summer with Seb seems a lifetime ago. Lost in the savage violence of the murky underworld, he doesn't dare dream he'll ever find his way back, until one night, a brutal crime opens the door for a chance escape. A new life beckons, old faces emerge, and immersed in the heady vibe of London’s East End, new love begins to heal his fractured heart.

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

SEB TOOK a drink of his beer and set it down again with undue care. “You can’t read, can you?”

“Can.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Dex slid off his stool and shoved his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when Seb had ambushed him, but it wasn’t this. So what if he couldn’t bloody read? It wasn’t like he’d ever been to school to learn.

Seb caught his arm. “Don’t go, Dex. I’m sorry, okay? I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

Seb’s hand engulfed Dex’s wrist, his touch as charged and heated as it had ever been. Dex felt his resolve melting, ebbing away until it was all he could do to fall back onto the bar stool. “I can read some,” he said mutinously. “I can read numbers, and names. Knew the name of your shop, didn’t I?”

“Can you write?”

“Never tried.” Dex looked down. Lying to Seb felt all wrong. He’d heard the name of Seb’s shop on the street, and the only name he could read was his own.

Seb was silent for a moment, then without warning, Dex felt his fingers brush through his shower-damp hair. “It really is brown. I thought it was just wet.”

Dex fought for the strength to shy away from the soft gesture, but nothing happened. “The bleach grew out.”

“It was dyed?”

“Couldn’t you tell?” Dex had forgotten his brief stint as a blond was all Seb had ever known of him.

“No, not at all. You look totally different now. Not sure I would’ve recognized you without the scowl. You just about shocked the shit of me. I… I thought I’d never see you again.”
Pages: 204

Tour Dates: October 31, 2014

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams

Rainbow Gold Reviews

Inked Rainbow Reads

MM Good Book Reviews

Cate Ashwood

BFD Book Blog

My Fiction Nook

3 Chicks After Dark

Foxylutely Book Reviews

Smoocher’s Voice

Carly’s Book Reviews

Boy Meets Boy Reviews

Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews

Hearts on Fire

Fallen Angel Reviews

The Blogger Girls

Love Bytes

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Andrew Q. Gordon

Sales Links:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5551
Amazon
Amazon UK
Amazon CA

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Thursday, 30 October 2014

Book Blast: Love's Home by Iyana Jenna

Book Name: Love’s Home

Author Name: Iyana Jenna

Author Bio:

Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Author Contact:

Publisher: JMS Books

Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs | http://written-ink.com

Blurb(s):

Sometimes you need a break, to get away somewhere, but in the end you always return to a place you call home. The saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, pretty or shabby, what matters is it’s your Love’s Home.

This collection features five of Iyana Jenna’s best-selling gay contemporary romance stories. A homeless PA finds a home in an actor’s life. An abduction almost steals a man from his loving boyfriend. A love triangle nearly ruins everything. A sex slave is rescued by an unlikely savior. A young man discovers a new home after he loses everything.

Contains the stories:

A Home for Jesse
A Single Black Rose
Misunderstandings
Will and Pleasure
Ya Like That?

Categories:

Excerpt:

A Home for Jesse

This ain’t so bad. Jesse pats his laden backpack. He stretches himself on the bench and lowers his head onto the bag, grimacing at the bumps pressing against his head and neck. Awesome. He is going to have major cricks and headaches come morning. That is if he’s not suffering from early signs of pneumonia.

Jesse shifts and grunts and finally gives up. He sits up, takes off his jacket, and spreads it over his front before he lies down again. Moving a bit again to find the most comfortable position, he thinks, Fuck, now my shorts are stuck in the crack of my ass. Jesse reaches down and pulls them free -- ah, that’s better.

He takes a deep breath. So he’s a bum now, is he? His ma would be heartbroken if she knew. She could blame him for being such a hard head and insisting on having his own way. Jesse stares blankly at the leaves swaying on treetops, at the shadows of the swings dancing in the dark, at the stars blinking mockingly down at him. At least the fact that they are up there means that the sky is cloudless and Jesse doesn’t need to worry about the possibility of rain tonight. Getting soaked when the only place he has to sleep is this park would be a pain in the ass, not to mention hazardous to his health. Jesse also hopes no cops will come patrolling tonight.

Weary to the bone, Jesse curls both hands under the side of his face and gives in to slumber.
Pages: 268 pages

Tour Dates: October 30th

Tour Stops:

Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings

Sales Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1pDDrLU
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/ZJKDAj
JMS Books: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86&products_id=1247

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Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Book Blast: The Scent of Jasmine by Lila Bruce

Author Bio:

Lila Bruce lives in the North Georgia Mountains, where the air is sweet and the summers are hot. When not writing, she spends her time adding to her ever-growing pack of basset hounds and dreaming of being able one day to leave behind her evil day job.

Blurb:

Four years ago Jessica Taylor thought she was ready to leave small town living behind and headed West. Now she's back in Cedar Creek, a little older, a lot wiser, and ready to live the quiet life for a while.

It's been eight months since her fiancée walked out and shattered Grace Donnelly's dreams of a happily ever after. Her friends tell her it's time to start living again, but the breakup with Emma was still just too raw for Grace to wash her hands and move on.

After a chance meeting at her brother's bakery, Jessica finds herself unable to get Grace off of mind. She's sure she feels an attraction from Grace as well, but will Jessica be able to convince Grace to stop living in the past and take a chance on a future together with her...

Categories: Contemporary, Lesbian Romance

Excerpt:

Jessica Taylor stood there grinning, a slight dusting of flour decorating the bridge of her nose. She held a rack of cinnamon rolls at chest level, drawing Grace’s gaze to the slender woman’s chest, the white t-shirt and bright green apron seeming to accentuate the fullness of her breasts. She had long, dark hair that was tied back into a pony tail. And her eyes…her eyes seemed to dance as they stared at Grace from other the display case.

Holy hell, she is fucking gorgeous.

Grace opened her mouth to respond but looking at the other woman’s emerald eyes, could suddenly think of nothing but purple dildos. Mortified, she just stood there, saying nothing.

Keeping her gaze on Grace, Jessica slid the rack of cinnamon rolls into the case.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Grace flushed briefly and the shook her head. “Oh no, that’s ok, you just startled me, that’s all. I didn’t hear you come out from the back.”

“So how would you like it?” the woman drawled. Gone was the nerdy teenager with wire-rimmed glasses. This woman looked more like she had just stepped off the runway rather than out of a kitchen.

Grace shook her head and blinked at her. “Um, I…um, excuse me?”

“Your cinnamon roll. Would you like it in a box or bag?”

“Oh. A box please,” she said quickly. “And I need sex…I mean six! I need six cinnamon rolls,” Grace added, reddening as she spoke.

Oh my word, I have got to get out of here, she thought to herself.

Words: 16,930

Tour Dates: October 29, 2014

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams
Cate Ashwood
Inked Rainbow Reads
The Hat Party
Full Moon Dreaming
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
Prism Book Alliance
My Fiction Nook
Regular Guys, Hot Romance
Michael Mandrake
Velvet Panic
Fallen Angel Reviews
Queer Town Abbey
Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings
Hearts on Fire

Sales Links:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Scent-Jasmine-Lila-Bruce-ebook/dp/B00O7VKVDE/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1

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Tuesday, 28 October 2014

Book Blast: To Catch A Threeve by Alexis Duran

Author Bio:

Alexis Duran was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. At the University of Oregon, her fascination with people and relationships led her to major in Sociology, but her main love has always been creative writing. She's worked in museums, fashion, finance and film production. Her favorite job so far was Administrative Assistant in a haunted Victorian Mansion. She's had several short stories published in the mystery, horror and literary genres and is the author of the Masters and Mages erotic fantasy series. Her fiction has won several awards including the Rupert Hughes Award from the Maui Writers Conference. She lives with one dog and four and half cats. She is currently working on the next Masters and Mages novella and several other erotic novellas.

Author Contact:

http://www.facebook.com/alexis.duran.18294

http://twitter.com/AlexisSDuran

Publisher: Loose ID

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

Blurb(s):

Axel Blackwood catches a thief and is astounded to see that he closely resembles Liam Alloway, the love he lost seven years ago in an attack by the evil woodland folk known as threeves. Axel suspects he's fallen prey to dark magic, but can't help becoming infatuated with his prisoner. He's overwhelmed with the hope that he can at last bring his lost lover home, despite everything that warns him it's all a diabolical trick.   Bryn Darrow, the half-threeve, half human orphan sent to trick Axel and rob him of much more than a simple gem finds himself equally as fascinated with his handsome human captor and the lure of someplace to call home, but he knows deep down that the constable is in love with a dangerous illusion. When he's commanded by the threeves to murder Axel and steal a witch's powerful grimoire, he's forced to decide between the only family he's ever known and the one person who might rescue him from a life of isolation and pain.  Will Axel and Bryn be forced into a deadly confrontation before they can discover the truth?

Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

“What are you, Bryn Darrow?” Axel asked.

“Wish I knew,” Bryn answered, shaking his head and chuckling. “You can go on pretending I’m this Liam person if you want.”

“If you ever try to act like Liam again, I’ll let Drummond lop your head off. He’s itching to, you know.”

“You started it,” Bryn snapped. “And now you’re getting friendly again.”

Axel jerked his hands away from Bryn’s back as if he’d been burned. “I’m looking for your clan sign. Why’d you remove it?”

“Looking with your fingers instead of your eyes? Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind it.” Bryn looked over his shoulder with that annoying, delectable smile. Only the memory of being spelled senseless stopped Axel from resuming his exploration of Bryn’s skin, kissing his neck, pushing him down into the grass—

Pages: 43,000 words/135 pages

Tour Dates: October 28, 2014

Tour Stops:

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Cate Ashwood

Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

Sales Links:

http://www.loose-id.com/to-catch-a-threeve.html

http://www.amazon.com/Catch-Threeve-Alexis-Duran-ebook/dp/B00OQQVJ2C/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414453307&sr=1-3&keywords=alexis+duran

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Blog Tour: Shifting Hearts (Wild R Farm 6) by Silvia Violet

Author Bio:

Silvia Violet writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary, sci fi, and historical. She can be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like "Do you write children's books?" She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she's actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinfully delicious treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading to her incorrigible offspring.

Author Contact:

Email: silviaviolet@gmail.com

Website: http://silviaviolet.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/silvia.violet

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Silvia_Violet

For a list of Silvia’s available titles: http://silviaviolet.com/books

Publisher: Silvia Violet Books

Cover Artist: Meredith Russell

Blurb:

After experiencing what happens when someone you love walks away and never looks back, Brandon decided love was for fools. Then he spent a summer with Zach. He struggled against feelings that grew every time he and Zach were together, telling himself they were just having a fling. When Zach confessed his love one hot summer night, Brandon panicked. He scoffed at Zach and made sure he walked away first.

Three years later, their paths cross again when Zach becomes the vet at Wild R Farm where Brandon works. Brandon realizes his feelings haven’t changed, but Zach treats Brandon with scorn despite Brandon’s every attempt to show Zach he’s no longer the self-centered man he used to be. When a night out ends with Brandon driving Zach home, confessions are made on both sides, and hope begins to build in Brandon’s heart.

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Western/Cowboy

Excerpt:

Brandon settled his and Zach’s tabs and managed to get Zach to his truck without incident. “Did you drive here?”

“Nope, Martin picked me up.”

Brandon snorted again. Fucking Martin. The two of them together was so not going to happen.

Zach giggled. “I’ve always loved it when you go all ferocious stallion.”

Oh fuck. “Just get in the truck, Zach.” Brandon helped him step up and maneuver himself into the passenger seat.

“It’s fucking wrong.“ Zach said as he laid his head back on the seat.

“What is?”

“That you’re so fucking hot.”

No. No, no, no. This was not happening. “Just close your eyes and stop talking. You’ll be better off that way.” Maybe he’d pass out and then Brandon’s dick could stop reacting to his soft words and beautiful eyes and everything that made him the only man Brandon really wanted.

“No, I’ll forget it all. Best thing about being drunk. I might as well say what I want because who will care later.”

“I will.”

“Nah, you never did. That’s what makes it so unfair.”

Brandon rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off a massive headache. “You’re wrong about that. I—”

“What? You didn’t mean to look at me like I was a bug you wanted to squash when I said I loved you?”

“You’re drunk. Really fucking drunk, and I’d be an idiot to say anything now. More of an idiot than I already have been and—”

“Fuck, you’re babbling.” Zach looked extremely amused.

Brandon scowled at him. “Nope, it’s your imagination”

“It’s not.”

“Yeah, it is”

Zach grinned. “You could kiss me to shut me up.”

Tour Dates/Stops:

October 27: Rainbow Gold Reviews, Angel Martinez, Michael Mandrake, My Fiction Nook

October 28: Cate Ashwood, Cathy Brockman Romances, Amanda C. Stone, Love Bytes

October 29: Multitasking Mommas, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Fallen Angel Reviews, Kimi-Chan, BFD Book Blog

October 30: Prism Book Alliance, Tara Lain, Inked Rainbow Reads

October 31: MM Good Book Reviews, Parker Williams, Jade Crystal

Sales Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Hearts-Wild-Farm-Book-ebook/dp/B00OBVQOVS
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shiftinghearts-1646725-145.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/483198

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Monday, 27 October 2014

Blog Tour: Seduction in Red by D.t. Peterson

Author Bio: D.t. Peterson lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He enjoys traveling, and being outdoors. His hobbies include canoeing, hiking, whitewater rafting, and furniture making. His debut novel was The Cove.

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Jared Rackler

Blurb(s): Trevor is young, rich and single; completely open and out about who he is, unwilling to hide it from anyone. Cody is shy and inexperienced, exploring the desires he secretly craves to fulfill for the first time. Unknowingly, they venture down a path which neither of them could have ever imagined.

Interview

1. Where did you get the idea for your book?
Usually I have an idea, a story rolling around in my head. Something I think would be relevant and interesting. Once i have decided to go with it, I start with the ending, where I want the book to go, the emotions I want to illicit. I find it easier to write when I know where I am heading, the purpose and the meaning of what I want to portray.

2. What's the most challenging and most rewarding parts of being an author?
I'm a people person, I love interacting with others, discussing just about any topic. The most rewarding part of being an author is getting to talk with the readers. The most difficult part of being a writer is getting your works out in the public eye, I despise promoting.

3. Are you a plotter or a pantser and how do you get your ideas down on paper?
I'm a bit of both, I have a defined ending, but I tend to improvise along the way. Sometimes it is better to go where the characters lead you

4. Are your characters based on real people or are they entirely fictional?
The characters are pure fiction in most respects. Some of their traits, their wants and desires are based on the things we all seek, love, acceptance, a sense of fitting in.

Excerpt:

“I’m Trevor,” he said smiling broadly, stretching out his hand.

“Hi, I’m Cody,” I said shaking his hand.

He held my hand longer than I was used to and I gazed at the rings on his fingers and the bracelets on his wrists.

“How did you know what I was drinking?”

“I noticed you as soon as you walked in,” he said, seductively, smiling.

“Noticed me?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen you before. You must be new.”

“Oh,” I half smiled back, “I’ve never been here before. It’s my first time.”

“Thought so,” he continued, in between swigging on his beer and checking me out.

“Huh?” I replied, leaning closer towards him, unable to hear him above the music.

“C’mon,” he shouted above the blaring disco music as he grabbed the beer bottles off of the bar, “follow me.”

He led me around the dance floor, to the back of the club where it was less noisy.

“Here,” he said sitting down, closely, next to me at a table, “This is better.”

“It is, I can hear you now.” I agreed.

“You’re really cute,” he started, “but you look really young. How old are you?”

“Just turned twenty one,” I stated proudly.

“Sweet,” he said grinning deviously, “but you look younger...”

“I get that a lot…” I replied.

“It’s cool, I’m twenty three. Not too old for you is it?”

“No idea yet,” I replied nervously.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Have you done anything yet?”

“Done anything?”

“Yeah, you known, been with another guy?”

“Oh, no. Not yet.”

“Hot. But you want to?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.”

“Guess that’s why you’re here,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, I suppose so, I’m curious…”

“How about you?” I asked.

“Me?” he said proudly, “I’ve been out awhile. Can’t ya tell?”

I could actually. He had an air of confidence about him, secure in knowing who he was, not caring about what anyone else thought. He had long blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. He was almost androgynous looking. I couldn’t help but not look at him as I had followed him from the bar, gazing at his lean and slender body.

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Tour Dates/Tour Stops:

October 13: MM Good Book Reviews

October 14: The Hat Party

October 15: Michael Mandrake

October 16: Love Bytes

October 17: It’s Raining Men

October 20: Fallen Angel Reviews

October 21: Prism Book Alliance

October 22: Havan Fellows

October 23: Amanda C. Stone

October 24: Iyana Jenna

October 27: Cate Ashwood

October 28: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

October 29: Inked Rainbow Reads

October 30: BFD Book Blog

October 31: Parker Williams, Kimi-Chan

November 3: Regular Guys, Hot Romance

November 4: Queer Town Abbey

November 5: Multitasking Mommas

November 6: Wicked Faeries Reviews

November 7: Jade Crystal, Rainbow Gold Reviews

Sales Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Seduction-Red-D-Peterson-ebook/dp/B00NVJY2LA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1411581799&sr=1-1&keywords=seduction+in+red

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Thursday, 23 October 2014

Blog Tour: One Thing Leads by Jude Dunn

How Do You Write about Human Trafficking?
Jude Dunn explains the dark research needed for One Thing Leads

One Thing Leads by Jude Dunn

A man knocks on your front door. When you answer, he pushes he way into your home. You protest, but he charges forward. In less than five minutes, your head is spinning. You were just told your old life is over. Your new life is serving this man as a prostitute.

“No way!” you’re thinking. “It just doesn’t happen like that.” You’re right, it doesn’t. But this revelation does come when a person is entrapped, usually delivered by someone you’ve come to trust.

Troubling thoughts like these filled my head while writing One Thing Leads, and I must tell you that I felt like taking a shower after every writing session. Cate asks some questions about my writing process, and I tell her what it’s like to tell a tale like this one along with things about writing in general. But first let’s do the required things.

Below you’ll find a synopsis to give you a good idea of what the book’s about. After Cate and I chat, there’s a short bio of yours truly and the requisite excerpt, freebies, and “buy me!” linkage. Click and enjoy.

Blurb(s):

Dion Bellamy is twenty-seven and studying social work at the University of Chicago. He has lived with Kenji Okamura, a construction worker, for a year and a half. Dion loves Kenji and passionately hopes Kenji feels the same, but he has never said the three big words. Then Grayson Sinclair, Dion’s schoolmate and a vivacious, oversexed playboy, comes between them.

One step at a time, barely aware where his steps are leading, Dion descends the slippery slope into a life of depravity. First, Grayson ensures Kenji is out of the way. Then he entices Dion to go clubbing with him, gets Dion drunk and high, and then takes him to a sex club, where he films Dion giving blow jobs to multiple men. He threatens to put the video online unless Dion signs a contract to work as a prostitute. Though he hardly understands how he reached this point, Dion must now figure out how to escape his fate and save himself.

Interview
CA: What is the most important thing you've learned in your writing career?

JD: Two things are worth mentioning here, and the first may make you blink. The most important advice about writing I know is that no writing advice is worth following. Really. You have to make it work on your own. Too many times I’ve heard “do this, try that,” or even worse, “This author (insert name of overnight sensation) does (insert technique or advice).” Perhaps some of it does work. Try it. But if it doesn’t work for you, abandon it and find your own way.

Number two? If you keep the above in mind, I’ll tell you what works for me. It’s very simple. “Move the cursor to the right.” That’s it. For me, this means give yourself permission to write utter drivel. Don’t even write sentences if you want. Write planning to delete what you just wrote. Eventually a fragment or thought or even a whole sentence will show up under your fingertips that seems interesting. Do this and eventually the writing comes more easily and gets better.

CA: Which of the characters in your book(s) did you have the most fun writing?

JD: By far it was Grayson Sinclair in One Thing Leads. He’s the devious sexpot that lures Dion away from the life he wants and into dark waters. Grayson gave me the chance to live vicariously, doing things I’d never, ever do in real life.

CA: What is your favourite genre to write in and why?

JD: I’m a big science fiction fan. SF folk—writers, readers, and publishers all—will tell you about something called “awe and wonder,” a childlike amazement at the possibilities in the universe and the future. I think we experience this at the best movies and hope for it in the ones that disappoint us. In our books too. I have some gay romance SF in the works and look forward to sharing it with my readers soon.

CA: What is your writing process?

JD: So many of my author friends put on music or light candles to set the mood. I’ve done the candle thing and enjoy it, but the music I just cannot do. I’m a professional musician by day, gay romance author by night, and music so distracts me from writing that I get nothing done. I wish I could get inspiration from it the way so many others do. One of the hazards of my day job.

For some reason I cannot write at home. I’ve tried every trick in the book and asked everyone I know for other books, but nothing works. So I’ve learned to write in other spots. I live in Chicago and take public transit to work, so I pull out my iPad and write on the train. In fact, about sixty percent of One Thing Leads was written on the El or Metra, believe it or not.

I used to go to coffeehouses after work, but the combination of caffeine, noisy conversations, and lack of elbow room was disheartening. One day I was so into my writing on the train I missed my stop. I decided to take the next stop and backtrack. When I got off, I found myself staring at a big building not thirty feet from my nose. It’s a place I call heaven, but most Chicago residents call it the main branch of the public library.

Can you believe it took me literally years of frustrated writing sessions to remember these wonderful places exist?

Note: The next question isn’t Cate’s. I invented it to go with the title of this post. Hope you don’t mind, Cate!

CA: So how do you write about human trafficking? Is the research easy to come by?

JD: Glad you asked, Cate (I mean me). When I decided I wanted to make this the topic of One Thing Leads, I faced a decision right away. Do I want to tell a lurid tale for the sake of titillating readers or is there something more important to say? I chose the second path. One Thing Leads is set in the world of human trafficking, but it’s really about what makes a person break with his or her normal life. Is it an “I don’t care anymore” attitude triggered by a traumatic event—in Dion’s case, his break-up with Kenji? Seeing this as the mission—if you will—of the novel made it easier to look at human trafficking and forced prostitution from a dispassionate viewpoint. I doubt I could have stomached the research process any other way.

Now back to Cate’s final question.

CA: What is your favourite wine? Jazz album? Chocolate?

JD: I’m a mostly reds guy in the wine department. I love the rich, bold, and luscious complexity of cabernets and malbecs. My current favorite—has been for a long time—is a Spanish garnache. Think Merlot with different spices in the undertones and you’ve got it.

Jazz I love, so this one’s easy. There are so many wonderful artists and albums, but the top of my list is and probably always will be Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. It’s a landmark for several reasons, and I never get tired of hearing it.

Chocolate? Did you ask for my favorite kind of chocolate? Why that would be “more.” Is there any other kind worth having? ^_~

Author Bio:

I’m a southern boy. Well, “boy” may be a stretch. I'm sixty-one this year, but I still feel like I’m twenty-two and act like I’m nine-and-a-half. Grew up in north Alabama, smack-dab in the middle of the Bible belt.

I discovered I was attracted to boys at age fourteen. Twenty minutes after that, I found out that being gay was the unforgivable sin, not blaspheming the Holy Spirit, as my little Baptist church had taught me. So, as so many like me have always done, I hid from everyone, including and especially myself.

At age forty-nine I came out to myself, my wife, and my three wonderful children. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the best thing that ever happened to me.

I started writing shortly after discovering anime. There’s this thing called “fandoms,” you see—well, I know you probably know about that. I grew my skills slowly, feeding on the dribbles of praise and criticism my mailing lists provided. In 2011 I decided to try my hand at original fiction and found I have a talent for telling stories that touch people’s hearts and make them laugh. For me there’s no greater high in all the world. The next year I somehow screwed up the courage to submit to a publisher and was given a thumbs up. Now I’m happily sharing my tales with those who care to read them.

My day job is editing and engraving sacred music for a mainline publisher in Chicago, where I live with an antisocial cat who refuses to be named. I enjoy fine wines, jazz, and the darkest chocolate I can get my hands on.

I write in a variety of genres, from gay romance and erotica to science fiction and mainstream thrillers, each category under a different pseudonym. Jude Dunn is the one I use for gay romance. My work is sometimes subtle, sometimes fiery, but always brimming with characters who tackle their challenges with an unwavering love of life.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Links
Buy One Thing Leads <use this URL for the text to the left: “One Thing Leads”: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5545>

More info about One Thing Leads <use this link for the text to the left, including “More info about”:http://www.onethingleads.com>

Read a chapter for free <use this link for the phrase to the left: http://www.onethingleads.com/s/otl-excerpt.pdf>

Site: http://www.judedunn.com/ <let this link and the three below stand as they are>

Twitter: @jude_dunn

Pick up a free PDF or two of my unpublished stories: http://www.judedunn.com/stories

Tell me what you like, don’t like, and wish gay authors wrote about: http://www.judedunn.com/contact/

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Excerpt:

“God,” Dion screamed, throwing his hands in the air in disgust. He and Kenji glared like dogs circling each other before attacking. Finally Dion broke the tension. “I need some air,” he said, then spun on a heel and strode to the bedroom. Kenji sat still as stone, listening to Dion slamming drawers as he found clothes suitable for going out.

How did this happen? I wanted to come clean. I thought if we talked about it—

After quickly dressing, Dion stormed to the front door.

“Where are you going?”

“Out,” Dion said without looking at Kenji. “Does that meet with your approval?”

“Dion, don’t be—”

The sound of the door slamming rang in Kenji’s ears. Footsteps fell hard and fast down the stairs. When they stopped, he looked away from the door. He closed his eyes at the muffled sound of another door slamming hard two floors below. When he opened his eyes a few minutes later, he looked down, surprised to see dots of blood on the seat of the recliner. He opened his hands and saw that his fingernails had broken the skin of his palms.

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Tour Dates/Tour Stops:

October 20: Parker Williams

October 21: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

October 22: Sinfully Sexy

October 23: Cate Ashwood

October 24: Jade Crystal

October 27: Inked Rainbow Reads

October 28: Velvet Panic

October 29: Amanda C. Stone

October 30: Kimi-Chan

October 31: Fallen Angel Reviews

November 3: Emotion in Motion

November 4: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

November 5: EE Montgomery, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

November 6: Love Bytes

November 7: Iyana Jenna

November 10: Prism Book Alliance, My Fiction Nook

November 11: Multitasking Mommas, Wake Up Your Wild Side

November 12: BFD Book Blog

November 13: Cathy Brockman Romances

November 14: MM Good Book Reviews

Sales Links: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5545

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