Ellie Reads All the Books: Interview

Release Day Launch for An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

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My favourite author of queer historical romance, KJ Charles, is releasing a new series, starting today with An Unseen Attraction. She stopped by for a quick chat on her inspiration for these stories, favourite characters and some amazing art for the series.

Blurb

Lodging-house keeper Clem Talleyfer prefers a quiet life. He’s happy with his hobbies, his work—and especially with his lodger Rowley Green, who becomes a friend over their long fireside evenings together. If only neat, precise, irresistible Mr. Green were interested in more than friendship...

Rowley just wants to be left alone—at least until he meets Clem, with his odd, charming ways and his glorious eyes. Two quiet men, lodging in the same house, coming to an understanding... it could be perfect. Then the brutally murdered corpse of another lodger is dumped on their doorstep and their peaceful life is shattered.

Now Clem and Rowley find themselves caught up in a mystery, threatened on all sides by violent men, with a deadly London fog closing in on them. If they’re to see their way through, the pair must learn to share their secrets—and their hearts.

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Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon.com / Kobo

Interview

1. Your new series is coming soon. Can you share what inspired you to write these stories specifically?

KJ: As always, a lot of things kind of bubble away together. I love Victorian Sensation novels (the ones with complicated plots, coincidences, secrets and murder and often a lot of Gothic touches) and I’ve wanted to try my hand at one for ages. I also really wanted to write a series that reflected the real diversity of Victorian London—people of colour, disabled people, nonbinary people, immigrants from all over Europe as well as the back and forth with India, and of course working people with the kind of jobs Victorians had. We tend to have a vague idea of the late Victorians as either putting covers on their piano legs or murdering prostitutes in a dark alley with very little in between. Plus I’ve done a lot of historical romance about lords and earls and gentlemen, and they’re always huge fun, but I was itching to get into the streets a bit more.

So this series is very much trying to give a flavour of Victorian London outside the drawing rooms but not down in the gutters. We have a lodging-house keeper, a taxidermist, a private detective, a journalist, as well as some more...unconventional professions. It was a lot of fun.

Oh...and the fog. I read an entire book about London fog, including the 1873 fog that was the worst on record and shut down the city for a week, and was immediately compelled to centre a lot of the action around it. How could I not?

2. Speaking of inspiration, contemporary romance writers often have Pinterest boards with celebrities who are their visual inspiration for the characters they create. It must be different for historical romance, so I'm wondering where do you get the ideas for your characters' appearance?

KJ: There are a lot of visual records—paintings, engravings, and the like—as well as a good amount of early photos to use as reference for clothes and general demeanour. I have only once had a celebrity in mind for a character’s appearance (Dominic from A Seditious Affair, a dead ringer for Rufus Sewell). I sometimes find a random photo that looks right, but mostly the characters exist in my head, which is why I am shockingly bad at fan casting.

3. It's an unfair question but do you have a favourite book/character in the series, whose story are you most excited to share with your readers?

KJ: Hah! Um. I am really fond of Clem in An Unseen Attraction. He’s dyspraxic, which is all too often unrecognised now, let alone in 1873 where the condition was completely undiagnosed, so writing him as a neurotypical person was a lot of work, and I hope I’ve done him justice. He’s basically the heart of the trilogy for reasons which I hope will unfold as we go.

I also really wanted to write his and Rowley’s relationship. We hear a lot about ‘alpha males’ in romance, and I wanted to write a romance without an alpha male in sight. No posturing and shouting, but strength through kindness and consideration.

(I am also very fond of Justin Lazarus, the fraudulent Spiritualist in book 2, because he is an absolute stone cold vicious bastard. Bit of a mood change for that one.)

4. You have shared some great art for this series. Can you tell us more about it?

KJ: The trilogy is based round a pub, the Jack and Knave. I didn’t come up with that name—I offered my Facebook chat group the chance to name it, and reader Darla Sharp had the flash of brilliance. But having got it, I decided that the pub sign was playing cards, and at that point I realised that the extensive cast of characters actually divided pretty much perfectly into face cards of a standard pack. So Clem is the King of Hearts (as above, he’s the heart of the trilogy) with Rowley as his Jack; Justin Lazarus, who lies to people for money, is the Knave of Diamonds. And so on. (I’m not telling you who the Joker is...)

I asked illustrator Mila May to create art for the series as a thank-you extra to readers, and also because I adore her visions for my characters. Plus, the cast of characters is gigantic (I’m doing a family tree and a cast list to help) so I figured a visual aid or two couldn’t hurt...

You can find the art on my website!

Author Bio and Links

KJ Charles is a writer and freelance editor. She lives in London with her husband, two kids, an out-of-control garden and an increasingly murderous cat.

KJ writes mostly romance, gay and straight, frequently historical, and usually with some fantasy or horror in there.

Find her on Twitter @kj_charles or on Facebook, join her Facebook group, or get the very occasional newsletter.

Austin Chant

New and Debut: Austin Chant

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This week my guest in the New and Debut feature is the wonderful Austin Chant, author of Coffee Boy (trans mm romance) and the upcoming queer/trans retelling of Peter Pan (I can't tell how much I'm looking forward to this one). Read on to check his awesome interview and a short excerpt from Coffee Boy.

Meet Austin

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?

I've wanted to be a writer since I was about six years old, but I didn't get into romance for a long time because I had a lot of misconceptions about the genre (as we often do). One of my biggest misconceptions was that there was no such thing as queer romance, or trans romance, so I didn't think I'd ever see myself represented. Then, in 2013, a regional conference called Gay Romance Northwest blew my mind open, introducing me to a ton of amazing queer books and even more queer amazing authors. I immediately decided I needed to throw myself into romance, and I've been at it ever since!

I was born and raised in Washington in a small town that tends to wind up on lists of "cool places for hipsters to visit". I'm now at university near Seattle, writing as much as possible after work and school and slowly getting used to telling people I'm a romance novelist.  I'm a bisexual trans man, a gamer, a tea drinker, and a passionate cook.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?

I'm a huge fan of KJ Charles, particularly her Society of Gentlemen series and The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. They both have a perfect blend of lovable, compelling, funny characters and terrifyingly high stakes which, combined, makes me cry a lot. I also love Heidi Belleau and C.S. Pacat for the Rear Entrance Video series and Captive Prince, respectively. I'll read pretty much anything — characters and style matter more to me than genre.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?

My biggest single influence is Diana Wynne Jones, who was a wonderful British author of children's fiction. She wrote a lot of very genre-bending fantasy and sci-fi, including Howl's Moving Castle, which my parents read to me when I was a little kid. Fantasy is my favorite genre, but aside from that, my influences are all over the place — I love Jurassic Park, Jeeves & Wooster, Hemingway, Bradbury, fanfiction, etc. And I collect copies of The Picture of Dorian Gray because they all inspire me.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?

I want to write a little bit of everything, but I have a special place in my heart for fantasy, so you'll definitely see more of that. I love contemporary queer romance that captures stories from my community, and I make occasional forays into historical fiction because I also love writing about queer folks throughout history. Honestly, the only common thread between everything I write is that it's all very queer and character-focused. The next couple books I expect to release are a) a queer/trans retelling of Peter Pan that probably counts as historical fantasy, b) fairly classic sword-and-sorcery M/M about dragonslayers who fall in love, and c) some snarky contemporary F/F about singers and figure skaters. All three have trans protagonists.

5. Please, introduce your latest release.

My latest book is Coffee Boy, which is a contemporary trans m/m novella about a gay trans man named Kieran who's starting a political campaign internship after graduating college. It's a snarky book about navigating the workplace as a trans person, and about struggling with the apathy and inertia that tends to hit when you can't imagine things getting better (for you or for the world). And, of course, it's a romance! Kieran's supervisor Seth is an older bi man who, despite having a stick up his ass, is unequivocally supportive of Kieran's right to be safe and respected at work. Over time, as Kieran learns more about Seth, their relationship deepens from uneasy allyship to friendship and, you know. You'll have to read the book.

Blurb

After graduation, Kieran expected to go straight into a career of flipping burgers—only to be offered the internship of his dreams at a political campaign. But the pressure of being an out trans man in the workplace quickly sucks the joy out of things, as does Seth, the humorless campaign strategist who watches his every move.

Soon, the only upside to the job is that Seth has a painful crush on their painfully straight boss, and Kieran has a front row seat to the drama. But when Seth proves to be as respectful and supportive as he is prickly, Kieran develops an awkward crush of his own—one which Seth is far too prim and proper to ever reciprocate.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / AllRomance / NineStar Press

Author Bio and Links

Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, passable chef, and a queer, trans writer of romance, erotica, and fantasy. His fiction centers on trans characters who always, always get the love they deserve. Austin cohosts the Hopeless Romantic, a podcast dedicated to exploring LGBTQIA+ love stories and the art of writing romance. He currently lives in Seattle, in a household of wildly creative freelancers who all spend too much time playing video games.

Facebook / Twitter / Smashwords / Website

Excerpt

When his heart has stopped pounding, Kieran crosses the room and sinks gratefully into the chair at his new desk.

Although it might not be his desk for long if Seth kills him. Luckily, Seth looks like he’s too busy tearing somebody to shreds over the phone to spare much malice for Kieran. Every time he stops to listen to whatever the caller is saying, his nose wrinkles contemptuously. He’s keeping his voice down, but Kieran catches something about “funding that was promised to us” and “pulling all mention of your business from our campaign materials”.

In Kieran’s assessment, Seth looks kind of like a grown-up Boy Scout—that straight-laced, proper, honest look—but also kind of like a snake. He’s at least thirty, perfectly clean-shaven, sleek. He has hair trimmed short and blunt, long on top but slicked down, and despite the heat, he’s wearing a crisp blazer. The only part of his look that seems out of place is a single steel stud in his right ear, and even that is vaguely intimidating.

Awesome.

Feeling intimidated doesn’t stop Kieran from wanting to eavesdrop, though, because he wants a distraction as much as he relishes drama. He takes out his phone and pretends to be distracted by Twitter while listening as hard as he can. Seth’s side of the conversation is choppy, as if he’s being interrupted.

“I can’t be any clearer about this,” Seth says. “The senator does not offer business endorsements in exchange for donations. If a member of her staff told you otherwise, I —sincerely—apologize.” He listens intently for a moment and out of the corner of his eye, Kieran watches Seth squeeze the phone like he wishes it were someone’s neck. “No, that’s—no, there are no exceptions. Absolutely not. I suggest you contact the main office if you have any more concerns, because as I’ve said, this is a branch office. I cannot take a message for the senator, because she doesn’t work here. Yes. Goodbye.”

Seth smacks the phone down in its cradle, and Kieran jumps in spite of himself. He stuffs his cell phone back into his pocket as Seth swivels toward him.

“So,” Seth says. He stands up, offering his hand without approaching Kieran’s desk. Kieran has to scramble out of his chair and across the room to shake it, while Seth stares imperiously down at him.

Kieran isn’t surprised to find Seth’s handshake firm and unforgiving. “Hi,” Kieran says, forcing a smile. “Sorry for, um, barging in. I was expecting Marcus.” It’s only half a lie.

Seth raises his eyebrows. “Marcus mentioned that he knew you. From the university?”

“Yeah. He taught a bunch of my classes.” Kieran does his best to sound calm, smooth, anything but as shaky as he feels. “So—who’re you? The manager?”

“Marcus is the manager,” Seth says, like Kieran should have known. This probably falls into the category of ‘Things Marcus Could’ve Bothered to Tell Kieran.’ “I’m Seth Harker, the senior campaign strategist.”

The way he says senior makes it sounds like he has power over Kieran’s life and death. Kieran resists the urge to grimace. “Nice to meet you. Is Marcus going to be here?”

“He had a family engagement. Have a seat, and we’ll talk through your responsibilities.”

“Okay.” Kieran scrunches himself into the chair in front of Seth’s desk.

Seth sits across from him, studying Kieran with an awkward level of scrutiny. “What is that button?” he asks.

The pronoun pin. Kieran feels a sharp blush rise in his face again. He’s not ashamed of needing to wear it—he’s annoyed that he has to. “My pronouns,” he says, as casually as he can. “I like to wear it when I meet new people.”

Seth gives a mere nod. “I see. As a reminder?”

Kieran flips his thick, curly hair angrily over one shoulder. “Well, most people make the wrong assumption when they meet me.”

“Marcus has been very specific in calling you ‘he’ whenever he mentioned the new intern,” Seth says, “so hopefully there won’t be any room for wrong assumptions.”

His voice is crisp and cool, like it isn’t an issue for him at all. Kieran lets out a breath, startled and relieved and angry. Because it is an issue, but at least he’s not going to have to repeat the conversation he had with Marie. “Great. You might wanna clear that up with the rest of the office.”

Seth raises an eyebrow. “Why? Did something happen?”

Kieran is not going to fall into the trap of complaining about his coworkers on his first day. “No. It’s fine. I just—I didn’t get the impression that they knew.”

“I see.”

Seth actually turns and scribbles something down on a pad of paper in front of him. Kieran can’t imagine what he’s writing. “Remind everyone in the office that new intern is a dude”? Or, probably more likely, “Fire whiny trans guy at earliest opportunity.”

Seth turns back to him. “Let me know if you have any problems.” He waits for Kieran to nod. Kieran wonders how obvious it is that he doesn’t find this reassuring at all. “Now—Marcus said that he knew you before you applied for the internship. He was impressed with your undergraduate coursework.”

More like: Marcus is a bleeding-heart PhD candidate who thinks all trans people are brave and inspiring, and he’d been willing to overlook Kieran’s often-lackluster college coursework and pretend it was a sign that Kieran wasn’t being challenged enough by the material. And that’s why Kieran has the internship. “Yeah, he thought I was okay.” Kieran shrugs. “Of course, I’m guessing I’ll probably do less campaign strategizing and more…getting coffee and making copies?”

Seth almost smiles. It’s a flicker at the corner of his thin little mouth. “You aren’t wrong. But we need you for more than that. This is a new branch of Senator Norton’s campaign, and things are just starting to get off the ground. You’ll be assisting Marcus with whatever he needs to keep us organized, and taking on whatever additional duties we might need an extra hand with. Especially social media and the new campaign website—Marcus said you have some skills in that area, and we’re lacking staff with…digital experience.”

Kieran translates that to everyone who works here is old. “Uh, yeah. I can help with that.”

Seth nods approvingly. “I think you’ll find the experience rewarding. Our internship program offers you a chance to learn the types of skills it takes to run a campaign. Working on our digital outreach puts you at the intersection of a lot of departments. It might help you see what kind of a real job would suit you.”

“A real job?” Kieran laughs in spite of himself, because it stings. “I have one of those already.”

“Oh?”

“Flipping burgers,” Kieran says. “It comes with real paychecks and everything.”

Seth frowns. Kieran can see the cogs turning in his head and wonders if he’s smart enough to figure out that Kieran’s definition of real is “pays rent.” Evidently Seth does, because he clears his throat and says, “There will be opportunities for advancement here. Paid advancement. Assuming, of course, that you fit the position.”

Kieran is pretty sure he won’t.

Blog Tour

New and Debut: Jude Sierra

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Today's New and Debut post features Jude Sierra and her latest release, Idelwild, published by Interlude Press. This post is part of the Blog tour for the book, so read on for an interview with Jude, an excerpt from the book, and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end for a chance wo twn a copy pof Idlewild.

Meet Jude

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?

Well I’m a 34 year old mother of two young boys. I’ve been married for about a billion years (ok, actually 11), and I’m halfway through a Masters in Writing and Rhetoric. I’m currently applying for PhD programs, so my head is consistently exploding. Pretty usual stuff!

I began writing as a poet, and I transitioned into writing long form fiction in 2007 when I did NaNoWriMo for the first time. I still write poetry, but I’m an incredibly slow, nitpicky, and obsessive poet. Fiction suits me in many ways – and the poetic side of me comes out a lot in my lyrical style.

I think I love romance because we get to really explore some human complexity but still have happy endings, still provide escape and joy for readers. As an avid reader, I can say there’s nothing like romance for me. It’s like homecoming, it’s comfort and I need that. I think there are aspects of writing romance that are really challenging and exciting as a writer. For example, writing complicated or flawed characters falling in love or redirecting their lives. I love writing sex, I’ll be honest. Not just because….sexy. But also sex scenes provide such great ground for character exploration and work for a writer. Everything I put into a sex scene has some sort of purpose for me; it’s never gratuitous. Though, again….sexy. Love that.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?

How much time and patience do we all have? Just kidding. I’ll try to limit myself to romance genre right now. I have a few books I’ll go back to over and over – I’m a re-reader, particularly when I’m stressed out. Small Wonders by Courtney Lux is a fabulous book. Her main character starts so prickly and complicated and difficult, but watching his journey is so incredibly satisfying. His backstory is painful, which makes the ending of the book so special.

I am currently obsessed with Roan Parrish, Avon Gale, and Santino Hassel + Megan Erickson’s work. They’ve each crafted series (Middle of Somewhere for Parrish, Scoring Chances for Gale, and Cyber Love for Hassel and Erickson) that I’ve read multiple times.

I’ll admit I’m a huge Hunger Games fan. I’m actually re-reading them now (although, what a time to be re-reading these particular books!). And if you haven’t read The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, please do so. The blurb for the first book sounds insane, but these books are fantastic. I’m a huge YA/NA reader, as you can probably tell.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?

Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda and Sharon Olds. All poets, right? But really, these are poets who influenced my love for the written word, and inspired me to craft my particular voice and style. As far as novelists go, I have to credit Diana Gabaldon as a huge inspiration – I hope to one day achieve even a quarter of what she does with her storytelling and prose.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?

Oh man, a little of everything? I tend to flummox my publisher because I write what moves me, so I’m all over the place. I would say that in general I write contemporary romance. Idlewild, my current release is definitely contemporary with touches of coming of age (with the age difference in the characters, it had to work that way). I am a big fan of NA, and my next book will probably fall into a NA contemporary category.

5. Please, introduce your latest release

My current book is called Idlewild. It’s set in Detroit, and it’s a contemporary. I love Detroit – I and my family have ties here that go back a few generations, and I really wanted to write a positive and realistic story set there. Detroit sets a complex backdrop for our characters, who come from very different backgrounds, to learn about each other and themselves.

Our main characters are Asher, who is a widower trying to keep the restaurant he started with his late husband alive. The book starts with him going for one last Hail Mary plan to do so, firing his staff and hiring a new staff to get a fresh start. One of the waiters he hires is Tyler, who is fresh out of college. Tyler is a very interesting man – he’s a little lost, but he’s incredibly charismatic. Despite having no restaurant experience, Asher hires him. They make a great team, and as they work together more and more, Tyler begins to take on a bigger role in helping Asher save Idlewild.

Idlewild brings them together, offers Tyler an opportunity to find his place and to take steps to really find himself and his happiness. As his relationship with Asher goes from friendship to intimate, they both have a lot to navigate – not just Tyler’s arc, but Asher realizing he has to confront grief and loss he’s been telling himself he’s over. There’s a lot of lovely discovery between them, and the city plays a big role in this.

Summary

Asher Schenck and his husband John opened their downtown gastro pub in the midst of Detroit’s revival. Now, five years after John’s sudden death, Asher is determined to pull off a revival of his own. In a last ditch attempt to bring Idlewild back to life, he fires everyone and hires a new staff. Among them is Tyler Heyward, a recent college graduate in need of funds to pay for med school. Tyler is a cheery balm on Asher’s soul, and their relationship quickly shifts from business to friendship. When they fall for each other, it is not the differences of race or class that challenge their love, but the ghosts and expectations of their respective pasts. Will they remain stuck, or move toward a life neither of them has allowed himself to dream about?

Author Bio and Links

Jude Sierra first began writing poetry as a child in her home country of Brazil. Still a student of the form, she began writing long-form fiction by tackling her first National Novel Writing Month project in 2007, and in 2011 began writing in online communities, where her stories have thousands of readers. Her previous novels include Hush (2015) and What It Takes (2016), which received a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

EXCERPT

Today when Asher greets him, he seems more present. Tyler knew this place was in dire straits, but if he needed confirmation, the harried expression on Asher’s face when they first met was it.

Although his clothes hint that he’s tried to put himself together, his hair is a mess. It’s longish, with a hint of curls and is the kind of tousled only some men can pull off. Though deep brown, Tyler can see some gray at the temples. Asher has dark eyes and sports the shadow of a beard. Despite the pallor of his skin that indicates he hasn’t gotten sun in a long time and his slightly sloppy appearance, Tyler can’t help but notice how handsome he is. He’s taller than Tyler by a few inches—most men are. He has no idea how old Asher is—it would hardly be polite to ask—but he thinks maybe in his thirties. That’s hardly old, but it’s older than he; that’s never been an attraction. But, it’s working right now. Tyler swallows and smiles.

“So,” Asher starts. He sits at the same table. It’s just as covered in paperwork. “What are your thoughts about working here?”

“Are…” Tyler eyes him. “Are you hiring me?”

“I am strongly considering it.” Asher doesn’t smile but his eyes are friendly.

“It would be great to work here,” Tyler says. “Really. This building has a vibe.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something here feels right.” He wonders if he’s making a fool of himself. Tyler sometimes can sense the energy of a person or place. It’s nothing he seeks—but some people and places he’s encountered just feel right.

Empty, Idlewild brims with potential. It’s a building with great bones, long but narrow, with high groin-vaulted ceilings and a bar that curves down the length of the front-of-house floor. Cream-colored wainscoting lines the bottom of the walls—he sees it running up the stairs to the second floor—and the walls are a rich deep red that’s brightened and warmed by an eclectic assortment of antique lighting fixtures. Wide wooden steps with carved spindles lead to the second floor seating area. The dark wood and walls are offset by light through the large glass window.

“Well, I hope so.” Asher looks around, then shrugs. “Or that I can make something of it.”

“Just you?” Tyler asks. “That sounds exhausting.”

Asher tilts his head with a tiny smile quirking his lips.

“Well, if you wanna take a chance on me, which I recommend, I want to help you with that.” Tyler smiles as warmly as he can and is gratified when Asher’s eyes catch his. They share a second of eye contact that leaves Tyler short of breath. He looks away quickly.

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Author Spotlight

Friday Favourites #19: Cole McCade

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My guest for Friday Favourites this week is Mr. Cole McCade. He is a new-to-me author and I first came across his writing with his post for Queer Romance Month last year. His moving piece prompted me to check out his books which finally lead me to reading The Lost and its prequel, The Fallen a few weeks ago. In short, I was blown away by these rather dark but still hopeful stories, you can read my review from earlier this week.

Now, meet Mr. McCade himself sharing some of his favourite stuff and there are some. It was a really fascinating interview and learned so many new, curious things, and got to check out some awesome books. I hope you will enjoy it too!

1. Favourite place

Kowloon Walled City. Even though it doesn’t exist anymore; it was this fascinating warren of sunless tunnels outside of Hong Kong, a close-stacked shanty town mutated on itself and growing into this seedy tangle of neon lights and the scent of opium, turned ever inward and away from the world. I’m bloody well obsessed with it, and a little secret: I’ve started sneaking a tiny mention of it somewhere in my recent releases and in several of my upcoming titles. It’s becoming a thing. Where can I hide the Kowloon Walled City Easter egg? A YA novel I’m working is also set there, in a futuristic re-invention of the city.

2. Favourite food and drink

I’m going to show my roots a little and say my favorite food is a good beef udon bowl. Real beef udon with actual meat and vegetables, prepared properly in a restaurant; not the packaged stuff with the powdered flavor packets. There used to be this amazing sushi place near me that made the best udon bowls, but they closed down. As far as my favorite drink? Ginger green tea mixed with TY KU sake liqueur.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song

Asking me this is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. I don’t really have a favorite; I listen to all kinds of music from around the world, and tend to fall in love with songs regardless of their genre. One day I might be listening to Missy Elliott; the next Jay Chou; the next the soundtrack from Sita Sings the Blues; the next Peggy Lee; the next you’ll even catch me listening to 1D before it’s on to Dir en Grey and Marilyn Manson and Melanie Martinez and Meg Myers, then Etta James, Aerosmith, Hrithik Roshan, Emalkay, Sinatra, Keith Urban, 30 Seconds to Mars, SID, Akira Yamaoka, 16Bit, Disney soundtracks, Kalafina. Though I guess when I can’t decide what I want, I fall back on The Glitch Mob as my default; their music gets inside me, especially the Drink the Sea album. I don’t know. It’s really hard to answer when all I care is that it makes me feel something deep and visceral. My writing is set to music, always, and it shapes the rhythm of the narrative and the beat of my emotions.

4. Favourite movie/TV series

Not a big TV person, honestly. I’ll leave my TV off for months, then only turn it on for background noise. I have series I’ll enjoy enough to watch again in the background while I work, like Firefly, The Walking Dead, Fringe, Dexter, SG:U, Jessica Jones, Hannibal, Darker than Black, Black Butler, Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi, Tokyo Ghoul, Shingeki no Kyojin. And I guess films like The Charge of the Light Brigade, Halo: Forward Unto Dawn, and Spirited Away. But…there’s nothing really that makes my list that I can’t live without, nothing I reference as a passionate favorite even if I appreciate the nuance and art forms of the medium. TV and films are fun and engaging when I’m in the mood for them, but it’s not something I center around any specific show or film. For me watching things is more a community activity, if that makes sense. I watch for the enjoyment of sharing the experience with other people watching these things, this mutual act of experiencing a story. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what that story is, or whether people loved or hated it. It’s a unique cultural phenomenon, a shared experience that’s evolved to become part of our daily dialogue.

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby

Promise you won’t laugh? Crocheting. Now, look. I suck at it. I tried to start a scarf and ended up with a weird stiff curled yarn brick. The best I can manage is a double chain; patterns and diagrams look like Greek to me. I don’t do it to make anything fancy. I will make a mile-long single chain if I need to, because it’s just…relaxing. I put the computer down, put the phone down, and suddenly my hands are busy with something that keeps me away from both, and all the problems waiting inside the window into my digital world; my subconscious mind is occupied not by the million things preying on me every day, but by the simple focus on keeping the pattern going with looping, hooking, pulling the yarn. I may never make anything more complex than a crappy square coaster so lumpy it’ll tip your drink over. I don’t need to. I still enjoy it.

Five Favorite Books

This is another one I have trouble answering; just like music, I have such deep love for the medium in all its forms that it’s hard for me to pick a limited selection of favorites. I read across genres, forms, and age groups, and fall in love with so much from so many unique writers. But…I’ll try to pick out a smattering. I’ve done top five lists like this in other interviews and ended up listing wholly different books, but…I kind of like that, actually, because it means recommending a broader list of authors.

1. SCARS by Cheryl Rainfield: This YA novel tackles a really sensitive topic, self-harm in teens, and does it in an unflinching and yet sympathetic way. It’s beautifully written, sucking you in with gorgeously emotional words. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a necessary one. And it introduced me to Cheryl Rainfield in general; she’s a wonderful author, someone who writes on things that might frighten other people. Dedicated to her craft, skillful with words…and she’s an amazing person, too, constantly seeking to help and support other people. I’d really recommend checking out HUNTED and STAINED, too.

2. IDORU by William Gibson: My computer science teacher gave this book to me in high school, and I kind of maybe forgot to give it back. It was the first book I’d read in English that made me feel so at home with its portrayal of a futuristic Japan and Japanese culture as part of a connected global culture, at once alien and familiar. It’s brilliant sci-fi with a touch of prophetic realism and a dash of cyberpunk and a strange feel of mysticism, and it also taught me that it’s not wrong to tell an adult story mostly from the POV of a teen. (I was young, this was the nineties—I was still gaining exposure to books and what had been successfully done before.) I think in a lot of ways it shaped how I write sci-fi, especially the stories I’m working on set in Asian cultures. And it was the first time I’d ever heard of Kowloon Walled City, beginning an obsession that’s continued throughout my life.

3. SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD by Diane Duane: Oh god, this book. The whole series of books, the Young Wizards series, just…thrilled me when I was a boy. I love Diane Duane’s writing; it’s lyrical, enchanting, smart. She made science out of magic and made magic into a science, and gave me brainy, wonderful characters from mixed cultures and backgrounds. These are the books I recommend to people who naysay MG and YA and say they’re not smart enough. They’re a gateway drug, intriguing and well-plotted, and can entrance people into setting aside their preconceptions and discovering the wonderful stories waiting on the 18 and below shelves. Nita and Kit are the best protagonists, and their friendship is this wonderfully complex thing that sees them through so many issues and world-shaking adventures. And I’ll confess: I’d peek on the shelves, looking for my own copy of the wizard’s manual, hoping maybe one day I’d crack open the book and find not a story, but an instruction manual for the magic I felt every time I stepped into Duane’s world. She also writes adult fiction; she’s contributed several Star Trek novels, and she started the Omnitopia series with OMNITOPIA DAWN. I had some issues with OMNITOPIA DAWN, but it was still a great read.

4. UNDER THE DOME by Stephen King: I hate this book. I love this book. I hate it again. I can’t stop reading it. The ending makes me want to burn every Stephen King book I own. I have it in hardcover, paperback, and audiobook. It’s the same for me with almost every Stephen King book, honestly, even if I’m not a fan of his work in recent years. Under the Dome is the last book of his that’s given me what I call the King Feeling: I completely and utterly loathe his characters and characterization, and I really want to know what happens to them and how this story turns out. I think what was unique to me with this one was that I didn’t hate his protagonist, Dale Barbara (Barbie for short). He normally writes the ugliness of the everyman, bringing out the nastier side of people with a sort of vicious glee, but Dale Barbara was the kind of quiet, unassuming, common-sense guy that I can really get behind. He kind of felt like me when I usually read a King story: shaking his head at what all these reprehensible, selfish, bizarre people around him are doing. And I know that doesn’t tell you much about the book, but it’s hard to explain. It’s a long, long book told in bits and puzzle pieces, a skein that slowly winds one thread after another together into a noose that’s part choking horror, part strangling sci-fi, but all about just how broken human nature can be. If you’ve seen the TV mini-series…it’s not that. Not even close. I know you’ve heard this a million times, but the book was better.

5. MAIA by Richard Adams: Yes, that Richard Adams—the author of WATERSHIP DOWN and THE PLAGUE DOGS. This is an old book, and it shows. It’s not for the impatient. It’s not a quick read, with the paperback edition breaking 1,000 pages. It’s not what you would call a romance, this story of a simple peasant girl kidnapped into the life of a concubine in a fictional empire that reflects a dozen ancient cultures…but there’s still a deeply romanticized storyline as we watch this unassuming girl used as a political tool by the colder and cannier people around her, and yet still she never stops hoping to find something good, to make a life for herself outside of these political machinations. And in the end there is a lovely romantic storyline, woven in among sin and intrigue, decadence and murder, war and the history of a strange and shattering nation. It’s the kind of slow-paced storytelling I love, immersive in a deep world of historical fiction with a tiny touch of fantasy magic. I own every edition: every cover, in hardback and paperback; even the library dust jacket versions. It was recently released in e-book, and I bought that too. I don’t think many people would share my love of it, but that’s okay. Sometimes I don’t like it either, which is why sometimes it makes my top five lists and sometimes it doesn’t. I have to be in the mood for it…but when I am, it’s wondrous.

Author Bio and Links

By day, Cole McCade is a mild-mannered, grouchy, cynical, misanthropic corporate consultant. By night he becomes Nightwing. Well, maybe not. By night he does, however, become an author. Romance, erotica, sci-fi; diverse settings and diverse characters from a diverse author.

Mid-thirties. Coffee addict. Cat lover. Bibliophile. Technophile. Definite sapiophile. Native Southerner without the Southern accent. Runner. Multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual mess. Bisexual/queer. Intersectional feminist. Outspoken introvert. Country boy turned city suit. Collector of weird, obscure, or out-of-print books. Aficionado of late-night conversations over live music in seedy bars. Browncoat who can’t decide if he has a bigger crush on Kaylee or Zoe, or Simon or Cap’n Tightpants.

Fascinated by human sociology, and particularly by the psychology of sex and gender – and their effect on relationship expectations, the culture of dating, and what it means to fall in love.

Website / Facebook / Fan Group / Twitter / Goodreads

Cole McCade latest release is The Fallen, a prequel to The Lost, and it's available for FREE! I just reviewed both books (actually, it's a few paragraphs on The Fallen but I loved that book so much. It's a powerfully written dark story, not really a romance but a story of coming back to life, learning to love/value/just be yourself again).

Blurb

Gabriel Hart is a broken man.

And everyone close to him dies.

His military unit. His sister. His parents. Everyone he's come to care for has been taken from him, leaving him with nothing but a crippling war injury, a Vicodin addiction, and a scraggly, chewed-up rag of a cat. It's enough to make anyone want to check out. And when he holds his service pistol in his hand and presses it against his temple, for the first time in a long time the world feels right.

But he's not as alone as he thinks. And when grizzled bar owner Gary challenges him to honor his sister's memory by repairing her houseboat before he gives up on life, he discovers she left more for him than her belongings. And her letters lead him on a trail through discovering himself, discovering what he truly wants...and discovering that he has the strength to choose his own path.

Purchase links (Free): Amazon / Amazon.co.uk / B&N / iBooks / Smashwords

Cara McKenna

Interview with C. M. McKenna

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This is my first author interview I've done on the blog and I'm both very excited and very nervous about it. I read Badger by C. M. McKenna (aka Cara McKenna) back in September and this story with all its intensity and darkness and just a sliver of hope has stayed with me ever since. I had so many thoughts about it which I tried to express in my review but I also had so many questions I wanted to ask Cara. I gathered my courage (and wits) and approach Ms McKenna who was wonderful and agree to my request for interview.

So, this happened.

I’d like to welcome Ms McKenna on my blog today answering some questions about her non-romantic love story Badger, which she published earlier this year with Brain Mill Press.

Interview

Ellie: Welcome, Cara and thank you agreeing to do this interview. Badger left a lasting impression and I have many questions about this story, so I’m diving right in.

Badger is unlike anything I’ve ever read, stunning, raw and genre-defying. What inspired you to write this story?

Cara: Why thank you! I actually wrote it way back in late 2011, fairly early in my writing career, at a point when I was feeling restless and unsettled and unsure what to do next. I’d gotten some shitty medical news, and one gloomy September morning I was riding the train into Boston on my way to a minor surgery, feeling pretty gloomy myself, and I was watching the graffiti-peppered overpasses slide by as I approached North Station. I remembered a story a good friend had told me about a friend of hers. He was a young man with some mental health issues who would occasionally go online, posing as an underage kid, and invite creepy old men to his house, like DIY To Catch a Predator. Once the pervert would arrive he’d assault them from his balcony with a paintball rifle. This struck me as both horrifying and strangely charming, though by the time I was riding that train I hadn’t thought about it in a few years. That anecdote was the seed that Badger grew out of, watered by my own strange mental forecast that autumn. I never did meet that friend of my friend.

Ellie: This is such a curious tale! You did make a much deeper and darker story out of it and I really like how it is all grounded in real life.

Badger is not a romance in the strict sense of the word but still I’d say it’s a story about love (and abuse and hurt). I’m curious how you would define/describe this book.

Cara: These days I tell people it’s lit fic, for lack of a better term, and a fucked-up love story, but no, definitely not a romance. Romance, as a genre, requires that a few specific promises be kept to the reader regarding how the story is going to unfold, and Badger breaks some of those promises. My publisher calls it “neo-noir,” though I’d never heard that label before. I think that just means it has a gritty, grimy, urban, almost comic-bookish feel about it, which fits, I’d say.

Ellie: The story is as much about Badger as it is about Adrian. Do you have a favourite of the two/ Who was easier to write?

Cara: Well, the book’s written entirely from Adrian’s perspective, and I found her easy to inhabit. I’ve never been addicted to Vicodin or fallen in love with a mentally ill bicycle vigilante, but we both went to MassArt, both lived in Jamaica Plain, both floundered our fair share and abused Nyquil on occasion. She came very naturally for me, as a narrator. Badger would have been a far more challenging point-of-view to maintain. His perspective, if I pulled an E.L. James and wrote a companion book in his POV, would read completely differently from Adrian’s version. He’s very visceral, very much locked in the present, very reactionary. He possesses almost zero self-awareness. His dialogue and actions were intuitive to write, but I have almost as little understanding of what goes on in his head as Adrian does. It’s not a place I’d relish spending an entire book in.

Ellie: I guess this means there won’t be a story from Badger’s POV? I personally feel we leave Adrian at a good place, hopeful for her future, yet I’m wondering if you have any plans to write more of her story.

Cara: I don’t, no. Often when people ask me that question about a book, my answer has to be “Never say never,” but with this story I know for sure it ends where it ends. I love Adrian, but a sequel to Badger without Badger himself…? I just can’t see that having the same dynamism of the original.

Ellie: As a follow-up to the previous question, what was the easiest/most difficult thing about writing this story? Did you have to do a lot of research and what kind?

Cara: The book was fairly easy. Or rather, it poured out of me very quickly—110,000 words in about three and a half months, with zero halts in the inspiration department. It wasn’t easy, per se, because it’s a pretty rough book full of ugly emotions, but it did flow, probably as much as any other story I’ve written. It certainly flowed the easiest of any book of that length that I’ve written. I didn’t have to do much research; I know Boston the way you know a fond ex-lover’s body. I researched substance abuse queries, mainly. Random things like whether or not drinking cough medicine can fuck up a drug test (pro tip: it can.)

Ellie: That’s a good tip :) Will keep it in mind.

This book is a big departure from your other works. Were you worried how your romance fans will take it?

Cara: Sort of. I mean, my romances range from sweetly dirty all the way through dark and gritty, so I knew my readership was up for a high-ish level of angst and some pretty kinky sex. Still, Badger takes all that to a much starker place. There’s some quite gnarly sex scenes and dubious consent at times, and just some real meanness, in some of the sex. I was prepared to publish it under my usual pen name, provided it was made clear it wasn’t a romance, though in the end I decided to tweak my name to add a little extra distance. I mean, I’d hate for someone who’d just read and loved, say, my vacation-fling novella for Cosmo to go and pick Badger up, thinking it’ll be another fun, dirty romp like that then wind up in therapy.

Ellie: Do you have any plans to write more books like Badger, closer to general fiction than romance?

Cara: I do. No immediate ones, though; I have contracts to fulfill first, and I need to keep making money. Romance pays, and it’s fun, and those aren’t facts I can easily ignore. While I suspect Badger might be the strongest and most genuine book I’ve written so far, I also suspect it won’t be one of my bigger commercial successes. But all that said, I do have an idea for a series I want to explore when I’m no longer under contract, something that I imagine would land somewhere between After Hours and Badger in terms of tone and genre. Women’s fiction, I think it would probably get classified as. Not quite a romance, and messy and homely, with raw, realistic sex and a deeply flawed female narrator…if not a Badger-level train wreck.

Ellie: Oh, that is some exciting news. I will definitely be on the look-out for this new series.

I have a final question, unrelated to Badger and concerning your future books. I have been reading a lot of LGBT books lately, have you thought about writing one yourself?

Cara: I already have! A few of my backlist titles are male/male, or ménages where the men have their way with each other. I love writing male/male. All three of my Sins in the City books for Penguin feature three-ways in which the men have contact, the second book in particular—Downtown Devil. That’s out next June. I’ve not written lesbian or trans romance yet, though I could imagine going there someday, if the right story grabbed me.

Ellie: Thank you for answering all my questions, Cara. It was a pleasure having you as a guest on my blog. Badger is one of the best books I have read this year and strongly urge people to read it because it tells an important story. It may not be the easiest of books to read but it is definitely worth it.

Cara: Thanks very much for having me! It was a pleasure.

*** *** ***

Author Bio and Links

Cara McKenna writes award-winning contemporary romance and smart erotica, sometimes under the name Meg Maguire, and has sold more than thirty-five novels and novellas to Penguin, Harlequin, Samhain, and Signet Eclipse. She's known for writing no-nonsense, working-class heroes with capable hands and lousy grammar. She is a 2015 RITA Award finalist, a 2014 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award winner, a 2013 and 2011 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award nominee, and a 2010 Golden Heart finalist. Cara writes full-time and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her own bearded hero.

Website / Twitter / Tumblr / Goodreads

Badger was released 31 August 2015 by Brain Mills Press.

Blurb

C.M. McKenna’s compelling voice has earned a devoted audience and multiple awards for her erotic fiction (as Cara McKenna.) Her page-turning literary debut, Badger, disturbs and titillates with the story of a recovering pill addict whose compulsive fascination with a Boston antihero spirals out of control.

Nearly twelve months sober, Adrian Birch feels like a nobody. But when her wrist is broken in a hit-and-run accident, she’s avenged by the Badger, a secretive street vigilante. Instantly obsessed, Adrian takes to staging suicide and constructing chance meetings to get his attention. Their resulting affair is harsh and needy, wrought with McKenna’s signature dark eroticism—until the connection gets out of hand and ignites the violent passions of the city.

Hailed for her “evocative,” “intense,” “deftly drawn,” and “engrossing” stories by reviewers at Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and Jezebel, McKenna now establishes herself as a rising star in neo-noir. Badgerchallenges the reader to imagine how an impulsive young man is killed, offering only the perspective of the fascinating and unreliable Adrian Birch.

Add on Goodreads

Purchase links: Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Brain Mills Press

Author Spotlight

Friday Favourites #16: Vanessa North

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This the last Friday Favoruites post on the blog for this year and I'm very happy and excited to have Ms Vanessa North, author of mm romance, as my guest. Check her favourite things and book recommendation and read an excerpt from her upcoming title, Blueberry Boys (btw, it is super sweet and cute and a perfect holiday read).

1. Favourite place
Asheville, North Carolina - it’s a beautiful, friendly place full of amazing people. I lived there for a few years in the nineties and I’d love to move back—someday.

2. Favourite food and drink
My favorite food changes based on mood - sometimes it’s sushi, sometimes it’s a delicious cassoulet or a perfectly-grilled steak - and some days it’s a bag of corn nuts from the gas station. As for drink, I always love a crisp white wine.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song
This is a hard one for me, because I rarely listen to music these days, but I have a lot of affection for 90s-era alternative rock, and if you play Sublime in my house, I’m gonna get up and sing and dance and make lewd faces and gestures until I embarrass someone.

4. Favourite movie/TV series
The Princess Bride—fencing, fighting, true love, miracles!

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby
Knitting is my favorite. It’s relaxing and keeps my hands occupied, and when I finish a project, I have something really cool to show for it. (or a sweater that is far too long, oops…)

Favourite books - please list at least 5 books you'd recommend to everyone.

Ginn Hale’s The Rifter - amazing epic fantasy serial. I read it straight through in four days, an absolute wreck the whole time - came out the other side a totally changed woman and jealous as hell of anyone reading it for the first time.

Jordan Castillo Price’s Channeling Morpheus series. What can I say? Wild Bill and Mikey are my crack. I love those boys, and for a scary, sexy vampire roadtrip? It’s SO romantic.

LaVyrle Spencer’s Hummingbird. LaVyrle Spencer is my single biggest influence as an author, and this book is one of my favorites. LaVyrle’s stories are not vast sweeping epics with loads of external conflict. They are journeys of the heart and spirit—where the dramatic arc comes from the characters changing and growing.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - A sci-fi comedy/cyberpunk parody that was observant and funny and biting twenty years ago when I first read it—and is every bit as enjoyable today.

Line and Orbit by Sunny Moraine and Lisa Soem - one of the best sci fi romances I’ve ever read, hands down. I loved the world-building, the sense of time and place. The characters were great and I was really invested really quickly. This could easily be made into the best movie ever.

Author Bio and Links

Author of over a dozen novels, novellas, and short stories, Vanessa North delights in giving happy-ever-afters to characters who don’t think they deserve them. Relentless curiosity led her to take up knitting and run a few marathons “just to see if she could.” She started writing for the same reason. Her very patient husband pretends not to notice when her hobbies take over the house. Living and writing in Northwest Georgia, she finds her attempts to keep a quiet home are frequently thwarted by twin boy-children and a very, very large dog.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Vanessa North's latest book, Blueberry Boys, a sweet mm romance, releases on Nov 30. Check the blurb and enjoy an exclusive excerpt .

Book Blurb

Connor Graham is a city boy—a celebrated fashion photographer in New York. When his uncle’s death drags him back to the family blueberry farm, all he wants to do is sell it as quickly as he can. Until he meets his uncle’s tenant farmer.

Jed Jones, shy and stammering, devout and dedicated, has always yearned for land of his own and a man to share it with. Kept in the closet by his church, family, and disastrous first love, he longs to be accepted for who he is. But now, with his farm and his future in Connor’s careless hands, he stands to lose even the little he has.

Neither man expects the connection between them. Jed sees Connor—appreciates his art and passion like no one else in this godforsaken town ever has. Connor hears Jed—looks past his stutter to listen to the man inside. The time they share is idyllic, but with the farm sale pending, even their sanctuary is a source of tension. As work, family, and their town’s old-fashioned attitudes pull them apart, they must find a way to reconcile commitments to their careers and to each other.

Pre-order links: Riptide / Amazon

Excerpt

Blueberries. Row upon row, acre upon acre. Connor’s arms ached with the memory of his first summer job. The dew glinting off the grass and leaves set his heart thumping thickly in his chest. Six said it was nostalgia, half dozen said grief. He lifted his camera from where it hung heavy around his neck and snapped a few photos. It was early yet; the golden hour hadn’t arrived, so there wouldn’t be any magic in the images. But he hadn’t come out here to make magic. He’d come to make a eulogy.

How many times could one man say good-bye to the same place?

He heard the diesel engine long before he bothered to turn around. This would be Bruce’s—no, Scott and Connor’s—tenant, probably wondering what Connor was doing here. Sure enough, the dually rumbled to a stop beside him, and a slender man about his own age stepped down from the cab. Brown hair and eyes, a hint of crow’s feet around the latter, unremarkable and yet appealing. Beautiful in that way strangers were, before you learned they hated cats or liked the wrong kind of country music.

“This is pr-private property. You c-can’t shoot pictures here.” The tenant’s voice was quiet, but with a firm set to his chin, he clearly meant business.

“It’s okay.” Connor tried to find a smile to offer him, but all he had was his name. “I’m Connor Graham.”

The man’s smile faded, and he ducked his head, swiping his Red Sox hat down and into his palms. “Man. I’m s-sorry. About your uncle.”

“Thank you. You’re the tenant, right? I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” I hold his future in my hands; I should know his name.

“Jed J-Jones.”

Hell of a name for a man with a stutter.

Jed extended his hand slowly, like an afterthought. Connor reached to grasp it and ended up holding the hat. Jed flushed, grabbed it back, and placed it on his head with an exasperated huff. Then he took Connor’s hand in his, shaking firmly.

Jed’s hands were thin like the rest of him, fingernails stained purple around the edges. Connor didn’t know whether that spoke to his work ethic or his grooming habits, but found these farmer’s hands striking. He let go and lifted his camera.

“May I?”

“It’s your farm.” No bitterness there, just acquiescence.

“No, I mean, may I take your portrait?”

Jed’s face shuttered. “W-what for?”

“Because the first hour after sunrise, the world turns gold and gorgeous. Any minute now, the light is going to catch every bush here on fire—it’s going to be amazing. You’re here, you’re part of it, and I’d like you to be in the photograph.”

“Out here with b-burning bushes?” Jed raised a soft brown eyebrow and smiled.

“Please?”

“I guess.” He shrugged, then took off his baseball cap again. His hair was flattened close to his head, but puffed out a little around his ears. Hat head. Not something Connor was used to seeing in the city among the darlings of the male model set. And yet Jed lifted his chin with a model’s instincts, and the line of his jaw, the jut of his cheekbones were thrown into prominence. Beautiful.

“Here.” Connor pointed to the end of a row of bushes. “Stand just to the right of this one.” He stepped back and waited for the light. Jed studied Connor for a long moment—bemused or annoyed, Connor couldn’t tell—then turned his face to the east and watched in silence.

Jed was painted in gold and rose as the sun crept above the horizon. All around him, the sunlight caught on dew, limning the branches and leaves and casting a halo around Jed’s hair. It was almost enough to make Connor believe in angels. But not quite.

The clicks of Connor’s shutter sounded rapid-fire, loud in the morning stillness. Sure, he’d come out here to take photos of the farm, but this, this was so much better. This was the kind of portrait that won awards—a modern farmer, his baseball cap under his arm as he greeted the dawn. It felt intimate, sacred even. Connor wasn’t a lifestyle photographer, nor a documentarian. A photograph like this, of a man in his element, seemed surreal to someone who plied his trade in the carefully crafted falsehoods of fashion photography.

Jed turned his face back to Connor, smiled, and said, soft as can be, “Ch-cheese.”

Connor snapped a last shot and then lowered the camera. “Thanks.”

Jed ducked his head and nodded.

“I’ll let you go back to work.” Connor gestured to the truck. “I’ll take a few more photos of the farm, if that’s okay.”

“It’s y-your farm.” Jed repeated with a shrug. “I just work it.”

Connor nodded, awkward in the face of Jed’s acceptance of his place here. A place Connor didn’t feel a claim to, and didn’t want to. “Okay, thanks.”

Placing his hat on his head, Jed tipped it gently in Connor’s direction and climbed back into his truck. Connor watched him drive away, ignoring the temptation to photograph the tracks he left in the mud like so much graffiti. Jed was here. He wasn’t what Connor had expected when Marty Sullivan told him there was a tenant living in the main house and working the land.

The farmers he’d known as a child had been men like his uncle—big, brawny, and well used to a day’s work. Jed Jones was built like he’d fall over in a strong wind, with a body more in common with the lithe young things Connor photographed than with the rednecks who’d had no patience for Bruce Graham’s chubby sissy-boy nephew.

“Ch-cheese.”

Models didn’t say “Cheese.”

Interview

Queer Romance Month: Interview with Jenn Burke

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I'm a big fan and supporter of Queer Romance Month - online festival (I read somewhere Santino Hassell describing it in this way and I loved it so much, so I just stole the phrase for myself) going on through the month of October celebrating queer romance with essays, original flash-fiction and art, personal stories, all of which lead to lively discussions on various topics.

This mini-interview with one of our contributors is brought to you in support of Queer Romance Month.

Jenn Burke

1. A queer romance you'd recommend to a newcomer

- Life Lessons by Kaje Harper. The entire four-book series is amazing.

2. Recommend a book you love, but feel is under appreciated

- Nights Like These by Chris Scully. It features an older protagonist struggling with starting over in the crapy economy—and it starts in a Tim Hortons, so bonus points for that.

3. What do you think is the future of queer romance?

- With the new country-wide marriage equality ruling in the States, I think wider acceptance is the only way to go. Like people wiser and better-spoken than I have said, diversity is not a fad.

4. Tell us about your book(s)

I’m the co-author of the Chaos Station series, along with Kelly Jensen. The books are male/male space opera romance and have been called “Firefly-esque” by some reviewers. The series follows Zander and Felix, former best friends and lovers who were separated by nine years of galactic war. Felix has been changed by his time as a POW and Zander’s been changed by military experimentation, and neither of them know if they’ll be able to recover what they had once had together.

5. Why is queer romance important to you?

Because I want everyone to have a love story. When my kids are older, I want them to be able to read about whatever kind of love they have in their lives, whether it’s heterosexual or LGBTQIA, and know that all love is wonderful and beautiful.

Jenn’s contribution to Queer Romance Month – “The Parental Reading of the Books” - will be published on 23rd October.

“I’m kind of proud of the fact that I’ve introduced a good chunk of my family to a new genre and (maybe) a new way of thinking.”

--Jenn Burke

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About Jenn

Jenn’s always been drawn to weird and wonderful stories, particularly those juxtaposed with our normal, boring world. Her love of the written word prompted her to get a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Ottawa, and she’s spent the years since working in corporate and web communications—and dreaming up weird and wonderful stories of her own. A self-confessed geek, Jenn loves spending time in the worlds of video games, surfing her favorite websites, reading all the romance novels she can get her hands on, and accumulating an impressive collection of nerdy t-shirts. She currently lives outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband, two kids, and her writing helper, Alenko the husky.

Website • Facebook • Twitter

About Skip Trace

Synopsis

Zander Anatolius has been revived from the fatal effects of the super-soldier program, but now he has to face his estranged family and tell a story few would believe. With his lover and the crew of the Chaos at his side, Zander returns home to a media frenzy, threats from the military and pressure to join the family business.

Felix Ingesson still struggles with the horror of believing Zander dead. And no matter how strong their emotional connection is, Felix feels out of place in the glittery world of Zander's rich family. His lover would be better off without a broken, low-class ship's engineer holding him back.

When the crew receives word that another of Zander's former teammates needs rescue, Felix travels with the Chaos…setting Zander free. But when Zander is arrested for treason, the men realize they need each other as much as ever—not only to survive, but to make their lives worth living.

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You can also listen to an excerpt from Inversion Point (Chaos Station #4) which is coming out in January 2016 read by Jenn Burke