.jpg)
Book Name: Whispers of Home
Series? Yes.
Number: Book one.
Author Name: April Kelley
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Cover Artist: Carmen Waters
Blurb:
All Jaron
McAllister wanted to do was get out of the small town where he grew up. After
being bullied all his life for being gay, that’s exactly what he does. He
loses all contact with everyone in the town of Pickleville, including
his emotionally distant mother and the only true friend he ever had.
When his best friend and mother of the child they share,
get murdered he knows he must ask for help in the one place he thought he
would never go back to. Coming back home isn’t easy and finding himself
attracted to the town man-slut spells disaster. Travis Heath isn’t at all what
his reputation suggests though.
Categories:
Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance
Sales Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Home-Pickleville-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00TVTOXYUeXtasy Books: http://www.extasybooks.com/Whispers-of-Home/?author_id=1031
Excerpt:
Jaron looked through the window of the diner from across
the street. His mother’s hands gripped a mug, probably full of coffee. Jaron
thought he was meeting Brian but apparently Brian had other plans. Brian
always did think he knew best, the bastard. Jaron was fully aware his oldest
friend had set this up, probably getting in touch with Gloria McAllister right
after Jaron had called the first time, telling her when Jaron would be here.
Brian had never understood that the relationship Jaron and Gloria had wasn’t
like the relationship Brian had with his own father.
Looking at his mom through the glass was like watching a
movie of her. He had never felt the connection with his mom that he thought he
should, even as a small child. Maybe that had been his fault. That he wasn’t
quite what she wanted in a son and therefore kept just enough distance to make
it seem like miles. Which was why he was confused she had come instead of
Brian.
When he was eighteen years old he had thought he left
because of a burning desire to fit in somewhere, because he certainly hadn’t
fit in very well in Pickleville. He needed that connection to another human
being, that knowing he was so important to another human being they just
couldn’t live without him. Ironically, it was a five year old boy he felt
unconditionally connected too. Now that he knew the unconditional love a
parent felt for their child, he wondered at his mother’s parental instincts.
He stood on the sidewalk in front of what used to be a
place called the Hobbyist’s Dream but was now an Asian market. He noticed the
place was empty when he had arrived but his back was turned now, his complete
attention on the woman in the window. He thought the Asian place probably
wouldn’t have lasted long back in the day. Who knows now? The diner was the
only one in town, or was until they put in a McDonald’s by the highway. Jaron
hadn’t realized that things in this town could change until the bus passed by
the fast food restaurant. Somehow he expected everything to be the same, as if
time would stand still just because he didn’t feel any different now that he
was here.
Standing here, he felt that maybe he left to put the
physical miles between himself and the only parent he had ever known. He had
never fit in with her either.
He felt a tug on his hand and looked down at sweet blue
eyes. This small boy was as dependent on the next few minutes and the woman in
the window as he was. “I’m thirsty,” Bobby said, around the thumb in his
mouth.
“Me too. Let’s go.” Jaron stepped off the curb and onto the
street, gripping onto Bobby’s hand just a little tighter, pausing for a car,
and then continuing until he came within inches of his mother, the glass the
only barrier now. She looked directly at him, showing more emotion in those
few seconds than he had ever seen from her during his entire childhood. He
looked away and walked through the door of the restaurant.
Pages or Words: 44,597 words
Author Bio:
Born and
raised in Southwest Michigan, April lives with her husband and two kids. She has been an avid reader for several
years. Writing her first story at the
age of ten, the characters in her head still won't stop telling their
stories. If April isn't reading or
writing she can be found outside playing with a farm full of animals or taking
a long walk in the woods.
Where to find the author:
What
were your 5 favorite books as a young reader? Why?
When I was growing up I went to this small religious school.
It was so small it didn’t even have a library so we had to walk to the local
library, which was just down the street. I remember my friends reading those
sweet valley high books. There were like three hundred in the series or
something like that. I hated those things and the weird drama that was created
between girls and boys in high school or whatever grade the characters were
supposed to be in. So while my friends had these tatter paperback copies of
high school books, I was sneaking stuff by Stephen King and V. C. Andrews past
my teacher. The librarian would wink at me and check me out.
1. So the first story that was truly a favorite was a story
in a collection put out by Stephen king called “Different Seasons”. While I
loved every story in that series “The Body” was my particular favorite. I read
it a million times and still own the paperback. The poor thing has been taped
back together more than once. For those that may not know, that story inspired
the movie “Stand By Me”. Of course, I own the movie too.
2. In high school, we had to read “Great Expectations” by
Charles Dickens. This story still resonates with me to this day. I think
because ultimately it’s a story about one boy doing some kind act for others
even when they weren’t so kind to him. It’s a good lesson in how people should
act and I take that lesson seriously, living it as best as I can.
3. I was introduced to Walt Whitman completely by accident.
I was in English class we were supposed to be reading a poem in our text book.
I forget the poem now, but clearly that poem was boring to me. I was flipping
through the pages and came to a Whitman poem. I remember thinking to myself,
why don’t we read good stuff like this. I managed to find a copy of “Leaves of
Grass” in my library. That book is also a book about living in the moment and
not taking the little things for granted. At least that’s what I take away from
it each time I read it, mostly anyway.
4. The “Color Purple” by Alice Walker is another favorite.
Of course I watched the movie before I read the book, that’s how I was
introduced to the book in the first place. I think every girl should read that
book. If you’ve read it then you’ll know why.
5. I did not forget Dr. Seuss. “Oh, the Places You Will Go”
is so beautifully written and sends sends such a clear message for readers of
all ages. Dr. Seuss had a way of telling a story in the simplest of ways and
still the message is clear.
So those are my five favorite books from my youth and why I
love them. All of these books taught me valuable lessons that I take with me to
this day. Now ask me what me favorite books are as an adult. That’s a very
different list. *wink, wink*
.jpg)
Tour Dates & Stops:
17-Mar
24-Mar
31-Mar
7-Apr
14-Apr
21-Apr
28-Apr
5-May
Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of
‘Whispers of Home’
No comments:
Post a Comment