26 September 2012

GLBT Madness Hop- Road Trip




I have traveled across the United States by car many, many times.  One of the things that I absolutely love about the open road and doing nothing but looking out the windscreen is the time it gives my mind to wander and think up stories.  And this is exactly how I thought up You Can Run, a story about two different types of men who fall in love. 

This was my first venture into writing GLBT but these two men just called out to me.  Delaney Vance is an ex-soldier who watched his entire squad fall victim to hidden bombs.  When he lost it, the Army cut him lose and now he drives a big rig because he has trouble being around people because of his lingering PTSD.  Kyle Hardigan took a photo that could ruin his family.  But his mind is having difficulty coping with what he saw, so he’s on the run until he can figure things out.  Both men are dealing with issues and they each find a haven in each other’s arms.

I’ve always wanted to be the type of writer who diversifies her stories.  This can be a good and bad thing because on one hand I can appeal to a wide variety of readers, but on the other hand, I can repel those readers for that same reason.  Writers are readers and I will be the first to admit readers are a fickle lot.  We tend to stick to what we know; afraid to spend the ungodly amount of money for a paperback in case we won’t like it.  But that’s the beauty of ebooks, I suppose.  It’s easy, ok, and not so much of a risk to branch out of the comfort zone. 

I realize that there will be readers out there who won’t like my writing style or agree with stuff I write about.  I can’t please everyone, right?  But that’s not my fear.  My fear is that my stories will become boring, the romance tepid, the passion between my characters forced and unbelievable.  So finding new ways to gather inspiration, for me, is important.  Perhaps that’s why I don’t mind road trips so much, they help my brain jumpstart into finding characters who are unique, different, and whose love is just waiting to be explored. 

And since You Can Run was published, I branched out my GLBT stories with In A Chord and the upcoming The Song Bird, which comes out October 10th.  I’ll be having a contest to win a free copy so please check back that day!  In the meantime, to win a FREE PDF COPY of You Can Run, just leave a comment about the first GLBT book you ever read!  One winner will be drawn on October 1st so make sure to leave a way I can contact you!  Thanks for visiting and make sure you check out the other blogs on this hop at this link: 


30 comments:

  1. Oh wow. The first M/M book I read was Gemini by Chris Owen. I gues that one was actually M/M/M. May be I should have started off with a little less controversial book, but I was hooked! tmadamski(at)msn(dot)com

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  2. So many books so little time :)

    musings-of-a-bookworm@hotmail.co.uk

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  3. Thanks for taking part in the hop! I can't remember the first M/M book I read. Probably Tales of the City?

    kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com

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  4. thank for doing this hop
    The was the Heaven Sent series which I'm reread right now again.
    mfierydrgn@aol.com

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  5. my first experience was with JR Wards Blay and Qhuinn storyline, but my first m/m book was Faith & Fidelity. It touched me so deeply :) sstogner1 at gmail dot com

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  6. Gosh can't remember the first m/m book I read. Thanks for being part of the hop.
    skpetal at hotmail dot com

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  7. I've been reading m/m for a while now. Started with fanfiction and branched out from there. Still can't remember the first m/m book I read though.

    siteno.ebulu@gmail.com

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  8. Goodness, what a simple question, but so hard to answer! I think I ended up here via Suzanne Brockmann and Laurell K Hamilton.

    avaliereads(at)aol(dot)com

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  9. Love is love no matter where you find it. I read Uban/Roux Cut & Run and I was off. Ty & Zane are still my favorites but I’ve found a lot more out there to love.

    But now that I've read Avalie's comment I must have read Suzanne Brockmann and Laurell K Hamilton first but didn't think of them as m/m. I do love Jules & Robin though.

    1_trouble at msn dot com

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  10. My first was 'Timing' by Mary Calmes. Love her books!


    gisu29(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  11. Oh my goodness, now you're making me think hard. I think it was Lee Rowan's Ransom.

    This story sounds pretty good. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.

    sophiarose1816 at gmail dot com

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  12. I think the first GLBT book I read was "the Persian Boy" by Mary Renault. I remember being shocked and intrigued. I started reading it again years later when I stumbled on an early Josh Lanyon book in a public library. Been hooked ever since!

    brendurbanist AT gmail DOT com

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  13. I've got some great titles now to add to my Books to Read! Thanks! I'm really interested in reading JR Ward's book with Blay & Qhuinn, too. I stopped reading them after Book 6 but this one sounds interesting! Thanks all!

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  14. My first GLBT book was written by Joyee Flynn. It was the first Marius Brothers book. And I haven't looked back.

    smurfettev AT gmail DOT com

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  15. One of my first books was Love Means...by Andrew Grey.
    Yvette
    yratpatrol@aol.com

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  16. My first was The Last Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey. Then I found Amy Lane and now I am addicted to all things m/m. chellebee66(at)gmail(dot)com

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  17. The first gay-themed book I read was David Leddick's MY WORST DATE. I still read his photo books, but wasn't really into his fiction. I love m/m, though!

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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  18. I can't recal the title it was years and many books ago! I know it was a MMF book that was part of a series, I loved the MM part so much I looked for books with no F part!
    Thanks for participating!
    OceanAkers @ aol.com

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  19. My first title was Spice 'N' Solace, by K.C. Burn. I totally fell for gay romance there. I'd already been reading slash and yaoi, so I was bound to fall for gay fiction as well ^.^ And then I started writing it, too! Very cool to read about how you get your ideas. I'm about to do a road trip after GRL this year.

    Erica Pike
    eripike at gmail dot com

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  20. I truly don't remember, but I think it was a non-erotic mystery by Ellen Hart or another mystery series by a male author who lives in Wisconsin. The main character is an editor and has 2 sons, one of whom is in a wheelchair.

    acm05atjuno.com

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  21. oh wow... this story sounds amazing! I want it bad! lol...
    I will never forget the first MM book I read. It was just... amazing and pulled me in like nothing else ever has again... I can still remember every detail now.
    It was Bareback by Chris Owen.
    ;) though if you want true specifics, the first true mm I read was a manga, that got me into yaoi before american gay novels, It was called FAKE.

    Thanks for the opportunity to win!

    Judi
    arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  22. Judi, I have the whole series of FAKE! I loved it. My first yaoi was a novel called "Only the Ring Finger Knows" and it hooked me immediately! I also found Tanya Huff's "The Fire's Stone" and Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. I was so hooked! This was before e-readers so I felt very alone with wanting to read MM romance.

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  23. My first M/M romance was Dolphin Dreams by Jules Jones. Got me absolutely hooked.

    dannyfiredragon@aol.com

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  24. My first m/m romance was Calvin's Cowboy. I got it for free. It wasn't earth shattering, but it was good enough to convince me to read more.

    shawny dot jeann at gmail.com

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  25. Hi. I believe it was "The Doctor's Patience" By Stormy Glenn. I was hooked after that. Thanks for being a part of this great Blog Hop.

    Chris
    ceagles48218@yahoo.com

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  26. I think it might have been JL Langley's Without Reservations, still a favorite. There have been hundred's since and I am old so the memory is not what it used to be.

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  27. I don't even remember, it's been so long. I know I started out though reading slash fanfiction, so that was my real beginning in the m/m genre. That and yaoi.

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  28. I can't remember my first book since it has been a long time and so many books later.
    cvsimpkins@msn.com

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  29. First one I ever read was an anthology by the name of Curious. It gives a sampling of various authors and sub genres in M/M. I always recommend that one if a person shows interest.

    Kassandra
    sionedkla@gmail.com

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  30. Can't remember the title.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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