Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Whispers of Home by April Kelley - Keep Me In Mind Blog Tour with Author Post and Giveaway



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 Bookshttp://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:
If you wish to contact her please email mailto:authoraprilkelley@gmail.com.
You can also find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/april.ott.12?fref=ts

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*


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’



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