Love Bytes is glad to welcome Pat Henshaw to the blog for their blog tour of Behr Facts.
Welcome, Pat!
Author Name: Pat Henshaw
Book Name: Behr Facts
Series: Foothills Pride #3
Release Date: October 28, 2015
Pages or Words: 90 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG
Blurb:
Big, burly CEO Abe Behr is dismayed to discover someone—possibly a family member—is stealing from Behr Construction, which primarily employs Behr relatives. Abe takes the unprecedented step of hiring an outsider, likeable CPA Jeff Mason, to go over the books and help find the culprit. They are drawn to each other as they talk to workers, including Abe’s two younger brothers and their shifty cousin.
Since he has sacrificed romance all his life to build the business, Abe’s surprised by his feelings for the handsome Jeff. He’s even more shocked when they are confronted by bigotry in the Sierra Nevada foothills community, which is being inundated by gays moving from the San Francisco area. As he and Jeff get closer, Abe must come to grips with coming out to a family and community that aren’t very tolerant. Fortunately, being the head Behr helps him find his footing and grab onto love when it bites him.
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance
Today I’m very happy to be interviewing Pat Henshaw author of Behr Facts. Hi Pat, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hi! I was born and raised in Nebraska and promptly left the cold and snow after college. I’ve lived at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California, in other words on all three U. S. coasts.
My husband and I enjoy travel and have visited Mexico, Canada, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and Europe, including a cruise down the Danube.
Although I’m now retired, I spent my working life teaching English composition at the junior college level; writing book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helping students find information as a librarian; and promoting PBS television programs in the D. C. area.
Behr Facts is the third in the Foothills Pride novella series. In it, six foot six Behr Construction CEO Abe Behr hires CPA Jeff Mason to help balance the books and find the employee who’s ripping off the company. What big, burly Abe finds is happy, golden Jeff can not only settle the books, but also can be the honey Abe needs in his life. Behr Facts, like the previous Foothills Pride stories, is loosely based on a fairytale—this time Goldilocks.
What genres do you enjoy writing in?
Contemporary gay romance and general fantasy are the two I’ve been writing. I’ve been thinking about trying gay fantasy at some point, but I probably won’t try anything new until the Foothills Pride stories run out.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
Abe and my father have a lot in common. However, my dad died about twenty years ago, so thinking about him and remembering him, the things he said and how he handled situations and knowing I’d never see him or talk to him again was difficult.
What did you enjoy most about writing your book?
I enjoy the world building and bringing the characters back from previous books to make the current book meld into the fictional town. While I like that the stories can stand alone, I also like to further the conflict that the town is going through as it finds its footing in the 21st century.
What cultural value do you see in writing?
When I started writing these stories, the GLBTQ community had made huge strides in being accepted and in erasing prejudice. I didn’t realize, however, my stories might help further the cause and help my readers see and understand what prejudices gay men still face in our society. That I can do a small part to reeducate people about the gay community is valuable to me.
What is your favorite positive saying?
I can. When I was teaching, I told my students that when they told me “I can’t” that they really couldn’t do whatever I assigned. Until they said “I can,” they had already talked themselves out of succeeding. “I can” gave them permission to do something outside their view of themselves.
“You ever come up the bank to sit under my tree? Looks like a much more comfortable place to fish. Not as rocky at any rate.” Jeff took a drink of his beer as I again scrambled to keep up. “My dad called it the Fishing Tree. He seemed to think fish congregated off the shore there.”
We sat in silence. It was my turn to talk. I’m pretty good in business situations. Not so much in social ones. At social events, mostly I hold up walls. Shake hands. Grunt a lot. Let others carry the conversational load.
Lorraine set our meals in front of us. The full burger with everything for him. The grilled mountain trout and steamed vegetables for me.
“You do a lot of fishing?” I managed after a long silence.
“Not really.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “My dad said fishing couldn’t be taught. He said it was something intuitive. I never had any idea what I was doing. So I never saw any use in fishing. I never saw any fish either.”
Again, silence as I processed and caught up. “It’s not rocket science. You figure out what kind of fish you want. Where it lives. Lure it to you. Then catch it.”
He looked skeptical and almost self-conscious. “It can’t be so easy,” he said with a little laugh.
“Why not?”
“What about the different rods, lures, tackle, stuff?” He looked so serious, as if I were missing the point. As if I didn’t understand. He was right. I didn’t.
“Look. You can catch fish with your bare hands. If you want to. The extra stuff is just extra stuff.”
“If you say so.” He shook his head, a smile still on his lips. “Have you ever caught a fish with your bare hands?”
I lifted my hands and looked down at the mess that were my paws. Calluses, nicks, cuts, punctures, blunt fingers, the bandage now off the one with the splinter. These were the hands of a man who’d framed houses as a tall, rangy preteen and had lived in construction ever since. Could I catch a fish with my bare hands?
“Yeah. All it takes is absolute stillness and patience.” I sighed. “Not a whole lot of people have both together. Somebody once told me it’s all about Zen.” Somebody else said the only reason I could do it was because I was too stupid to know it was impossible.
“Zen.” His tone said he was surprised I knew such a word.
“You know, like the Eastern religion,” I answered. “Though why we still call it Eastern is beyond me. It’s really Far West, not Far East to us.” I was grumbling and rambling. Avoiding for some reason.
He rattled me. Nobody ever rattled me. I’m Abe Behr, the big Behr.
He was studying me as intently as I was him. He appeared too beautiful, too perfect, too unscarred. I just hoped his accountant skills were as perfect as he looked.
“What kind of fish you want to catch?” I asked. Staring at him wasted our time.
He pointed his fork to my plate. “How about that? It’s good, right?”
“Trout,” I agreed. “Lots of different kinds of trout.”
He looked like he’d never eaten any in his life.
“This is trout from our lake. Have a bite.”
He’d finished his burger but didn’t make a move on my fish. His expression was split between wanting to dig in and reluctance to do so.
“Just taste it,” I growled. “It won’t bite.”
His eyes snapped up to meet mine. His puzzled stare asked if the stupid bear had deliberately made a joke or not. Then he gave a happy, hearty laugh, and his fork raided my fish.
“So? What do you think?” I asked after he swallowed.
“I think you made a great joke,” he said with twinkling eyes. “And the trout is delicious. Is this why you threw your catch back? Did you know you’d get it cooked perfectly here at the cafe?”
“Naw. I was stalking the pie. Fish was a bonus.”
“They have good pie here?”
“Wait and see.”
Buy the book:
All Romance Ebooks (English titles only)
Pat Henshaw, author of the Foothills Pride Stories, was born and raised in Nebraska and promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California. Pat enjoys travel, having visited Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and Europe, including a cruise down the Danube.
Now retired, Pat has spent her life surrounded by words: Teaching English composition at the junior college level; writing book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helping students find information as a librarian; and promoting PBS television programs.
Her triumphs are raising two incredible daughters who daily amaze her with their power and compassion. Fortunately, her supportive husband keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away while writing fiction.
Where to find the author:
Email: phenshaw527@gmail.com
Tour Dates & Stops:
2-Nov: My Fiction Nook, Elin Gregory
3-Nov: Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My
4-Nov: Mikky’s World of Books, BFD Book Blog
5-Nov: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, QUEERcentric Books, Open Skye Book Reviews
6-Nov: V’s Reads
8-Nov: Jessie G. Books
9-Nov: Inked Rainbow Reads, Bike Book Reviews
10-Nov: Love Bytes
11-Nov: Full Moon Dreaming
12-Nov: Lee Brazil, Bayou Book Junkie
13-Nov: Parker Williams, Happily Ever Chapter, Hearts on Fire
Rafflecopter Prize: A $10 Starbucks Gift Card to 3 winners
This book sounds awesome!! I’m going to go and one click right now!
Congrats Pat on your new book! It sounds amazing! It will be fun to read how Abe will finally enjoy pleasure before work! Thank for the chance!