Author Name: CJane Elliott
Book Name: There You Are
Series: Wild and Precious
Book: Two
Series should be read in order to best
appreciate this book
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27919852-there-you-are
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG
Release
Date: December 23, 2015
Blurb:
Bisexual musician Cody Bellstrom is a free spirit, easygoing
and unattached. On a cross-country trip, Cody befriends young Sandy Nixon and
gets him safely to Portland and his uncle, Phineas MacDonald. Beautiful Phineas
turns Cody’s life upside down, and Cody learns he's not as unattached as he
aspires to be. With the hard-won knowledge of what lies underneath his need to
be free, Cody wins a chance at real freedom and true love.
Ever since his longtime lover Allen died, Phineas MacDonald
has lived a circumscribed life. He stopped performing as fierce drag queen
Phanny Hill and works part-time in a bookstore. Phineas never expected to find love
again. But when sexy and caring Cody Bellstrom turns up, Phineas feels his
orderly life slipping out of his control. Cody brings him alive again, but now
Phineas must find the courage to let go of his grief over Allen and give love a
second chance.
Pages or Words: 33,000 words
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Gay
Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance
Excerpt:
“YOU
SURE about this?” Bette’s pointed glance packed a world of meaning as she
maneuvered the car through the DC traffic and Union Station came into view.
Cody
shifted, touching the door handle to ready his escape. “Yes, I’m sure. Didn’t
we go over this?” In excruciating detail, he added silently but didn’t
dare say aloud. Not with the mood Bette was in.
“I’m
giving you one more chance to come to your senses.” Bette pulled up outside the
train station, frowning, and turned off the engine.
She
looked so unhappy, Cody wanted to change his mind. I can’t, he thought.
Won’t,
you mean,
said the Bette in his head. He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers.
“You’ll get along fine without me.”
“That’s
not the point.” She nailed him with a baleful scowl. “We don’t want to get
along without you. Dang you, Cody Bellstrom, you have no idea who you are to
us.” At his puzzled expression, she turned away and stared stonily through the
windshield.
“Well…
I guess this is it.” Cody waited, but she didn’t respond. “I love you, girl,
you know that, right? You and Aurora.” He meant it. He, Bette, and Aurora had
been friends since they were college freshmen ten and a half years ago. Cody
sometimes found it hard to believe that he’d known them since before Bette and
Aurora had become a couple. It seemed like they’d been together forever.
A
barely perceptible nod.
“Come
on, Bette, don’t be mad. I’ll be back. I swear.”
“Sure
you will.” She sighed and turned a softer face toward him. “Goddammit, you
better. We love you. If you gotta do this, of course we can’t stop you. All we
want is for you to be happy.”
A
car honked behind them, and a uniformed officer motioned them to get moving.
“Shoot,”
Bette muttered. “All right, babe. Get outta here.”
Cody
leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll text. And call. And Skype.”
“Okay.
Send us a postcard from every stop, and take a picture of yourself in Powell’s
Books when you get to Portland.”
“Will
do.”
Cody
opened the door and unfurled himself from the passenger seat, then hauled out
his luggage, such as it was. He traveled light; always had. A knapsack, one
rolling suitcase, and his guitar, and he was good to go.
He
stood on the curb and waved as Bette pulled away, then strode into the station,
his spirits lifting, while Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” played on a loop
in his mind.
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Also in the series:
Wild and Precious
Blurb:
Aspiring writer Brent Granger has good friends and a great job at an arts magazine in DC, but he’s batting zero in the arena of love. Brent begins to get a clue why things aren’t working with women from his strong attraction to his gorgeous, gay, and already attached boss, Graham Stoneford. When he sees a personal ad from a man that quotes his favorite poet, Brent decides to do something wild and answer.
Enter Cody Bellstrom, easygoing bisexual musician, who is happy to initiate Brent in the ways of gay sex. Brent now has a new problem: he realizes he’s gay and no one in his life knows it. Cody tires of hiding their relationship, but Brent finds it challenging to come out to family, friends, and especially to Graham. In the end, Brent must confront the truth of where – and with whom – his heart lies.
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Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing CJane Elliott, author of There You Are.
Hi CJane, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a
little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hi there! Thank you for having me on the blog today to share about
my new novella, There You Are, which
is the second book in the Wild and Precious series. There You Are picks up the story of Cody Bellstrom where we left
him in Wild and Precious. He moves to
Portland , Oregon
By the way, a third story in the
series, Sand-Man’s Family, will be
released by Dreamspinner in the spring. It’s the story of Phineas’s nephew,
Sandy Nixon—his coming out and running away from home, and what happens to him
after the events of There You Are.
1) How
do you develop your plots and characters?
My most productive
way of developing plots is by discussing my ideas with other people – my beta
readers, fellow writers, or friends and family. I remember getting one of my
best ideas by talking to my son, who was then 19. There’s something about
getting out of my own head and into communication with others that helps spur
good ideas.
For characters, I use
a few tools to build their back story. One is a sheet that asks stuff like
fears, strengths, past relationships, where they grew up, etc. And I also do a
process on their emotional landscape that I learned in a workshop.
2) Who
doesn’t love a good hero? Tell us about your protagonist. Was there a real life
inspiration behind them?
Cody Bellstrom was not based on
anyone in particular in real life, but he’s a particular type – the easygoing
free spirit who doesn’t want to be tied down. Cody’s an appealing guy,
supportive and warm. But he only stays a few years in one place before he moves
on. He doesn’t see the problem in this, until he falls deeply in love with
Phineas MacDonald, and suddenly his need to keep moving (and not get tied down)
is warring with his growing attachment to Phineas. Even worse for Cody, he
discovers that where Phineas is concerned, Cody is anything but easygoing. He’s
dismayed to find out that he has a jealous streak a mile wide lurking under
that chill surface. But he’s in love, so now he has a problem. As Cody
struggles to resolve these tensions, he finally has to confront the wisdom in
the saying: No matter where you go, there
you are.
3) What
real-life inspirations do you use when world building?
One of my
inspirations is the writer Anne Tyler. She has written so many brilliant novels
about ordinary people living ordinary lives. But she has a way of drawing the
reader in and making us care for her characters.
4) Did
you learn anything from this book and what was it?
I learned that I
enjoy writing more mature characters, although I still haven’t had an MC over
40. Most of my MCs have ranged in age from 18 to 30. But Phineas is the advanced
old age of 38 and he’s gone through a lot, what with his first partner of 12
years dying of cancer. It made him interesting to write, because he didn’t have
the same set of concerns as a 20 year old has.
5) It’s
your last meal on earth. What do you choose?
Pasta. And then chocolate. With
red wine. The three major food groups!
Meet the author:
After years of hearing characters
chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper
and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys
writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has
traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too,
traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy
ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ
equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.
In her spare time, CJane can be
found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son
support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched
over, staring intensely at her laptop.
Where to find the author:
E-mail: cjaneelliott@gmail.com
Website: http://www.cjaneelliott.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjane.elliott
Tour Dates & Stops:
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Prize: Any book from CJane’s backlist
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