Leta Blake's Blog, page 41

Christmas Music – Dec 3, 2014 – Soul Cake #sting #music

Yassssss.

Guest Post and Giveaway: Smoky Mountain Dreams by Leta Blake

Leta Blake:

Today I’m at The Novel Approach talking about German Hunting Jewelry and my latest book. I’ve also got a giveaway of Smoky Mountain Dreams! Go check it out! :D

Originally posted on The Novel Approach :

Jagdschmuck. To my American ears, that word sounds like an awful insult. Can’t you just hear it? “Ugh, she’s such a Jagdschmuck!” But the word in German describes the long tradition of setting small hunting trophies such as the teeth, antler, or tusk of certain legally hunted animals into jewelry which is then worn by the hunter or her/his loved ones as a talisman for good luck.

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Casting Smoky Mountain Dreams #bonusmaterial #gayromance

I don’t always cast my books, though sometimes it does help me to get a handle on a character if I have a very clear view of what they look like. While I absolutely love and am entirely satisfied with the cover of Smoky Mountain Dreams, the guys don’t fit the image I had in my head for Christopher or Jesse, nor do they fit the almost-good-enough attempts I made at casting them with photographs. I thought it might be fun to show readers the closest, but not quite right, approximations I’ve got for a few of the characters in the book.

First, let’s talk about Christopher. The inspiration for Christopher was originally a real human being that I saw performing at Dollywood. He was handsome enough, but not stunning, thin enough but not cut, cute but not amazing, and his singing talent was well beyond my own but he’d never be famous. I have no idea what his name was, but I decided then and there to write a book about him. Well, eventually, I wanted to describe Christopher in more detail and I set about trying to find a photo that captured what I’d found so compelling about this performer at Dollywood. I finally settled on this picture of Jesse Spencer. Though I feel compelled to say that not every picture of Jesse Spencer works for Christopher, in fact, this may be the only one. But I returned to this one time and again to try to capture the feeling the character of Christopher gave to me.

Now, Jesse was a lot harder. I had a couple of pictures I referred to for him, actually. One that mainly just captured the body confidence I thought Jesse had. But this one is probably the closest in terms of the face. Only, uh, without that full, messy beard .Jesse just had scruff, and the hair is shorter by a bit, and his eyes are tired here because of the burdens of his life (and maybe the sex he had with Christopher all night long), but, yes, this was the closest I could find…probably. It’s still not just right, but whatcha gonna do? :D

More pictures of that model (Maximilio Pantane) that I used as references for Jesse:

Both of these were my references for Young Jesse:

 

Now, Gareth. Yes, he was pretty easy. I saw this picture one day and was like, “Holy crap, what is Gareth doing on Pinterest??” So, yes, this is what I think Gareth looks like.

Every reader obviously has their own idea of what the characters look like and I hope seeing my thoughts doesn’t taint your own. I also hope it was fun to see these! :D If you’ve got ideas of what Christopher and Jesse look like and pics to go along with that, please to be sharing in comments below!

Smoky Mountain Dreams is available now at:

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OYSTER

And now at KOBO.

ETA: I just saw this yesterday and he would make an acceptable Jesse too, I think.

Christmas Music – Dec 2, 2014 – Jay Branan

Oh, Jay. No one does Christmas misery like you.

50% Rebate on Smoky Mountain Dreams for Cyber Monday at All Romance Ebooks! #cybermonday #gayromance

If you’ve been waiting for Smoky Mountain Dreams to go on sale, here’s your chance! 50% rebate at All Romance Ebooks! You can also get The River Leith, Training Season and all my other books for a 50% rebate, too!

More details at:  All Romance Ebooks.

 

Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

Christmas Music – Dec 1, 2014 – Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs #music #xmas

A few years ago I posted a holiday song every day of December. I decided to try it again this year but might cop

out after a few days. We’ll see how it goes.

First up!

Smoky Mountain Dreams #1 Bestseller on Amazon’s Gay Romance, Gay Fiction, Hot New Releases #1Click #amreading

On Thanksgiving morning, I woke up to so much to be grateful for…and that was before I was alerted by text that Smoky Mountain Dreams had gone to #1 on the Amazon Gay Romance, Gay Fiction, and Hot New Releases charts!

THANK YOU, READERS! A book is nothing without a reader and you guys are amazing! Thank you for buying, reading, and trusting the book with your time and money. It’s an honor to be given that kind of trust. I hope not to ever abuse it.

Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

Another 5 star rave for Smoky Mountain Dreams by Leta Blake! #gayromance #ebooks

“Oh my gosh. I loved, loved, loved this book. I stayed up until 3:30 am finishing it because I could just NOT put it down. There are so many different scenes I could reference- scenes that took my breath away. I have been reading M/M romances for several years now and I didn’t think I could be surprised anymore. This book surprised me in the best way possible. The emotional connection between Christopher and Jesse was so intense, beautiful, and honest. Stop whatever you are doing and it read it now. But clear your schedule because you won’t be able to stop reading until the last page!!!”

via Amazon.com: Lori Hinsdale’s review of Smoky Mountain Dreams.

Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

Smoky Mountain Dreams is available now at:

AMAZON

B&N

SMASHWORDS

iTUNES

SCRIBD

OYSTER

And now at KOBO.

“Perfect to curl up with for the holiday season!” Review of Smoky Mountain Dreams by @LetaBlake #gay #amreading #1click

“As always with Leta’s work, this book doesn’t shy away from delving into messy emotions. The characters make mistakes, and I love them all the more for it. They’re flawed humans, and not cardboard cutouts. And as always with a Leta Blake novel, there’s a healthy serving of heat! Christopher and Jesse are smokin’ hot together.

This story is perfect to curl up with as we head into the holiday season! I’m already bugging Leta for a sequel. :D”

via Goodreads | Keira Andrews Toronto, ON, Canada’s review of Smoky Mountain Dreams.

“Fall In Love Like I Did!” – 5 Stars for Smoky Mountain Dreams #amreading #gay

“I absolutely love Leta Blake’s work and this was no exception. I loved how beautifully Jesse and Chris fell in love. It was just heart felt, real, and very intense. Everything I could want in a romance. Please read this book and fall in love like I did.”

via Amazon.com: Amazon Customer’s review of Smoky Mountain Dreams.

Smoky Mountain Dreams is available now at:

AMAZON

B&N

SMASHWORDS

iTUNES

SCRIBD

OYSTER

And now at KOBO.