Hi Everyone,
This is my second time here in a less than a month. I actually did a cover reveal of my book Finding his feet in June, and here I am, to talk more about it.
I was going to talk about the different aspects of a book release and what goes on behind in but, last night, as I was about to find a suitable photo for the post, I came across this photo.
This is my sister, and I took this photo during one crazy evening, when I came home after work to discover the workmen had blocked our road by dumping gravel on it. We’re planned to go out that night and in the end, our mother, our designated driver, refused to take the family vehicle over what was basically a small mountain.
We had been looking forward to going out, just us three girls so my sister, and I picked up shovels and… shovelled. I developed blisters before the road was cleared but we went out.
Then there was the time the three of us went hiking. In the mountains, by ourselves.
We got our ears pierced at the same time.
Or the time we ….
What I’m trying to say is that there is I’m very close to my family, especially my mom and sister.
But they don’t know that I write m/m books. They know I write books but I don’t tell them what and they don’t ask. It’s how it has always been. At first they asked and I refused to say anything and now they accept it.
Do I wish otherwise? Sometimes…yes. When my book cover is designed or when someone writes a good review for the book, I wish I could share it with my family. But I don’t.
The reason is because I live in a very close minded society and I know my mom is a product of it. Who knows, she might not mind that I write such books but I don’t want to risk it. My sister… I never know how she would react. My greatest fear is that if I were to reveal to them what I write such books, that I might lose what closeness I have with them. That they will see me differently or treat me like I’m crazy.
I am scared that I will no longer have the easy relationship I have with them and it worries me.
But I’m not the only person to keep secrets. Very few people know that I write m/m books. My biggest supporter, Kush, has been married for over 10 years and her husband doesn’t know she reads m/m books. (M/M books are all she reads so I don’t know what he thinks she reads, cook books?)
But compared to what some people keep as secrets, mine is trivial.
In Finding his feet, Kaden, my main character, has a secret.
Shun, my other main character, also has a secret.
Kaden’s secret affects his life, his actions and his decisions. But he is afraid that were he to reveal himself that he would lose everything. He could lose his position in the army, he could lose his armor and he could lose his independence.
It would, potentially, change his life for the worse and he isn’t ready for it.
Shun’s secret guides his actions and he does some things that are potentially disastrous because of it.
This is about hope in the wake of disaster, where even after secrets are brought to the open, life goes on. It’s not the end of the world and people survive. It is sometimes not the anticipated outcome and results are not always pretty but there is life beyond it.
In the case of Kaden and Shun, their secrets bring them together and help them bond. For Kaden, it’s a second chance at life, realising that there is more to life than the one he leads and for Shun, it’s a chance to belong.
In the end, it’s all about accepting themselves and each other for who they are and for what they have to offer.
Cover artist: Stef Masciandaro.
Published by Dreamspinner Press
Release date : July 18th
Blurb
Kaden Pace, a soldier injured while on a mission, hides the extent of his damage by wearing his high-tech armor, desperate to prove his worth to his administrators and make himself useful in order to hold on to his independence. But during a simple assignment to escort two cadets across the country to retrieve the armor of a dead warrior, things start to fall apart.
They meet Shun, a young man with a secret, who steals the armor they were supposed to recover. Chasing Shun brings them to an abandoned beach town, where they encounter even more trouble. Stranded in the deserted city, Kaden finds himself relying more and more on Shun, the person he’d come to capture, while fighting off an invasion from the neighboring country.
But even when he returns to his camp, Kaden’s problems are not over. Now he has to find a way to save Shun, whom he’s growing to care for, and keep his team alive as they make one last-ditch attempt to get back the armor Shun stole. Armor that is now in enemy hands, on an island in the middle of the sea, at ground zero where it all began.
Buy Links:
Sandra Bard started writing when she was quite young because there was always a story inside her head, but never thought of writing for an audience until recently. She only decided to try her hand at writing for the sake of being published after a series of events left her with some free time and in between jobs. Now she has three jobs but writing is still her most favorite thing to do. Sandra grew up travelling the world from Africa to Asia and, though she now lectures full time at a university, dreams of having a job that wouldn’t tie her down to one place. She enjoys reading books, watching anime and, occasionally, visiting a fan-fiction site. She also dabbles in tai chi and yoga in the hope they would keep her flexible and help lose weight. She lives with her pets (fish, cats, and dogs) and has been a volunteer for an organization that takes care of stray dogs (there are many, where she lives) for over ten years.
Tumblr: http://sandrabard.tumblr.com
Email: sandrabard123@gmail.com