'Location, location, location' and all about Comfort and Joy by Charley Descoteaux

Please give Charley Descoteaux a warm welcome to my blog!  She's here today to talk about the importance of location in writing, as well as her steamy new m-m romance, Comfort and Joy .  I am still drooling over the excerpt included at the bottom of this post.  It woke me up better than coffee this morning!

Take it away, Charley...


I really love stories where the setting is so important it's almost like another character. This is partly because I'm a die-hard Trekkie. Gene Roddenberry insisted every story be one that could only happen in the Star Trek universe, and I guess that attitude rubbed off on me.


'Willston', OregonI fell in love with the Northwest when I moved here over twenty years ago, so it's only natural my Romances are set here! The story I'm working on right now is set in the busy heart of the city, but my debut novella Comfort and Joy is set in the rural area I moved to in the late 1980s. The name has been changed—there isn't a Willston in Oregon, even if there are a few in the U.S. Many places on the farm and in town are real, though. I've just gathered them up across three or four towns in the area and plunked them into my own fictional world. It's amazing to me how many different settings are within an hour's drive or less from where I live now—from the turnout on the two-lane highway where Sam pulls over on their way to the farm, to the layout of the hundred year-old farm house. My favorite one didn't make the cut in this story but if you’re standing on the White’s kitchen porch it’s right up the rise in front of you, a pond surrounded by tall Alders and from a distance the trees look like a chef's hat.

From outer space to a small town in New Mexico, the stories that stay with me the most have a deep sense of place.

What are some of your favorite stories with settings so vivid they seem almost like characters?

Tagline & blurb for Comfort and Joy :

How much love does it take to heal the wounds of hate?

Sam and Charlie have been together over a decade, and their commitment to each other has only grown stronger through the years. But love isn't always easy, and eighteen months after a violent assault, their fairy-tale relationship is still struggling. Charlie can’t shake the lingering fear of attracting more violence by displaying affection, and he's angry at himself for not getting past it. Sam would do anything to help Charlie feel better—if only he knew what that was.

The century-old farmhouse in Northwest Oregon is the perfect place to spend the holidays with Sam’s family, but it was their refuge after the attack, and it still holds painful memories of those difficult first months. Christmas should be a joyful time, but even being surrounded by people who love him isn’t enough to make Charlie feel safe. He could try to keep to himself, but even if Sam agreed to give him the space he needs, Sam’s warm and loving family might not. And even though they agreed not to exchange gifts, Sam has a surprise up his sleeve that he hopes will make everything merry and bright. But he may end up more surprised than Charlie before the week is out…

Excerpt:

Sam continued up the stairs, considering how to go about putting Charlie’s perfect ass on a piano bench became entangled with the unfortunate fact that as long as they slept upstairs they would be showering separately. He gave Charlie first chance at the hot water and then sped through his shower as fast as he could. Sam stopped just inside the bedroom door and closed it quietly. He towelled his hair and let his gaze linger on Charlie, lying still on top of the quilt, bare feet on the floor, partially covered with a green towel. A slice of moonlight filtered through the curtain on the opposite wall and across Charlie's body, which was a work of art even when not bathed in romantic mood-lighting. After a few moments Sam realized Charlie was also watching him.

Charlie flipped the towel up and away from his body and Sam felt as though someone had just grabbed him by the throat. After barely a heartbeat’s hesitation he strode to the foot of the bed and leaned over Charlie to kiss him. Sam’s free hand caressed his slender chest and shoulders. When he felt goose bumps Sam lowered himself over Charlie but kept all his weight on both knees and one hand. 

Sam moaned softly and moved his dark hand over the fair skin on Charlie’s abs. He hadn’t regained any of the bulk he’d lost but made up for it with dizzying definition and a solidity he hadn’t had before.

“Vanilla ice cream.” Sam began to kiss his way down Charlie’s chest and felt a cool hand on his head exerting a gentle pressure, urging him lower.

“You’re lactose intolerant.”

Sam looked up and grinned for a short moment, then slipped down even farther. “I’ll just have to lick you instead.”

BIO:

Charley Descoteaux has always loved stories and began writing them down to appease the characters in her head who insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough. Home is Portland, Oregon, where the weather is like your favorite hard-case writing buddy who won’t let you get away with taking too many days off, and in some places you can be as weird as you are without fear.

Buy Links:

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

All Romance eBooks

Rattle Charley's cages:

Blog:  http://cdescoteauxwrites.wordpress.com/

Facebook Author Page:  http://www.facebook.com/CharleyDescoteauxAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CharleyDescote

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13665577-charley-descoteaux

e-mail:  c.descoteauxwrites@gmail.com


I'm guesting on Charley's blog today...come visit!  Guest Author, Sue Lyndon