TAKE TWO by SHIRA ANTHONY

Thanks so much, Michael, for hosting the Take Two video tour! Throughout the tour, I'll be taking you on video stops of one of my favorite places at the North Carolina coast and the location for Take Two— Bald Head Island.

Take Two is a second chance at love story set during a movie shoot. It's a sweet and sometimes funny story about love that won't quit, and includes anachronistic pirates, silly dialogue, and general mayhem as action star Sander Carson, a.k.a. Sam Carr, tries to woo back his estranged husband, pirate expert and history professor Wesley Coolidge. You can find all the videos after they're posted on my YouTube channel.

I hope you’ll enjoy this lighthearted romp and that you end up believing in second chances! The book is now available for preorder at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and all the usual suspects.

Blurb: Shiver me timbers! When Professor Wesley Coolidge accepts a summer job as a historical consultant to a pirate movie being filmed in North Carolina, the last person he expects to bump into is his soon-to-be ex, movie star Sander Carson. Just like the flamboyant pirate he's playing, Sander, aka Sam Carr, is used to getting what he wants, and he makes it clear he wants Wesley back in his life.

Sam acknowledges it's his fault they split up. He lost Wesley when he left their life in New York City behind for a career in Hollywood. But Wesley has finally managed to put the pieces of his heart back together, and he isn't interested in Sam and Wesley: The Sequel. Sam soon realizes that convincing Wesley to give their relationship a second chance will take much more than apologies and reminders of good times past. If he wants Wesley back, Sam will have to show Wesley that they really can sail into the sunset together--a real-life happily-ever-after that won't end once the final credits roll.

Excerpt from Chapter Two:

The entire scene was surreal: Gorgeous boat, beautiful scenery, good wine, and me by my lonesome. In the grand scheme of life, it certainly wasn’t the worst outcome. Still, he wished he wasn’t alone.

He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and tapped the preset for Carl. If they couldn’t be together, at least Wes could describe the alternate universe he’d just stepped into for him. It took a few seconds for the call to connect, and Wes imagined the signal snaking its way down through Florida, then skimming the waves to the southwest, across the Gulf of Mexico, and over to Guatemala.

“This is Carl Stephens. I’m unavailable to take your call at the moment. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m able.”

Figures. Wes shook his head and disconnected the call. He’d catch Carl another time. He didn’t want Carl to feel guilty about the change in plans. It wasn’t as if he was suffering here in North Carolina anyhow. He replaced the phone in his pocket and glanced up at the fly bridge again. Why not? He’d never been particularly shy, and he figured he’d feel more comfortable hanging out with the crew instead of pretending to be some pampered Hollywood celebrity. He refilled his glass and headed up the stairs.

The fly bridge was every bit as Wes had expected. Sleek, with the newest instrumentation, radio, and radar. The seats and console were white, as was the rest of the yacht, and the panoramic view was impressive. The captain sat facing the console, only the top of his head visible over the high-backed leather chair.

“Impressive.”

“We aim to please,” the captain responded without turning around. His clipped British accent reminded Wes of a young Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia. “Are the accommodations to your liking?”

“You mean the presidential suite? I only wish I could spend a month or two sailing the Caribbean in accommodations like that.” He sighed.

“I might be able to arrange that.” The captain spun his chair around so he faced Wes. Except he wasn’t a captain, and he wasn’t British at all—

“Sam?” Wes knew his jaw had just dropped to the deck.

Sam Carr—no, Sander Carson, Wes reminded himself—grinned back at him. It was too easy for forget that the Sam he’d married no longer existed. “That would be me.” The British accent was gone, replaced by a hint of a soft southern drawl. Well, at least that was authentic.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Wes demanded.

Sam appeared entirely nonplussed. “Is that any way to say hello to your husband?”

“Ex-husband,” Wes corrected.

“Not for another 46 days and seven hours.” Sam leaned back in the captain’s chair, causing the thin fabric of his T-shirt to stretch tight over the muscles of his chest. He looked better than Wes remembered. No doubt he had some expensive fitness coach he worked with every day to manage pecs like that. His bright blue eyes were as disarming as they’d always been, the hint of stubble on his strong jaw only made him look more attractive. Like a movie star. Which, of course, Sam—or Sander—was.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Wes said, trying to ignore the jab to his gut at the reminder that their divorce would soon be final. “Why are you here?”

“I had a few days off from shooting, and I thought I’d take her out for a spin. They delivered her last week, and I haven’t had a chance to—”

“Wait a minute. You mean she… this is your boat?”

“Yep. Bought and paid for,” Sam said with pride.

The pieces began to fall into place. Marv leaving suddenly. The shoot in North Carolina. Sam wouldn’t have had anything to do with Carl’s boss’s change in plans, but he’d have known whom to call to find out about Wes’s plans. And Jeffrey. Shit, he remembered where he’d heard that name before: Sam’s personal assistant.

Total setup.

Wes made a mental note to read his secretary, Viv, the riot act when he got back to New York. Which would be very soon, if he had anything to say about it.  She didn’t usually handle the details of his personal life, but she had access to his Outlook calendar. Come to think of it, she’d been asking him a lot of questions about his personal life lately. And she’d always loved Sam.

Everyone loves Sam.

“This isn’t going to happen, Sammy,” he told Sam. “I’m outta here.”

“Contract?” Sam said as Wes turned to head downstairs.

“Contracts can be broken.”

“You never read the fine print, do you?” Sam was clearly enjoying this.

“What have you done?” Wes glared at Sam.

“I didn’t do anything. The studio’s attorneys, though….”

“You set me up.” Stating the obvious. Sam was a hell of a lot smarter than he appeared. And way more devious. “What do you want from me, Sam?”

Sam tilted his head to one side and rubbed his chin as if he were considering the question. “You haven’t figured that out yet?” he asked.

Wes wouldn’t dignify the question with a response.

“I want you, Wesley Warren Coolidge. What else?”

If you are unfamiliar with Bald Head Island, take a tour with me via three brief You Tube videos. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5AaVAEpUeI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ7gC6jmeC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUSBB4taK2o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyOGgrMqxIM

I hope you’ll enjoy this lighthearted romp and that you end up believing in second chances! The book is now available for preorder at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and all the usual suspects. -Shira

Blurb: Shiver me timbers! When Professor Wesley Coolidge accepts a summer job as a historical consultant to a pirate movie being filmed in North Carolina, the last person he expects to bump into is his soon-to-be-ex, movie star Sander Carson. Just like the flamboyant pirate he’s playing, Sander, aka Sam Carr, is used to getting what he wants, and he makes it clear he wants Wesley back in his life. Sam acknowledges it’s his fault they split up. He lost Wesley when he left their life in New York City behind for a career in Hollywood. But Wesley has finally managed to put the pieces of his heart back together, and he isn’t interested in Sam and Wesley: The Sequel. Sam soon realizes that convincing Wesley to give their relationship a second chance will take much more than apologies and reminders of good times past. If he wants Wesley back, Sam will have to show Wesley that they really can sail into the sunset together—a real-life happily-ever-after that won’t end once the final credits roll.

Buy Links:

eBook: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/take-two-by-shira-anthony-7477-b

Paperback: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/take-two-by-shira-anthony-7478-b 

Where to find Shira:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shira.anthony

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/4641776.Shira_Anthony

Twitter: @WriterShira

Website: www.shiraanthony.com

E-mail: shiraanthony@hotmail.com 

Sins of Another by Jessica Skye Davies

        

            Paperback: 216 pages

            Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 29, 2013)

            Language: English

            ISBN-10: 1623804701

            ISBN-13: 978-1623804701

Padrig Kennedy returns home from a holiday with friends, to find his partner in bed with another man. It's a story as old as boy meets boy. Devastated, Pad, as he is known to his friends, flees the scene and straight into the grasp of a truly evil man, who through a combination of drugs and coercion, remakes Padrig from a regular guy into a for profit cum-dump for anyone willing to pay. Prostitution is too genteel a word for what Pad endures at the hands of his captors.

Rudyard Kipling wrote that the sins we do two-by-two, we pay for, one by one. Of course this suggests some sort of Divine interference, which, in Sins of Another, shows up in the person of a mysterious benefactor. As if by magic, Pad is rescued from his hellish existence (one could hardly call it a life) only to find that he is infected with HIV. This is not surprising considering his months of sexual captivity. So far, the story beats a well-worn path, until Pad finds life is indeed, worth living.

In Sins of Another, Jessica Skye Davies takes on faith—faith in one's self; hope, that in the face of loss and devastation, all need not be forsaken; love, the love that passes between men, transcending the carnal; and choices. It is in Pad's choosing love freely offered, hope for a better tomorrow, and faith that he will one day be whole again that draws him to be, at last, at peace.

One need not to have lived promiscuously, either by chance or choice, nor suffer the ravages of HIV/AIDS, nor be betrayed by a loved one to relate, on at least some level, to the human impulse to live, to love and to survive.

For me the overarching theme in Sins of Another surfaces near the story's closing; quietly, yet powerfully in these lines, 'No matter what obstacles you must confront in life, you can overcome them. Those that cannot be overcome can be managed. Everyone has that sort of strength…'

Where to buy SINS of ANOTHER
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/sins-of-another-by-jessica-skye-davies-3811-b
https://www.amazon.com/Sins-Another-Jessica-Skye Davies/dp/1623804701/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

WELCOME RUSSELL J. SANDERS

I want to welcome author, actor, and teacher Russell J. Sanders to introduce him to those who may not have heard of him. This will be a first for my blog because Russell has provided YouTube trailers for the books he wants to highlight here. Be sure to watch the trailers, you won't be disappointed. We begin with some comments from Russell. 

Tell us a little about yourself.

As a child growing up in a suburb of Ft. Worth, Texas, I found fun in being someone else. I was always acting and singing, putting on little shows for my family and their guests. That led to high school years in which I was active in the choir and the drama club. And I developed a deep love for school. I think I always knew I wanted to teach. The question was, “teach what?” A dear aunt who was a consummate musician believed in my musical abilities, so I went off to college to major in music. It seemed I spent as much time in the theater department as I did in the music department, though.

All that led to a career as a teacher, mostly in high school, where I at first taught choir then switched to theater. Eventually, my teaching interests turned to English, where I was trained in teaching literature through writing. One of the tenets of the method was that teachers must be writers in order to teach writing. And so I wrote right along with my students and decided that one day, I would turn that joy into a more tangible occupation.

When did you start to write and why?

Deep into my teaching career, I started writing a novel. An incident had happened at school that I thought would make a good young adult novel, and I began to write it down. That resulted in one book, and then I got inspired to write another—both of which never got any attention and have since been resigned to the “glad you tried it” pile.

When I completed my teaching career, I took a children’s writing course taught by celebrated author Kathi Appelt. She encouraged me to take my writing further. I knew that writers’ critique groups can be invaluable, so I joined one. Among the group members was Kelly Bennett, author of the best-selling book Not Norman, and not only did we become dear friends, but Kelly, along with Kathi, became my mentor. I credit Kathi Appelt for convincing me I could write and Kelly Bennett for teaching me how.

I spent many years honing my skills in critique group and drafting four or five novels. At last, Laura Baumbach at Featherweight Press took a chance on me and published my first novel Thirteen Therapists. Then I found Harmony Ink Press. Elizabeth North and her staff of incredible people form the best publishing house a writer could ever want. They published Special Effect, and soon after that, they accepted and published The Book of Ethan, Colors, All You Need Is Love (to be released in March 2017,) and recently contracted Titanic Summer for publication in 2018. I still think I’m dreaming sometimes.

I write because I have to. When I’m writing, my fingers take me to a different realm. I only vaguely outline a story in my head, then my fingers at the keyboard take over, and I find total joy and amazement at the magic that happens. I write because I want gay teens to read my novels and know that loving who they love is okay. I write for those adults who pick up my novels, read them, and realize that being gay is a normal thing. And I write for anyone who needs to see what my characters deal with and can apply that to themselves and gain from it.

What experiences do you bring to your writing?

A part of me, large or small, is in every one of my novels. From Aaron, the stereotypical middle child in Thirteen Therapists to Neil the school musical star, in Colors, riddled with doubts to Dewey in All You Need Is Love, the character whose life is most like my own teen years. In that one, I have used incidents from my life so much that those who knew me growing up may wonder what is real and what is made up.

What kinds of books do you enjoy?

I’m never without a book. I learned that from my mother. She would have a book at the dining table, one at her easy chair, one in her purse, one in the car, and, yes, one in the bathroom, so she was never without a book to read. I love a good story, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. I devour biographies, particularly those that have to do with Hollywood personalities or theater actors, writers, directors, composers, or lyricists. And I love fiction, most definitely that of the best writer living today, Benjamin Alire Saenz. Ben’s books are sheer poetry, and yet the characters are very real. His “adult” books are rich and satisfying, and his young adult novels are wonders. I aspire to be like Ben, and I know that I will never be that amazing, as a writer or as a human being. I do know that his writing, as well as so many others has influenced me. I find The Great Gatsby to be the great American novel, and I love Willa Cather, Henry James, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Fannie Flagg, Pat Conroy, Phil Rickman, Christopher Rice and so very many others.

What inspired you to write?

My mother loved books so much that I could do nothing else but read, and that, in turn, inspired me to begin creating my own stories. I believe that if you enjoy the theater, you should create some for yourself; if you enjoy listening to music, you should create your own; and if you love to read, then you will love it even more if you try to write your own books. After all, the tomato you grow in your own garden is much sweeter than any you can buy in a store.

Do you do research, and if so, how did you go about researching?

I curse technology and embrace it all at the same time. The internet—God bless it. You can be writing a paragraph on your word processing program, need a fact, and immediately switch to the internet for the answer. It is invaluable. Sometimes, though, you have to reach out to a real human. For All You Need Is Love, I contacted the Texas Interscholastic League One Act Play Contest director Luis Munoz, and he graciously not only answered my questions but sent me a list of the schools that competed in the Ft. Worth area the year the story takes place, complete with the plays they did and who directed those shows. Through our correspondence, we found out we have a dear mutual friend. Research can be very rewarding as well as informative!

What did you discover about yourself while you were writing your books, if anything?

I’ve discovered that I have a fascination with religion. I grew up with two loving parents who were not churchgoers. But they believed their sons needed a religious foundation, so they sent us to Sunday School at the Southern Baptist Church near our home. When I was in college, I became very active in the Southern Baptist Church. I suppose that as the realization I was gay hit me, I also realized that the Baptist church had betrayed me with their total dismissal of me as a feeling human being. I began to explore other religions, wondering how gay people fit into any of the world’s organized religions. And I find that religion is a sub-text of all my novels, whether overt or underlying. I think my writing is a way for me to make sense of how GLBT persons fit into the religious spectrum.

What writing projects are you working on right now?

I’ll soon be editing All You Need Is Love, the tale of a young boy growing up in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1969, and his discovery that he is gay, and not only that, his falling in love with his school’s only hippie, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the Stonewall Riots, Woodstock, and Judy Garland’s death.

After that is Titanic Summer. It tells of a guy who feels his father is keeping secrets from him. The boy is gay, and the full acceptance of himself and his father only comes with events surrounding the controversy over the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance during the summer of 2015.  Titanic Summer has some very interesting characters indeed, including a very rich eccentric lady, a wildly crazy boy who comes to Houston to live out his senior year, and a trans woman. And yes, the infamous sinking ship is featured in flashback as well. Let’s just say there are a couple of interesting guys who work on the Titanic.

And finally, I’ve just finished the first draft of a novel that is so new it doesn’t even have a title yet. I’m excited about it maybe more than any I’ve written; at this point, I’m keeping it under wraps.

But let me say, I firmly believe that the term “young adult novel” is just a marketing ploy. I’m grateful there is such a marketing category for it has served me well. But I think that—following that line of thinking—if a young adult novel is a book with a teenage main character, then To Kill a Mockingbird is a middle-grade novel for it is a story whose main character is a very young girl. Writing transcends its categories, and I want my novels to be read by all. I write for teens, but I also write for anyone who likes a good story with well-wrought characters who can lead readers to realizations about themselves and about those around them. That’s what writing is about: opening the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH-zdafR2c8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrVphGxgXqc&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6IBm1CBINg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwkLr2TTpcI

COLORS by Russell Sanders

‘Colors’

Dramatis personæ:

Neil Darrien (MC)

Brother Gramm (Villain)

Aunt Jenny (Heroine)

Melissa (Love interest)

Zane (Love interest)

Supporting characters

There are no spoilers in my remarks. I’m not going to synopsize ‘Colors’. Others have already done that on various review sites.  

 ‘Colors’, by Russell Sanders, is a novel written primarily for young adults. It is written in the first person, a voice, which, if handled well, lets the author explore the immediacy of the main character’s actions, his motives and especially, his emotions. Being a story about a teenage boy those emotions are naturally kaleidoscopic. The story opens in a church sanctuary. Brother Gramm is ‘slobbering’ over nine-year old Neil Darrien’s naked genitals. All the while Brother Gramm is telling Neil that he likes it—does he? Neil is ashamed, frightened, angry, and confused. At nine years of age he’s certainly capable of feeling sexual pleasure, even if he doesn’t quite understand it entirely. You see what I mean by kaleidoscopic. In response to this abuse of power and the love of a boy for his pastor, young Neil concentrates on the refracted light streaming in from the church’s stained glass windows, anything to distract him, to blot out what is actually happening; Red Green Yellow Blue Orange Purple, over and over and over, thus Colors.

As I read the first chapter of ‘Colors’ I sensed where Russell Sanders was going. I was right.

The complex emotions that swirl around the sex act itself, described only once in full detail, are not revived in this story through Neil’s conscious memory but rather through the intangible colors of splintered light. How does Russell Sanders do it? One word, envoi. Envoi is a device often used in poetry; think Alfred Noyes, or Dylan Thomas, and especially Edgar Allen Poe. However, an envoi is not common in prose and yet Sanders uses it, dare I say revels in it, in ‘Colors’.   Red Green Yellow Blue Orange Purple, Sanders employs no less than seven envois in various combinations in the first chapter of ‘Colors’. Throughout the story Neil, now eighteen, is haunted by the memory of his betrayal, made all the more evident through the colors that surround him in the foyer atrium of his high school, or the sanctuary of a church. For me, the colors represented the prism of Neil’s heart, its fears, hopes, and dreams, and yes, denial and desire.

‘Colors’ is a well-crafted story for any young adult, whether gay or straight, and that is why I recommend it.