Love Bytes is happy to say hello to author Kelly Wyre joining us today for her blog tour on her new release.
Welcome Kelly 🙂

Hi there! I’m so excited to be here today on Love Bytes Reviews to talk about my new novel, Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story. It’s the next installment in the New Amsterdam series, and it involves guns and ballet, two of my favorite things.

To celebrate the release, I’m doing a blog tour, and no tour is complete without prizes, amirite? I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card, a lovely necklace with a quote from Sinatra’s, Strangers in the Night – “Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away” – and a free ebook copy of the book!

How to enter? That’s easy… See the Rafflecopter Info below for all the ways to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be selected at random after the contest closes on the 18th of March.

And that’s not all…
Today one lucky commenter will win a free ebook copy of the novel! All you have to do is comment below. Say hi, tell me what you love to read, what you had for breakfast – anything goes! I love hearing from you.

Meanwhile, I think I’d like to chat a bit about the characters in this world. It’s quite the web they weave. See?

CHECK OUT THE MASSIVE VERSION OF THE CHARACTER WEB RIGHT ‘CHERE.

I know that thing makes MY eyes cross, so let’s break it down.

Today? We’re going to talk about BRYNDON DEACON ROTHE
First of all, do call him Bryn. He’ll get all snippy with you if you don’t.

Only his mother and his former best friend called him Bryndon. Believe me, you don’t want to remind him of either person.

Bryn comes from Old Money in the South. His family has been in railroads since they were being laid, and the family fortune has been passed from generation to generation. Bryn is no different; he has a trust fund and money of his own. But he also supports himself by being the premier danseur at the New Amsterdam City Ballet (NACB). He lives, breathes, sleeps, eats, and drinks dance. It’s all he’s ever known, loved, or done.

Until recently, that is, when his past is haunting him. Literally.

Bryn is a loner by choice, and he believes it best for the rest of humanity as well. Despite this, he has several people who try and try again to be close to him. Medea Currincaw is chief among them, as is Jules Sommers, his ballet partner.

Every Monday he goes to a gun range to shoot to relieve stress and let off steam. Recently, he had to change his range and now he goes to Miss Maggie’s.

Where there is a certain redheaded desk clerk who just will not leave him alone… And he has such pretty eyes, damn it all…

Bryn is 5’10”, long, lean, and built of muscle. He has light brown hair and eyes and a pointy chin. He may not be the hottest man in the room, (though he isn’t hard on the eyes… think Vincent Chaillet, my God what a body) but he is the one who will draw your eye with his sad charisma.

And on stage he is a god. Plain and simple. It’s the only place he comes alive, feels whole, is free, and he positively shines when he lets himself be.

Facts About Bryn
• He’s a classic untrustworthy protagonist. Meaning, what he believes is true isn’t exactly all there is to the story
• Author note: as a former ballet dancer (very amateur), I really wanted to write a book about a ballet dancer. Thankfully, Bryn showed up with all his baggage and made it far more interesting.
• He’s in therapy. He needs to be.
• He doesn’t speak to his family. Period.
• Did I mention he’s quite haunted by the past? Oh good. That’ll be important.
• His family knows the Clarks – the original branch who are still in the South. So he’s heard of our dear Maxwell.
• He’s also met Lucian, didn’t like him, and knows of Chance, since there’s a Baarton’s Superstore every ten feet in the South.
• His dancing strength is his determination and also his ability to come alive for an audience. He’s had to work for his skills, his feet, his turn out, his everything. But what he doesn’t have to try to do is become living, breathing, embodied emotion on a stage.
• He lives in Mirbest, in an apartment with a killer view, and very close to the Belmeade Center – where he trains and performs.
• Doesn’t do relationships
• Or people
• But oh… that’s all about to change, isn’t it?

😀

Read all about Bryn in Earthquakes. Though if you happen to have questions for this character, please feel free to ask ‘em in the comments!

Thanks for reading, as always. Follow the BLOG TOUR to learn more about the characters of New Amsterdam.

And to win prizes.

‘Cause PRIZES, y’all. They rock.

(Speaking of – don’t forget to comment to enter to win a copy of Earthquakes – A New Amsterdam Story!)

Thanks for reading!
Xxoo
Kelly

Want to Know More?

Check out the World of New Amsterdam

Peruse the Free Reads

See the Fan Art & Cool Stuff

And definitely catch up with Ellis and Bryn in Earthquakes, the latest installment of the New Amsterdam series. Need a taste? How ‘bout an excerpt?

PS – It’s better to read it with the SOUNDTRACK.

EARTHQUAKES: A New Amsterdam Story
Ellis had been close to martial artists when they were training. He’d sparred with Clark. He’d seen Kris and Daniel and all his friends shoot at the range. There was an economy of motion that the athletically and lethally inclined all shared. Ellis admired it, strived for it, and knew he’d never get there. He was a workhorse, not a prince of motion.

And as he watched Bryn begin to move – not merely stretch or contort but move – Ellis thought of churches and gods and houses of worship.

Bryn’s feet bent in ways Ellis had never seen. Bryn could balance perfectly on one foot or even a single toe. When Bryn shed his pants after a moment or two and took the first few steps in only a pair of snug briefs, Ellis wasn’t hit with a wave of arousal. He was struck dumb with awe. Every line of Bryn was defined. Even the lift of one arm and the point of his fingers were deliberate and beautiful. Ellis stood completely still and held his breath. He was in the presence of some sort of everyday magic and calling attention to himself might break the spell.

The concentration on Bryn’s face was unlike anything Ellis had ever witnessed. He didn’t exist for Bryn. Nothing did except the music, the motion, and whatever spirit had come alive in Bryn to make Bryn…shine. There was no other word for it. The light played through the windows and infused Bryn with incandescence.

And when Bryn started to dance, really dance, he outshone the sun. A turn here, a pointed foot there, a twist and a glide and… God, Ellis didn’t know what Bryn was doing. But he felt it. The music was hopeful and yet haunting, and Bryn’s dance tugged at every ache both old and new in Ellis’s body. Bryn’s face portrayed almost no emotion, but with every dart of his hand, every slice of his leg through the air, with every crumble, fall, and rise, Ellis was struck over and over.

I will try, said Bryn’s reach toward God and Heaven and all things on high.

Though I know I will fail, said the drop of Bryn’s arm.

I will carry on, said the sweep of his leg.

But I’ll lose, said an arch of his back.

I will fight, said a twisting leap.

I will fall, said the thuds of Bryn’s feet on the floor.

I want to love, said the open reach of Bryn’s fingers.

Please, said Bryn’s clutched fist.

Bryn’s expanse of chest, his shut eyes, and his rise onto his curled toes snapped something in Ellis, and as the music faded, Ellis couldn’t take it anymore. He shut off the music, strode to Bryn, and caught Bryn up in his arms. Bryn was sweaty and warm and breathing hard. Ellis couldn’t stop kissing him. Bryn melted against Ellis, resting heavily against him. Ellis ran a hand through Bryn’s hair.

“I see you,” Ellis whispered. “I see you.”

~*~

Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story
Ellis Parker is a lucky man: he escaped his persecuting family, survived his tour of duty, and met Maxwell Clark in the city of New Amsterdam. Clark showed Ellis more than the ropes: Clark helped Ellis figure out who he is – a gay submissive with a massive fixation on a beautiful, mysterious ballet dancer named Bryn Rothe. Ellis knows a Good Man when he sees one, and he wants nothing more than to score a first date with Bryn.

Little does Ellis know that Bryn has a violent past that is crawling out of shallow graves to haunt him. Even his hectic schedule and beloved stage aren’t enough to distract him. It’s impossible for Bryn to figure out how he feels about Ellis with his demons between them, but when Ellis saves Bryn not once but twice, Bryn is forced to admit that there’s something about Ellis that Bryn might not merely want but need.

Together, they journey to the scene of Bryn’s original crime – Charles Towne, South Carolina. There they will dig up secrets that might explain Bryn’s tortured life but might also be his – and Ellis’s – undoing.

Own a Piece of the City – Get your copy of Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story, Today!

Connect with Kelly!

❧ Website ❧ Blog  ❧ Twitter ❧ Facebook ❧ Fan Page ❧ Google Plus ❧ Tumblr – NSFW! ❧ Pinterest ❧ Amazon Author Page ❧ Goodreads

Contest Fine Print:
This giveaway will run throughout the blog tour, and finish at midnight on March 18. Winner must be of legal age, and legally able to accept the prizes as awarded. By entering this giveaway, you are confirming your eligibility. Void where prohibited by law. Entries will be collected by Rafflecopter on each tour stop and via my blog post. No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning are determined solely by the number of eligible entries. Winner must respond within seventy-two hours of the congratulatory email and post. Posts will be made on my social media platforms. Winner may or may not be announced on the blog sites, in accordance with that site’s preference. It is the responsibility of the winner to watch for the announcement. A new winner will be redrawn otherwise. Shipping costs will be to the expense of Kelly Wyre, and can be shipped worldwide, where legally permitted. This contest is not sponsored by Blogger, Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Tumblr, or any of the sites wherewith the giveaway has been posted. By entering this giveaway you agree to hold Kelly Wyre and designates harmless should something go awry with either contest or the prizes awarded.