Lilah Suzanne's Blog, page 48
January 14, 2016
Now Available:
“What It Takes” by Jude Sierra
“STARRED REVIEW. Sierra uses rich characterization and lyrical writing to infuse this slow-building romance with depth, humor, and pathos. Readers will savor every dip and peak of Milo and Andrew’s relationship as they balance the need for safety with the necessary risk of pursuing happiness.“ — Publishers Weekly
* * *
The water quiets him with its rhythmic movement. The tide starts to let out, and the sun peeks through scattering clouds. Milo is startled out of his calm when he hears a laugh peal down the beach. The couple he saw earlier is closer now, kicking water at each other in a playful game. He watches as they come closer, and as the sun makes a sudden brilliant appearance, he recognizes with a shock that he knows one of them.
Because one of them is Andrew.
Milo has to resist the urge to run when he sees Andrew stop stock-still in the water, not moving when his companion splashes him.
Milo closes his eyes and then pushes himself to stand. Sand clings to his pants and he takes a moment to brush it off, internally scrambling to figure out the protocol for this. Excitement mixes with panic. His heart is in his throat like an angry hummingbird, choking his breath. The seven years between them was a chasm he learned not to want to cross, much less approach, and now he’s suddenly on its edge.
* * *
Summary
The connection was instantaneous. Moments after Milo Graham’s family relocates to Cape Cod, he meets Andrew Witherell—launching a lifelong friendship built on a foundation of deep bonds, secret forts, and plans for the future.
When Milo is called home from college to attend his domineering father’s funeral, he and Andrew finally act on their mutual attraction. But doubtful of his worth, Milo decides to sever all ties with his childhood friend.
Circumstances send both men home again years later, and their long held feelings will not be denied. But will they have what it takes to find lasting love?
Available now from the IP Web Store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple’s iBookstore, Smashwords, All Romance eBooks, Book Depository, and an indie bookstore near you.
International Special: Order the print edition of What It Takes by March 14, 2016 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to contact@interludepress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-941530-59-7
Pages: 274
Price: $16.99 US print*/ $6.99 US multi-format eBook
About the Author
Jude Sierra began her writing career at the age of eight when she immortalized her summer vacation with ten entries in a row that read “pool+tv.” She first began writing poetry as a child in her home country of Brazil, and is still a student of the form.
As a sucker for happy endings and well-written emotional arcs and characters, Jude is an unapologetic bookaholic. She finds bookstores and libraries unbearably sexy and, to her husband’s dismay, is attempting to create her own in their living room. She is a writer of many things that hope to find their way out of the sanctuary of her hard drive and many that have found a home in the fanfiction community.
She is currently working on her Master of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric and managing a home filled with her husband, two young sons, and two cats. Her first novel, Hush, was published in 2015 by Interlude Press.
Connect with the author at JudeSierra.com, on Twitter @JudeSierra, on Goodreads at goodreads.com/Jude_Sierra, and on Facebook at facebook.com/JudeMSierra
January 13, 2016
Coming in July: “Into the Blue” by Pene Henson
Tai Talagi and Ollie Birkstrom have been inseparable since they met as kids, surfing the North Shore of Oahu. Now they live with their best friends and Ollie’s kid brother in a pulled-together family, all of them piled into a run-down beach house. They share cooking, bills, and the saltwater running in their veins. They might have no money, they might argue, they might be in dead end jobs, but they live in Hawaii so it’s always summer. There’s always time for one last wave.
Tai’s spent years shutting down any feelings for Ollie. They’re friends. Their family depends on them. But with Ollie off on his first world tour, with Ollie’s dreams of a pro surfing career finally within reach, their steady world shifts. Is it worth risking their friendship, their family, their dreams for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?
About the Author
Pene Henson has been many things—minister’s wife, barefoot beach-town kid, New York City lawyer, British boarding school matron, baseball team manager, singer in a rock band, church choir member, queer party girl, and soccer mom. A resident of Sydney, Australia, and immersed in Sydney’s LGBTQIA community, she spends her non-writing time playing and watching sports, camping and boating, and gazing at the ocean. She’s raising two unexpectedly exceptional boys with her gorgeous wife.
With degrees in chemistry and in law, she works in intellectual property law, contemplating other people’s inventions.
A published poet, she has long been an active writer in online communities. Into the Blue is her first novel.
Get to know the author at @penehenson on Tumblr, on Twitter, and on Goodreads.
January 12, 2016
January 11, 2016
americanlibraryassoc:
“I don’t know where I’m going from here,...
“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” - David Bowie
1987 READ poster: Bowie reading The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
January 10, 2016
Goodreads Giveaways!
Live in the US? Want a chance to win a free print edition of our newest IP b
ooks? Head on over to Goodreads, where we give away five print editions of every book we publish!
Not in the US? Don’t fret! Every blog tour for our new books includes a giveaway of multi-format eBooks and a grand prize of a $25 IP Web Store gift card.
Our current Goodreads giveaways include:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/163296-what-it-takes
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/166553-sweet
Be watching for the following Goodreads giveaways starting January 15th:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/169805-speakeasy
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/169801-the-star-host
January 6, 2016
Now Available to Pre-Order:
The Star Host by F.T. Lukens
Once at the hangar, Ren broke away from
the two guards and entered the lancer, walking up the stairs, irritation a
heavy feeling in his chest.
“Reporting for work,” Ren said, his
tone heavily laced with annoyance.
Janus popped up from a console she had
been working under, goggles on her face, gray hair sticking up everywhere.
“You!” she snapped. “I told you not to come back.”
Ren rolled his eyes. “It’s not my
choice. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here.”
“Where are your guards? I told the dumb
one not to bring you back, Abiathar’s orders be damned. I don’t want your kind
working on these ships.”
She poked a finger hard into Ren’s
chest and he staggered back, and rubbed his hand over the spot.
“What the stars do you mean by my
kind?”
Her eyes grew comically large behind
the goggles. “You don’t know?” She laughed, bordering on hysterical. “You’re
more dangerous than I thought. You can’t try to control it if you don’t even
know what you are.”
Ren frowned. His tolerance for the
cryptic nonsense everyone had spouted since he arrived was gone. He took a step
toward the hull and Janus stiffened.
“Don’t,” she barked.
“Don’t what? Touch it? What will
happen, huh?”
Her face paled and her chest heaved
with panicked breaths. “You don’t know what you’re capable of.”
Ren laughed. “I’m capable of nothing.
I’m a duster, planet-born with very limited experience with tech. You have no
reason to be frightened of me.”
He moved closer to the hull, hand
outstretched, fingers splayed.
She whimpered. “Please, don’t.”
Ren slammed his hand against the hull,
his fingertips leaving greasy marks on the shiny surface. As he predicted,
nothing happened.
He turned back to Janus. “See? Nothing–”
His word tangled in his throat, cut
off, because suddenly, Ren was consumed with power, rushing from his toes to his fingertips. A blue tint clouded
his vision, and his body suffused with golden warmth. And then he was floating
amongst the wires, connected to the ship, to the energy source, to everything.
The lancer pulsed under his skin, tangling in his veins, its systems integrated
with his senses.
It
was freeing and frightening.
His
consciousness raced along the circuits and he could fix it. He could fix everything. He found the tangle of wires in
the artificial gravity system and bypassed it. He found the broken circuits in
the air recyclers and with a pulse of power, refurbished them. He saw the
static in the com system, a physical entity, and he cleared it away with a
brush of his metaphysical hand.
The
longer Ren floated through the ship, the less connected he was to his physical
body. And if he thought about it, he didn’t need his body. Why would he need
his body? He was free here. He moved around with ease, the wires and the
systems his route, and the more he pushed, the more he felt the other ships
too. They were nearby, on the edge of his perception, and he could go to those,
he could jump to the other ones and repair them too.
He
could.
He
could.
* * *
Summary
Ren grew up listening to his mother tell stories about the Star Hosts – a mythical group of people possessed by the power of the stars. The stories were the most exciting part of Ren’s life, and he often dreamed about leaving his backwater planet and finding his place among the neighboring drifts. When Ren is captured by soldiers and taken from his home, he must remain inconspicuous while plotting his escape. It’s a challenge since the general of the Baron’s army is convinced Ren is something out of one of his mother’s stories.
He finds companionship in the occupant of the cell next to his, a drifter named Asher. A member of the Phoenix Corps, Asher is mysterious, charming, and exactly the person Ren needs to anchor him as his sudden technopathic ability threatens to consume him. Ren doesn’t mean to become attached, but after a daring escape, a trek across the planet, and an eventful ride on a merchant ship, Asher is the only thing that reminds Ren of home. Together, they must warn the drifts of the Baron’s plans, master Ren’s growing power, and try to save their friends while navigating the growing attraction between them.
* * *
From Duet Books for LGBTQ Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
US/Canada: Pre-order the print edition of The Star Host from the IP Web Store and receive the multi-format eBook free with the discount code STARHOST*
International: Order the print edition of The Star Host by May 3, 2016 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to contact@interludepress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-941530-72-6 (print) // 978-1-941530-73-3 (Multi-Format eBook)
Pages: 258
Price: $15.99 US print*/ $6.99 US multi-format eBook
*Print editions pre-orders available for US and Canada only. eBook orders available worldwide.
* * *
About the Author
F.T. wrote her first short story when she was in third grade and her love of writing continued from there. After placing in the top five out of ten thousand entries in a writing contest, she knew it was time to dive in and try her hand at writing a novel.
A wife and mother of three, F.T. holds degrees in psychology and English literature, and is a long-time member of her college’s science-fiction club. F.T. has a love of cheesy television shows, superhero movies, and science-fiction novels—especially anything by Douglas Adams.
Connect with F.T. at authorftlukens.wordpress.com on Twitter @ftlukens, on Tumblr at ftlukens.tumblr.com and on Goodreads at goodreads.com/ftlukens.
January 5, 2016
Lilah Suzanne Q&A: Do you think all of the main characters in your books would get along? Like, what if they were all at the same party? Which of your characters would hit it off if they met?
Lilac: Oooh! Let’s see, I think Grady would love everyone and make fast friends. Nico would spend time cooly assessing and then make connections.
From Spice, I think Benji would really rather just go home and watch Star Wars (again) but Simon and Nico would get along because Simon’s comfort with raunchiness reminds Nico of his bestie/business partner, Gwen.
Pivot and Slip.. Jack is a calming presence, maybe he manages to gently coax Benji out of a corner to socialize. Felix probably has Grady following him like a shadow because he loves sports, too, and can he see the scar that Felix got from the knockout fight and wow his biceps are huge wow. Nico glares, but only when Felix isn’t looking.
interludepress:
“TOP PICK! This excellent take on the celebrity-and-normal-person romance moves at...
“TOP PICK! This excellent take on the celebrity-and-normal-person romance moves at a fast clip while satisfying at every turn.” — RT Book Reviews
“Hollywood style meets Nashville charm in this sweet, sexy fling turned romance.” —Publishers Weekly
Join Lilah Suzanne as she takes the spotlight on the Interlude Press social media at 3pm ET on Tuesday. Send her a question at our twitter or @interludepress for your chance to win all three of Lilah’s novels!
Today is the day! Send in your questions and I’ll be there in the spotlight at 3!
*nervous face*
January 2, 2016
Lilah Suzanne in the IP Spotlight
Join author Lilah Suzanne as she takes over the controls of IP’s Tumblr and Twitter accounts Tuesday, January 5th!Lila’s third book for IP, Broken Records, was recently named a Top Pick by RT Reviews Magazine, and it’s just the beginning of the country music-meets-Hollywood Spotlight Series. (Want a sneak peek? Get our exclusive two chapter preview of Burning Tracks, part two of the Spotlight Series, at the IP Web Store.)
Send Lilah your questions on our Tumblr or Twitter accounts, then join us Tuesday at 3pm ET using the hashtag #IPSpotlight as Lilah answers your questions about Broken Records, and what’s next for Nico, Grady, Gwen, Flora, and Clementine.
Send in a question, and you’ll be entered to win all three of Lilah’s eBooks!
Hey, I’m taking over IP! Got questions? Send ‘em on in!
January 1, 2016
On Sunday Mornings: A Broken Records Extra
Originally posted on Moonbeams over Atlanta. A childhood flashback story told from Nico’s point of view.
On Sunday mornings the barbershop opens later, that way Nico’s dad can check the equipment and order more shampoo and pomade and talc and those little paper cups for coffee, the sandalwood scented shave cream that lingers on his hands, and the Barbicide that spills on Nico’s shirt when he drops the scissors and combs into the jars of disinfectant too hard sometimes.
So Sunday mornings mean shopping with Mom. And Lucas.
Who stands in front of the automatic doors with his hand held up flat, as if he’s using The Force to open them. But Nico knows they’re motion sensitive and it has nothing to do with Star Wars. And yet somehow Lucas is the one who gets straight A’s.
Mom hands them each a list of produce items. His has:
Cantaloupe
Sugar Snap Peas
Red Bell Pepper (two)
Lucas darts off right away, shoving past Nico to get a head start. Lucas’ left shoe is untied and his pants are three inches too short, his T-shirt has a hole in the seam of one sleeve and is for a TV show called Earthworm Jim that isn’t even on TV anymore. Nico glares at him, then moves on to his list.
Sugar Snap Peas is easy. Nico picks crunchy pea pods without any brown spots or broken tops. Makes sure they’re firm and bright green. He gets a plastic bag and uses the tongs to carefully scoop in just enough for four servings.
The Red Bell Pepper (two) is next in the produce section, stuck in with the vegetables even though Nico learned ages ago that bell peppers aren’t vegetables because they have seeds. Like kindergarten ages ago. He finds two bright crisp no mushy-spot peppers. He notices they match his shirt: long-sleeve button down, red. Suspenders, red and black striped. Black pants. He’s also wearing the black and white saddle shoes he requested for his tenth birthday that are still in tiptop shape four months later, even though Mom thought they were too fancy for a boy who plays baseball in the mud sometimes.
As if he would wear saddle shoes to play baseball.
Lucas finishes first, because he picks the very first fruits and vegetables he can get his hands on. Lucas’ list:
Apples (he gets baking apples even though the apples are to be packed for school lunches and not baked into pies. Three of them. Why three? Who knows.)
Spinach (loose) (he gets mixed greens with spinach. Prewashed. Not the same thing. Sigh.)
Bananas (some of them have spots already. They’ll go bad too fast and his mom will make banana bread with walnuts with them. Yuck.)
Sunday morning grocery store visits with Mom means Lucas will brag about winning the grocery-treasure-hunt contest and Mom will say, boys! Enough. It doesn’t matter who wins.
But it’s fine, because Nico knows who really won. And it’s the guy who would never choose a mushy brown spotted honey dew melon which is not “basically a cantaloupe” Lucas, because some people have taste and standards.
It’s him. The real winner. Nico. Just to be clear. Lucas does The Force again on the way out. Nico rolls his eyes. Sigh.
