Blog Tour Stop including Giveaway, Author Interview & Review - The Truth As He Knows It by A.M. Arthur ~ BFD Book Blog

Book Name: The Truth As He Knows It

Author Name: A.M. Arthur

Release Date: February 10, 2015

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23358161-the-truth-as-he-knows-it

Author Bio:

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone’s throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She’s been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn’t been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she’s an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Q&A with A.M.

Q: I’m a relative newbie to your work but I absolutely loved Maybe This Time (I have to go back and read the other books in this series). I was totally intrigued by the ‘dumpster diving’ to provide food for homeless hungry folks. I’ve never heard of that. Is that something you’ve had experience with or know someone that did that? How did you find out about that?

A: I don’t have any personal experience with it, no. It’s part of a West Coast movement called “Freegan.” I first heard about it on an episode of “Bizarre Foods” hosted by Andrew Zimmern, set in San Francisco. You can find the clip on YouTube. Several folks too Andrew around the city and opened his eyes to how many supermarkets throw away perfect edible food because of Sell By dates. Just because they didn’t sell doesn’t mean that it’s already gone bad, so they rescue this food and redistribute it to the homeless.

I already have an interest in food production, farming, and where our meals come from, so this idea fascinated me. It truly is sad and alarming how much food we throw away every single year because supermarkets won’t buy it. Apples must be uniform and shiny. Carrots have to be long and tapered. With so many people who are starving in this country, it really is a shame. But I love that I’m helping bring the Freegan movement to more people’s attention through Donner.

Q: Which of your books would you recommend I read next – that I just cannot live without reading?

A: Cost of Repairs. It’s my first novel with Samhain, and it kicks off a five-book series. The two heroes, Samuel and Rey, are two of the most stubborn, fascinating, loving couples I’ve written. I adore them both, and book four is their follow-up story.

Q: What is your favorite line (or couple of lines) you’ve written?

A: That’s a tough one. There are often times I’ll be editing a book, stumble across a line or two, and think “damn, I wrote that?” LOL.

Okay, here are a few lines from my March 16 release, Getting It Right. I had to cut this from the final draft for trademark reasons, so this is like a deleted scene.

“Let’s finish this shower. You can play with my cock later.”

“Play, huh?” He squeezed gently. “Does that mean I get to Bedazzle it?”

James made a face of mock horror. “Hell no. The only two inanimate objects that are allowed that up close and personal with my dick are condoms and cock rings.”

Q: Where is your favorite place to write?

A: My desk. It’s the best place for me to sit and focus—which is kind of funny considering all of the gadgets and toys that are all over the desk and shelf above it. I love my Funko POP! Toys.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Noel and Shane (individually or together) that we don’t see outright in ‘Truth’?

A: You may not see it outright, but it’s definitely there. It’s their capacity for forgiveness. Not only forgiving each other for misunderstandings and miscommunication (and occasional asshole-ish behavior), but also for the big secrets. Particularly Shane’s big secrets, which he does keep from Noel for quite some time. Some readers may dislike Shane for that, which is understandable, but in the end it’s how Noel reacts to those secrets that matters most.

Where to find A.M. Arthur:

Contact her at [email protected] with your cooking tips (or book comments). You can also find her online (http://amarthur.blogspot.com/), as well as on Twitter (http://twitter.com/am_arthur), Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/blog/am-arthur), and Facebook (A.m. Arthur). A.M. Arthur’s work is available from Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, and Musa Publishing.

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Cover Artist: Lyn Taylor

Blurb(s):

Perspectives, Book 1

Officer Noel Carlson isn’t out to anyone in small-town Stratton, Pennsylvania, only to distant friends and family, so a relationship is out of the question. That doesn’t stop him from wanting one, though.

When a night-shift call brings him face to thonged butt with a hired stripper whose girl-party gig went terribly wrong, Noel takes pity on the guy and lets him go. But he can’t get the encounter out of his mind.

Shane has big-time debts to repay, especially to the brother who sacrificed nearly everything for him. His two jobs, in a deli and as a stripper, leave him no time for a social life. But a non-date of hot sex and takeout food with Noel? He can squeeze that in.

The bond they form is stronger than either expected or wanted. Especially since the step Shane’s about to take to put his brother—and his soul—back in the black isn’t quite legal. And he never calculated just how much his determination to make things right will cost him in the end.

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

“I want to see you again,” Shane said.

Noel grinned, flashing those dimples. “I’d like that too. My work schedule is pretty weird, though. I’m first shift, which is eleven at night to seven in the morning, five days, starting tomorrow.”

Shane worked that one around. It gave them daytime hours, and evenings on Wednesday and Thursday. He worked at the deli tomorrow, and Saturday was off the table. Probably Sunday too, for good measure. “When do you sleep?”

“Usually when I first get home, from about eight to two or three. Sometimes longer, depending on the night.”

“So you’re usually free dinnertime until like ten?”

“Pretty much.” Noel cracked an unexpected yawn. “Sorry, my schedule is a little off after spending the day with Tristan. I try to keep similar sleep times on my days off so I don’t get too screwed up.”

Shane stood, surprised. “How long have you been awake?”

“About thirty hours.”

“Shit, why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because I wanted to do this tonight. I’ve been thinking about you all week, and I’m glad I saw you at Mineo’s today. Really glad.”

“Me too.” Shane draped his arms around Noel’s waist. “And since this has been a fantastic night, I’m going to go before you pass out from exhaustion.”

“Do you want to get together tomorrow?”

He considered it for about two seconds. “My weekend’s pretty booked with work and stuff. Monday? We could maybe go out for real this time?”

“Sounds good. I’ll call you when I get up Monday and we can hammer out the details.”

“Okay.”

Shane collected his clothes and dressed, taking his time because Noel was watching. The opposite of a striptease, and Shane kind of loved the novelty of it. He meant his good-night kiss to be soft, quick, but Noel held him tight and devoured his mouth until Shane was breathless and half-hard. God, he could kiss Noel for hours and not get tired of it. But he saw the fatigue in Noel’s eyes, and it was time to leave.

“See you soon,” Shane said. “And thanks for dinner.”

“You’re welcome, cowboy.”

Shane strolled back to his car with a bounce in his step, positive he’d never be able to hear the word “cowboy” again without thinking of Noel Carlson.

Pages or Words: 83,000 words, 255 pages

Christina’s Review:
The Truth as He Knows It by A.M. Arthur

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whew! I have to say that this is the most emotionally painful books I’ve ever read. My heart just hurt through most of it. While I guess technically this could be considered an HEA, I’d really call it HFN because based on what I read I’m not sure these two men are done.

This is only my 2nd book by Ms. Arthur but I loved the first one. I’ve also heard that her Cost of Repairs (from which this is a spin-off) is fantastic. The writing here was good…I actually did pull out a couple of lines that made me smile.

Shane tapped at his juice glass. “Are you allergic to anything? Food-wise?”
“Not technically allergic, but I have a respectable fear of lima beans.

Plus you were sober then, and I’m actually pretty into informed consent.”

I’m going to start with Tristan because even though he wasn’t technically a main character, he’s the first character that stood out to me and pulled my heart strings. I’m betting book 2 is about him and Gage. Tristan is a brilliant character. What he suffered through previously and how he is still suffering now and how he loves Noel and is so confused and hurt and miserable…oh I hope he is in book 2 and gets a happy ending because Lord knows he needs it.

I’ll move to Noel next. He’s been through some crap…although probably the least amount of crap out of all the characters in this book. He is the most forgiving, supportive, loving man I’ve seen in a book in a while. His relationship with Tristan is beautiful even though it may be partially based on guilt. He was continuously forgiving of Shane and supportive of him through everything he went through. He has a giant, protective heart and he is probably my 2nd favorite character in the book (after Tristan).

Jason. Wow. He completely sacrificed his life for Shane. I can’t say much else about him…lest the tears take over.

And that leaves Shane. His life has been complete hell really since he was 5 years old. I don’t want to give too much away but his life has been plagued with guilt, severe depression and just complete and absolute angst. When he finally meets Noel and has a chance at happiness which he completely takes for granted in my opinion. I don’t agree with some of his choices although I know he felt like he really didn’t have a choice. He should have been seeing a counselor or psychologist or someone for everything he’d been through.

There were several supporting characters that I’m assuming we’ll see again. Most of them were pretty great. I’m incredibly anxious to see how book 2 turns out.

View all my reviews