A warm welcome to author Kelly Jensen joining us today to talk about her new release “Counting Fence Posts”.

Welcome Kelly 🙂

The Blizzard Playlist

In Counting Fence Posts, Henry and Marc are caught in a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Worse, they’re forced off the road in a rental car. They have half a bottle of Coke between them, and Henry’s dubious survival skills (he read a book once). For entertainment, they have each other (these guys aren’t friends) and the car radio.

It’s Christmas Eve, during a blizzard. The radio is playing three things: holiday music, weather reports and closure lists, and call in programs for those who think the end is nigh. What? I’m a writer. I’m in the business of making things suck for my characters before letting them get to the good stuff. 😀

I also found it amusing to put together this Blizzard Playlist for my guys. Songs that might have cheered their frozen hell, or simply made their icy incarceration a little more bearable.

“Ventura Highway”, America

“Ventura Highway” is way before Henry and Marc’s time, but whatever. Good music is good music. I chose this one because it’s road-tripping music. It’s also about dreaming of warmer places. Finally, I could totally imagine this coming on one of those backwoods radio stations in the middle of a blizzard.

“Riders on the Storm”, The Doors

Okay, obviously I am waaaay older than my guys, but if I were stuck on the side of a road during a blizzard, I’d appreciate this one. (Still going with the oldies music station theme here.) The lyrics of “Riders on the Storm” are also wonderfully appropriate. There are two kinds of people: those who know what they want and those who go after what they want. But we’re all thrown into this world with the same lack of preparation.

Also, have you heard this version by Snoop Dogg for Need for Speed 2: Underground? It’s Kelly Approved.

“Snow”, Red Hot Chili Peppers

While neither Henry nor Marc live the Chili Peppers’ lifestyle, this song is still appropriate in so many ways. It’s about starting over, clearing the slate. For Henry and Marc to be anything but slightly antagonistic work colleagues, that’s exactly what they need to do. No better place than on the side of the road, buried under great white drifts of snow. I like to think the soothing melody of “Snow” would help them along.

“New York City”, They Might Be Giants

This is such a cute song. The lyrics always make me smile. I think it’d inject a much needed moment of levity into that cold, dark rental car. Either that, or Henry and Marc might turn on each other in a way that’s not, um, sexy.

“Snowblind”, Black Sabbath

I could have listed fifty—a hundred songs here. Henry and Marc are certainly trapped for long enough to get through Kelly’s Top Hundred Snow Songs. I wanted to round out the list with something different, though. Also, songs like “Snowblind” are not only timeless, but exactly the sort of music you can imagine playing softly in the background while snow falls and falls and falls, while conversations wind on, while two guys try to figure out exactly what they mean to each other.

What are your suggestions for The Blizzard Playlist?

Counting Fence Posts

There are over two hundred thousand fence posts between Syracuse and Boston. Henry Auttenberg likes numbers—it’s his job—but he isn’t going to count them all, even if the view outside the rental car is less confounding than the driver, his attractive but oh so obnoxious colleague, Marcus Winnamore. It’s Christmas Eve and Henry would much rather be home with his family. When the blizzard that grounded their flight forces them off the road, however, he’s stuck with Marc until the storm passes—or a plow digs them out.

As the temperature outside plummets, the atmosphere inside the car slowly heats up. Henry learns the true reason for Marc’s chilly distance—he’s not exactly straight…maybe…and he’s been fantasizing about Henry’s mouth, among other things. Confession laid out, Marc is all for sharing body heat…and more. Henry isn’t interested in being an experiment, but as the night and cold deepen, he could be convinced to balance certain risk against uncertain reward.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe | Dreamspinner Press

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. A lot of what she writes is speculative in nature, but sometimes it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Prize: A copy of When Was the Last Time and Out in the Blue plus a $25 credit at the Dreamspinner Press store.

Terms: Rafflecopter runs from 12:00 AM EST 7/23/2016 to 12:00 AM EST 8/3/2016. Giveaway is open internationally. Gift card value is US dollars. Winner will be contacted via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Two Books, One Tour

7/23     Counting Fence Posts Gay Book Reviews

7/25     Counting Fence Posts The Novel Approach

7/26     Counting Fence Posts Love Bytes

7/27     Both Books!    Dreamspinner Blog

7/27     Best in Show  Gay Book Reviews

7/27     Best in Show  Queer Sci Fi

7/27     Best in Show  Here Be Magic

7/28     Counting Fence Posts Joyfully Jay

7/28     Best in Show  Diverse Reader

7/29     Best in Show  Foodie Friday

7/29     Counting Fence Posts Divine Magazine

8/1       Best in Show  Sinfully

8/2       Best in Show  Prism Book Alliance