Hi, I’m JL Merrow, and I’m delighted to be here as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of Lovers Leap, my fast-paced romantic comedy with a leap year theme set on my beloved, native Isle of Wight. Lovers Leap features two very different young men—each of whom will need to take a leap of faith if their love is to survive!
First Comes Love…
You know the rest of it, and while these days marriage, not to mention the baby and carriage, are a matter of personal choice and circumstance, there’s still an idea lingering around that there’s a proper order in which a romance should proceed. No putting carts before horses, and all that.
It won’t have escaped your notice that all these euphemistic phrases hark back to the past, to a rather more old-fashioned world. These days, very few of our carts have horses attached, and babies travel in terrifyingly ingenious transport systems that require a degree in engineering (or at least from IKEA) to operate. And a great many of us are having sex without getting married, or even falling in love, first. Love may come later, or it may not—but if love does come, surely it’s just as valid as an attachment formed without sex?
Well, that’s real life. But do we still think, in our heart of hearts, that the couple in a romantic novel should first fall in love, and only then have sex for the first time, when it’ll have a true emotional impact?
I’m in two minds about this. I’m definitely not a fan of meeting a couple of guys on page one, and diving straight into bed with them on page two. It feels uncomfortably voyeuristic: I don’t know these guys at all, so why should I be into the idea of them getting it on? Why would they even want me to be?
There’s a lot to be said, in fiction for keeping the guys apart, physically speaking, until it’ll actually mean something to all concerned. Tension is heightened, and it can make for an explosively intimate scene when they finally get together.
However, I do think it’s possible for a reader to get invested in a couple before the couple themselves are invested in each other. And that’s my aim with Lovers Leap: Rufus and Michael may leap into bed for no-strings sex the first chance they get, but I’d like to think that by that time, the reader’s interested enough in the characters to care—and to want the boys to surprise themselves by coming to care for each other.
***
Readers, what do you think? What do you like to see come first: true love, or hot sex? Or does it not really matter to you which way round the horse and cart go, so long as the guys are in love by the end?
About Lovers Leap
If they looked, would they ever leap?
Good-looking, confident, and doted on by his widowed mum, Michael is used to thinking only of himself. Getting shoved off an Isle of Wight pier by an exasperated ex ought to come as a wake-up call—but then he meets Rufus and he’s right back to letting the little head take charge. Rufus is cute, keen, and gets under Michael’s skin in a disturbing way.
Would-be chef Rufus can’t believe his luck when a dripping wet dream of a man walks out of the sea on his birthday, especially when Michael ends up staying at the family B&B. Life is perfect—at least until Michael has to go home to the mainland.
Rufus can’t leave the island for reasons he’s entirely neglected to mention. And though Michael identifies as bi, breaking his mum’s heart by coming out and having an actual relationship with a guy has never been his plan. With both men determined to keep their secrets, a leap of faith could land them in deep water.
Lovers Leap is also available in audio from Amazon and Audible!
About J.L. Merrow
JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards finalists.
JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers’ Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Connect with JL:
Website: www.jlmerrow.com
Twitter: @jlmerrow
Facebook: facebook.com/jl.merrow
Goodreads: goodreads.com/.J_L_Merrow
Leave a comment for a chance to win $29 in Riptide credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 5, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
Congratulations on the new release!
Thank you! 🙂
I love the meme, J 😀 and I sure will love this book as well. Can’t wait to read it.
Congrats on the book release!
Thanks so much! 😀
That horse pic was a gift.
I saw a great pic of a horse photobombing a little girl the other day: http://time.com/4166321/horse-photobomb/
Interesting thoughts…times sure have changed. 🙂 This sounds like a great book.
saphicwitch@gmail.com
I think, generally, times change for the better. Unless you’re the patriarchy. 😉
And thank you!
I think I’d prefer to have love first before they jump into bed together so I’m old fashioned!
ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
You say old-fashioned; I say romantic. 🙂
“love enhances everything”
I couldn’t agree more. Sex between people who love one another is bound to be a more intimate experience than if they’d only just met. 🙂
I think love enhances everything. Love first for me.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Congrats on the new release! I think I can go either way for a book as long as the MC’s end up in a relationship and admit they fell in love. In RL, love or bonding has to come first.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Ooh, interesting distinction. And thank you! 😀
I usually like true love first, but I have seen some fun scenarios in reverse!
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
Yes, there’s great potential for rom-coms in two people who’ve hooked up then gone their separate ways being forced back into contact! 😉
I love the sound of this story. Congrats on the release.
goaliemom0049(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you! 🙂
Congratulations on your new release and happy belated Leap Day!
maggiereadsromance[at]gmail[dot]com
Thank you! 😀
Looks like a fun book, I haven’t read anything by this author yet so I’m looking forward to reading Lover’s Leap.
Christy.godfrey@yahoo.com
Hope you enjoy it! 😀
sounds like a fun read 🙂
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thank you! 😀
Thanks for the interesting post! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
You’re welcome. 🙂
Congratulations on the release of Lovers Leap! I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you for sharing the post and the giveaway!
Oops! forgot! ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
Generally I prefer the characters to make a connection before sex but as long as they reach a happy ending I’m pretty much open to whichever sequence fits the story. I have yet to read a JL Merrow book I didn’t like so I’m really looking forward to this one. Thanks for the giveaway!
Forgot my email – tkronenw1@gmail.com
Aw, thank you! And I hope you enjoy the book! 😀
[…] 2016 – QUEERcentric Books March 1, 2016 – My Fiction Nook March 2, 2016 – Love Bytes Reviews March 2, 2016 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy March 2, 2016 – All I Want and More […]
I loke the “oblivious” type stories. We all know they’re going to end up together; it’s just a matter of watching THEM figure it out.
allesonl@gmail.com
I confess I’ve got a real weakness for this trope too – maybe I just like feeling I know more than the characters do! 😉
The traditionalist in me wants to say love, but I’ll admit that I’ve loved many a romance book that doesn’t begin that way. But honestly there is no one right way, and any way that the MCs can end up with a HEA is good for me.
waxapplelover (at) gmail (dot) com