Today we welcome to Love Bytes author Chris Scully.

Welcome Chris 🙂

Hello! I’m Chris Scully. I’m thrilled to welcome you to my Until September blog tour! Join me at various tour stops, where I’ll be sharing some of the background of this novel, my thoughts on writing, and more. Comment on each stop to be entered in a drawing for a $20 Riptide gift certificate. Thanks for joining me on the tour!

Opposites Attract

As an author, we have the power to control people—to a certain extent anyway because sometimes your characters can take on a life of their own. But for the most part we know all their quirks, habits and back story. We know why they do what they do, and how they’re going to react to situations. We know exactly what they need. In a sense we have a full psychological profile, which is a lot more than people have to work with in real life.

The fun part of building a story for me is matching up my couples for maximum romantic conflict but also long-term compatibility. Often, what we think we want is not actually what we need. I’m a firm believer in the old adage that opposites attract. Not polar opposites, mind you, but I think couples need to balance each other out—ying and yang if you will.

In Until September, Ryan Eriksson is a young, idealistic, emotional, grade school teacher. He believes in fidelity, and more than anything he wants to find true love, get married and start a family. So of course when it came time to create his match, I needed someone who came from an entirely different background. Archer Noble is an infamous blogger, known for his anti- marriage and monogamy stance. As First Nations Cree (North American Indian) he is not only Ryan’s physical opposite, but his hard upbringing has left him emotionally closed off and wary. He doesn’t believe in happy endings, let alone monogamy and marriage. When Ryan and Archer first meet, there is not only a clash of cultures, but of generations and views as well.

Ryan and Archer are forced to rely on each other for the sake of Archer’s niece and nephew, which is the most challenging thing either of them has done. Their perceptions of each other slowly change. The potential for a great relationship is there: Ryan can give Archer the unconditional love he’s never had, and Archer can teach Ryan there is more to a relationship than simply checking off the boxes. But only if they put aside their rigid views and accept that all sorts of possibilities exist when we open ourselves up to them.

About Until September

As a teenager, Archie Noblesse clawed his way out of the poverty, heartache, and abuse of the reservation and left his family behind. Desperate to shake the shadow of his past, he reinvents himself as Archer Noble, an outspoken blogger and controversial author who lives only for himself. But when his beloved sister dies, Archer is saddled with guardianship of his niece and nephew.

Elementary school teacher Ryan Eriksson is devastated when his best friend Marguerite is killed, leaving her two young children orphaned. Helping Archer with his new responsibilities eases his grief, but when Archer offers him custody of the children, Ryan’s left with an impossible choice: get the family he’s always wanted, or respect Margie’s wishes and convince Archer to give parenting—and his heritage—a chance.

To buy time, Ryan promises to stay for the summer, hoping that Archer will change his mind and fall for the kids. But Archer’s reluctant, and the growing attraction between him and Ryan complicates matters. Legal decisions must be made, and soon, before Ryan returns to school. But with hearts involved, more than just the children’s future is on the line.

Buy Links:

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

About Chris Scully

CHRIS SCULLY lives in Toronto, Canada. She grew up spinning romantic stories in her head and always dreamed of one day being a writer even though life had other plans. Her characters have accompanied her through career turns as a librarian and an IT professional, until finally, to escape the tedium of a corporate day job, she took a chance and began putting her daydreams down on paper.

Tired of the same old boy-meets-girl stories, she found a home in M/M romance and strives to give her characters the happy endings they deserve. She divides her time between a mundane 9-5 cubicle job and a much more interesting fantasy life. When she’s not working or writing (which isn’t often these days) she loves puttering in the garden and traveling. She is an avid reader and tries to bring pieces of other genres and styles to her stories. While her head is crammed full of all the things she’d like to try writing, her focus is always on the characters first. She describes her characters as authentic, ordinary people—the kind of guy you might meet on the street, or the one who might be your best friend.

Although keeping up with social media is still a struggle given her schedule, she does love to hear from readers.

Connect with Chris:

Website: chrisscullyblog.wordpress.com

Facebook: facebook.com/chris.scully.author

Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/6152322.Chris_Scully

Email: cscully@bell.net

Leave a comment for a chance to win $20 in Riptide credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 13, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!