Leta Blake's Blog, page 49
July 11, 2014
Author Interview/Bog Tour The River Leith by Leta Blake | Zipper Rippers
Today I’m over at Zipper Rippers! Come on over and check it out! :) Excerpt of interview is below:
**
What is your favourite food?
I’m very strange in that I find food a bit boring and find making it even more boring, so my favourite food is basically any food that is made and brought to me by someone else. It’s heavenly to be given something yummy to eat without having lifted a finger to think of it or make it myself.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Definitely a night owl, but real life is determined to make me accustomed to waking early. As the years go by, I do dislike sleeping past 9am, since it makes me feel like I’ve wasted the day.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
Paris. I have a dream of standing by the Eiffel Tower with my daughter. I can’t say why it’s so important to me but if I die before that happens it will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Do distant places feature in your books?
Sometimes, but I try to write what I can easily imagine in terms of setting since it makes it easier to describe properly.
Read more via Author Interview/Bog Tour The River Leith by Leta Blake | Zipper Rippers.
July 10, 2014
Book Hangovers by Brandilyn with #Giveaway | Prism Book Alliance™ #mmromance #gay
My book Training Season was listed as one of the books to give Brandilyn of Prism Book Alliance a book hangover! Is there better praise in the world? :D
Read more about book hang overs and see others on Brandilyn’s list: Book Hangovers ~ Sunday Spotlight by Brandilyn with Giveaway | Prism Book Alliance™.
July 9, 2014
Guest Post The River Leith
Today I’m at Editor Charlene’s blog with more from Zach from The River Leith. He’s telling us about himself and Leith, what draws them together, and a bit about the book from his perspective. (It’s also different from the Flash Fiction I posted yesterday.) Go have a look-see and check out what Zach has to say! :)
Originally posted on Editor Charlene:
I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for gay romance “The River Leith”. Enjoy the guest post!
The Running Zachariah
(a word from Zachariah Stevens, a character in The River Leith)
I’ve always thought that some people are fighters and some people are runners. Leith’s always been a fighter. He fought for his addict dad, he fought in the ring, and he fought hard when it came to figuring out his sexuality. But, see, being a fighter isn’t always good. Sometimes people get hurt that way. Leith knows that all too well.
The way I see it, the main difference between a fighter and a runner is in their instincts. A fighter attacks the problem, clings to it, rolls around and wrestles it into submission. This is one way Leith hasn’t changed since the injury: he’s still going to wrestle with his demons—and my demons—until he’s beaten…
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July 8, 2014
Flash Fiction: The Running Zachariah Meets The River Leith #mmromance #extras
Flash Fiction
The Running Zachariah Meets The River Leith
New York City was far enough from Louisville that Zach felt safe. He’d run far, far, far away from home years ago, traveling the world with his job on a cruise ship for years, and he never intended to go back. Now it was time to put down some roots, though. And if he didn’t like the roots he put down, he’d just tear them up and run off again. After all, running far away from places and things that hurt him was what he did best. But, in the meantime, he needed a place to crash.
Park Slope was baby-land from what he could tell by the number of strollers and actual children running, laughing, and hopscotching up and down 7th Street, but he didn’t mind. He liked kids. If life worked out the way he hoped, he might even have one someday. He’d enjoy showing a child the world, holding their hand by the Eiffel Tower, or throwing them in the air in the Riveria sun. He’d never, ever hit them or tell them they were shameful or make them want to run away from home forever.
Dismissing memories of his grandmother’s belt and his mother’s hateful words, he jogged across 5th Ave and hooked a right. He glanced down at the paper in his hand, double checking the address. Yes, he was on the right street now. He grinned at a little Asian girl on a tricycle, and nodded toward her German-looking nanny while hunting for the building number on the doors. The one he was hunting for was nice enough, with windows that jutted out toward the leafy green of a nice-sized tree.
He folded the paper carefully and squinted up at the apartments above the bar below. Then he looked around, taking in the prime location—close to the subway, the shops of 5th just down a block, and the shops of 7th Ave just a little further upslope. It was perfect. Now, he just needed to make them like him. He was good at that. He could be charming and sweet, loving and open, and they’d like him. Well, so long as they never saw the dark spots his family had left on his heart, anyway. He could hide his wounds. He was almost as good at that as he was at running when someone got close enough to spot them.
And, really, all that mattered was that they liked him for just long enough anyway. He could leave again. There was always Italy, or California, or Alaska. There was always somewhere to escape to and a way to forget if things here went bad.
The doorbell chimed and Zach sucked in his breath, stunned at the sight of the sweaty, flushed, goddamn-gorgeous man who answered: blond hair, hazel eyes, and a body to fall to his knees for. All displayed beautifully in a white sleeveless t-shirt and jogging shorts. “Hey, yeah. Can I help you?”
“Hello,” Zach said, sticking out his hand and telling himself to pretend he was vlogging. He could do anything and say anything if he was vlogging. He could be real without having to suffer for it. It was a good trick he’d learned over the last few years. “I’m Zachariah Stevens. I’m here for the extra room?”
“Oh. Right.” The guy took his hand and they stared into each other’s eyes. A handshake failed to form and the touch turned into an awkward almost-hand-holding clench that morphed into further weirdness, until the guy jerked his hand back. “I’m Leith.”
“Nice to meet you, Leith. Been out running?” Zach asked, gesturing at his sweaty state when Leith looked confused.
“Yeah. In training.”
“For a marathon?”
“No. I box.”
“Oh.” Well, that explained those muscles and his tough-guy look. Zach’s knees went a little weak.
“Uh, come in. The girls are upstairs.”
Zach followed him up the stairs to the apartment, his eyes on Leith’s firm, muscular ass, and he shivered. A hot, boxer roommate? Oh, hell, yes, this could be a good place to live for a while. How much fun could he have seducing the guy? And if by some miracle things actually got real between them? Well, that’d be awesome for as long as it lasted.
And if things turned bad? Well….
Leith looked over his shoulder at Zach, his hazel eyes confused, as though wrestling with something down deep inside. “The room’s kind of small.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have a lot of things. I travel a lot. I don’t keep much to hold me back.”
“You gonna travel a lot while you’re living here?” Leith turned and took the next flight up to the third floor.
“No. I’m sticking around for a while. Trying to build a real life for a change. It’s an experiment.”
Leith stopped on the landing and waited for Zach to join him. “You’ve got a job?”
“Of course.”
Leith gazed at him and the air between them seemed to thicken. Zach nearly took a step forward into the space separating them, but held back. Get the room first. Then see what happens.
“A real job?”
“Do I look like a vagrant or something?” Zach laughed. He was wearing jeans, sure, but they were expensive jeans and he knew he looked nice.
“Uh, no. You look….” Leith swallowed. “Like you’ve got a job. But, you know how it is. You can’t be too careful. We’ll check your references.”
“Of course. And, to answer your question, yes, I have a real job.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Well, come in and meet the girls.” Leith keyed open the door. “It’s up to them if you get the room, anyway.”
Zach followed him into the small but clean apartment. The sofa wasn’t new but it’d obviously been quite nice once. The throw on the loveseat matched nicely, and the tv was big, but there were a lot of books stacked around, too. Always a good sign.
Leith clapped him on the shoulder as he called out, “Marian! Ava! A guy’s here for the room.”
His hand was warm and stayed just a moment too long. Zach shivered. Yes, this could be nice and if things didn’t work out here, he could always go. He’d made a career out of leaving.
Leith smiled at him, his eyes crinkling at the edges. “Would you like some water while they grill you?”
“Sure.” Zach licked his lips. “Thanks.”
But maybe, if he was lucky, he might find a reason to stay.
***
The above is a prequel sort of flash fiction set three years before the start of my book The River Leith.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Interview with Author Leta Blake
I’m over at Jamie Lake Novels today with an interview about why I have a pen name, why women love m/m, Matty Marcus, Leith Wenz, and more! Check it out! :)
Originally posted on jamielakenovels:
Leta Blake spends her days writing, sometimes to the point of forgetting to do chores. She is best known for her novels The River Leith and Training Season. No matter what she writes next, her readers will eagerly await the novels to come.
What got you interested in writing m/m fiction?
Well, I’d say my interest in m/m goes way back to my childhood. My earliest fantasies that I spent long periods of time indulging and expanding on were around Batman and Robin. In this pretend play, I was Robin and I’d been kidnapped by bad men, and Batman would come rescue me, and then hold me and kiss me and basically be in love with me. I was five. And my m/m thoughts and preferences just grew from there. But as far as writing m/m fiction goes, I’m a graduate of the fandom school of slash writing, like…
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July 7, 2014
“The River Leith is about much more than just romance!” I Heart Reading: The River Leith by Leta Blake #mmromance #gay
“Zach is offered an even tougher deal than Leith. He can’t tell Leith the truth, even if it hurts him more than he’s willing to admit to anyone. Zach was easily my favorite character. He seemed so hurt and lost, I just wanted to comfort him and tell him it would all be all right….
The River Leith is about much more than just romance. It’s about finding one’s true self, about overcoming tragedy, about finding love in unexpected places, about never giving up. It’s a well-written, heart wrecking novel that brought me close to tears at times. But for the romance fans, there’s plenty of that too.”
via Book Review: The River Leith by Leta Blake.
July 6, 2014
5 Paws from Crystal’s Many Reviewers: The River Leith by Leta Blake #mmromance #gay
“Have you ever read a book that caught you so completely off guard because while reading it, you learn more about yourself and others? A book that you thought was just going to be something to pass the time, but instead it has stayed with you even weeks after you have finished it because the meaning behind it was so strong and powerful that you can’t help but to think about it.”
read more of this 5 Paw Review via Crystal’s Many Reviewers: The River Leith by Leta Blake.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
July 5, 2014
Book Excerpt The River Leith
Another excerpt from The River Leith is up at The Book Daily. It’s different from the first chapter excerpt that went up the other day , since I excised the prologue. Basically, this excerpt is the prologue, but it lays out the situation and problem of the book. If you’ve been curious about whether this book is right for you, this might help you decide!
Originally posted on The Book Daily:
Excerpt time today. I’m hosting a snippet from gay romance “The River Leith”. Enjoy the excerpt.
Book Excerpt
Memory, as it turned out, was both everything and nothing. It had no substance, no form, no weight, and no color. It was described, in technical terms, as deposits of proteins within cells of the brain. However, these were words that at their heart were as mysterious and ultimately magical as any other metaphor used in an attempt to understand the concept: memory as a storehouse or set of books—a way to keep track of life’s checks and balances; or memory as meaning—a mode of life, and a way of being.
Leith knew now that all these metaphors and all these words boiled down to one thing: memory is the sum of us, the total, and if it is divided, then we are lost.
There were other people in the occupational therapy…
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July 4, 2014
The River Leith made Joyfully Jay’s Fave Books of June! #mmromance #ebooks
Click on through to see the other books listed and to find a link to Jay’s review of The River Leith!
June’s Favorite Books — Joyfully Jay.
One of Joyfully Jay’s fave books of June!
Player vs. Player now available for pre-sale @RiptideBooks #mmromance #mystery
Amelia’s new book is up for pre-sale at Riptide! Always love her stuff!
Originally posted on The fiction of Amelia C. Gormley:
For those of you who have been waiting for my gaming industry whodunit mystery (formerly titled Third Wave) here it is! Now available for pre-sale at Riptide!
Pushing for change can be dangerous when change starts pushing back.
Video game writer Niles River loves the work he does at Third Wave Studios: creating games with mass appeal that feature women, people of color, and LGBTQ players. To make his job even better, his best friend is his boss, and his twin brother works beside him. And they mostly agree that being on the forefront of social change is worth dealing with trollish vitriol—Niles is more worried about his clingy ex and their closeted intern’s crush on his brother than he is about internet harassment.
But now the bodies on the ground are no longer virtual, and someone’s started hand-delivering threats to Niles’s door. The vendetta against Third Wave has escalated…
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