Blog Tour Stop including Excerpt, Author Q&A and Giveaway – Summer Love Anthology

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Author Names: (See below)

 Book Name: Summer Love

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Blurb:

Summer Love is the first collection of short stories published by Duet, the young adult imprint from Interlude Press. These short stories are about the emergence of young love of bonfires and beaches, of the magical in-between time when young lives step from one world to another, and about finding the courage to be who you really are, to follow your heart and live an authentic life. The contributing authors have written stories about both romantic and platonic love featuring characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual and queer/questioning. The authors also represent a spectrum of experience, identity and backgrounds.

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SUMMARIES & AUTHOR BIOS

Beautiful Monsters

A campaign volunteer is assigned to assist his high school’s Gay Straight Alliance for the Pride Parade, forcing him to face the students he had previously avoided, and the truth about himself.

Author: Rachel Davidson Leigh is a writer, educator, and small town native who tells stories she wishes she could have read as a teen. Beautiful Monsters is her first published work of fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and two dogs who are spoiled out of their tiny minds.

 

The Willow Weeps for Us

Jack, the young son of a grocer, falls for a charming piano teacher at the dawn of World War II.

Author: Suzey Ingold is a writer, linguist and coffee addict, currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Brought up in a household where children’s books are quoted over the dinner table, literature has always had a strong influence on her life. She enjoys travelling, scented candles and brunch.

 

The Fire Eater’s Daughter

When a traveling carnival comes back to town, Ruth must choose between caring for her mother and a life with the beautiful and mysterious Constance, the fire eater’s daughter.

Author: Amy Stilgenbauer is a writer and aspiring archivist currently based in southeast Michigan. She is the author of the novelette series, Season of the Witch, as well as the Young Adult novel, The Legend of League Park. When she isn’t writing, Amy enjoys all things bergamot and tries to keep her cats away from her knitting.

 

Surface Tension

Logan just wants a summer where he can be anonymous and fit in without labels, but that all changes when he meets out-and-proud Dave at summer camp.

Author: Ella J. Ash is a lawyer by day and an author by night. She has been a writer in online fan communities since 2006. She also enjoys dance parties with her family and cooking experimental vegetarian cuisine. She lives in Toronto with her partner, three daughters and four tropical fish.

 

My Best Friend

In a letter to his best friend, a young gay man reminisces about their relationship.

Author: H.J. Coulter lives in Winnepeg, Canada, where she works as a respite worker and studies music, in hopes of one day becoming a musical therapist. My Best Friend is her professional writing debut.

 

What the Heart Wants

A young student discovers attraction and desire through her experience drawing figures in her summer art class.

Author: Naomi Tajedler was born and raised in Paris, where art has always been a part of her life—including painting, restoring books, and working in auctions. She started writing in online fan communities in 2009.

 

The Most Handsome

Carter, a Cape Cod boy who recently came out as transgender, meets and falls in love with a college student visiting for the summer.

Author: S.J. Martin lives with his partner and their cranky, rotund cat in Washington D.C. He’s a barista by day and a writer by night. He makes a mean cappuccino and lives for good coffee, good books, and good company. The Most Handsome is his first published story.

 

Something Like Freedom

A boy finds a safe space from which to imagine a new future after leaving his conservative parents’ home, thanks in part to a new friend.

Author: Caroline Hanlin is a full time statistician, a part time stage manager, and an avid sports fan. She currently resides in Boston, where she enjoys writing during her commute. Something Like Freedom is her first published short story.

 

On the Shore

A young woman retreats to her parents’ beach house to nurse a broken heart, but instead meets a vivacious girl who helps her find joy again.

Author: Rachel Blackburn is a writer, musician and librarian based in central Ohio. When free from work, she enjoys cuddling with her cats, drinking tea, and baking more cupcakes than necessary. On the Shore is her professional writing debut.

Pages or Words: 276 pages

Categories: Please keep in mind that as an anthology, not all stories contain all elements listed.

Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance, Romance, Trans*, Young Adult, Collection

 

Excerpt: (From Beautiful Monsters)

Beautiful Monsters

By Rachel Davidson Leigh

“Glad to see you could join the party,” Terrence deadpans, pressing a rainbow bandana into André’s hand. André grabs a second bandana out of the bag, stuffs one in each of his back pockets, and then goes in for a third.

“Cody was checking out the parade route,” André replies, in a smooth lie. “It turns out we’re still walking six blocks through absolutely nothing and then calling it a day.” Terrence laughs, and, as he turns away, André presses a handkerchief into Cody’s hand. “Use it wisely,” he whispers into Cody’s ear. “You’re one of us now.”

One of us. He’s never been part of an “us.” Cody stares down at the lines on the handkerchief and then at the two patches of color on the back of André’s jeans as he walks toward the arriving cars.

Cody expects panic, but it doesn’t come. Maybe he isn’t ready to be Gay with a capital G, but if “us” can mean being one of these idiots, then maybe he’s ready to have people of his own. As he watches the sharp sway of André’s hips, the heat rising up his neck doesn’t feel like fear. It feels like… clarity, as though the run put everything in perspective and now he can’t stop seeing André in crisp, dazzling color.

Someone presses a sign into his hand and guides him toward the parade staging area with the rest of the crew. Once again, he can’t hear himself think over the din, but it’s different now. At the meeting, and for years before that in the hallways, he felt like an invader locked out by a wall of sound, and now he’s somehow wandered inside.

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Sales Links:

Interlude Press web store: store.interludepress.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1941530362/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1941530362&linkCode=as2&tag=dueboo-20&linkId=PSLGE6VBRPEALU2J

Independent Bookstores: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978-1-941530-36-8?aff=InterludePress

 

Author Interview:

 

images (7)Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing S.J. Martin author of The Most Handsome.

Hi S.J., thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current story.

Q:  Is there a character in your books that you can’t stand? (Antagonist for example) And what makes them someone you don’t like?

A:  There IS a character in my (as yet unfinished) novel that I don’t like very much. I have hope that he’ll end up likeable, but so far he’s turned out to be a pretty big jerk. (It’s funny how characters sometimes make their own paths and don’t conform to your idea of what they should be like. They control us sometimes.)

Q:  Are there misconceptions people have about your genre?

A:  Many people have the idea that all romance is poorly written drivel with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It’s such a shame because there is so much amazing, deep, and meaningful writing out there. I’ve been swept away entirely by some of the stories, taken to different worlds, and been thoroughly entertained.

Q:  Is there message in your novel that you hope readers grasp?

A:  There are a few messages in my story: accept and love yourself, don’t settle for less, and never underestimate what the future could hold.

Q:  How has your writing evolved since your first book? (If this is your first book, how do you hope it evolves?)

A:  My writing is constantly evolving. Just when I think that I can’t or won’t write in a particular style, I find myself branching out. I learn an incredible amount from fellow authors, and they often give me the courage to “think outside your writing box”. I hope that I continue to take risks, but always hold fast to an adage I fully believe in: Write what you know. I’m not saying that one has to always make things autobiographical in nature, just that being connected and emotionally invested in your writing makes the most affecting and interesting reading.

Q:  One food you don’t care if you never eat it again.

A. Sea Urchin. Ever. Never ever again.

 

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Where to find more information:

Facebook: facebook.com/interludepress

Twitter: @duetbooks, @interludepress

Pinterest: pinterest.com/interludepress

Other: duetbooks.com

Other: duetbooks.tumblr.com

 

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25375979-summer-love

Publisher: Duet, a Young Adult imprint form Interlude Press

Cover Artist: BuckeyeGrrl Designs

 

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Tour Dates & Stops:

23-Jun

Hearts on Fire

Because Two Men Are Better Than One

Cathy Brockman Romances

 

24-Jun

Boys on the Brink Reviews

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

 

25-Jun

Up All Night, Read All Day

Happily Ever Chapter

Velvet Panic

 

26-Jun

Bending The Bookshelf

Mikky’s World of Books

Prism Book Alliance

 

29-Jun

Bike Book Reviews

Rainbow Gold Reviews

Amanda C. Stone

 

30-Jun

Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

BFD Book Blog

 

1-Jul

TTC Books and More

Foxylutely Book Reviews

Bayou Book Junkie

 

2-Jul

MM Good Book Reviews

Inked Rainbow Reads

 

3-Jul

Emotion in Motion

Love Bytes

 

6-Jul

Molly Lolly

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

My Fiction Nook

 

Final (2)

Rafflecopter Prize:  One $25 Interlude Press gift card. Five multi-format Summer Love eBooks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

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One Response to Blog Tour Stop including Excerpt, Author Q&A and Giveaway – Summer Love Anthology

  1. Pingback: Summer Love! Launch Day and a virtual book tour | Daughter of Rock (in the City of Soul)