Many many thanks to D P Denman for organising this blog hop to celebrate love in all its forms and fashions. Below you will find links to all the terrific authors who are taking part and also a link to a major Rafflecopter giveaway – enter it and you can win not only a Kindle but a whole load of ebooks to put on it.
Shapes and sizes - Forms and guises
Heroes, like love, come in all shapes and sizes and all forms and guises. When I started to write, I made no decision about which genre to write it in—I’ve always loved gay romance. I began writing fanfiction in 2009, and in these stories I wrote about heroes like Captain Jack Harkness, the Doctor, Dean Winchester and Castiel. My first book, Sporting Chance, features a six foot six inch tall, blond rugby player. Don’t get me wrong—I love hero as much as the next person. Many m/m romance novels feature hero occupations—police, agents, firefighters, soldiers, cowboys, doctors, lawyers. But what about men with ordinary jobs? Don’t they deserve to find love too? What about the pest controller, the binman, the window cleaner, (or is that too like a Confessions film and you have to be as old as me to remember them) the roofer, the hospital porter, the shepherd, the archivist, the bus driver, the surveyor, the railway guard or the taxman? All of these are necessary jobs, but not very glamourous. I don’t think I’ve read a m/m romance which had characters with any of these jobs, and I’ve read a few.
Heroes, like love, come in all shapes and sizes and all forms and guises. When I started to write, I made no decision about which genre to write it in—I’ve always loved gay romance. I began writing fanfiction in 2009, and in these stories I wrote about heroes like Captain Jack Harkness, the Doctor, Dean Winchester and Castiel. My first book, Sporting Chance, features a six foot six inch tall, blond rugby player. Don’t get me wrong—I love hero as much as the next person. Many m/m romance novels feature hero occupations—police, agents, firefighters, soldiers, cowboys, doctors, lawyers. But what about men with ordinary jobs? Don’t they deserve to find love too? What about the pest controller, the binman, the window cleaner, (or is that too like a Confessions film and you have to be as old as me to remember them) the roofer, the hospital porter, the shepherd, the archivist, the bus driver, the surveyor, the railway guard or the taxman? All of these are necessary jobs, but not very glamourous. I don’t think I’ve read a m/m romance which had characters with any of these jobs, and I’ve read a few.
When
I came up with the basic idea for my story Rainbow
Connection, I decided to give my main characters occupations that didn’t
dominate their lives—they didn’t go home with their jobs, but left them behind
when they left the building. These aren’t jobs which keep you awake in the
middle of the night, or give you bad dreams.
I
originally intended to write a story about the theme of finding love again after
you’d lost your first love, and to a certain extent that theme remains, but
then I read two stories in the same week—one about someone who dyed their hair
the colours of the rainbow and another about a family, but I can’t say much
about that story without giving spoilers. Thus Ceri and Mick were born. Two men
looking for love but who presented a challenge to the artist who designed the
cover below.
Ceri
dyes his hair every week. He dreams of being a professional skate boarder and
he fills the vending machines and water dispensers in various offices to pay
his rent. Mick works in one of those offices as a night time security guard. He
fills the long hours watching his favourite programmes and reading books. Then,
one night, a new person comes to deliver the water bottles and vending supplies
and Mick can’t help watching him as he does his rounds. When they meet for the
first time, it’s not really a case of instant love more instant curiosity. Ceri
sees his life as an open book, while Mick keeps his life under lock and key,
but maybe they can find something they have in common something they both love
which brings them together.
I’d
love to read more stories about men with ordinary, unglamorous jobs and maybe a
few more when the men don’t have perfect bodies and six packs. Everyone has
their story to tell and everyone deserves to be loved. We are all somebody’s
hero.
BLURB
Two men, one with
a past, and one determined to give them a future, together.
Mick Flanagan has
kept himself hidden since his only lover died three years before. He works at
night, keeps to his routine, has impressive facial hair and avoids contact with
other people as much as possible. He lives in his imagination, where he is part
of a crew of space pirates roaming the universe, spending his spare time
writing long stories about his heroes. Enter Ceri Llewellyn, with his
constantly changing rainbow-coloured hair, who for reasons Mick doesn’t understand,
seems determined to talk to him. Ceri has been living a happy-go-lucky
lifestyle since he was let down by his first long-term boyfriend, Jules, but
something about Mick calls to him. His twin, Megan would say that it’s because
he loves a cause, and perhaps she’s right to begin with. They find they have a
mutual love of Doctor Who and this
gives Ceri an insight into Mick’s personality and brings them together. Ceri
suggests that they visit Doctor Who’s Cardiff
locations, and Mick can’t resist the temptation of visiting places he has only
seen on the screen. Gradually, Ceri introduces Mick to new experiences, but
Mick has a past that contains more than a dead lover. Can Ceri show him that he
deserves to be loved but, above all else, help him find his true self?
And
now the big cover reveal. I hope you like it.
Ebook Prizes:
Aidee Ladnier
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The Break-in
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Amanda Young
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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Bronwyn Heeley
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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C. J. Anthony
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Heaven
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Charlie Cochrane
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Something from my back list - winner's choice.
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David Connor
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Tidings of Comfort and Joey Down Under
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DP Denman
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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Elin Gregory
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Alike As Two Bees
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Ethan Stone
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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Eva Lefoy
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Love is a Mess anthology
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H.B. Pattskyn
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Hanging by the Moment
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J.M. Dabney
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When All Else Fails
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Jessie G
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The Protector
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Julie Lynn Hayes
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When Will I See You Again
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Lisabet Sarai
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Necessary Madness
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Lynley Wayne
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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M.A. Church
|
The Harvest series (book #1 and book #2)
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Morticia knight
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All Fired Up (Sin City Uniforms 1)
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N.J. Nielsen
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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Sibley Jackson
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Private Performance
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Sue Brown
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The Next Call
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Tali Spencer
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Dangerous Beauty
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Tara Lain
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Canning the Center
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Thianna Durston
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The Blake/Dusty Chronicles: Two Sides of the Same Coin
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Alexa Milne
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Rainbow Connection (due out 13th Feb) or Sporting Chance.
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Anne Barwell
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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April Kelley
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Whispers of Home
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Brandon Shire
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The Love of Wicked Men - Episode One
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Catherine Lievens
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Jamie
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Cecil Wilde
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Defying Convention
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Christopher Koehler
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Poz
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Draven St. James
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Scent of a Wolf
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Elizabeth Noble
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Winner chooses from author's available titles
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Hayley B James
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Undercover Addiction
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Jennifer Wright
|
All 3 Finding Home Series books - Pavarus, Morvea, & Airos
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Karen Stivali
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Moment of Impact
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Kendall McKenna
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1) Strength of the Pack 2)Waves Break My Fall
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L M Somerton
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Rasputin's Kiss
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Lily G Blunt
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Paint the Sky
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Megan Linden
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Running Off the Edge
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Stephen del Mar
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Dark Love
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TM Smith
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Opposites
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Tracey Michael
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Pretty Please
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