Guestpost & Giveaway: Cass Lennox – Growing Pains (Toronto Connections #3)

A warm welcome to author Cass Lennox joining us today to talk about latest release “Growing Pains”.

Cass shares a playlist and there is a giveaway to participate in!

Welcome Cass 🙂

A Playlist for Growing Pains

I prefer total silence while writing, but I do listen to music at my day job. The music I listen to provides an emotive background to my life, which then filters through a little to my writing. The earworm of the moment will get played during writing breaks too 😉

Growing Pains went through three major writing phrases: the first one, in which I started writing Growing Pains after Finding Your Feet and never finished; the second phase, which involved rewriting and completing the first attempt, thereby producing the first draft; and the third phase, which involved major edits and additions. All of that corresponded to roughly three different musical phases, as my preferences move on after a few months.

All of this means is that the playlist for this one is a real mixed bag.

Far and away the band I associate most with this novel is Haim and their amazing first album Days are Gone. Rather than link to the entire album in one video, I’ve included my fave songs interspersed with others that I listened to at the time and songs I think fit the main characters. Haim is perhaps not the first kind of sound one would associate with a drag queen and his boyfriend, but I seriously recommend them! (Don’t worry, there’s some RuPaul in there too.)

 

For those who would rather tear their hair out than listen to the entire playlist, here’s a representative selection.

 

Don’t Save Me, Haim

I just adore this song. The video is pretty fun and the way the band throws themselves into the music and their moves is awesome.

 

Meteorite, Years and Years

Wins points for best costume and dance moves in the entire playlist.

 

Glamazon, RuPaul

Cheesy, catchy, a little silly, and utterly fabulous.

 

Brother, Mighty Oaks

Gentle music for a rather ungentle novel.

 

About Growing Pains

 

Gigi Rosenberg is living his best life: performances in the big city, side gigs at a dance company, a successful drag act, and the boy of his childhood dreams who now adores him. Even if the boyfriend part isn’t the sparkly ride of passion he expected it to be, life is sweet. So when his sister’s wedding calls him back to his hometown, he sees an opportunity to show the hicks from his past how wrong they were about him. Only, his boyfriend isn’t quite on board.

Brock Stubbs left their hometown and his parents behind for a reason, and the prospect of facing them again is terrifying. He swore he’d never go back, but Gigi has made it clear refusal isn’t an option, and Brock will do nearly anything for him. There’s just one deal-breaker of a problem: Brock promised Gigi he was out to everyone, including his parents. He lied.

It’s magical to run into the sunset together, but staying the course takes work. For Gigi and Brock, going home feels like the finale of a long, disappointing year. Sometimes love isn’t all you need.

Available from:

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

About Toronto Connections

 

The winters might be cold, but hearts are warm in Toronto. Canada’s largest city is home to a big lake, a big tower, and a big queer community. People here are trying to get by like everyone else: pay the bills, deal with life in the city, and maybe find some happiness along the way with someone who’s sweeter than maple candy and more constant than a Canadian’s love for Timmie’s coffee.

For some, falling in love is a real challenge. For others, falling is the easy part—it’s the happy ever after that proves a little more difficult. But in the end, love is worth every complication, misunderstanding, and occasional swear word.

 

About Cass Lennox

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

 

Connect with Cass:

• Blog: casslennox.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cass-Lennox-1704635609768647/
• Twitter: twitter.com/CassLennox

 

To celebrate the release of Growing Pains, one lucky winner will receive $15 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!