Anyone But You by Brien Michaels - Blgo Tour with Author Guest Post and Giveaway

About Anyone But You

Murder is one hell of a drag.

Jack Kieza has a problem. He’s deeply attracted to men, but his homophobic family has left him too afraid to act on it. With his thirtieth birthday around the corner, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he finds himself at a gay club. After spending a fiery night with drag queen Sheila Saltue, everything changes. Especially when he discovers her alter ego: his boss, Ryan Swift.

Ryan knew he should’ve said no the second Jack approached him. Now he can’t stop himself from texting Jack every chance he gets. But Jack won’t let him take the wig off during sex, and being Sheila off-stage is wearing thin.

The more time they spend together, the more intense their feelings get, but Jack isn’t ready to date a man yet. When drag queens start turning up murdered, it forces Jack to reexamine his feelings, because what if Ryan is next? While Jack wants their burgeoning relationship to work, it would mean having to admit who he is to the world. And that’s an idea as frightening as death.

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

Thank you so much for having me!

For anyone who is new to my particular brand of…er…crazy, my name is Brien Michaels and I write erotic romance. And dark erotic romance. And sometimes even all out horror. I grew up reading Stephen King, so I can be a little twisted at times. Welcome to my Anyone But You blog tour! I’ll be checking in all day, so absolutely feel free to comment if you’d like to chat. J

Today I want to talk about inspiration. For the most part, I am what we call in the writing community a Pantser. Which basically means I rarely plot or outline ahead of time and just write by the seat of my pants. This book was a little different because I was trying my hand at writing a Romantic Suspense, and I needed to know who the killer was ahead of time and where to drop in certain clues. So I planned the whole thing out around fairly early on in the process. And by the time I got to the end, the only thing that remained the same was the identity of the killer. The story took on a life of its own, as I should have known it would.

But there was one particular scene that really marked a turning point and not only changed the course of the story, but also gave me (and I hope anyone who decides to read it) a deeper insight into why one of my characters is the way he is.

I always listen to music as I write, and this one day, as I was starting my writing session, I put my phone on shuffle and this Taylor Swift song was the first up. The song is called The Moment I Knew, and Taylor describes it as being a song about the worst birthday of her life. I’d heard the song countless times before, but that day, it hit me differently. Jack (the character in question) was turning 30 during the course of the story, and I’d never planned on introducing his family. I’d never planned on giving him a birthday party on the page. But all of a sudden, he was standing in the middle of this huge party room his parents had booked for him, watching everyone around him have a great time while he’s waiting for the only person he actually wants to be there to walk through the door. And as he interacts with his family over the course of the chapter, I learned so much more about him, to the point where I actually fell a little for him myself.

But does he get what he wants? I dunno. But I highly recommend you check out the book if you want to find out the answer.

About Brien Michaels

Brien Michaels was hatched shortly before the turn of the century. He grew up in the DMV area and has been creating characters for as long as he can remember, starting with an imaginary friend named Farquad Beaverhausen. Before turning his considerably wicked imagination to writing, he was an actor, aspiring film student, movie theater concessionist, and the first human to enter the seventy-second dimension. Though it is unclear whether he made it back or if Farquad’s evil twin, Brad, has taken control of his body. He’s currently on the run from the Secret Police, who want to bring him in for questioning regarding the whereabouts of erotica authors L.A. Witt and Lauren Gallagher. If you encounter him, please contact his publishers immediately, as he likely should be chained to a desk writing and not out walking children in nature.

Twitter: @BrienMichaels

Giveaway

To celebrate this release, one lucky person will win a $10 gift card to Riptide. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 14, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!