Halloween is just around the corner, so The Blog of Sid Love & Dreamspinner Press have joined hands to give you a special reason to celebrate! An event whereby we will feature four newest releases from DSP in form of guest posts, author interviews and giveaway contests! And that is not all – there will be an amazing contest at the end of this month. On 31st October, a lucky winner will be drawn from these four contests to win a goodie pack that will consist of the four books up for grab over the month! So don’t just sit there, hurry up and participate. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment on all Halloween Special posts as well as the giveaway contests of any DSP authors that feature this month.
We kick off this event, starting with one of the most popular DSP authors – Amy Lane. Her third book in the Johnnies series released just recently and she has happily agreed to giveaway an ebook copy of Ethan in Gold. Check out as she stops by to share what’s so worth it in relationships …
Worth It
By
Amy Lane
One of the tough things to do as you’re finding your way along a particular couple’s path is to figure out what a real happy ending would be. No happy ending is too perfect—even the real ones. The key to a real happy ending, or one that feels authentic, is the idea that if stuff comes up, these two people will figure out how to handle it.
I was pissed at my husband today—seriously, flamingly pissed. Talking to myself pissed. Talking to myself in the bathroom pissed.
So there I was, taking my sweet time, washing my hands, making faces in the mirror, having that imaginary conversation where I level my beloved off at the knees, and then when I open the door, there’s my Mate. He’s smiling sheepishly.
“You were talking to yourself.”
“Yes. Yes I was.”
“Were you yelling at me?”
“Yes. Yes I was.”
“I’m really sorry.”
*sigh * “That’s okay.”
Because the thing is, as pissed as I was, I don’t have the short-term goal of the relationship in mind. We are not in a place in our lives where I can storm out and slam a door and fight with him at the top of my lungs—we have kids for sweet hell’s sake, and we’re obligated to act like grown ups. If the problem was a long-term difficulty, it needs to be discussed. If it’s a brief irritation, an apology and a make up are plenty good enough.
That was the sort of thinking Jonah and Ethan had to do in Ethan in Gold. They had a long-term difficulty—a couple of them, in fact. Jonah’s family was falling apart, and Ethan was in porn. It doesn’t get much more complex than that (and if it does, don’t tell me, I may take it as a challenge.) So it was essential that they become friends first—because they had to care about each other to make the rest of the relationship worth it. And that, in a way, is the crux of any relationship. The idea of “This person has pissed me off now, but is that enough to destroy what we’ve built?” Or, in Ethan and Jonah’s case, the potential of what they had to build.
It’s a tough idea—and the reason many relationships fail. I think the reason this couple—or any couple in fiction—gives us hope is that they remind us what’s important. I know that today, while I was whisper cursing my Mate, all I really needed was his sheepish smile and a reminder that one screw-up doth not a divorce make.
Maybe all Mate needed was a reminder that I’d rather vent my spleen on the potty and the mirror than on him to remember that I was a good person not to get pissed at him! Either way, like Ethan and Jonah (but with certainly less cause!) most people who stay together do eventually remember the long-term goal.
And it’s usually so very worth it.
.:.: ETHAN IN GOLD :.:.
BLURB: Evan Costa learned from a very early age that there was no such thing as unconditional love and that it was better to settle for what you could get instead of expecting the world to give you what you need. As Ethan, porn model for Johnnies, he gets exactly what he wants—comradeship and physical contact on trade—and he is perfectly satisfied with that. He’s sure of it.
Jonah Stevens has spent most of his adult life helping to care for his sister and trying to keep his beleaguered family from fraying at the edges. He’s had very little time to work on his confidence or his body for that matter. When Jonah meets Ethan, he doesn’t see the hurt child or the shamelessly slutty porn star. He sees a funny, sexy, confident man who—against the odds—seems to like Jonah in spite of his very ordinary, but difficult, life.
Sensing a kindred spirit and a common interest, Ethan thinks a platonic friendship with Jonah won’t violate his fair trade rules of sex and touch, but Jonah has different ideas. Ethan’s pretty sure his choice of jobs has stripped away all hope of a real relationship, but Jonah wants the whole package—the sexy man, the vulnerable boy, the charming companion who works so hard to make other people happy. Jonah wants to prove that underneath the damage Ethan has lived with all his life, he’s still gold with promise and the ability to love.
BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press :: Amazon :: All Romance eBooks
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Lane has four children, two cats, an aging dog, a crumbling mortgage and an indulgent spouse. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and m/m romance–and if you give her enough diet coke and chocolate, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.
Amy Lane on Facebook || Amy Lane on Twitter || Amy Lane’s Website
===================================
Leave a comment to this post in order to get a chance of winning a free ebook copy of Ethan in Gold.
Don’t forget to “FOLLOW THIS BLOG”. The widget is on the top of this page where you can either subscribe to this blog via email or if you are a wordpress user, you can “Follow” it through your READER!
Why do you need to follow? – To get instant updates on the winner announcement, or other giveaway events that are planned to be hosted on this blog or simply for the reviews and author interviews that are posted here.
If you are on Facebook, join our official Group: The Blog of Sid Love
===================================
CONTEST WILL END ON 13th October, 2013 @ 11:59 PM Central Time!!
It was a very interesting interview and excerpt and I can’t wait to read the rest bibbiesparks@yahoo.com.
I love the concept of this book. Everyone needs love and acceptance.
debby236 at gmail dot com
I agree that friendship is a key element to weathering any storm – it survives the ‘ I dont like you very much at this moment’ times!
I love the theme of this book. 🙂
aelnova@aol.com
I’ve heard raves about this one!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
This sounds like a great book. Thank you for the interview! Please count me in. Thanks!
Looking so forward to this one!
great post!
What I like, is I don’t think I’ve seen the cover model of your book on any other book yet 🙂
penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com
Great interview, looking forward to the book as well 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway.
valeridavila@yahoo.com
Congrats on the new release, Amy. Nice to see I’m not the only one who has those storm off moments with their spouse. I think I hold a grudge just a wee bit more than you, so I’ll take lessons. 😛
I can’t wait to read this one. Congrats on another release! wendynjason04@gmail.com
Thank you for the post and the giveaway. I agree, happily ever after doesn’t mean happy all the time but knowing that happy will come back makes it easier to make it through those times.
Sounds like a intense emotional read. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Always love to read Amy’s interviews and blogs. Thanks for the giveaway. I am really excited about this book. Love the series.
jen.f@mac.com
Thanks for sharing. This sounds like a good read.
schan26.wisc(at)gmail(dot)com
There should be more Jonahs in the world that see the true gold in a person.
strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com
I love Amy’s books, even when they make me cry (Chase in Shadow, the Talker series…) so I’m really looking forward to this one.
pointycat69(at)googlemail(dot)com
hurray for amy lane! I can’t wait to read ethan in gold, since I loved chase and dex so much! thanks!
urb
brendurbanist@gmail.com
Love the first two books in the Johnnies series. I’m really excited to read Ethan’s story! Especially as it’s the first that doesn’t have two Johnnies as the main characters.
Please count me in!
Love what you have to say about short-term vs. long-term goals. Well put!