I'm excited to have Toni
Griffin, author of Steps to You, on the Book Blog today!
Hi Toni, thank you for agreeing to this
interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current
book.
1)
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? I don't really know that I have any
ambitions. As long as my readers enjoy the books I write, I'm happy.
2) How
many published books do you have? Can you tell us something about them? I have
twenty-three published books at the moment.
My
best selling series would be my Holland Brothers, Werewolf paranormal with
Mpreg, set in rural Victoria, Australia. The Atherton Pack is a spin off from
this series, and is set in Atherton in the Northern Queensland.
I
have a special place in my heart for my Thompson Agency Series. This is set
around a family of Necromancers in Darwin, Australia (The city I live in).
3) Your main character wants to cook something special
for his love interest. What does he make? Who can go wrong with a home-made
lasagna, garlic bread and Caesar salad? Leo would more than happily cook
anything Ryan wants and Ryan will happily eat anything Leo cooks. It’s a good
match.
4)
What
are you working on at the moment? What’s it about? Right now I have two stories
in the editing phase. A Bear's Bear is the third book in my Smokey Mountain
Bears series. It's due for release in late October/Early November in the next
Mischief Corner Books Anthology, Travels through the scarlet equinox. It's
about Matthew, a bear shifter from the Smokey Mountains, who travels to Chicago
to visit his friend and enjoy plenty of Halloween activities. While he's there
Matthew finds out his mate is actually a Chicago Bear player and ends up having
to deal with the fall out of that.
The second book is As Fire Rains Down and is
set in northern California. It involves Ancient American Indian gods, various
different shifters and, sexy police officers and a town that is being threatened
by fire from the inside and out.
5)
Do you
aim for a set amount of words/pages per day? Short answer is no. I write when I
can, sometimes that's 3-4k a day, others, I can go several days without
actually getting to write at all… Most of the time though, when I'm writing
with no deadline looming I try for at least 1k a night.
Blurb:
Is
there something in life that you're afraid of, like heart pounding, shortness
of breath, Jesus Christ I'm going to pass out, scared? For Leo Harris that
something is heights.
Why his nosy sister would gift him with a pass for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is anybody's guess, let alone expect Leo to make it through in one piece. If it wasn't for the kindness of a sexy stranger he meets at orientation, Leo doubts he would have been able to step one foot onto the mammoth structure.
Ryan Anderson's known as a workaholic, as he has no reason not to be, that all changes in one day when he meets Leo. Ryan quickly falls head over heels as he sets out to make Leo his.
Why his nosy sister would gift him with a pass for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is anybody's guess, let alone expect Leo to make it through in one piece. If it wasn't for the kindness of a sexy stranger he meets at orientation, Leo doubts he would have been able to step one foot onto the mammoth structure.
Ryan Anderson's known as a workaholic, as he has no reason not to be, that all changes in one day when he meets Leo. Ryan quickly falls head over heels as he sets out to make Leo his.
Pages or Words: 55,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction,
M/M Romance
Excerpt:
Leo leaned against the brick wall, desperately trying to gather his
courage. All he needed to do was cross the street and enter the building
opposite. Leo had never considered doing something like this in his life. Hell,
he wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for the gift voucher his nosy sister and
her equally pain-in-the-ass husband had given him.
"You need to get out of the house more, live a
little," his sister had berated him as he'd stared down at the piece of
paper in his hands, unsure exactly what he was feeling.
"I get out plenty," Leo tried defending himself.
"No you don't, and you know it. You may physically leave the premises
to go to work and do your grocery shopping, but you never go out and have any
fun." Teresa sighed, and Leo really felt the urge to clip her across the
back of the head. "You don't go out clubbing, very rarely go to
restaurants, and you refuse point-blank to start a profile on a dating website."
There was no way Leo was putting himself out there at the mercy of all
those desperate men who were just looking for a quick hook-up. He was sure that
scattered in amongst all those horny fellas,
he might find one or two that seriously wanted a relationship, but he wasn't
willing to wade through all the toads in order to get to his prince charming.
If the man existed—and that was a big if
as far as Leo was concerned—he doubted they were fated to meet through an online
dating service.
"Teresa, I like my life. I'm happy." Once again he tried to
placate his sister, to no avail. Just because she was happily married with two-point-three children didn't mean everyone
else had to be.
"No, Leo, you're not." Teresa waved her hand in his face when
Leo started to object again. "I know you and I love you. Please just do
this for me." She fluttered her lashes at Leo.
He heaved a sigh, knowing he would give in to her, just like he always
did. As annoying and meddling as his sister could be, he did love her dearly
and couldn't imagine a world without her in it. The snickering from across the
room was not lost on Leo, but he decided to ignore Blake. After all, the man
was just as bad as Leo when it came to giving into to Teresa's demands.
Leo looked down once again at the piece of paper. "Seriously?"
Teresa laughed at him. "You're going to love it."
Somehow he doubted that.
Even now two weeks later, Leo still didn't like this idea any more than
he had when Teresa had given him the voucher for his birthday.
Leo checked his watch and sighed as he realised that if he didn't get a
move on, he would be late. He heaved himself off the brick wall and crossed the
road. Leo's stomach roiled and he hoped to Christ he wasn't going to be sick.
The large glass doors whooshed open and Leo stepped inside, heading in
the direction of the register. As he waited in the line, Leo looked all around
him. Men and women perused the shelves filled with jumpers, magnets, trinkets,
and stuffed bears all containing the Sydney BridgeClimb logo. His eyes settled
on a square column with signed photographs of famous people who had completed
the climb.
Before Leo knew it, he was being called to the desk. "Morning,"
the cheerful girl behind the counter said.
"Morning," Leo replied, more than a little subdued. He handed
over the voucher and waited. He was asked to confirm he didn't have any medical
problems that would prevent him from completing the climb today, and Leo
thought seriously about lying, then reluctantly shook his head.
"Brilliant, you'll love it up there."
Leo smiled but was' sure it 'came out more like a grimace.
"Here's your ticket." She handed Leo a thin rectangle. "And
this is your voucher for your photos."
"Photos?" Leo asked in confusion.
"Yes, when the ticket was booked, three photos were also purchased.
You will be able to choose upon your return from a selection the guide will
take of you while you're up on the bridge."
Crap, Teresa probably wants proof that I actually followed through. "Thank
you," Leo said as he took hold of the photo voucher.
"You're most welcome." She pointed to her left. "If you
would go up those stairs, your climb should be starting in roughly five minutes."
Leo nodded and stepped to the side, allowing the next person in line to
move forward. He followed the instructions and walked up the large staircase,
bypassing all the shelves of tourist memorabilia. If he really wanted something
else to commemorate this foolhardy trip, he could always pick it up on the way
out.
Upstairs was just a small balcony. Roughly three metres in front of him
was a wall with three doors, two on the left side and one nearly in front of
him. To his right, there was another
square pillar with signed photos along with three touchscreen computer
monitors.
Leo headed to the left where there was a large round seating area
currently occupied by several people. They were all watching a television
screen hung up by the farthest door, which showed people getting ready for the
climb through the various stages and gave them an idea of what to expect.
He sat on a small piece of available sofa and watched the screen with
rapt attention. Leo was so engrossed in what was going on he nearly missed it
when some of the people around him stood. Leo looked around, startled, and
noticed one of the doors open with a young man standing in it collecting
tickets from those going inside.
Leo checked the clock on the wall and noticed it read the start time of
his climb. He quickly stood and made his way over.
"Morning," Leo greeted as he handed over his ticket.
"Good morning."
The man gave Leo back the ticket, less the stub, and motioned him
inside. The room wasn't overly large and wasn't well lit either. A large
horseshoe-shaped seating area ran down the sides and back of the room. People sat
with clipboards on their laps busily filling out paperwork.
Leo made his way to a vacant space, picked up the board, and unclipped
the pen. Just as he was about to start writing, he was distracted as he noticed
another person walk through the door. Leo nearly caught his breath at just how
gorgeous the guy was. Broad shoulders, a trim waist, and enough height that Leo
wanted to climb the man like a squirrel climbs a tree. Short dark brown hair,
trimmed on the sides with just a little length on top, his expression was one
part kind, three parts sexy, and had Leo wanting to swallow his damn tongue.
The man wore a tank top and a pair of footy shorts, but Leo could see
the bike shorts clearly underneath. They hugged his thighs like no one's
business, and Leo wished he was that article of clothing more than anything.
His gaze travelled all the way down. The man's dark curly leg hair covered
well-defined thighs and calves, and had Leo wanting to groan. Socks and
sneakers completed the outfit.
Leo knew his perusal of the man had only taken seconds, but it felt like
he had been staring at the guy for an entire lifetime. When the man headed in
Leo's direction, he found himself hard pressed
to pull his gaze away and concentrate on what he was supposed to be doing. Leo
wanted to curse his luck when the man took the empty seat on Leo's left.
Buy the book:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015F1D8VG?gwSec=1&redirect=true&ref_=s9_simh_gw_p351_d3_i1
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/steps-to-you
Mischief Corner Books: http://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com/steps-to-you.html
Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/577657
Meet &
Follow the author:
Toni Griffin
lives in Darwin, the smallest of Australia’s capital cities. Born and raised in
the state she’s a Territorian through and through. Growing up Toni hated
English with a passion (as her editors can probably attest to) and found her
strength lies with numbers.
Now, though, she loves escaping to the worlds she creates and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come. She’s a single mother of one and works full time. When she’s not writing you can just about guarantee that she will be reading one of the many MM authors she loves.
Feel free to drop her a line at info@tonigriffin.net anytime.
For more information about Toni's work, please visit:
Website: http://tonigriffin.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/toni.griffin.author
Now, though, she loves escaping to the worlds she creates and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come. She’s a single mother of one and works full time. When she’s not writing you can just about guarantee that she will be reading one of the many MM authors she loves.
Feel free to drop her a line at info@tonigriffin.net anytime.
For more information about Toni's work, please visit:
Website: http://tonigriffin.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/toni.griffin.author
Goodreads
Link:
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Cover
Artist: Freddy MacKay
Tour Dates & Stops:
28-Sep:
Iyana
Jenna
29-Sep:
Divine Magazine
30-Sep:
Three
Books Over The Rainbow
2-Oct: Vampires,
Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Jessie
G. Books, Scattered
Thoughts & Rogue Words, My Fiction Nook,
Wicked
Faerie's Tales and Reviews
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Prize: 2 e-book copies of ‘Steps to You’ and 2 $5 Amazon Gift Cards
a Rafflecopter giveaway
