I’ve passed the ten book mark, therefore I should no longer be anxious about new releases. Right? Wrong. Every new book represents another little piece of me out there in the world, and each of my books carries a story I care about and characters I love and want the best for. My greatest hope is that my readers will care just as much, that reading each of my stories will leave them feeling satisfied and hopefully happy they stumbled into one of my worlds. That my characters will be the ones they remember.
Counting Fence Posts represents a slightly new direction for me. More normally I write characters who are fairly secure in regards to their sexuality. In some cases, they live in a society where there is no bias. No discrimination. In others, my characters are mature enough to know who they are and to love themselves for it.
Writing a questioning character is a somewhat fraught exercise, particularly in this genre – because there is no one way to be queer. People have been trying to chart and define queerness for decades, and while we might find comfort in labels, in finding our tribe, no one can live the question that is us, but us – individually. So my characters are always going to be their own kind of person – gay, straight, or somewhere in between – and not all of them are going to fully understand who they are. In writing them, I want to allow them time to be confused, to mislabel themselves and to make mistakes. To sometimes be offensive – because they’re human – but because I like to write good guys, to always have compassion in their hearts. To be open to new thought, new love. Ready for their happy ever after.
Counting Fence Posts begins Henry and Marc’s story and, for this chapter and the next, Marc is going to ask a lot of questions. While fielding them, Henry will have a few of his own. Ultimately, though, they’re doing what people have been doing since the beginning – they’re connecting, jostling, clashing and mingling. They’re forming a relationship together, one of emotion and attraction. They may not be the answer to one another’s questions, but if they don’t ask, they’ll never know.
I hope their journey appeals to you as much as it did to me, and that you’ll cheer for them as I do. ❤
Because I have two books releasing within a week of one another, I’m doing one big tour for both. Details of my giveaway and tour stops are below. I hope you’ll follow along for excerpts, character interviews, playlists, games, recipes and behind the book posts!
Counting Fence Posts
There are over two hundred thousand fence posts between Syracuse and Boston. Henry Auttenberg likes numbers—it’s his job—but he isn’t going to count them all, even if the view outside the rental car is less confounding than the driver, his attractive but oh so obnoxious colleague, Marcus Winnamore. It’s Christmas Eve and Henry would much rather be home with his family. When the blizzard that grounded their flight forces them off the road, however, he’s stuck with Marc until the storm passes—or a plow digs them out.
As the temperature outside plummets, the atmosphere inside the car slowly heats up. Henry learns the true reason for Marc’s chilly distance—he’s not exactly straight…maybe…and he’s been fantasizing about Henry’s mouth, among other things. Confession laid out, Marc is all for sharing body heat…and more. Henry isn’t interested in being an experiment, but as the night and cold deepen, he could be convinced to balance certain risk against uncertain reward.
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Giveaway
Prize: A copy of When Was the Last Time and Out in the Blue plus a $25 credit at the Dreamspinner Press store.
Terms: Rafflecopter runs from 12:00 AM EST 7/23/2016 to 12:00 AM EST 8/3/2016. Giveaway is open internationally. Gift card value is US dollars. Winner will be contacted via email.
Two Books, One Tour
7/23 Counting Fence Posts Gay Book Reviews
7/25 Counting Fence Posts The Novel Approach
7/26 Counting Fence Posts Love Bytes
7/27 Both Books! Dreamspinner Blog
7/27 Best in Show Gay Book Reviews
7/27 Best in Show Queer Sci Fi
7/27 Best in Show Here Be Magic
7/28 Counting Fence Posts Joyfully Jay
7/28 Best in Show Diverse Reader
7/29 Best in Show Foodie Friday
7/29 Counting Fence Posts Divine Magazine
8/1 Best in Show Sinfully
8/2 Best in Show Prism Book Alliance
Kelly Jensen 