Monday 9 February 2015

Valentine's Day Blog Hop




 

 
 
 
 
 

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.

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
The Break-in
Amanda Young
Winner chooses from author's available titles
Bronwyn Heeley
Winner chooses from author's available titles
C. J. Anthony
Heaven
Charlie Cochrane
Something from my back list - winner's choice.
David Connor
Tidings of Comfort and Joey Down Under
DP Denman
Winner chooses from author's available titles
Elin Gregory
Alike As Two Bees
Ethan Stone
Winner chooses from author's available titles
Eva Lefoy
Love is a Mess anthology
H.B. Pattskyn
Hanging by the Moment
J.M. Dabney
When All Else Fails
Jessie G
The Protector
Julie Lynn Hayes
When Will I See You Again
Lisabet Sarai
Necessary Madness
Lynley Wayne
Winner chooses from author's available titles
M.A. Church
The Harvest series (book #1 and book #2)
Morticia knight
All Fired Up (Sin City Uniforms 1)
N.J. Nielsen
Winner chooses from author's available titles
Sibley Jackson
Private Performance
Sue Brown
The Next Call
Tali Spencer
Dangerous Beauty
Tara Lain
Canning the Center
Thianna Durston
The Blake/Dusty Chronicles: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Alexa Milne
Rainbow Connection (due out 13th Feb) or Sporting Chance.
Anne Barwell
Winner chooses from author's available titles
April Kelley
Whispers of Home
Brandon Shire
The Love of Wicked Men - Episode One
Catherine Lievens
Jamie
Cecil Wilde
Defying Convention
Christopher Koehler
Poz
Draven St. James
Scent of a Wolf
Elizabeth Noble
Winner chooses from author's available titles
Hayley B James
Undercover Addiction
Jennifer Wright
All 3 Finding Home Series books - Pavarus, Morvea, & Airos
Karen Stivali
Moment of Impact
Kendall McKenna
1) Strength of the Pack 2)Waves Break My Fall
L M Somerton
Rasputin's Kiss
Lily G Blunt
Paint the Sky
Megan Linden
Running Off the Edge
Stephen del Mar
Dark Love
TM Smith
Opposites
Tracey Michael
Pretty Please

 

Hop sites:

















































 Here is the Rafflecopter giveaway but if you'd like to win a copy of Sporting Chance or Rainbow Connection when it's out (which might be a little while) please comment below.

 
Rafflecopter Giveaway

14 comments:

  1. "We are all somebody's hero." True, especially in love.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good post. and thanks for participating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks and it's been interesting reading all the other posts.
      Alexa

      Delete
  3. Love the cover for Rainbow Connection! This post is awesome! I like to read an author that tells how the story came to be!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks - glad you liked the post and the cover.
    Alexa

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  5. The cover is gorgeous! I love that hair. The only problem is that now I can't get Kermit's voice out of my head, singing The Rainbow Connection.

    My first fanfic was set in the universe of Doctor Who. This was back when Tom Baker was the Doctor in question, and Sarah Jane was his companion. Now that we can add Captain Jack to the mix, things are ever so much more exciting. BTW, I published those stories in a fanzine called The Sonic Screwdriver. We even did a very low-budget movie, called Dr Huh? So bad, but so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like the cover. I did think twice about using that title but it wouldn't let go and it fits with Ceri and his ever changing hair. My first memory of Doctor Who was around 1966 but I was born before it began.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Alexa

      Delete
  6. The Rainbow Connection has an amazing cover. I wish I could do things like that.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cover is wonderful - I'm in awe of cover artists and I didn't make this one easy with Ceri and Mick.
      Thanks for commenting
      Alexa

      Delete
  7. Great cover. Perfect. Thanks for the excerpt.Everyone has their own Hero. Even better when those feelings are returned.Thanks for participating.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carol - heroes come in many forms for many people.
      Alexa

      Delete
  8. I'll put the names in a hat tomorrow to pick out a winner.
    Thanks
    Alexa

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  9. Hi and the winner pulled out of the hat was Brandon Shire. thanks for joining in and commenting everyone.

    Alexa

    ReplyDelete