Welcome by our Stop on Mia Kerick’s Blog Tour of “Us Three” , her latest release.

 

Blurb:

A Harmony Ink Press Young Adult Title

In his junior year at a public high school, sweet, bright Casey Minton’s biggest worry isn’t being gay. Keeping from being too badly bullied by his so-called friends, a group of girls called the Queen Bees, is more pressing. Nate De Marco has no friends, his tough home life having taken its toll on his reputation, but he’s determined to get through high school. Zander Zane’s story is different: he’s popular, a jock. Zander knows he’s gay, but fellow students don’t, and he’d like to keep it that way.

No one expects much when these three are grouped together for a class project, yet in the process the boys discover each other’s talents and traits, and a new bond forms. But what if Nate, Zander, and Casey fall in love—each with the other and all three together? Not only gay but also a threesome, for them high school becomes infinitely more complicated and maybe even dangerous. To survive and keep their love alive, they must find their individual strengths and courage and stand together, honest and united. If they can do that, they might prevail against the Queen Bees and a student body frightened into silence—and even against their own crippling fears.
Book Links: Dreamspinner Press Goodreads

GUESTPOST

Hi and thank you for having me over today …

 

“Me and you and him.”

 

I will start by saying that I am a veritable romantic. True blue (or a heart-suitable shade of red.) As authentic as a pair of Levi’s jeans. Right down to the very bones. And I appreciate the most subtle deliverances of love’s expression —the brief meeting of gazes when you aren’t supposed to be looking, the tender, tentative fingertip brush to that place just beneath your left eye, the catching of your breath when you realize for sure its not just infatuation. I crave the telling of these tiny details, and when the time is right, I am more than okay with learning of the broad bold strokes that stir the fire within you. (Yeah, I’m talking about sex.)

 

Just to make my point crystal clear, I love love, and I love that love is love.

 

That last statement didn’t clarify anything for you? Well, try this on for size:

I love that my love and your love and his love, all together, is just plain old love.

 

Come again, Mia? (So maybe now I’m going to quote The Bible…)

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I have thought a lot about this bible verse. Dwelled on it, in truth. And the conclusion I have drawn goes something like this: in my most humble opinion, is if your love relationship is patient and kind and not envious and protective and trusting and as hopeful as the day is long, then your love is worthy. It is deserving of respect. Admirable and praiseworthy and good, too. Yes, it is good love.

But what if it is more, like I hinted at above? What if there are three (or more) people demonstrating trust and honor and patience and kindness within the confines of a single relationship? And just say, for the sake of argument, that these three people are always truthful with one another, never envious of each other, and ultimately respectful of the precious bond that is shared among them. I am here to say that the fact there are three (yes, or more) in this love equation does not invalidate their love. In fact, it has no bearing whatsoever in the quality of the love shared, maybe just the quantity. Maybe there is just more love to go around.

 

 

To illustrate my point, I will refer to an article that I read entitled “He & He & He” by Molly Young in an article from nymag.com.

http://nymag.com/news/features/benny-morecock-throuple/

It began in 2008, when Jason went to get his hair cut at Bumble and Bumble. The stylist’s assistant was cute, and Jason asked if the cute assistant could wash his hair. The assistant, who was Benny (he’d quit Starbucks), agreed, and the two exchanged numbers. That night, Benny went over on the pretext of meeting Jason’s dogs and wound up spending the night. He woke up the next morning to find Jason’s boyfriend, Adrian, shirtless in the kitchen cooking eggs. Jason had already left for work. ­Adrian, who is almost satanically good-looking, was polite to the stranger on his couch. Benny was intimidated by Adrian and didn’t know what to do, so he ate a plate of eggs and went home.

At that point, Jason, who is 40 and from a conservative southern background, and Adrian, 32 and from a non-ritzy L.A. neighborhood, had been together for nine years. They had property and savings together, as well as a permissive sexual relationship. Benny’s affiliations were precisely the opposite. He was squatting in an abandoned building, had no clear ambitions, no career, and no serious relationships, past or present. He was unmoored—and, being 21 years old, happily so.

A week after their first date, Benny and Jason hung out again, and this time Adrian joined in. “I’ve had three-ways where there are limbs everywhere and it’s really awkward,” Benny remembers. “You come out of it like, ‘God, that was stressful.’ But not with them.” A sexual relationship began, and continued, and although none of the men can isolate a specific moment when the couple turned into a throuple, there was a point, they all agree, at which everyone became sufficiently in love with each other to give it a name.

 

This relationship started with a sexual connection, but it carries on as a typical long term relationship in which the men are “glisteningly, boringly happy.” An excellent explanation of how their throuple works was offered at the conclusion of the article.

 

Maybe the best way to understand how a throuple functions — or at least how this throuple functions — is to imagine a healthy couple, then factor in the sexual variety of a third partner, and then factor in the stability of a third partner. It’s strange but true: In tripod manner, a third leg appears to be a good method of favorably distributing tension.

 

So now I will turn my attention to I quote I love. Because this is really what it all comes down to.

Jeff Edelstein-

And maybe it’s time we all try to let go of all the rest. Who cares if someone is poly, or gay, or bisexual, or asexual, or, or, or, or.

Who cares.

 

Do you really care? Do you? I will admit that if love meets the criteria set out in 1Corithians 13:4-8, I don’t care. Whatever your combination, I will rejoice for you.

Us Three, my new release by Harmony Ink Press, deals with severe bullying of a boy by a group of girls in a high school. That is what the story is about. The various different ugly forms bullying takes, the way many students stand by and watch, the need for bystanders to stand up and act. Us Three explores the inner thoughts of three very different boys as they experience harsh bullying in a high school setting. And in their journey to standing up for what is right, they find each other. They see each other for the first time, despite the fact that they’ve been in school together since kindergarten.

And they fall in love. It is a natural love…and a beautiful one. There is nothing cheap or kinky or immoral about the love affair of these three teenaged boys. Yes, it is a YA m/m/m “ménage” but there is nothing graphic, merely exploratory, in the intimate images it creates in your mind.

Try it… You’ll see.

At this point, I have received a few honest pre-release reviews. Below are these reviewers’ opinions on this very topic.

From Tina, in regard to the ménage aspect:

Mia Kerick isn’t a new author to me, I’ve read her novel ‘Out of Hiding’ not too long ago but after reading the premise of ‘Us Three’ I had my doubts. A Young Adult ménage? How should that work? Frankly I wasn’t too keen on starting this one but my curiosity finally got the best of me and after reading only a few pages I couldn’t put the book down anymore. Point taken! Better trust your instincts, Tina!

 

And Tina’s thoughts in regard to the boys’ interactions:

 

Mia Kerick describes the relationship development between these guys just wonderful. All three of them are so cute… and the way they come together and figure themselves out is so beautiful written. Their way through hell together is a real tearjerker, so brace yourself for a bumpy ride to high school hell and back. No graphic sex btw… but lots of touching, intimate scenes. Wonderful done. 🙂

 

And then there is Harper’s opinion:

I know the idea of a YA menage might make some readers hesitate, but I was lucky enough to proofread the final draft of this book and I think Mia handled the relationship dynamic between these three boys beautifully. I loved all of them and the way they came together. They worked well for me as three instead of two. And for those wondering, there is some sexual content, but it’s not overly graphic, nor is there a lot of it.

T.M. Smith said:

What starts out as a comittment to work together turns into a genuine friendship as the three learn more about each other everday. Before long shy, longing stares and touches that start out innocent but grow with intensity and heat bring the three together in a dangerous but beautiful threesome. As with everything in their relationship, it’s a gradual growth, and Kerick manages to capture each different young mans thoughts and feelings throughout.

 

And Sandra at My Fiction Nook weighed in on the topic, as well:

 

I had some reservation initially, what with the menage insinuation, because, hello, young adult novel, but the intimate situations were handled beautifully, emotionally and carefully, and their relationship made sense. I believed them, when they began to feel more than gratitude, when they learned about each other and saw that there was much more to each of the other two they had previously overlooked. Or not bothered to see. They each found in the other two something they needed, whether it was acceptance, or support, family, or just the strength to be who they really were inside…

 

The ride Mia Kerick takes us on is a bumpy one, no doubt about it. It’s a rollercoaster, it’s filled with pit falls and hellish situations, but it’s also full of love and family, and three amazing young men of whom, by the end of the book, I was immensely proud…

 

I want this to be on the list for every High School teacher, so that they may share the lessons from this book with their students, open a conversation, and contribute to end bullying.

 

 

I will petition my readers to recognize that the main thrust of Us Three is to explore bullying in a high school setting, which creates a by-product of a love affair between three boys. I ask for you to keep your mind open to the true and authentic love of three, where many readers automatically jump to the conclusion, “I hate threesomes” or, “I don’t read ménages.”  And for those of you who seek ménage stories that are hot and very sexy, to keep in mind that these are boys experiencing love and the beginnings of intimacy for the first time.

In conclusion, I will quote a young woman who has a lot to say at all times, but who said something that, in isolation, rings true to me.

There are no rules when it comes to love.

~Taylor Swift

 

There are guidelines to love. There are expectations and standards.

But there are no rules.

 

About the Author:

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

My themes I always write about:

Sweetness. Unconventional love, tortured/damaged heroes- only love can save them.

 

Author Links:

http://miakerick.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick

http://www.amazon.com/Mia-Kerick/e/B009KSTG9E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1389575652&sr=1-1

https://twitter.com/MiaKerick

https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=mia+kerick

 

Check out Carissa’s 4.5 star Review here :

https://lovebytesreviews.com/2014/04/23/book-review-us-three-by-mia-kerick/

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