Blog Tour Stop – One Thing Leads by Jude Dunn

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Book Name: One Thing Leads

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26499311-jude-dunn

Author Name: Jude Dunn

Author Guest Post:

Stand Up Eight

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

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One Thing Leads  by Jude Dunn

In 1936 Jerome Kern wrote a little song titled “Pick Yourself Up.” It showed up in the film Swing Time, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, as the theme song for the short-lived The Johnny Carson Show, was recorded by Nat King Cole and sung by Fozzie Bear on The Muppet Show, and was even quoted by Barack Obama in his first inauguration speech. The message is simple. Keep going no matter what the odds.

That’s the thing that Kenji Okamura, one of the main characters in One Thing Leads,  has to do, but the odds are stacked against him. After he and his lover, Dion, are broken up by an oversexed playboy with dark designs on Dion, Kenji is in a traffic accident and winds up in the hospital for a week. By the time he makes his way back to his apartment, Dion is gone. Kenji has to fight to find him, and when he does, he can’t believe what Grayson’s done to him.

The Japanese have a proverb that says the same thing as Kern’s popular song: “Fall down seven, stand up eight.” I won’t tell you how it figures in One Thing Leads—that’s part of the fun of reading it—but I will say that getting to the endpoint will take you on a wild, sensual ride you won’t soon forget. If you like love stories with a little bit of mystery, a big helping of thrill, and a generous portion of hot, sexy action, then One Thing Leads is a must-read.

Below you’ll find a synopsis, a short bio of yours truly, and the requisite excerpt, freebies, and “buy me!” linkage. Click and enjoy. Who knows how far you’ll go?

Synopsis
What makes a young man go further than he ever thought he would?

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

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

About Jude
I’m a southern boy who lives in Chicago and enjoys fine wine, dark chocolate, and plays jazz piano from time to time. Most of all, I love writing gay romance and erotica that will touch your heart and make you laugh.

Links
Buy One Thing Leads

More info about One Thing Leads

Read a chapter for free

Site: http://www.judedunn.com/

Twitter: @jude_dunn

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

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

 

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Excerpt:

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

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

After quickly dressing, Dion stormed to the front door.

“Where are you going?”

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

“Dion, don’t be—”

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

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

Christina’s Review:
One Thing LeadsOne Thing Leads by Jude Dunn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars so rounding up to 4

This book took a little while to get off the ground. Kenji and Dion’s relationship is established and shown to be solid but as the story unfolds you realize that they may not be as perfect as you first suspected. The character development happens slowly as the story introduces you to all the characters pretty much from the beginning.

As a student, Dion seems to know what direction he wants his life to take. He is very outgoing and really seems to love Kenji even though he has a hard time expressing his feelings. He is the more sensitive of the two and seems hurt that Kenji can’t express his feelings either. Because of Kenji’s upbringing and his parents past, he is more reserved and slow to open his heart to anyone. Even though they’ve been living together for 1 ½ years, they still are navigating their relationship.

At first, it was hard to follow all the characters as the story jumped around. The quick glimpses of the other characters helped build the story – albeit slowly – and helped add to the mystery of why things were happening.

Grayson is a complex character and seems to ‘steal the show’. Both Dion and Kenji appear to be under his spell. There are many twists and turns to his character throughout the book which, I believe, makes him the character with the most depth.

The supporting characters are strong and surprising. The writing is pretty good and thankfully I was happy with the ending. There are a couple of scenes in the book that were hard to read but overall it was a good story.

I definitely recommend checking out more of Jude’s work.

View all my reviews

 

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Tour Dates/Tour Stops:

October 20: Parker Williams

October 21: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

October 22: Sinfully Sexy

October 23: Cate Ashwood

October 24: Jade Crystal

October 27: Inked Rainbow Reads

October 28: Velvet Panic

October 29: Amanda C. Stone

October 30: Kimi-Chan

October 31: Fallen Angel Reviews

November 3: Emotion in Motion

November 4: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

November 5:

November 6: Love Bytes

November 7: Iyana Jenna

November 10: Prism Book Alliance, My Fiction Nook

November 11: Multitasking Mommas, Wake Up Your Wild Side

November 12: BFD Book Blog

November 13: Cathy Brockman Romances

November 14: MM Good Book Reviews

 

 

Rafflecopter Prize: One of FIVE e-copies of One Thing Leads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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

 

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