Guest Blogging at Lily Sawyer Books & a Contest

Good morning! Today I'm at friend and fellow author Lily Sawyer's logb, talking about the first book in a gay YA series I co-wrote with SL Danielson. It Started With a Dare is the first in the Southern Comfort series. The series will be five books long, and the first four will be published by No Boundaries Press. The fifth, which is in the process of being written, will be published elsewhere.

To celebrate the first book, I will run a contest on my blog until midnight Friday. All you have to do is comment with a memory, something involving a time when you were a teen, and leave your email address as well as follow this blog.  The winner will receive a copy if It Started With a Dare!

Stop by Lily's blog and see more about the first book!

Have a great day! Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Refugees Review

Refugees   

Author: SL Danielson

Publisher: SL Danielson

American release date: November 16, 2011

Format/Genre/Length: Novel/M/M Romance/254 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

David and Robert’s lives have taken a turn for the worse. Each has been dumped by his lover. What they don’t know is that their exes are now together—and their own paths are about to cross. Fate or Karma? You decide.

Synopsis:

David returns one night to the home he shares with Andrew, only to discover his lover and almost fiancé gone, along with his small daughter. Stressed out, David finds life in the ER a bit too much to handle, so his understanding boss and friend finds him a spot as a physical therapist in a quiet office.

Robert loves Phillip with all his heart, but he knows that he’s never had Phillip’s heart, so it’s no surprise when he leaves, although it still hurts. So much so that while trying to take out his aggressions on a punching bag, he hurts his hand, and his sister takes him to get help.

David and Robert meet, although each is unaware of who the other is. At first David is taciturn and not very forthcoming, but Robert works on him until he begins to talk, and then they discover, to their amazement, that they have more in common than they’d realized.

Bound in mutual misery, they become friends, commiserating together over the men who broke their hearts. They’re both lonely and unhappy, and it seems logical that they should live together. There’s an attraction between them, but will they be able to act on it? Or will the spectre of love lost hang between them forever?

When David sees a news story about an assault and realizes it involves his ex, he can’t help but be concerned, and he and Robert fly to lend their support. This is the first time the four men have been together in one room and awkwardness ensues, but also some clearing of the air.

David and Robert take their relationship to the next level, and all should be well. Except it’s not, and ghosts are still getting in the way. Will they ever be free? Is their love real? Or is it just a pale imitation of what came before? Are they both just refugees? Forgotten and unloved?

Commentary:

Refugees is the sequel to Ms. Danielson’s, For the Heart of Phillip, which I reviewed previously. It’s basically a love story about picking up the pieces and moving on, not being afraid of getting hurt again, and taking chances. Both David and Robert feel as if they’ve been thrown away, like refuse, so it’s hard to be able to trust anyone with their hearts again. Ironic that Fate has brought them together, united in their joint misery.

You can read this volume without having read the first one, but I don’t recommend it. The first one explains a lot, and you see how the obsessions begin, whether you understand them or not. Especially the one concerning Phillip, but I ranted enough about that in the first review.

Ms. Danielson’s style is unique in its sparseness. She doesn’t waste words, but gets down to brass tacks quickly. Those people who eschew lengthy descriptions—or almost any descriptions at all—will enjoy this brevity on the author’s part.

She delves down to the heart of the matter, to the feelings of her characters, and draws them out, sometimes almost painfully. Her men are not stereotype beauties often found in m/m novels. They have hairy legs, and sometimes they need to lose weight, and they do have bodily functions.

However, in this novel especially, I find that these men do not stick out in my mind individually, and I often cannot remember one from another. They are almost interchangeable, with nothing giving particular definition or any defining characteristics.

Sometimes there are lapses in continuity or in common sense, things that make me scratch my head and say huh? A real wtf moment, for me, occurs late in the book. Okay, the law of probability is somewhat bent that Robert and David get together, considering that their exes are together, but putting that aside, there is a scene in which Robert and David, while at the mall, run into two other of their exes (one of whom is English and was in England), and these two exes are….. wait for it…. Together? Seriously? This defies odds, for me. Just unbelievable.

Also, her men cry at the drop of a hat. People, not just men, don’t cry as much as these guys, who turn on the waterworks whenever they’re thwarted, crossed, or frustrated. Got on my nerves. Also the interfering father who threatened to cold cock Phillip. For God’s sake, these men are way too old for parental inference, either one. Grow a backbone, boy.

Notwithstanding, her fans will enjoy it. It’s an interesting read, although I have to say that the cover is a little creepy. My daughter, while I was reading it, insisted I turn it over. The men on the cover look like zombie Sims. I think Castaways would be a more fitting title; they look like they’ve been languishing on Gilligan’s Island before the picture was taken.

Ms. Danielson certainly has her fans. I would recommend this as a light read, for anyone who finds flowery words too much to bear, and simply wants to get to it. Bare emotions, albeit sometimes illogical and confusing.

Life After Math (Sequel to love by the Numbers) Review

Life After Math (sequel to Love By the Numbers)  

Author: S.L. Danielson

Publisher: Silver Publishing

American release date: June 3, 2011

Format/Genre/Length: Novel/YA/190 pages

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Scott and Jared have weathered high school, now it’s on to college! They’ve managed to sustain and nurture their relationship through some pretty serious ups and downs, and have vowed to stay together forever. But when reality comes crashing down on them, in the form of pressure from their conflicting schedules, and they discover that the college world is vastly different than what they’ve known before, they’re faced with some decisions that have the potential to tear them apart.

Synopsis:

Life is good as Scott and Jared celebrate their six month anniversary together with roses and Italian food. Jared’s mother announces her impending divorce from his abusive father and all’s well. Freshman year ends, on to sophomore. Things change when they find themselves in different dorm rooms.

Scott is still tutoring in math, and not just forJared (although he’s the only one who gets the strip algebra advantage!). He joins a club for math tutors and there he meets Daniel, a young and handsome Asian man. They become fast friends, even though he questions Scott’s engagement, thinking it’s happened too fast, especially at his age. Scott feels more attracted to Daniel than he should, and the feeling seems to be mutual.

Jared befriends a fellow psych student who introduces him to his study group—and his older brother Taylor, who’s in his thirties. Jared and Taylor become good friends, and he learns that that the big guy is gay too. Is Taylor crushing on Jared perhaps?

Junior year things only get worse, and when Jared demands Scott cut back on his tutoring, in order to get more personal attention, Daniel guilts him into keeping with his grueling schedule. Something’s gotta give—will it be the tutoring, or the relationship between Scott and Jared?

Commentary:

Let me start out by saying that this is a YA novel, not a romance novel, so don’t approach it thinking that it’s the latter. Maybe there’s romance in it, but that isn’t the same thing at all. I think the difference in the two has to do with the approach that the author takes. Ms. Danielson has a very bare bones, to the gut style of writing that is not flowery or romantic, and simply tells it like it is. Some of her descriptions during the sex scenes between the two boys are very graphic and not romantic at all—she is fond of comparing her characters to fountains when they orgasm, and spewing is not a romantic word at all. But she’s talking about teenage boys who just want to get off, so it works.

Where Ms. Danielson excels, rather than in the beauty of her language, is the depths of her characters, even if her situations border on or cross the soap opera line, which they do. She is fond of the dramatic and it shows. She creates characters that are more realistic than some romance novels. They have warts and blemishes and they need to use the bathrobe, and they have weight issues and self-esteem issues. And they’re far from perfect in the choices that they make. I would comment that she also builds a world where parents are accepting of their son’s sexuality without blinking and have frank sex talks with them. While that sounds nice, as the mother of five children now past those years, I know what I’d get if I’d tried to discuss their sex lives with them, and I can’t repeat it. But this is the world she creates, so suspend your disbelief when you enter it.

Frankly, I think the editor dropped the ball on this one, not in grammar or spelling, but in continuity and logic issues, but one can’t fault the writer for that. Perhaps as an editor, I tend to think that way, but I would think another editor would too.

If you enjoyed Love by the Numbers, you really should read the sequel, to see what happens with the boys, following their tumultuous lives. If you haven’t read the first one, then read it. They’re good enjoyable reads that will stick with you for some time afterwards.

Love by the Numbers Review

Love by the Numbers  
Author: S.L. Danielson
Publisher: S.L. Danielson
American release date: May 2, 2011
Format/Genre Length: 118 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+
Overall Personal Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Jared Adamson is your typical blond jock—he’s into athletics more than he’s into academics. When his math teacher informs him that he’s about to fail, and thereby become ineligible for baseball come spring, he panics. Luckily, the old battleaxe has a solution—he can be tutored by Scott Williams, who just happens, unbeknownst to Jared, to have a crush on him! Will opposites attract or will Scott stay invisible to the hot blond forever?


Synopsis:

Scott is a little overweight and self-conscious about the fact, as well as the fact that he’s never attracted anyone even slightly. He’s gay, and he’s out with his family, who are very supportive, but he tends to be reserved considering what he sees as his fatal flaws. On the other hand, he thinks Jared is extremely cute, but he knows Jared’s way out of his league, not to mention he’s straight, despite his mother’s ideas to the contrary.

Jared comes to Scott’s house for his study sessions; Scott’s mother, Margaret, embraces him warmly, almost like another son. The teen feels at home. It seems sometimes as if he tries to avoid going home. And he never wants to talk about his home life, or his dad. But if Scott questions him, he clams up and remains obstinately quiet.

The boys grow closer as the tutoring continues, developing a deep friendship. Jared refuses to accept Scott’s self-pitying concept of himself, encouraging him to lose weight and live a little. Scott wants to know more about what is bothering Jared, but he’s afraid to push and lose their friendship. He wishes it could be more. A lot more.

Senior year is a rollercoaster ride when you’re a teen with raging hormones. Make that two teens who are trying to figure out who they are, and how they want the world to perceive them, as well as one another. Can love grow in such an environment? Will Jared ever confide the truth to Scott about what his home life is truly like?

Commentary:

Love by the Numbers is a coming of age story about two teens finding one another, and finding something in each other that’s worth fighting for. If you’re a follower of Ms. Danielson’s, this is an earlier book of hers, and doesn’t reflect some of the later growth in her writing skills, which at this point were a little raw yet. So there are some points that could or should have been smoothed out. Some unbelievable family dynamics (sorry, I’m not a believer in the whole parents who not only openly espouse their child’s being gay but encourage them to sexually express themselves). But these are minor points, which do not detract from the story as a whole.

Ms. Danielson’s style is not flowery nor verbose. She writes in quick jabs, knows what she wants to say and says it. She gets to the heart of the matter, which is the relationship between these two boys, and being themselves. There’s a sequel, Life After Math, which I intend to read and review as well.

Ranch Hands Review

Ranch Hands    

Author: S.L. Danielson

Publisher: S.L. Danielson

American release date: July 19, 2010

Format/Genre/Length: Novel/M/M Romance/167 pages  (also available in e-book)

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR (my suggestion is Older Teens and up)

Overall Personal Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Sid Rosen’s in a world of trouble. The farm is mortgaged to the hilt thanks to the gambling habits of his late father, and the payments are six months overdue. A terrible drought has more than taken its toll on everyone, and Sid is a desperate man. He can’t work the farm alone, and he can’t afford to hire anyone. Catch 22—what’s a guy to do?

Synopsis:

Sid lives alone on the ranch, with only his dog for company, and has ever since his last lover took off for parts unknown a year before, without a word or a note of good-bye. Forced into the only solution that he can see, Sid places an ad for a live-in ranch hand, whose only recompense will be room and board: it’s all that he can afford. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t receive any takers, until Roger Laramie spots Sid’s ad and calls.

Roger and his own dog join Sid at the ranch, and the two men start working to salvage the farm. Roger’s a hard worker, but the trouble is, he’s also more than a pretty face—he has ideas about how to bring the ranch back to life. Sid resents his ideas, and resents being told what to do with his land, so they butt heads. But with time comes wisdom, and the two form a partnership—in more ways than one—working together to bring the ranch to fruition once more.

A loud-mouthed slutty town drunk, the hardships inherent in farming, unwelcome blasts from the past as well as the trials of beginning a relationship where trust is essential but also hard to give push Sid and Roger to the limits. Will they work past their issues, or will they succumb to them, and the ranch as well?

Commentary:

Ranch Hands is a love story, but it’s also a story about survival, and doing what you have to do to get by. Nothing comes easy, and everything has a price. S.L. Danielson draws her characters in broad strokes. She isn’t one for details, more of a cut-to-the-chase kind of writer. So if you’re looking for finesse, or subtlety, don’t look here. But if you like a story that gets to the heart of the matter, and doesn’t waste time with getting there, you’ll like her style.

Sid and Roger could be any other two people in love. Love stories are universal, and it doesn’t matter what gender the couple involved is, whether two men, two women, or a man and a woman. It’s what’s in the heart that counts. S.L. shows us what is in the hearts and minds of Sid and Roger; by the end of the book we feel as if we’ve come to know and like them, and you’ll find yourself cheering them on through all the difficult times and difficult people.

I give this 4.5 ☆s.

Guest Blogger SL Danielson Returns!

I'm sitting in Laumeier Sculpture Park with my friend and co-author SL Danielson, taking advantage of the relative coolness of the morning to enjoy some fresh air. She's come back to talk about a couple of things, including her newest release, which is a combo volume of two previous releases - For the Heart of Phillip, and The Refugees. Plus her newest venture, coming soon. We stopped at QT and got some huge drinks, so while we sip at those, SL, why don't you go ahead and start.



Good morning, Jules, readers.

Why don't  you make your book announcement first?

Announcing...Broken Promises...(For the Heart of Phillip and Refugees combined into one book)! 

For those that want one long, continuous story of how these four men's lives are changed through the heartache, the triumphs, the lust, the love, and finally....the happiness.

Coming Sat, July 30th to Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks and Amazon! (also on Lulu for those who want a really big paperback)!

Blurb: (For the Heart of Phillip)  Phillip Marnier; a sweet, loving, wonderful boy who knew he was gay from the age of 13. He was also very shy, until he met Andrew, a similarly shy boy at school. As they grew older, the feelings deepened and surfaced. Andrew had fallen for Phillip!

However, all was not well. Phillip had found another, Robert. Devastated, Andrew dismissed the friendship and stays away. The couple stays together until college, even talking about marriage! Then, who shows up? Andrew! He has forgiven Phillip and wants him back in his life. Then fate intervenes on one stormy night and shakes up everything! Suddenly Robert is out of his life, Andrew is in!

Andrew and Robert are locked in combat for the heart of the one they love more than anything, but only one can win. 

Who will win the heart of Phillip?

Blurb: (The Refugees) Sequel to “For the Heart of Phillip”. This tale picks up where the other left off; except following the two men who were left behind with broken hearts, Robert and David.
Robert, who lost his battle for the heart of Phillip, and David, who lost out on his chance with Andrew.
Can they bond together over their shared pain and heartbreak or will the ‘old feelings’ come back to haunt them again after a crisis happens with one of their exes?
Buckle up for a dramatic ride in these two men’s lives who go from strangers to friends to lovers to who –knows-what!

So now, SL, you've combined these two books into one volume you're calling Broken Promises. Care to show us the new cover? 

Now tell us about your new venture!

Also... eagerly awaiting the formation of my new company Romance First Publishing; slated to start in September or October of this year (pending govt. approval). It's astounding to me how many forms it takes to start a simple business! I have to go through the local govt, state govt, and even federal! I have to get a tax id#, state sales tax permission, register the name, have our house inspected, and of course...actually find the time to do this! 

School has invaded much of my time; still on course to finish in April, 2012. Hubby wants me to hold on new biz until then; but I feel the iron is hot and with our country going down the proverbial tubes financially; I feel they'll make it even harder for anyone to form a biz. So... do it now!

In other news...and very stoked about it is the finishing of my 2nd book with very good bud Julie Hayes! (your gracious blog hostess)! "Leaving His Mark" has finished the 1st hurdle at just over 68K words and we are already entrenched in part #2! It's a sweet tale of two Georgia teen boys who seem to rebuff each other at first, but finally get under all the layers and they find some semblance of happiness. Of course...there's always something and several someones in the way of that...

We're submitting it soon so cross your fingers!

And there you have it, readers! Well, you certainly do keep busy, don't you SL? Not that that's a bad thing, mind you, it certainly isn't. Looking forward to getting a copy of Broken Promises myself.

Thanks for joining me here today, why don't we walk over to the giant eyeball sculpture and eyeball it?  Do you have any burning questions for SL? Comments? Say hello to her - she doesn't bite!  We'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

For the Heart of Phillip Review

For The Heart of Phillip  

Author: SL Danielson

American release date: 2010

Format/Genre/Length: Novel/MM Romance/331 pages

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Mature/Explicit Content

Overall Personal Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

At the age of twelve, Phillip Marnier has three strikes against him—he’s overweight, he’s bi-polar and he’s manic depressive. Being six foot tall only helps to keep him in the radar of his taunting peers. Then one morning, while riding his school bus, Phillip meets a new boy, two years his junior—Andrew Bradley-Horner—and his life will never be the same.

Synopsis:

Phillip and Andy become fast friends—the first true friendship the troubled older boy has ever experienced. When Phillip hits puberty, he thinks his meds aren’t working, ‘cause things don’t feel the same, including what he feels for Andy. His perceptive mother tells him to be patient, it will come to him. When Phillip leaves Andy behind for high school, the younger boy is worried that he will lose his friend; he meets and becomes good friends with a young girl named Rachel, although she can never take Phillip’s place in his life.

When Phillip’s family takes him on a forced family vacation, he meets Robert Marshall, who actually goes to school not far from them. They become very close very quickly, and when each confess to liking boys, they share a first kiss together and become boyfriends. When he returns home and tells Andy his news, Phillips isn’t prepared for the other boy’s reaction. With time and gentle persuasion, Phillip finally gets to the heart of the matter—Andy is also gay and he has feelings for him. Quite the dilemma. And thus begins the start of a pattern which is fated to continue for a very long time.

Together they negotiate their high school years. Phillip leaves for college first, and Robert is right there with him. When Andy graduates high school and arrives as well, the triangle continues. Life is a definite rollercoaster, filled with highs and lows, and drama galore. Who will emerge the winner, possessing the heart of Phillip?

Commentary:

This novel spans sixteen years in the life of Phillip Marnier, and it has all of the drama of a soap opera. Phillip isn’t your typical hero—he has problems up the yin yang, and yet he has two supposedly hot guys fighting over him like two dogs over a bone. Frankly, I don’t know why, but that is immaterial. They do. This fight goes back and forth for years, as Phillip vacillates between them, although in the end, he invariably follows his heart. The trouble is, I think he also has a split personality, and he can never decide what he wants until after he ends up with something else.

The characters are certainly not stereotypical; if I had to choose my favorite character, it would have to be Andy. But on the whole, I also want to slap all of them. They cry sometimes at the drop of a hat, and their morals are certainly questionable. Add accidental fatherhood to what is already a train wreck, and there is a big mess to be sorted out.

SL Danielson’s style is not ornate or elaborate. As she once confessed to me, it is derived from doing a lot of report writing. It’s succinct and to the point. She deals with emotions, rather than descriptions, preferring to get to the heart of the matter—her characters, their emotions and their reactions. I have to admit the parents got on my nerves, being way too involved for adult men to put up with, but hey, I am willing to guess there are parents like these. And face it, when it’s your kid, you’ll take his side and protect him at all costs.

So, pull out a box of Kleenex, settle yourself in your easy chair, have a drink handy, and enjoy the story for what it is—a story of love, exploration and discovery. And fighting for the heart of Phillip. 

Guest Blogger: SL Danielson

Good morning to you and to my special guest, my friend and co-author SL Danielson. Today we're in Forest  Park, enjoying the view of the Art Museum, and Art Hill, as well as the Grand Basin. This is the site where once upon a time the world came to visit, here at the St. Louis World's Fair. That also happens to be the setting for our novel, My Fair Vampire, which comes out in October, from Silver Publishing.

Today Steph is going to talk about her new release, Refugees. It takes place after the events in For the Heart of Phillip. Steph is generously donating a portion of her royalties from Refugees to the victims of the recent tornado in Joplin, Missouri.  Go ahead, Steph, I'll pour us some coffee while you talk.

Hello, everyone! S. L. (Stephanie) Danielson here...and my new book Refugees.  
If you read the prequel "For the Heart of Phillip" this answers what happened to the two men who lost that particular war, Robert and David.
Will things settle down for them so that they can find friendship and love in their own lives again? Or will there be bitterness so embroiled in their blood that no one can win them over ever again?

To celebrate this new book and help humanity at the same time (namely the victims of the horrific multi-vortex EF5 tornado that decimated Joplin, MO) I am donating 10% of all royalties earned on this book
to relief efforts.

For a LIMITED TIME ONLY...this book is up for 99 cents at www.smashwords.com....only until May 31st.
After that, it will be 2.99.
On other sites, it is 2.99 on Lulu.com ( as well as in paperback for $12.99) there....
and on All Romance Ebooks and Amazon

Thank you for your help! I have relations in Joplin and they saw the storms heading towards town.. .thank God they were OUT of town....
Hug your loved ones... you never know.






Moving words indeed, Steph. Thanks for joining us today!  Here's your coffee, let's walk around the Basin!


Steph will be available to answer all your questions and comments! She can't wait to hear from you! Fire away! Hope you're enjoying the first day of the Memorial Day weekend!




♥  Julie