Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Where the Grass is Greener by Debbie McGowan and Raine O'Tierney






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, thats for sure. But was it the night of passion? Or walking away afterward?
Thats 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. Hes 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 theres Chanceys daughter who mood swings from angel to demon in two seconds flat; on the other theres the new lodger, hogging Shays 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 Seamuss 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:
Youre quiet today, Seamus. Whats up? the landlord asked.
Just tired, is all. Got a leaky roof and the fecker was drippin all the damn night. And didnt I get up this morning and kick the bucket?
You look alive and well to me, so you do. I say wellyou look like shite.
Yeah, thanks very much. Think Ill go join the lads, see if I cant 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 Seamuss teeth on edge. John was right: he was dog-tired and probably did look like shite. Hed 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. Hed made the move. Hed come back to Ireland. Thats what hed wanted all along.
He had wanted it. Ever since Mam died, his sights had been set on coming home. Hed only stayed for Paddys 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 hed 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, its so good to hear your voice.
Er, yeah. Yours too. Whats up? Has something happened?
Nothing new. I just…”
The rapid-hard thump of Seamuss 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 hadnt picked up. Lord, the shit that might have come tumbling out of Chanceys mouth. Now he was dead sober, but only slightly more composed. Had he really just said hed 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 gs. His grandmotherwho was from south Texas and who had an accent so deep it was digging itself a hole to the centre of the Earthused to yell at him when hed get lazy with his words.
You jus sound ignrant, 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 Os, 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 didnt expect to hear from you, thats 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.
Isnt this call costing you a million dollars?
Skype. On my phone. I bought minutes, yknow?
Is that right then?
But I didnt think. Its probably charging you too.
Its fine.
Is it? Seamus sure as hell wasnt saying much. There was a long pause as Chancey considered his next move. Hed called because hed 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 hed 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:  


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 worldone 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, shes one half of a collaborative team with author Debbie McGowan.
When shes 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 youre 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:

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

4 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new release Debbie and Raine how do you decide on your characters names?

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    Replies
    1. I 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!

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    2. LOL. 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.

      Seamus'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

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  2. Thank you SO MUCH for hosting us <3

    ReplyDelete