Author Name: Joy Lynn Fielding
Book Name: Blowing Off Steam
Release Date:
Blurb(s):
Two guys, a train, and lots of steam.
Sam Chancellor has been in love with the steam engine Old Bess since he was six years old. Well, maybe not literally, but even when he’s lost everything else in his life, he’s always had her. But now her place in his heart has been unexpectedly challenged. Her new driver, Ryan Saunders, is the embodiment of all Sam’s fantasies.
Ryan has written off Sam as just another geeky trainspotter—until the moment Ryan sees him without his usual shapeless hoodie and realizes that, for a nerd, Sam’s pretty built.
When Ryan overlooks Sam’s awkwardness long enough to suggest a hook-up, Sam seizes the opportunity—and Ryan—with both very eager hands. Finding common ground in their shared love of Bess, their time together is better than Sam ever dared dream.
But there’s a reason Ryan never talks about his past. And when Ryan’s job is threatened, Sam’s well-meaning intervention puts both Ryan and Bess in deadly danger.
Warning: Contains train geekery, bed-hogging, a hero with no experience and another with plenty to spare, and a spider called Mabel.
Pages or Words: 66,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, M/M Romance
Excerpt:
Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn Fielding
“You’re kind of built for a nerd, aren’t you?” Ryan said. “I guess trainspotting’s a more active hobby than I’d thought.”
Sam should have walked away because this guy was insufferable. Except there was humour gleaming in those eyes as well as something else. Something that if he wasn’t entirely losing his mind was actual, sexual interest.
In him, Sam Chancellor.
“It’s all that running alongside the engines to get the numbers down,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
To his amazement, Ryan laughed. A true laugh that caused his eyes to crinkle at the corners. It made him even more gorgeous than he already was.
“Ryan Saunders,” he said. “I drive old Bessie.”
“Bessie?” Sam was horrified at the heresy. “She’s Bess. She’s always been Bess.”
“Given I’m the one whose hands have been over every inch of her, I guess she’s allowing me intimacies the general public doesn’t get,” Ryan said.
The low seductive voice and the thought of Ryan’s hands stroking over him the way they did over Bess meant Sam was getting hard. He clutched his satchel in front of him like some sort of shield, except that wasn’t helping at all because it was pressed against his dick and, God above, he was about to get a hard-on, here and now, right in front of Ryan Saunders.
“You haven’t told me your name,” Ryan said.
“Sam,” he choked out. “Sam Chancellor, and I have to go.”
He put his head down and fled.
Sales Links:
Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn Fielding
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Two guys, a train, and lots of steam.
Contains train geekery, bed-hogging, a hero with no experience and another with plenty to spare, and a spider called Mabel.
The synopsis basically says it all in the sentence and fragment above. This story is simply about two guys, a train, lots of steam and a spider. But there is so much more…and I loved every minute of it.
The writing was really good and I absolutely loved both MC’s. Sam was undoubtedly my favorite. His teenage years were spent being bullied for his geeky shyness as well as his sexual orientation. He has an odd mix of a lack of self-confidence at times and complete snarky swagger at other times. His sweetness and innocence is completely endearing and his reverential awe of a steam engine that has always been there for him just makes me want to hug him. All his ‘friends’ are over 60 and while he now, sort of understands his physical appeal, he is completely oblivious to it at the same time. He is quite an enigma as Ryan discovers.
Ryan is the complete opposite of Sam. He is cocky, arrogant and historically a partier/player. When he first notices Sam, he doesn’t really see him. He walks around with a chip on his shoulder and at times comes off as a completely self-absorbed prick. But as the story unfolds, we see that deep down he is a sweet, sweet man that really just wants to be loved for who he is instead of what he has. He had a crap upbringing with a terrible father. As Sam mentions more than once, his arrogance should be off-putting but it’s just not. His wit truly brought a smile to my face more than once and his lack of boundaries made me giggle at times (see the hilarious scene between him and Sam in the drug store where Sam works).
While there is some angst it’s low and just right for the story of these boys. Their blossoming love is sweet and surprising. Sam’s child-like innocence is the perfect balance for Ryan’s jaded experience. Their story was utterly unique to me, completely refreshing and I absolutely adored it. I cannot wait to read more from Ms. Fielding. Oh! And I loved the cover!!
About the author:
Joy Lynn Fielding lives in a small English market town, where she indulges her passions for vintage aircraft, horse-riding and gardening (though not all at the same time).
Joy has a tendency to wax lyrical about the fascinating facts she discovers during her research for books. Thankfully she has a very patient Labrador who has a gift for looking interested in what she’s saying while he waits for the food to arrive.
Interview with Joy:
Q: It looks like you write in a couple of genres. Which is your favorite and why?
A: I’ve written in the contemporary, historical and paranormal genres so far, and I’ve enjoyed each of them so much that I can’t actually pick a favourite. I have enormous fun with the research that’s necessary for historicals and find myself enchanted by entering such a different world. I enjoy the freedom of the paranormal genre, exploring universes with different rules from ours. And there are so many possibilities nestling under the umbrella of contemporary that I feel I could spend a lifetime writing in that genre alone and never run out of stories to tell.
Q: Tell us the most fascinating thing you learned about steam locomotives while doing research for this book.
A: I was vaguely aware that horses used to pull trains before the advent of steam locomotives, but when I started the research for this book I was staggered to discover that the last horse working the UK railways, Charlie, only retired in 1967. Apparently horses continued to be used for shunting duties long after powered engines took over the main lines.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced writing this story?
A: Getting Sam to stop talking! I can’t remember the last time I encountered a character who was so eager to share every last detail of his life. I suspect it was because, for the first time, he had someone who was willing to listen, but I didn’t think most readers would be as fascinated by his observations about trains as he so obviously was, nor particularly need to know each time he made himself a cup of tea.
Q: What is for you the perfect book hero?
A: Someone I care about and can root for. In order for me to care about them, they have to possess a fundamental decency somewhere, however deeply it may have been buried by life and bad experiences.
Q: Can you tell us the synopsis of the story you wrote as a teen that was read to your entire class?
A: I’m trying so hard right now not to slide off my chair and hide under my desk in remembered embarrassment. Thankfully only a small portion was read out—just enough to make the teacher’s point that I should have been paying attention to her lesson rather than writing fiction. The story was about a sexy but emotionally constipated biker who was mixed up in some very dubious goings on, and the girl he met who was, unbeknown to him, the daughter of the chief constable of the local police force. She was too sheltered and naive to understand the guy was involved in criminal activities. It all got hugely dramatic, of course, but ultimately had a happy ending. Or at least, what I thought was a happy ending when I was fifteen. Now I’m a little older, I’m not sure I did either of them any favours by getting them together.
Where to find the author:
Email: [email protected]
Blog: http://www.joyfielding.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joylynn.fielding
Goodreads Link:
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Cover Artist: Syneca
Tour Dates & Stops:
25-May
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27-May
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28-May
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The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat
29-May
Rafflecopter Prize: $20 Amazon gift card
Thank you so much for having me here today, and I’m thrilled you enjoyed the book! If anybody has any questions for me, or would like to chat about anything – it doesn’t have to be trains, honest! – I’ll be popping in and out all day.
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I’ve taken a few short train trips, just for the experience. We went from east Texas to Fort Worth, and from Cleburne to
Fort Worth when I was a kid. Then when my kids were children we went on an old Steam Train from Rusk to Palestine and back (in east Texas). That train had a lot of different types of cars and took about a day. We did that twice, just because. I’ve never been on a multi-day sleep over type train trip.
They sound such fun, Barbra – especially the multi-day trip on a steam train. As you can probably deduce from the book cover, I have a bit of thing for steam trains. 😉
I Live in the Netherlands and our main transportation besides a bike is the train. Probably spend hundreds of hours in a train
I’m guessing it’s not quite such a treat for you as it is for some of us, then! 🙂