Book Review: Moon Over Tangier by Janice Law

Moon Over Tangier
A Francis Bacon Mystery
by Janice Law
Mystery/Crime/Gay Protagonist
Mysterious Press/Open Road Integrated Media
Release Date: August 2014
4.5 Stars
Review Copy from Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher

Blurb:

In colonial Morocco, a painter navigates a conspiracy of forgery, corruption, and murder.

For Francis, life with David grows more dangerous by the day. When sober, he is charming, but when he drinks, he is violent, slashing Francis' paintings and threatening to gut the painter, too.

When David leaves London for Morocco, Francis cannot help but follow this man whom he loves but can no longer trust. In Tangier, they find a thriving community of expats who guzzle champagne while revolutionaries gather in the desert.

But in Morocco's International Zone, death does not wait for rebellion.

After Francis identifies a friend's Picasso as a fake, the police call him in to investigate the forger's demise. If he refuses, they will throw David in jail, where inmates and the DTs will kill him within the week. Between the bustle of the city and the emptiness of the desert, Francis finds that in Morocco, even the fakes can be worth killing for.

Review:

I read the sub-title, A Francis Bacon mystery, and assumed that there is a series of books featuring Francis Bacon. All true, but it was only as a I started reading and realised the main character was a painter that it finally clicked. It was the Francis Bacon, famous painter and I felt rather foolish that I hadn't connected the name already.

Although this is the third in the series, it works well as a standalone novel and at no point does the reader feel out of their depth.

The book opens with Francis being threatened by his long-term lover, David, who then ups sticks and moves to Morocco. Francis has little choice but to follow, for David is the love of his life and he can't do without him, despite David's drunken outbursts and abuse. David was a war hero and the scars on his psyche are not only skin deep. Francis wants to help him, but has no idea how, and they both chase after pleasure with other men in Morocco, all if it fleeting.

At a party hosted by one of David's ex-pat friends, Richard, their host is keen to show off his newest acquisition, a Picasso that Francis realises immediately was fake. Voicing these suspicions out loud soon as Francis on the run from the police, a murderer, Soviet spies and British ones too. What has he stumbled onto? And how can he keep David safe from all of it?

This is a wonderful, rip-roaring adventure, with lots of derring-do and stiff upper lips, as would have been the case in those days, set shortly after the Second World War. The author vividly paints the era and the locales in the book, from the hot, sultry and spicy heat of Morocco, to the grey and washed-out city of London.

I don't know much about the artist Francis Bacon and it was intriguing to find him the protagonist in a crime novel, but it worked very well. The readers knows, or gleans quickly from the book that Francis is gay, but it was not something to be discussed openly in those days, but people knew it went on. Francis' sexual encounters are hinted at, not described, but you do know they happen.

It is a very well-written novel, everything to do with the mystery gets tied up, nothing is left hanging. My one niggle was that a lot of the spelling and word choices were American, rather than British, which I would have expected in a book mainly about British characters and British set.

All in all a great read if you want a bit of adventure without leaving your armchair.

Book Spotlight: Sandstorm Heart by Liv Olteano

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Sandstorm Heart
Space Files R 
Book 2 
Liv Olteano
Genre: M/M Space Opera Erotic Romance / Erotica BDSM elements
Length: novella - approx 30k words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Released: September 18th 2013 

Book Description:

Ron Vid is a Celian soldier with some personal demons.

Hoping for respite, he deserts his squad and leaves his planet. Working as a mercenary on Asai, planet of sand and wind, he has a reprieve, until the Haffa named Zaoh joins the mercenaries. Celians and Haffas have a history of strife, but when Ron and Zaoh are paired on a mission, their chemistry crackles.

After they fight together for survival, it’s clear Zaoh wants Ron. Zaoh can be a fierce and dominant lover, but Ron’s secrets, and his fear that the Haffa might uncover them, could keep Zaoh from getting his man.

Add it to Your Goodreads Shelf

Purchase at: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | BN | ARe 

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Excerpt:

I got up, happy to finally have a reason to stop pretending to eat. Zaoh shot to his feet to block my way. My lungs squeezed tight as soon as I was face to face with the purple hell of his eyes.

“You weren’t dismissed, Vid. Sit back down.”

I gritted my teeth and turned in Ami’s direction. “We done here? I’ve got to pack my shit if I’m going out.”

“Go ahead, gorgeous. I’ll wait for you in the hangar.”

Stomping to my room, I tried to shake off the memory of those purple black holes. It was a bad thing to think about. Getting away from Asai would be pointless if I carried the mess with me out to space.

A second set of steps thudded behind. Decisive but not rushed, they sounded closer and closer, so I stopped. For some reason I couldn’t turn around.

“Commander Void.”

Blood rushed away from my extremities and into my head all at once. How did he know about that nickname? No way he’d just used it by chance. A cold sheen of sweat covered my palms. “I’m no commander anymore,” I gritted out through clenched teeth.

“Should I call you Deserter Vid, then? More fitting?”

Zaoh’s gravelly voice sounded vaguely amused, almost playful. Maybe Ami had told him. If I knew about him becoming a traitor to the Haffas, maybe he’d found out about me too. Only I had a reason to know about him. A personal reason. Perhaps he had one as well. Perhaps he knew it had been me commanding the troops that caught him and his sister…. My mind said to calm down, to rein in my pulse.

I turned around halfway, still not facing him. “So you’re Traitor Dem, then?”

Tense silence fell between us. It was a cheap shot. He wasn’t really a traitor while I was a deserter. It would have been better to turn around and leave. My feet refused to respond, though. They were glued to the floor. His simple presence messed with my wiring. I gravitated toward him so strongly it was a constant conscious effort to pull away. To what end, I didn’t have the vaguest—about both impulses.

“At least I didn’t leave my troops by choice,” he finally said.

No, he hadn’t. His sister had been killed in interrogation. After that, against all odds and beyond any possible logic, Zaoh Dem had escaped Celian incarceration. The reasonable conclusion was he’d sided with us. So Haffas declared him traitor and condemned him to death as soon as he returned to his base. Of course, the man escaped their captivity as well, maybe helped like he’d been to escape ours. He was resourceful like that. No way to get him under control unless he felt like playing nice. Ami was delighted to tell me and his other mercs that particular personality trait the evening he brought Zaoh in. A whole fucking universe at his disposal, and the bastard had to end up where I was. What were the odds?

I cleared my throat and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my khaki overalls. “Had something to say to me, other than that?” His heavy boots had a considerable distance between them. I imagined him standing there, tall and strong, sort of majestic. I didn’t dare to look at him as I waited for an answer.

He seemed to ponder on it, tapped the tip of his boot a few times. “Despise Haffas so much you won’t even look at me?”

I smiled tightly. “You’ve read me wrong. Buried my war with Haffas a long time ago.”

“Just despise me, then?”

“Not at all.”

He took one step closer, small but significant to my pulse—it skyrocketed. “Then look at me.”

I had to use all my willpower to find his eyes with mine. The brutal force of his gaze struck me worse than I’d expected, but I held strong. “Well? What is it? Wanted to get chummy?”

He snorted. “Don’t overestimate yourself. Just letting you know we’re on this mission together.”

No. That little azure bastard wouldn’t dare.

***

About the Author:

Liv Olteano is a voracious reader, music lover, and coffee addict extraordinaire. And occasional geek. Okay, more than occasional.

She believes stories are the best kind of magic there is. And life would be horrible without magic. Her hobbies include losing herself in the minds and souls of characters, giving up countless nights of sleep to get to know said characters, and trying to introduce them to the world. Sometimes they appreciate her efforts. The process would probably go quicker if they’d bring her a cup of coffee now and then when stopping by. Characters—what can you do, right?

Liv has a penchant for quirky stories and is a reverent lover of diversity. She can be found loitering around the Internet at odd hours and being generally awkward and goofy at all times.

Website | Blog | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: 5 Easy Chocolate Pieces by Danielle Summers

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About the Book

Troy Pettifer, a broken-hearted chocolate shop worker, isn’t sure what to do next when Richard Belden, a controlling but handsome sadist, walks into his life and gets him on his knees. Richard is nursing his own heart that was broken by a man who betrayed him and the entire BDSM community. Troy’s friends start fixing him up with vanilla guys, but for Troy to fulfill desires he didn’t even know he had, he’s going to have to embrace the beautiful leather man within.

Website: Dark Hollow Press | Amazon






Giveaway

Win an eBook copy of “5 Easy Chocolate Pieces”:

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Author Interview: Amanda Meuissen

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About the Author:

Amanda Meuwissen is the author of The Incubus Saga (Book 1: Incubus, Book 2: Changeling, Book 3: COMING SUMMER 2015) and the novelette The Collector. She has a Bachelor of Arts in a personally designed major from St. Olaf College in Creative Writing, and has been writing and posting online for many years, including maintaining the blog for the customer engagement company Outsell. She spent a summer writing screenplay script coverages for a company in L.A., and is an avid writer and consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games.

Amanda also serves as COO and Managing Editor for BigWorldNetwork.com, the world’s premiere episodic literary network. She oversees editing and series selection, as well as being involved in marketing and promotion, and is featured as a narrator for several BWN series.

Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their cats, Helga and Sasha (no connection to the incubus of the same name).

Links

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6831429.Amanda_Meuwissen

https://www.facebook.com/TheIncubusSaga

https://twitter.com/MissSuperCube

http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/incubus/enter



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Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?

Both? I let the characters and story come to me for a while before I ever write. Once I know I have the basics in my head, I plan things very carefully. But as I write certain scenes, I really let things flow, and sometimes that natural progression takes things somewhere unexpected.

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

All the time! Sometimes it surprises me what they do, how they respond, or when they go, BAM, they have to die. Always listen to the characters’ voices though; you can edit later.

What drew you to the M/M genre in particular?

It’s been my poison since I was a young teenager. I’m always more drawn to writing male characters, and male relationships (whether friendships, brothers, father-son, or romance) and I can’t seem to want to stray. I often say I have a very male-oriented mind, so maybe ‘writing what you know’ for me IS writing men. There’s just something so much hotter to me about male relationships too. Fanfiction set the groundwork.

Do you write in other genres besides M/M?

I write a lot of non-fiction, for my day jobs, and for fun. I never stop writing. I’m hoping to dabble in some YA, but that will be M/M too admittedly.

What is your favourite food?

Boneless wings. Any number of sauces depending on my mood, but always dipped in blue cheese.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Night owl. I’m a chronic insomniac, and have always loved the night. Waking up is hard!

Where do you dream of travelling to and why?

I’ve actually done a lot of traveling already in my life, so partly I want to visit some of those places again but with my husband this time, like England, Germany, and the Netherlands. I’d love to go back to Japan together (where I fell in love with him). And for places I’ve never been: Ireland, Belgium, and Hong Kong.

Do distant places feature in your books?

Not really. I prefer keeping things local to what I know well. I tend to always have characters at least stop by Minnesota, where I was born and raised, and will probably set my next book exclusively there.

Do you listen to music while writing?

Never! I need total silence.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?

Changeling is the sequel to Incubus, the second book in the trilogy The Incubus Saga. It’s a Gay Paranormal Romance story told through Nathan Grier's perspective, a seemingly normal human surrounded by the supernatural: his brother Jim, a changeling; his eventual lover Sasha, an incubus; and many other forces raging against him as a powerful dark sidhe strives to claim his soul. It’s about accepting who you are and who you love, and beating the odds together with friends and family. Changeling picks up right where Incubus left off, with Nathan's dark fae bounty looming, his romance with Sasha still budding, and larger threats on the horizon.

What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?

It’s different for everyone. The traditional route was never going to work for me. I have too niche a focus with Gay Paranormal Romance, but often write books that are too long to be accepted by genre publishers. This led me to indie publishing, as doing it myself is way beyond my capabilities. Finding BigWorldNetwork.com has been a godsend. I get to post things serialized first, just like I was used to with fanfiction, and get instant feedback. Then I still get to edit all over again before compiling the final work into a book, where everything is taken care of for me: the typesetting, cover, ISBN, the works; and I get final say on everything. Find a route that works for you and don’t let yourself settle for anything.

Is there anything you would do differently?

I wish I knew with book 1 everything I know with book 2 about marketing so I could have gotten a bigger bang in the beginning, but I can only go up from here!

Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?

Anne Rice was a huge influence on my early years, as I read her original Vampire Chronicles when I was 12. Fanfiction has always been a huge inspiration, because you can find so many amazing writers and ideas, some just a drabble, others more epic than a book series. Every time a read something, my writing improves, no matter what the source. My readers influence me a lot too.

Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?

Write every day. Never give up. Share your work with others, whether by handing over paper, or posting online. Feedback is important! Write what you love, and don’t let others or publishers steer you in a direction you don’t want to go.

What are three words that describe you?

Creative. Colorful. Fierce.

What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?

I can only choose one?! Then…Good Omens. Between the authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Practhett, Gaiman is my favourite. I need to go back and read Sandman again…

Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book

Nathan Grier’s dark fae bounty looms overhead. As he faces the very real threat of becoming a slave to the bounty’s owner, his brother Jim uses his changeling abilities more and more trying to save him. Every changeling throughout history turns evil once their powers manifest, meaning time may be running out for both of them as Jim nears True Awakening.

Fae hunter and incubus, Sasha Kelly, is prophesized to save Nathan, but while Nathan has embraced his feelings for the other man, he fears their time together will be cut short—either from his impending fate…or Jim’s.

List of previous books if any

Incubus (The Incubus Saga – Book 1)
The Collector

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Changeling
Incubus Saga #2
Amanda Meuwissen
Gay Paranormal Romance
Buy Changeling at BigWorldNetwork | Amazon

Nathan Grier’s dark fae bounty looms overhead. As he faces the very real threat of becoming a slave to the bounty’s owner, his brother Jim uses his changeling abilities more and more trying to save him. Every changeling throughout history turns evil once their powers manifest, meaning time may be running out for both of them as Jim nears True Awakening.

Fae hunter and incubus, Sasha Kelly, is prophesized to save Nathan, but while Nathan has embraced his feelings for the other man, he fears their time together will be cut short—either from his impending fate…or Jim’s.

***

Incubus #1

Nathan only ever wanted a normal life, but for him, life, family, and love are anything but normal.

On the other side of the Veil, dark and light fae exist outside the knowledge of most humans. Nathan Grier was born human, but his twin brother Jim is a changeling. On the run since they were children, time for both of them is running out. Turning to fae hunter Sasha Kelly for help, Nathan must soon face his growing feelings for the other man while trying to save himself and his brother from a fate worse than death.

Buy at BigWorldNetwork | Amazon

Book Review: Angel by Alex Norris

Angel
by Alex Norris
Creativita Publishing
Gay Fiction
4 Stars
Available from Amazon

Blurb:

Lewis Blake is a 20 year old university student, coming to terms with being cruelly dumped by a former flame. After a night of heavy drinking, Lewis meets Rosie, a homeless woman who comforts him and opens his eyes to a new world outside of the university bubble. Tired of the meaninglessness and vacuity of student life, Lewis embarks on a quest to give his life genuine meaning, aiming to help those without homes and without voices. But in his attempts to aid those around him, Lewis becomes lost in a world of depravity, secrets and seedy encounters, which threaten to destroy his friendships and plunge him further into isolation and despair.

Review:

Depressed and disillusioned after breaking up with his boyfriend, Lewis is unsure what he really wants to do with his life. His lectures hold little interest to him anymore and all his friends seem vain and shallow. Surely there's more to life than this?

Meeting a homeless woman called Rosie, she points him in the direction of Revitalize, a group that offers a free meal to those down on their luck every Saturday. Lewis turns up and finds he really likes helping people and wishes he could do more. It's winter and snowing, and most of the people are out on the streets without even a blanket or sleeping bag.

But like the people he wants to help, like most students Lewis is broke and can't really afford to help.

He's been on a dating website and a couple of times he's had offers from older men who would 'gladly pay you for your time.'

Lewis debates this for a good while and then decides to take them up on their offer to grant sexual favours for money.

Now, despite there being sexual scenes in the book, this is not erotica or romance. The encounters Lewis has are written in such a way that the reader probably feels as about uncomfortable as Lewis does during them. He feels dirty and used, but still keeps doing it in order to get more money to help the homeless.

Lewis is a wonderful, conflicted character and as the book is entirely in his first person point of view, that's who you relate to the most. Some of the other characters felt a bit flat, like Lewis' frineds at UNI. I don't know whether they were really that shallow or whether it was just because we were seeing them through his eyes.

One character who was very well-drawn, was the trans character of Jamil/Brigitte, but we didn't get to see as much of them. There was a very interesting side tale there, but we didn't get to see enough of it.

My favourite scene was when during one of his tutorials, Lewis argued with the tutor about why were they wasting their time discussing fictional people when real people were in trouble right outside the door? And then he stormed out.

It's an interesting, debut novel and a bit different than anything else I've read.

Author Interview/Bog Tour The River Leith by Leta Blake

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Title: The River Leith
Author: Leta Blake
Genre: Gay Romance
Amazon | BN | Smashwords | All Romance | iTunes

Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Author Bio

While Leta Blake would love to tell you that writing transports her to worlds of magic and wonder and then safely returns her to a home of sparkling cleanliness and carefully folded laundry, the reality is a bit different. Instead, piles of laundry and forgotten appointments haunt her life, but the joy of writing and the thrill of finishing a book make the everyday chaos all worth it.

Leta’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively, but her passion has always been in writing, and she most enjoys crafting romance stories that she would like to read. At her home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more about her by following her website, facebook, or twitter

Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?

I have always envied those who can plan a novel in advance. I generally know a few beats of a book and that it ends happily (or not), but all of the space in between is me following the characters as they make their own way. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with them as they move with surety and purpose through their world. Other times it’s like watching them fight their way through their space as they try this, then that, then something else to see what feels best to them. Whichever way it happens, it will eventually end up as a finished book, and that makes it all worthwhile.

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

Oh, do they ever! In fact, I’d say they always own the story from the beginning. I just tag along!

What drew you to the M/M genre in particular?

This is a harder question than it appears to be from the outside. There are very deep, personal reasons and superficial reasons that I write m/m. I’ll aim to answer with something somewhere in the middle: writing books about men who love other men has allowed me to imagine a world that is wider than the one I reside in as a woman. It has given me a way to glimpse an existence larger and richer and more varied than what society generally offers to people born with a vagina. In other words, these stories have expanded my understanding of what life and love can be like for all people—male, female, and wherever or however someone falls on or off the QUILTBAG spectrum.

Do you write in other genres besides M/M?

I do have a M/F romance in the works and several young adult and children’s books that are all on the backburner for now. Too little time, too many books to write!

What is your favourite food?

I’m very strange in that I find food a bit boring and find making it even more boring, so my favourite food is basically any food that is made and brought to me by someone else. It’s heavenly to be given something yummy to eat without having lifted a finger to think of it or make it myself.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Definitely a night owl, but real life is determined to make me accustomed to waking early. As the years go by, I do dislike sleeping past 9am, since it makes me feel like I’ve wasted the day.

Where do you dream of travelling to and why?

Paris. I have a dream of standing by the Eiffel Tower with my daughter. I can’t say why it’s so important to me but if I die before that happens it will be a bitter pill to swallow.

Do distant places feature in your books?

Sometimes, but I try to write what I can easily imagine in terms of setting since it makes it easier to describe properly.

Do you listen to music while writing?

Almost always. The characters choose playlists for themselves and they usually have rather distinctive tastes. For example, Leith from The River Leith was obsessed with Vitamin String Orchestra cover songs, especially their covers of Regina Spektor’s songs. I was willing to listen to them, but was surprised by how much he loved them. He always had a lot more to say when I wrote while listening to that music.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?

The River Leith is an exploration of love and whether it can exist outside of memory. Can you retain love for someone that you’ve forgotten existed? Can you feel affection and devotion to someone when you no longer have a narrative for those emotions, when you no longer understand the story of your past together?

What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?

I’ve learned that there is no magic formula for any of it. There’s no formula for sales or for the writing of the books themselves. Each book will find its own path in terms of storyline, difficulty in getting it out, and in how it goes out to greet readers and in how it will be received by them.

Is there anything you would do differently?

After a book goes out and I read reviews, I tend to think of a few things I wish I’d done just a smidgeon differently in the book, yes, if only because I hadn’t realized someone would interpret xyz event in just the way they have.

Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?

Music influences my writing. I tend to hear music and immediately start creating a story in my head to go along with the song. Many times that blossoms into a novel.

Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?

Just keep going, keep writing, and have the balls to put your stuff out there. Also accept criticism with your head held high and learn from it.

What are three words that describe you?

Enthusiastic, open-hearted, determined.

What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?

Oh, my! Too many to choose from! Let’s go with Ginn Hale and her Rifter Series for now.

Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book

Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

List of previous books if any

Training Season


Books with Keira Andrews: 

Love’s Nest 

Earthly Desires

Ascending Hearts


Any websites/places readers can find you on the web

Website: http://letablake.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake

Guest Post Shoulder Pads and Flannel by Jo Ramsey

High school football star Guillermo Garcia can count himself among the popular kids—for now. Although he secretly dates Evan Granger, who is openly gay and badly bullied for it, Guillermo doesn’t dare let his teammates, classmates, or close-knit family learn about his sexuality. But Guillermo witnessed an attack on Evan, and now the school bullies plan to out Guillermo in retaliation. In their small town, word spreads rapidly, so Guillermo must make a quick choice—come out now on his own or risk having someone else do it for him.

Contemporary LGBT Fiction, Published by Harmony Ink, an imprint of Dreamspinner Press

Purchase direct from the publisher.

Purchase from Amazon.com

Purchase from Omnilit

Visit the author's website.

Twitter: @JoRamseyYA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoRamseyAuthor

The Story of Shoulder Pads and Flannel

Being a teenager isn’t exactly easy. You might not have the same stresses adults have, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t stress.

One of the hardest things about being a teenager is figuring out who you are and how that fits with the rest of the world. You want to be like your friends, please your parents, and be true to yourself all at the same time, whether or not it’s possible. And sometimes, being true to yourself is the scariest part.

We’re living in an era now where homosexuality is no longer considered a psychological disorder. It hasn’t been all that long since that change occurred. And it’s only within the past year or so that professionals have decided identifying as something other than cis-gender is not a mental illness. Among my kids and their friends, I see a lot of acceptance for each other’s sexualities and gender identities, and I think that’s a wonderful thing.

But some teens are facing the fact that they identify as something other than heterosexual, or that their gender doesn’t match up with the body they’re living in. They’re afraid of being rejected by family and friends. Of losing their homes. Of being hurt or even killed for no reason other than being who they are. And yet denying themselves is painful too. They’re stuck.

In my novel Shoulder Pads and Flannel, Guillermo Garcia has known for several years that he’s gay. He’s even dated two boys in the past, and is currently dating Evan Granger, the most openly gay boy at their high school. But Guillermo keeps his sexuality—and his relationship with Evan—a deeply hidden secret. As the oldest son in his family, he is held to certain standards by his father. He fears his parents’ rejection, along with the condemnation of their church. Guillermo knows exactly who he is and isn’t ashamed of it, but he doesn’t dare to show his true self.

Guillermo’s coming out has a happy ending for him. But too many teens and even adults face negative results. And too many continue to live in silence, afraid to be themselves.



This blog tour is sponsored and run by Muse Charmer PR, providing superhero promotion for your book. Learn more and check out all the tour stops by visiting http://www.promoyourmuse.com