A warm welcome to authors Vivien Dean and Rick R. Reed stopping by our blog today to talk about their new re release of “Family Obligations”. Don’t forget to check out the great giveaway at the end of this post!
THE CHOICES WE MAKE
With 2017 almost upon us, I find myself marveling at how many ways the world has changed from when I grew up. I’m the product of a rural community in mid-Michigan, coming to age in the 80s in an environment that was rooted in religion and formal education. Appearances were everything. The pressure to live up to an outside ideal was enough to mold my goals and achievements until I moved away to college. Most importantly, I learned that secrets that came out in the open had the power to tear families apart.
So when Rick originally approached me about writing this story with him, I jumped at the chance. The truth and honesty about the decades in which it takes place were too powerful for me to resist. Though I, as a child, had to watch from the sidelines as someone I loved came out of the closet and was punished for it, the reactions and reverberations it created affected me profoundly. I learned how love and pain often go so much hand in hand, and I witnessed the kind of strength it took to move on. These are the tenets that compel Mark and Randy’s stories, because they fell in love at a time in American history where hard choices had to be made. The results are not always pretty. The feelings are often raw and unmanageable. But they’re real, and that’s what Rick and I wanted to share with the world.
Today, I’m surrounded by friends and family who have an easier time finding acceptance for who they love. They can get married, have children, create the family of their choosing. There’s a long way yet to go, but it’s still a very different world than the one from my childhood. That’s marvelous, no matter how you look at it.
And I’m sure Mark and Randy would agree.
BLURB
Tate D’Angelo always thought he knew who his father was: beloved doctor, devoted husband and father…. Everyone at the funeral shared the same glowing stories of a kind soul. So when his father’s old college buddy, Randy, approaches him after the service, Tate expects to hear echoes of the same.
Instead, he gets a lifetime’s worth of letters that tell a different tale and cause him to view his father—and his family—in a whole new light.
The truth, about a secret romance kept buried for decades, astonishes him. Overwhelmed by grief and confusion, Tate is unsure if he can bear learning how the lives of two men entwined over the years, but he reads on anyway, discovering more to value, more to respect, and most importantly, more to love about the man who raised him.
A Bittersweet Dreams title: It’s an unfortunate truth: love doesn’t always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.
First Edition published by Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure, 2013.
Buy links:
Vivien Dean is a firm believer that love doesn’t care about gender. That’s why her titles encompass both GLBT and het, erotic and sweet, as well as a wide variety of genres. After growing up in the snowy and isolated Midwest, she went off in search of her creative muse. She performed on stage, wrote and directed indie films in Orlando, then met her British soulmate online. One wedding, two children, and ten addresses later, she resides in the Bay Area where it’s easy to indulge in her favorite pastimes—good theater, great movies, and amazing food.
Vivien is a four-time EPIC eBook Award winner and collaborated with Pepper Espinoza to write as Jamie Craig for five years.
CONTACT VIVIEN
Website: www.viviendean.com
E-mail: vivien_dean@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/vivien.dean.3
Twitter: @VivienDean
Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love.
He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). He is also a Rainbow Award Winner for both Caregiver and Raining Men. Lambda Literary Review has called him, “a writer that doesn’t disappoint.”
Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever “at work on another novel.”
STALK RICK
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rickrreed
Blog: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/
Website: www.rickrreed.com
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rick-r-reed
Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com
Vivien brought with her a fantastic giveaway, a $10 Amazon GC !
Make sure too reply to this post with your toughts on this release and don’t forget to include your email adres to have a chance to win 🙂
Vivien will be around looking at your replies and she will pull a winner tomorrow!
Hi Vivian and Rick, congrats on the new release. I am looking forward to read it. It is true that acceptance of who you love is getting better. But even here where I live (the Netherlands, the first country where same sex marriage has been legalised, there still are horrible stories about gay bashing. We still have a long way to go. Therefore I think it is important to keep reading these kind of stories.
tankie44 at gmail dot com
I agree, it’s incredibly important. People need to see that love is love, no matter what. Thank you so much for stopping by!
I enjoyed the first edition of Family Obligations, are there changes to the second edition?
It’s expanded slightly from the original release, about an extra thousand words or so. But the bulk of it is the same. We’re glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Vivien and Rick. I enjoyed both your books and I have not read this story when it was first being published. I live in a country where we don’t acknowledge LGBT rights so it’s a VERY LONG WAY for us to go 🙁
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
I think what’s important is that we remember that every step forward is a good one, whether it’s a personal step or not. Our country has certainly taken inspiration from others. But no matter what happens, I’ll fight for a world that promotes fairness and equality. We all deserve it. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today! 🙂
My daughter is marrying her partner in September. I am delighted that she can do that.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Congratulations to your daughter and her partner! I hope they have a lifetime of happiness. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Congrats on the release. I thought things were going so much better, but now it looks like we’re taking steps back. Hopefully not. The book looks wonderful!
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
What’s been helping me is focusing on how far we’ve come. While there might be steps back, the awareness and acceptance we’ve had instilled in recent years can’t just be extinguished. That’s a step forward nobody can take away from us. We have to keep building on it. Thank you so much for stopping by!
Congratulations on re-releasing this book! It sounds fantastic. I watched my uncle go through a lot, when he finally came out it was a relief to some, but a lot of the family avoided him. I find his courage to live his life on his terms inspiring.
Jczlapin@gmail.com
That’s the word for it. Courage. We can all take inspiration from that kind of bravery. I hope for his sake that he’s happy now! Thank you for stopping by!
Congratulations on the re-release. I have not read the first edition, but it certainly sounds good. And you are right, the world is improving, slowly but steadily, and that’s something to be thankful for 😉
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
When I hear my teenaged daughter’s friends talk, I have even more hope for the future. They see the world differently than I do, because of the slow progress we’ve already made. That’s an important step. Thank you so much for stopping by today!
This sounds so intense, but it’s a story that needs to be told!
vitajex(at)Aol(dot)com
That’s the way Rick and I felt about it. Thanks for stopping by today! 🙂
Thank you for reminding me of how much progress we have made. I hope we keep moving forward! Congrats on the re-release! It sounds good although maybe also heartbreaking.
jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
While we might end up taking a step back along the way, I stand firm in hoping our progress remains forward. Thank you so much for stopping by today!
I haven’t read the previous edition of this book and I love book with older MCs – looking forward to read this. Congrats with the book rerelease to Vivien and Rick. Thank you for sharing this with us.
wow….this one sounds like it might be hard to read!
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Congrats on the re-release! This sounds like it might be a bit of a emotional read.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Congratulations on the re-release! I did not read this book before, but it sounds really good
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
I wish we could send a copy to all new members of our ‘White House’ team to be read before January 21st. We have a long way to go in opening people’s minds!