Interview Roulette: Pat Henshaw

Please welcome Pat Henshaw, today’s player!

  1. You can eat only one ice cream flavor for the rest of your life. Which is it? Chocolate chip Cherries Garcia. And, yes, I know I made that up. But it’s for the rest of my life, so I’m calling special priviledges.
  2. You have just won a lifetime supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat. Your response? Huh. I remember when I was in grade school and became friends with a girl who lived on the nearby Army base. Her mother would fix Rice-A-Roni as a special treat whenever I spent the night. Thanks for the time warp moment.
  3. One of your characters has a guilty favorite TV show. Tell us about it. Fredi, from Redesigning Max, loves RuPaul’s Drag Race and can sit in front of the TV for hours yelling at the contestants. Or rather, ahem, he can sit for hours giving the contestants his valuable input about their wardrobes and looks.
  4. What’s one thing that inspired your latest book? Frank McCord, who tells the story, is a reflection of a lot of men I’ve known who are quiet-spoken and genuinely want to help people. He’s been living too many years in the reflection of what the people of Stone Acres, California, tell him they see. The book gives him a chance to break free of their vision and become himself. This is a butterfly story.
  5. Pick any place in the world to spend the next 6 months. Where is it and why? Pacific Grove, California. I like the small town atmosphere and the beach. The sound of the waves lapping the shore clears my head of the clutter and makes my imagination soar. I find it much easier to write there than anywhere else I’ve ever been.
  6. Pick a politician and give him or her one piece of really good advice. President Trump: resign.
  7. If you were to write fanfic (or maybe you already have!) which fandom(s) would it be? I once wrote two short pieces of Anita Blake fanfic and sent them to a friend. But it occurred to me after I wrote them that I really don’t want to parrot anyone else’s writing style or universe. I’m too independent. Besides, I like my own style and ideas.

Book blurb:

Everything about thirty-five-year-old Stone Acres hardware store owner Frank McCord is old-fashioned—from his bow tie and overalls to the way he happily makes house calls to his dreams of lasting romance, true love, and marriage. Frank’s predecessors have run the store and been mainstays in the small California town for over a century. While genial Frank upholds tradition and earns the respect of friends and neighbors, he fears he’s too dull and old to attract a husband.

Into his life comes handsome thirty-six-year-old electronic games designer Christopher Darling and his fifteen-year-old son, Henry. Christopher has everything Frank could want in a potential partner: charm, kindness, and compatibility. Also, he’s a terrific father to Henry. When their Stone Acres home turns out to be uninhabitable, Frank offers the Darlings temporary lodging in his ancestral farmhouse, where he and his tenant Emil reside. Since Emil thinks Frank is his, sparks fly. Suddenly, Frank’s monotonous life promises to explode with love and threatens to change him forever.

Book buy links:

Dreamspinner: : https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/frank-at-heart-by-pat-henshaw-8521-b Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072HWHXNV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494550778&sr=8-1&keywords=frank+at+heart+by+pat+henshaw

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072HWHXNV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494550828&sr=8-3&keywords=frank+at+heart

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/frank-at-heart

Barnes& Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frank-at-heart-pat-henshaw/1126380977?ean=2940157367909

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Pat_Henshaw_Frank_at_Heart?id=FU65DgAAQBAJ

Author bio:

Pat Henshaw, author of the Foothills Pride Stories, has spent her life surrounded by words: Teaching English composition at the junior college level; writing book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helping students find information as a librarian; and promoting PBS television programs.

Pat was born and raised in Nebraska where she promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California.  Pat enjoys travel, having visited Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and Europe, including a cruise down the Danube.

Her triumphs are raising two incredible daughters who daily amaze her with their power and compassion. Fortunately, her incredibly supportive husband keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away while writing fiction.

Author contacts:

What’s new

It’s been a busy few weeks.

The end of May is always crazy for me anyway because it’s the end of the semester, which means exams and papers to grade and panicky students to deal with. But this year has been extra nuts.

My older daughter graduated high school. Yay! Now we need to get her ready to move to Oregon, where she’ll be attending college.

The very next day, my younger daughter finished junior high school. It’s hard to believe she’ll be in high school in the Fall.

Meanwhile, I’ve been in edits with two novels and am trying really hard to finish a third. And this week I’m getting ready for a 10-state road trip through the northwestern part of the United States, with the older kid accompanying me. There will be photos, so make sure you’re following me on Facebook and Twitter.

Last week, I released one of my stories, “The Clockwork Heart,” as a freebie, complete with a beautiful cover by Lex Chase. You can download it here. If all goes well, the audiobook of Bone Dry should come out in June.

My quarterly newsletter will be going out soon. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here.

And one more thing! Together with several other authors, I’ll be attending Sacramento Pride Fest on June 3. Other authors planning to attend include J. Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane, Pat Henshaw, LE Franks, Jennifer Baxter, Michael C. Schutz, and Davin L Kent. We’ll have books for sale and prizes and swag to give away, so if you’re in the Sac area, I hope to see you there.

 

 

Interview Roulette: Tia Fielding

Please welcome today’s player, Tia Fielding!

  1. One of your characters comes to you for advice. Who is it, what does he ask, and what do you tell him? I think it might actually be Joshua from One Step Forward and the conversation would be about depression in general. After all it’s a subject we’re both well versed on.
  2. What is your favorite mythological creature? The reflex is to say Unicorn, of course. But I quite like Thestrals from the Harry Potter universe. They’re sort of the “anti-unicorns,” aren’t they? Dragons can be cool, too, if we’re looking at less modern mythologies.
  3.  What is your least favorite thing about California? I’ve never been, but I would say—and this is based on friends’ experiences—how expensive state it is to live in. Oh and the draught, probably?
  4.  Which Disney character most closely resembles you? Eeyore. Hands down.
  5.  Which holiday is your favorite and why? Midsummer or Christmas. I’m a non-believer, so Christmas has never been about religion to me. It’s more about the atmosphere and family getting together. Midsummer, on the other hand, is a very Finnish thing and it’s just lovely, especially if the weather favors us.
  6. What’s your writing style—slow and steady or full speed ahead? My depression kind of makes me write in bits and pieces, but I tend to prefer to write in chronological order so I won’t confuse my other friend, ADHD. Lately though, I’ve been having easier time writing one particular story, and when I’ve written it’s been full speed ahead for sure. But normally it’s pretty slow.
  7. One of your characters buys flowers for another. What kind? Depends on the character. I would say either something ridiculously colorful like a gerbera or something fragrant, like my favorite flowers Lily of the Valleys.
  8. Pick one of your characters. What are the last three tweets he or she sent? This is from the WIP I mentioned earlier. It’s basically going to be M/M/M story, and these tweets are from Devin, the youngest of the MCs. DevilChild is a family nickname, btw, in case you were wondering….@DevilChild: When there’s no bread in the house, what do you do? You bake!  @DevilChild: I might’ve accidentally acquired a puppy. At least one of my boyfriends is a dog trainer, eh? @ DevilChild: Oooh, this game is gonna be so good, guys! Can’t wait for the release!

 

Blurb:

Sam Becker, a horse whisperer, agrees to take one last job before retiring to his Texas ranch. It’s clear as soon as he meets the Taylor family in Kentucky that he’s in for a challenge. What he doesn’t expect is the way his own wounds reopen. He’s never really dealt with the suicide of his mentally ill wife, and he won’t be able to ignore that hurt forever.

Joshua Taylor and his horse, Calla, were a force to be reckoned with on the eventing circuit until an accident ended their careers. Most of the pain is on the inside, however, and Sam knows those injuries are the slowest to mend. Sam’s unique methods help Calla and, surprisingly, Josh, but he’s still lost without riding. Their feelings for each other come hard and fast, and Josh starts his first steps of recovery, but Sam needs to return to Texas eventually. Even if Josh is able to move past the accident, they’ll still have a long and difficult journey to make before they can be together.

 

Book buy links:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/one-step-forward-by-tia-fielding-7342-b

https://www.amazon.com/One-Step-Forward-Tia-Fielding-ebook/dp/B01ITRPP3W

 

Author bio:

Tia Fielding is a thirtysomething Scandinavian who is a lover of witty people, words, cats, sarcasm, autumn, and the tiny beautiful things in life. Tia struggles with stubborn muses and depression, but both are things she has learned to live with.

Tia identifies as genderqueer, but isn’t strict about pronouns. Why? Because luckily, in her native language there aren’t gender-specific pronouns. Being a reclusive author living with her fur-babies is another fact of life for Tia, among the need to write that seems to be a part of her psyche by now.

In 2013 one of Tia’s novels was recognized by the industry’s Rainbow Awards in the Best LGBT Erotic Romance (Bobby Michaels Award) category.

 

Author contacts:

  • Website http://www.tiafielding.com
  • Facebook http://www.facebook.com/authortiafielding
  • Other NSFW “inspiration archive” http://www.tiafieldingwrites.tumblr.com

Interview Roulette: Jenna Kendrick

Please welcome Jenna Kendrick!

  1. Somebody gives you $10,000 with the proviso that you can’t save it and you can’t spend it on anything altruistic or practical. What do you do? If I couldn’t use it on anything charitable or practical, I’d buy a plane ticket to Australia. I’ve always wanted to visit, and that might be my only opportunity.
  2. Should he stay or should he go? He should most definitely stay. My husband and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary, and he’s my true-life romance hero.
  3. You’ve just met an alien from a planet where there’s no such thing as fiction writing. Explain to him/her/it/them why humans read made-up stories. I’d explain that our society is filled with imperfection, and storytelling is our way of processing those problems. Whether the storyteller tries to create a good outcome, like in my romances, or takes an issue to its worst extreme, or finds a middle ground—all of it is a way to come to terms with the world around us.
  4. One of the characters in your latest book buys a birthday present for another. What is it? In On and Off (coming out June 22), Mitchell is a retired figure skater with a notorious bad boy reputation. Jackson, his partner, would buy Mitchell a Dr. Who Sonic Screwdriver because he’s one of the few people who’ve taken the time to get to know Mitchell well enough to know he’s secretly a geek.
  5. Write a haiku poem about your favorite beverage. Coffee, sustainer Late night writing, two-three cups Without you, I sleep.
  6. What is your most dreaded household chore? Your favorite? I detest mopping. White kitchen tile plus four pets (one dog, three cats) equals a floor that gets dirty within minutes of mopping, so it seems like a thankless task. My favorite is folding laundry. Clean clothes tend to just pile up in the laundry basket, but when I actually decide to catch up, it becomes a big experience, complete with loud music and dancing around the bedroom.
  7. If one of your characters sent something in to PostSecret, what would it be? I tell everyone I’ve forgiven you. I’m lying.
  8. What are you wearing right now? Gray sweats, black t-shirt that saying Read with Pride, and purple socks because I was breaking in my hiking boots earlier. But I’m usually barefoot at this time of year. I’m not leaving the house today even for the $10,000 in question 1!
portrait of a serious young man indoor

The Assignment: Discover if forced proximity leads to increased intimacy by being handcuffed to a partner for five days.

Jamie O’Connor’s closet is tightly closed and full of secrets. Attending college on a baseball scholarship, he’s hiding an injury along with his sexuality. A college degree is the key to escaping his family’s oppressive expectations. Until he graduates, he needs to play ball, both on the field and off. Being partnered with an openly gay classmate for a sociology project threatens to put more than just his free college ride at risk.

Seth Lerner’s closet is empty, but that’s because his baggage is always right by his side. Managing his severe ADHD while trying to overcome an earlier setback leaves him little time for any kind of social life, much less a relationship. He certainly can’t afford the distraction of falling for his closeted project partner.

Neither Jamie nor Seth plan on letting this assignment get in the way of their objectives. But secrets come out and goals change when you’re stuck together.

 

Book buy links:

http://amzn.to/2f5p1bJ — Available for Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Author bio:

Jenna Kendrick is the author of the Hawaiian Haven and Reinvented series, contemporary and new adult romances about smart guys with a propensity for snark. Jenna went to a small college in the woods of Western Massachusetts, where she alternated between bare feet and hiking boots and used dining hall trays as a mode of transportation in the winter. She fell in love with creative writing after writing a satirical essay to get out of yet another literary analysis assignment. Unable to choose a coast or climate zone, she bounced around the country before settling in Upstate New York, where she lives with her husband and several furry creatives.

 

Author contacts:

  • Website – http://www.jennakendrick.com
  • Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennakendrickauthor
  • Twitter – https://twitter.com/jennakendauth
  • Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jennakendrickauthor

Interview Roulette: Kelly Jensen

Welcome this week’s player, Kelly Jensen!

If you were forced at gunpoint to sing Karaoke, what song would you choose?

I’m going to begin my answer with a story which should serve as a warning. My family LOVES playing Guitar Hero. Even after everyone else packed their dusty guitars away, we kept playing. Daughter on bass, me on guitar and Hubs on vocals. I sang once. After I mutilated “Beat It” by Michael Jackson (I really thought there were more words, and another chorus, like maybe before the actual one?), I was asked to never sing again. I kinda took that to heart.

I do actually love to sing, and I sing in the car all the time. Daughter hates it. But as a fifteen-year-old, she’s pretty much obligated to hate everything I do at this point. So, if I had to choose a song, at gunpoint, would I reprise “Beat It” and hopefully disturb my abductor so much they quietly left the building? Nope. I’d sing “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith because that’s the song Hubs and I danced to at our wedding. We always sing it when it comes on in the car (whether Daughter is scowling or not), I know all the words, and I just kinda love it. I don’t think I could ruin a song like that. (Maybe.)

Which of your characters should run for US President?

None of them. Seriously. My guys are ridiculous. They’re barely making sense of their own lives and you want one of them to run the country? Wait, they couldn’t do a worse job than… Okay, hmm. You know, I’m tempted to nominate Jake’s sister, Willa. She GETS THINGS DONE. But I have other plans for her. So… maybe Marc? He’s the most capable guy I know and not afraid of a challenge. He’s also able to admit when he’s made a mistake.

What is the most useless or frivolous thing you’ve ever bought?

You want me to choose just one? Okay, how about this octopus tea infuser. It’s ridiculously hard to use because the opening where you load the tea is too small for a spoon. You literally have to stuff tea leaves in there with a finger. I love it, though. It’s orange. And it has tentacles.

If you could instantly learn another language, which would you choose and why?

Japanese so I could read manga in its original language.

What’s something you—or one of your characters—got in trouble for while in school?

Skipping class(es).

  • In first grade, I had most of the staff out looking for me and my friend when we got so involved in our game of make believe that we didn’t hear the bell. It took them so long to find us that parents and the authorities had been notified. We were in a narrow alleyway behind the cafeteria pretending we were escaping from a castle.
  • In fourth grade I was hauled out of a tree house, back over the fence and straight to the headmaster’s office. The back of my legs stung for days.
  • The song “Manic Monday” by the Bangles always conjures the image of me and Karen in her dad’s convertible (top down) driving down to Great Falls National Park on a perfect spring day, instead of, you know, going to school. Jumping off the rocks into the river was much more fun.
  • Likewise, any day with good light would find me on the hill behind the art room painting rather than learning about the U.S. presidents.
  • Senior year of high school I had to write a letter to my history teacher apologizing for my many absences and listing the reasons why he should let me graduate.
  • College—when I got my first boyfriend, I missed so many classes in one subject, I had to retake it the next semester.

I could go on, but I think you’re getting the idea. 😉

Which of your characters is going to Vegas with you and why?

Henry. He can probably count cards. He counts everything else.

What is your favorite insect?

Cicadas. The sound of them always makes me think of hot and lazy afternoons, and long summer evenings.

Book blurb:

Counting Down (Counting #2)

It’s been a week since a Christmas Eve blizzard changed the course of Marcus Winnamore’s life. Plan A is now Plan B, and the first item on his new agenda is taking Henry Auttenberg on a date. They’ve been invited to a New Year’s Eve party, and Marc is counting down the hours until midnight… until he can kiss Henry in front of his colleagues and friends.

Things don’t quite work out to plan. Finding the elevator out of service, Marc and Henry check the stairs, only to choose the wrong door, and become locked in the basement. Close quarters once again make for close conversation, and as they explore every avenue of escape, they also explore the deepening attraction between them. For Marc, this isn’t an experiment. Will he still feel that way when he has to admit to someone other than Henry that he’s gay?

 

Book buy links:

Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Dreamspinner Press

 

Author bio:

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

 

Author contacts:

Interview Roulette: Hunter Frost

Please welcome our newest player, Hunter Frost!

  • What is the most useless or frivolous thing you’ve ever bought?

Can I admit I already love these questions?

Okay, I’ve probably bought tons of frivolous things in my nearly 40 years on this earth, but I believe if it makes you happy, why not? Within reason, of course. I wouldn’t blow my life savings on something shiny and pretty if I knew it wasn’t a sound investment for the future, or that I wouldn’t have enough money to eat the next day.

So, in that vein, I’m going to go with extravagant meals. I’m not a foodie by any means, but when I’m in the mood for something, I want it. And I want the good quality stuff. And if you’re with me and don’t have the money to spend, it’s on me, bro. Since it’s my craving I’ll pick up the tab. This got me into some trouble in college when I wasn’t working full-time, but I don’t regret any of those experiences. Not one.

  • What advice would you give your 17-year-old self?

Enjoy the shit out of everything! Try anything at least once. Taste, touch, smell, listen, and look… It doesn’t matter what we look like doing it or what others think. We have a finite time in this world – explore and experience as much as you can, before you can’t.

  • Write a haiku poem about your favorite beverage.

Coffee is soul juice

Smooth dark roasted beans of love

Death to decaf, blech!

  • Which (living) celebrity would you most want to have dinner with?

Tom Hiddleston, for sure. I love British men. My god, the accents! But I’d be so nervous, I don’t know how I could eat. However, just staring at him might freak him out a little.

  • What’s something you—or one of your characters—got in trouble for while in school?

One of my earliest memories is being punished for smacking a girl on the back when she was choking. I was in pre-school and the teachers thought I hit her for no reason. I guess I couldn’t explain properly that she was choking and my parents had always hit me on the back when I was choking to help dislodge whatever it was. I had to sit in the corner for a while. It must have sucked because I still remember it to this day.

  • Describe a memorable dream—or nightmare!

I don’t have a specific dream or nightmare that I can recall, but I often have a common type of dream. Apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic. Yeah, it’s intense. Typically, I dream that something horrific is happening or has happened, like a zombie breakout, or a huge earthquake, and then I’m running for my life, or trying to survive. I’ve been trapped on an ocean-liner with serial killers, hiding in burnt out buildings from zombies, and stuck in my parents’ house when a huge flood hits. Sometimes I’m alone, but most of the time I am with a vast array of old friends and family that change as the dream moves on. I tell myself this is my writer’s brain defragging, and not a cause for concern. Sounds legit, right? Right?

  • Warm weather or cold?

Warm all the way! Though I can’t stand the dry, blistering heat of Las Vegas, I’m definitely made for warm weather. My husband says I only have a five degree range in which I’m truly comfortable. I think it’s more like ten. 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m from Southern California originally – what can I say?

Book blurb: Cemeteries by Moonlight

When a serious bout of writer’s block threatens to delay mystery author Drew Daniels’s newest book, his aunt offers her New Orleans apartment in the heart of the French Quarter as a writing retreat. She neglects to mention that it’s occupied by the enigmatic and sexy Finn Murphy, a cemetery tour guide with a penchant for Victorian attire and a Cajun accent.

A body discovered in an open crypt forces reclusive Drew to deal with Finn’s eccentric group of friends and his underlying attraction to the hot Cajun—despite warnings about Finn’s violent past. Drew might write this stuff, but he’s never had to solve a real-life murder. With a deadline looming and a killer on the loose, this retreat is proving to be anything but helpful for Drew’s novel. Drew can only hope he won’t end up a tragic tale for the Ghostly Legends & Lore, Inc. haunted tour.

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Book buy links:

Dreamspinner: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/cemeteries-by-moonlight-by-hunter-frost-8046-b

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cemeteries-Moonlight-States-Love-Book-ebook/dp/B01N7NLYY0/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1483326375&sr=1-2

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cemeteries-by-moonlight-hunter-frost/1125413990?ean=2940157463328

 

Author bio:

Hunter’s early addiction to the smell of printed books led her to spend most of her childhood in libraries and bookstores. There she fell in love with stories featuring medieval castles, ghosts, and handsome heroes. Though writing has always been a part of her life, after college she went on to explore careers in graphic design, the culinary arts, and dog grooming before returning to graduate school to get her MA in British history. To pay the bills, she spends her days working for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but to appease her overactive muse, she writes the kind of fiction that keeps her sane. She adores romance in all forms, but prefers her stories with two heroes that find their happily-ever-after with each other.

Hunter would rather watch Spaceballs (or any Mel Brooks movies really), despite being born in the same year as Star Wars. She loves Monty Python, MST3K, and cheesy rom-coms from the eighties and nineties. Her wacky sense of humor is only paralleled by her hopeless romanticism. She’s a goth at heart and a sucker for men with long hair. She adores everything British, but insists tea be drunk without milk. She’s a pescetarian with vegan tendencies and has two fat little cats named after her favorite beverage—Latte and Java. She dreams of coastal living, marshmallows, and Matt Bomer.

Feel free to connect with her through any of her social media accounts or send her an e-mail. She welcomes messages from readers and/or Brits looking to adopt.

Author contacts:

Interview Roulette: Cody Kennedy

Cody Kennedy joins us for Interview Roulette this week!

    1. What’s your writing style—slow and steady or full speed ahead? I have four writing speeds:
      • It’s full speed ahead through the first draft without regard to traffic signals, stop signs, yield signs, medians, curbs, bike lanes, crosswalks, people walking pets… and pets walking people.
      • In the second draft, I pay attention to the rules of drivingwriting and work on sentence structure and grammar.
      • In the third draft, my OCD kicks in, and it’s slow and steady, looking for continuity errors, and checking plot points, character emphasis, and arcs.
      • In the final read-through before submission, I’m like a young teen in his first stick-shift truck. Forward, jerk—fix that—forward, jerk—edit that—forward, jerk—that has no story value, delete that—forward, jerk—I like that, beef it up—and so on.
      • My grandfather used to say young people should be recalled as unsafe at any speed. Though now old(er), I may still qualify for being recalled.
    2. What is your spirit animal? I have a spirit herd. A unicorn, a fairy, a taco, but mostly, the Diet Coke is strong in me.
    3. Describe one of your weird or quirky habits. One? Just one?
    4. What was your favorite school subject? Least favorite? Mathematics and sciences were equal faves. My least favorite was English, and anything related thereto, including but not limited to, grammar, composition, and speech. *cringe*
    5. What is the strangest food you like to eat? Steak Taretare. #TrueStory
    6. Are you a nerd and/or a geek? Provide evidence to support your answer. Both. I am absolutely an expert in almost no fields (who cares about forensic accounting?—no, that does not mean that I work with dead numbers). I spend hours doing research only to ensure I understand things. And I am most certainly socially inept (I am a recluse. Period. End of report. My social skills extend to conversing with my three parrots.)

Don’t miss the dramatic conclusion of the Elpída Series! Elpída releases May 30th!

Michael and Christy attended prom, graduated high school, and Michael leads the USATF tryouts. With Oxford University on the horizon, his future looks bright and he believes life has returned to normal after Christy’s rescue. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Christy has been free from a life of slavery for more than a year and made remarkable progress due in no small part to the love he found with Michael. But the recent prosecution of a past abuser has shattered the life he so painstakingly built out of nothing but a mountain of horror. He now faces the daunting task of building a new life—yet again.

Twelve-year-old Thimi has been missing since Christy left Greece and, unbeknownst to everyone, has hidden out in a vacant mansion in Glyfada. Learning of Christy’s survival is the only thing that brings him out of hiding. People, open spaces, even the most common of sounds frighten him beyond reason. A mere ghost of a boy, Thimi arrives in the US with no knowledge of the outside world—the only constant in his life a purple marble.

Lost, shattered, and afraid, only hope gives them the strength and courage they need to begin anew.

 

Book buy links:

Dreamspinner Press https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/elpida-by-c-cody-kennedy-8395-b

Harmony Ink Press https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/elpida-378-s

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Elpida-C-Kennedy-ebook/dp/B071NLDMNM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493834608&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Elpida+Series

Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elpida-c-kennedy/1126301129?ean=2940157511418

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/C_Kennedy_Elpida?id=FQ9aDgAAQBAJ&hl=en

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/elpida

iTunes/iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/elpida/id1216056012?mt=11

Author bio:

Cody is an author who lives on the East Coast of the United States. Cody also writes adult mystery thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, and romance as Aisling Mancy.

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Cody doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Cody contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Cody can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much-maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary.

Cody’s blog, FacebookTwitter @CodyKAuthor, PinterestTumblrGoogle+Ello, GoodreadsMediumBooklikes, and read my free serial story, Fairy.

Find Ash on blogTwitter @AislingMancy, FacebookGoogle+GoodreadsBooklikes, Dreamspinner Press Author Page, and Amazon and Ash does respond to emails because, after all, it is all about you, the reader.

Author contacts:

  • Website/Blog http://ckennedyauthor.blogspot.com/
  • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cody.kennedy.942
  • Twitter @CodyKAuthor https://twitter.com/CodyKAuthor
  • Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5816900.C_Kennedy
  • Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/C.-Kennedy/e/B00M9XIB48/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

Online auction for LGBT victims in Chechnya

In case you were unaware, LGBT people–gay men in particular–are being persecuted in Chechnya. Reliable reports say they’re being detained, tortured, and murdered. You can read a summary here.

In response, a group of writers, readers, artists, and publishers are raising money for organizations that are seeking to evacuate potential victims out of Chechnya. Some authors are donating a portion of their royalties and some are taking part in an online auction May 5-13. All proceeds from the auction will go toward these organizations.

My contribution to the auction is below: signed paperbacks of three of my books, plus a T-shirt with art from the Japanese edition of “Speechless.” Unfortunately, I can only ship to US addresses, but other donors will ship elsewhere.

Here’s information on how you can bid and get involved in other ways.