I’m excited to have Debbie McGowan & Raine
O’Tierney, authors of Where the Grass is
Greener, on the Book Blog today!
Hi Debbie & Raine, thank you for agreeing to
this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your
current book.
Hello! We’re
Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney, two halves of a fantastic writing whole. We
started collaborating early in 2015 and we’ve been writing recklessly together
ever since! Our new book is Where the
Grass is Greener (book 2 of The Seeds
of Tyrone)--in addition, we’re working on book three, have almost completed
a new humorous intrigue book, and are about halfway into something dark and
mysterious. Any time our queue gets low, we just add things to the pile!
Say
something to your fans.
We are genuinely honored and humbled (and
frankly, still flabbergasted!) by all the love and support we’ve received for
our character-driven stories. We’re very alike in our thinking as
collaborators--especially when it comes to writing ‘stories that happen to feature
LGBT characters’ vs. writing “gay romance” or “lesbian romance” and it’s so
exciting to have others who read our work and (seem!) to enjoy these concepts
as well. Of course, as a writer, you create for yourself, but when you then put
that creation out in the world, it’s a whole different basket of bananas.
(Raine really wanted to say basket of bananas.) And we don’t know anyone who
doesn’t care (even just a little…) if their work is appreciated. We certainly
do! (Though we try to play it off like we're unaffected by bad reviews.) So...thank you. YOU and your continued
support are absolutely the reason we continue to publish.
x Raine &
Debbie
Blurb:
Mistakes were made, that’s for sure. But was it the night of passion? Or
walking away afterward?
That’s
the question Seamus Williams must face when he gets a late night phone call
from someone he never expects to hear from again.
“I
miss you, Shay.”
Chancey Bo Clearwater is a cowboy through and
through. He spends his days finding work on whatever ranch will take him and
his nights at the pool hall. He’s
always done what needed doing and never thought much about what he wanted. ’Til that drunken night with Seamus.
A world of problems now stand between Seamus
and Chancey exploring what might have been, the least of which being the
Atlantic Ocean. On one side there’s
Chancey’s
daughter who mood swings from angel to demon in two seconds flat; on the other
there’s the new lodger, hogging
Shay’s telly and his cornflakes,
and making private Skype time hard to come by.
Is this relationship doomed before it ever
begins? Or can a surprise announcement from Seamus’s brother be enough to help the two find their
second chance?
Where
the Grass is Greener features Seamus Williams – the older brother of Patrick from Leaving Flowers.
Pages or Words: 75,000 words
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary,
Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Western/Cowboy
Excerpt:
“You’re quiet today, Seamus. What’s up?”
the landlord asked.
“Just
tired, is all. Got a leaky roof and the fecker was drippin’ all the damn night. And didn’t I get up this morning and kick the bucket?”
“You
look alive and well to me, so you do. I say well…you
look like shite.”
“Yeah,
thanks very much. Think I’ll
go join the lads, see if I can’t
get a few more insults thrown at me.”
Seamus gave the landlord a wry grin and went
over to the others, who were already well into the first of the three games
they got in every lunchtime. He watched one of them take a bad shot and
accidentally pot the black, the clunking of the ball as it rolled its way
through the machinery of the table setting Seamus’s
teeth on edge. John was right: he was dog-tired and probably did look like
shite. He’d
barely slept after the missed call, trying to decide whether to return it or
not. His mind played tricks on him, one minute convincing him it was urgent and
he should call back, the next telling him to stay strong. He’d made the move. He’d come back to Ireland. That’s what he’d
wanted all along.
He had wanted it. Ever since Mam died, his
sights had been set on coming home. He’d
only stayed for Paddy’s
sake, and now Paddy had Aidan there was nothing to keep Seamus in the States,
although he was no further away from his brother now than he had been in
Kansas. Never mind that he’d
already made the decision before he knew Aidan even existed. No. It was a good
decision. He was just—
He already knew, before he pulled his phone
from his pocket: same Kansas number, same caller. His thumb hovered over the
red button. Reject the call. Reject the call.
He answered.
“Seamus
Williams.”
“At
last! I thought I was calling a wrong number. Man, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Er,
yeah. Yours too. What’s
up? Has something happened?”
“Nothing
new. I just…”
The rapid-hard thump of Seamus’s heart filled the pause, two seconds, three,
four, and more. He drew breath to speak, but there was nothing to be said. Or
nothing he should say.
“I
miss you, Shay.”
***
The first call had been a drunk dial. Thank the
heavenly father that Seamus Williams hadn’t
picked up. Lord, the shit that might have come tumbling out of Chancey’s mouth. Now he was dead sober, but only
slightly more composed. Had he really just said he’d missed Seamus? He tried for a laugh. It
sounded as fake as it felt. Well he had missed Seamus. Nothin’ wrong with that.
“You
gonna say somethin’?” He knew he was putting on the accent. Drawing
out his vowels, droppings his g’s.
His grandmother—who
was from south Texas and who had an accent so deep it was digging itself a hole
to the centre of the Earth—used
to yell at him when he’d
get lazy with his words.
You jus’
sound ign’rant,
Chancey Bo Clearwater. Full name, cue snickering cousins, and young Chancey
sank down low in his chair, ashamed at the way he sounded despite the fact they
all talked just alike. The accent followed him when he moved to Oklahoma, where
he picked up a whole set of strange ‘O’s, and even having lived in Kansas now for the
better part of his life, it was still there underneath, just waiting to crop up
in stressful situations.
“I
didn’t expect to hear from you,
that’s all.”
“Surprise.” He was trying for friendly, for calm. Trying
to keep the I wanna put my fist through the wall and did you really mean to let
me find out through Lulu? out of his voice.
“Isn’t this call costing you a million dollars?”
“Skype.
On my phone. I bought minutes, y’know?”
“Is
that right then?”
“But
I didn’t
think. It’s
probably charging you too.”
“It’s fine.”
Is it? Seamus sure as hell wasn’t saying much. There was a long pause as
Chancey considered his next move. He’d
called because he’d
wanted to talk. Not talk. Not like that. Nothing to say on that front. Seamus
had made it all as clear as crystal dropped in the mud when he’d left his parting message with Lulu down at
the pool hall, Rack ’Em.
In a last-ditch effort, Chancey said the only thing he could think: “Boss Tina asked after you the other day when I
went around for work.”
That got a laugh out of Seamus, which gave
Chancey more relief than he cared to admit.
Buy the book:
eBook (Beaten Track store): http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/shop/proddetail.php?prod=wtgig_format
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/577845
In celebration of the release of Where the Grass is Greener--we're having a sale on Leaving Flowers~ Normally $4.99, Leaving Flowers is on sale for 99 cents!! Available from Beaten Track Publishing | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Smashwords |
Beaten Track: Publishing:
http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/?n1=publications&id=175
All Romance eBooks:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-wherethegrassisgreener-1890311-149.html
In celebration of the release of Where the Grass is Greener--we're having a sale on Leaving Flowers~ Normally $4.99, Leaving Flowers is on sale for 99 cents!! Available from Beaten Track Publishing | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Smashwords |
Meet the authors:
DEBBIE McGOWAN is an author and publisher based
in a semi-rural corner of Lancashire, England. She writes character-driven,
realist fiction, celebrating life, love and relationships. A working class
girl, she ‘ran
away’ to London at seventeen, was
homeless, unemployed and then homeless again, interspersed with animal rights
activism (all legal, honest ;)) and volunteer work as a mental health advocate.
At twenty-five, she went back to college to study social science— tough with two toddlers, but they had a ‘stay at home’
dad, so it worked itself out. These days, the toddlers are young women (much to
their chagrin), and Debbie teaches undergraduate students, writes novels and
runs an independent publishing company, occasionally grabbing an hour of sleep
where she can.
RAINE O'TIERNEY wants to change the world…one sweet story at a time.
Known as "The Queen of the Sweetness"
(well, a few people have said it anyway!) Raine loves writing sweet,
character-driven stories about first loves, first times, fidelity,
forever-endings and...friskiness? In addition to her solo works, she’s one half of a collaborative team with author
Debbie McGowan.
When she’s
not writing, Raine is either playing video games or fighting the good fight for
intellectual freedom at her library day job. She believes the best thing we can
do in life is be kind to one another, and she enjoys encouraging fellow
writers.
Contact her if you’re interested in talking about point-and-click
adventure games or discussing which dachshunds are the best kinds of dachshunds!
Where to find the authors:
Debbie's Social Media Links
Twitter: twitter.com/writerdebmcg
Facebook: facebook.com/DebbieMcGowanAuthor and
facebook.com/beatentrackpublishing
YouTube: youtube.com/deb248211
Tumblr: writerdebmcg.tumblr.com
LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/writerdebmcg
Google+: plus.google.com/+DebbieMcGowan
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/4401329.Debbie_McGowan
Website: debbiemcgowan.co.uk
Raine's Social Media Links
Homepage: Raineotierney.com
LGBT Author Interviews: raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
Twitter: twitter.com/RaineOTierney
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/7770350.Raine_O_Tierney
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Cover
Artist: Debbie McGowan
Tour Dates & Stops:
30-Sep
- All I Want and
More Books
9-Oct
- My Fiction Nook, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Inked
Rainbow Reads,
MM Good Book
Reviews
Rafflecopter
Prize: e-copy of one Debbie McGowan title and an
e-copy of one Raine O'Tierney title (winner's preference of file type and
title)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations on your new release Debbie and Raine how do you decide on your characters names?
ReplyDeleteI purposely try to choose names I know will drive Debbie insane... ;) I love unique and unusual names. I like to make up my own. When Debs and I first started collaborating, she made crazy eyes at my names. I don't think I can even shock her anymore!
DeleteLOL. Yes, it's all true! I'm terrible at pronouncing names I haven't heard before, and Raine is a champion chooser of names I haven't heard before.
DeleteSeamus's name...it came from Leaving Flowers, and I can't recall how we decided on it. Probably 'what's a good Irish name we could use?' :D
Thank you SO MUCH for hosting us <3
ReplyDelete