And how are we all doing?
Mari Evans, Trusting Love and a Giveaway!
Hi there, this is Mari Evans and I’m a guest here at Rhys’s blog today to talk about my new book Trusting Love.
People who know me, know I don’t like talking about myself or tell anyone how wonderful my work is. But I can tell you that the lovely, wonderful, sweet, and slightly evil Rhys liked it.
The book is about Laurie and Sam, who meet at an animal shelter where they both volunteer. Sam is a vet and Laurie is a senior in high school. He turns eighteen during the story, and even starts college at the end.
Sam is about nine years older, which makes it a pretty big age gap. Laurie has a lot of growing up to do, but in some ways he’s more mature than his peers, because he’s been through a lot.
Of course he’s still a young man and sometimes acts like it, but he grows up a lot during the story, with the help of Sam and others. Sam is kind of in a rut when he meets Laurie. Yes, he just took over a new vet clinic and he has a great group of friends, but he’s stuck in his routine and has no real excitement in his life.
Sam likes Laurie a lot but doesn’t want to start something with anyone that young, partly because of the immaturity and partly because he’s scared he’ll be left when the ‘new and shiny’ thing will wear off. Laurie doesn’t give up easily though, but when he does, the shit hits the fan. But it makes Sam get his head out of his ass and go for it.
But then, others make it hard for them to trust their love. Also, Laurie has been through a lot of abuse, so the intimacy between them is difficult. It takes a lot of time for Laurie to trust his own body and Sam.
Writing this book was a pleasure and a pain. I loved creating personalities and a story for them, but the sex scenes and some of the other scenes, were very hard. The sex scenes had to be very detailed, every sound, feeling, movement and smell had to be described. Then the emotions that came with it… But I think they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
The inspiration for this book came from a real live boy, who bought my best friend’s horse. He absolutely adored animals and lived in a foster care facility. He did have a great relationship with his mother, but never mentioned his dad, which started my imagination working overtime.
It took me about nine months to finish it, but in my defence, I’m not a consistent writer. I took breaks for months…
But when I write, I love it. It gives me satisfaction and makes my mind feel active and productive. It is tiring though, so after two or three hours my brains starts to scream and shout at me to stop already, or it’ll make me stop by exploding. So, not an overly productive and consistent writer, but I do have a lot of fun doing it.
I guess this was what I wanted to share with you today. I hope you enjoyed it, if not, blame Rhys 😉
Mari
Trusting Love
Laurie Stallon isn’t like other high schoolers. After suffering years of abuse at his father’s hands, he now lives in a foster care facility and finds solace volunteering at the local animal shelter. Laurie’s had to grow up fast, and even though his eighteenth birthday is still weeks away, he’s more adult than most adults he knows. When he meets Dr. Sam Davies, the new shelter veterinarian, the attraction is instant. They become friends at work, but Laurie knows Sam will never go for someone like him. No matter how Laurie tries to prove his maturity to Sam, Sam continues to reject him as too young.
Needing a distraction, Laurie goes out dancing for his birthday and finds his life in danger yet again. When Sam is called to the hospital, he realizes Laurie needs someone to care for him. Sam takes him home, and they slowly build a relationship. But more than their age difference works against them. Facing the disapproval of friends and the scars from Laurie’s past, they’ll need to put all their trust in love for a chance at a future together.
Sales Links :
Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5301
Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5302
Mari Evans is a wife and the proud mother of a very active daughter, two dogs and two cats. She’s a very social kind of girl, who loves to talk. It’s both her best and worst quality.
From the moment she could read, she devoured books. Anything goes, as long as it has a happy ending.
There were always stories swirling around in her head and as a child she liked to lay in bed and let the characters have their story and happy ending. It wasn’t until 2013 that she actually tried to put one of the whole stories down and submit it to a publisher. To her own surprise and excitement it was accepted. This gave her the drive to keep going.
The decision to write m/m was made when a friend told a story about a young gay man that struck a chord, even as her husband had already encouraged her to try it earlier.
Now she found her passion, having already found the love in her family and friends, her life is completely chaotic, crazy but wonderful.
Ordering DSP books for GRL
Here’s the latest info from DSP for ordering books for GRL:
If you plan to attend GRL in Chicago this October, you can preorder paperbacks on the DSP site between now and September 21 to be picked up at the event, and if you use the code GRL2014, you won’t have to pay shipping! Any orders using this code will only be available for pickup at GRL. You can order books from any author, even if the author isn’t attending GRL.
The code is valid on all in-stock paperbacks and good for multiple orders. DSP will have a special GRL preorder sale Sept. 17-21 where ALL paperbacks will be in-stock for preorders, so if something isn’t available now, you can check back then.
Eric Arvin Update. Now with Video….
The POST link will take you to an update by Eric. Please, go see how he’s doing. It’s public and on Facebook. If you want to leave him a comment.
Post by Eric Arvin.
Aiming To Misbehave
Can I be honest? I’m aimin’ to misbehave and if this counts as an author behaving badly, then I shall wear it with pride.
Sometimes I want to tell the trolls who seek out authors’ books and one star everything to just fuck off. There are people I know who worked hard on their books and they don’t deserve your crap. Go masturbate in the closet like the rest of the pervs.
Really. Some people’s children.
*hugs some of my fellow authors* You’ve done a hell of a lot getting that book to where it is. Don’t let someone take that from you because they’re an asshat. *hugs*
Dirty Deeds Audible is now Live!
A Fierce Project, Gazpacho and B. Snow
Guest Post by B. Snow
So, yeah, I procrastinate. (See my blog for proof) Back in July, Rhys very graciously offered a guest blog spot to promote the Project Fierce Chicago anthology, which came out on July 16. And now it’s WEEKS LATER and I’m only now getting around to taking her up on her offer….
The anthology came about because Piper Vaughn said, “Hey, there’s this great organization in Chicago called Project Fierce that helps LGBTQ youth! What do you think about an anthology where all the proceeds would go to them?” And we all said, “Hell, yeah!” Less Than Three Press took up the cause, donating their time and expertise as well to publish 20 stories about young people trying to find home.
Here’s an excerpt from my story, “Hearth and Home”, a complete rip-off of Cinderella:
By the time winter blew into town from the lake, Natasha’s hair had grown down to her shoulders. Even dressed in Hannah’s husband’s old clothes, she got appreciative glances from men who came through the marketplace. “You need to flirt a bit, missy,” Hannah muttered after Natasha sent away a blushing young man with a bundle of herbs and a firm handshake.
“I don’t think so,” Natasha told her.
“How do you ever expect to get a husband? Men aren’t perceptive. You have to hit them over the head to let them know you like them.”
Natasha sighed. She knew she’d have to talk about it sometime; she just hoped that Hannah needed her enough to not send her away. “I don’t like men,” she said. “I like women.”
Martin whipped his head around to stare at her, but Hannah just raised her eyebrows. “Women? Well, that’s different.”
Natasha could barely believe what she’d heard. “It doesn’t bother you?”
Hannah shrugged. “An’ ye harm none, do what ye will. At least I won’t have to worry about you getting knocked up.”
Here’s the buy link for the anthology
And here’s a link for Project Fierce Chicago (the organization) if you want to find out more about them and/or donate directly to them: http://projectfiercechicago.org/
When I asked Rhys what to include in the blog post, she said that recipes are always good. “Hearth and Home” mentions soup several times, so I thought about a soup recipe (because who doesn’t like soup??!?), but it’s summer here in GA….then I remembered that I usually make gazpacho in the summer because the spousal unit doesn’t like hot food in hot weather.
The recipe I use for gazpacho is based on the one from a cookbook that is either no longer for sale or I just can’t find it on the company’s website. The recipe they have at the website is different from this one, and I’m hoping to avoid copyright issues by changing the recipe slightly.
I make a half-recipe because a full recipe doesn’t fit into the Cuisinart. Even the half recipe sometimes sloshes out the top. So here’s how I make gazpacho. Continue reading “A Fierce Project, Gazpacho and B. Snow”
The Devil’s Brew and Tristan James
Do you wanna know awesome?
The Devil’s Brew…as narrated by Tristan James.
Available NOW
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Devils-Brew-Audiobook/B00MJ65Q0C
Rick Reed is here… With a Cover and a Promise… Husband Hunters!
I have a mad sinister adoration for Rick Reed. He is simply the BEST of people. Salt of the earth. Chocolate of the earth. Let’s face it, salt of the earth doesn’t quite cut it as much as chocolate. So Rick’s got a new one coming out from Dreamspinner Press and I can’t shout loud enough for you all to give it a go. Really. Dudes. Rick Fricking Reed.
Sublime.
Husband Hunters by Rick Reed
You never know where the love of your life might turn up.
When Matt Connelly suggests to his best buddy Cody Mook that they head to downtown Seattle to audition for the gay reality TV show Husband Hunters, both agree the experience might be a lark and a chance to grab their fifteen minutes of fame. What they don’t know is that the show, modeled after HGTV’s House Hunters, will open doors of longing neither expected. For Matt, the secret love he has long harbored for Cody might be thrust into the spotlight. Cody might realize his search for his perfect-forever-man extends no farther than the man who’s always been at his side.
Husband Hunters promises laughter, tears, and, just maybe, a happy ever after. Will Cody and Matt’s story be one of best-friends-to-lovers—or an outright disaster?
Here’s the stunning pop-art cover for Rick R. Reed’s 9/1 release, HUSBAND HUNTERS!
Pre-order: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5381


