A warm welcome to author Sid Love visiting our blog today to talk about the release of his new story “Detour”.
Sid shares a personal story with us , shares an excerpt and there is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome Sid 🙂
Thank you for having me here.
Detour is my novel that comes out tomorrow and I’m here to talk about why this book is so close to my heart.
The main character Austin Reyes is a survivor. He is a male rape victim, having endured sexual assault at his workplace. And like many others around the world, he is unable to speak up about it.
One of those many is me, too and although this story isn’t really about me, it handles the topic that has left some invisible scars on me that I’d carry with me for life.
Men are pictured as a dominant figure and finding the vulnerable side of their story has been made an oddity by the society. This is why male rape victims end up suffering alone, they don’t dare open their mouth because then their masculinity will be doubted on.
The offenders, on the other hand, roam around freely moving on to their next innocent prey.
I was very young when it happened to me and I still remember being so freaked out, I couldn’t get out of the house for a whole week. My parents didn’t know what was going on and assumed I was stressing over the upcoming exam. Little did they know that their son was crying himself to sleep every single night.
A friend who I confided in made a joke out of it and the embarrassment killed me more from within.
But, a good person walks into Austin’s life and it changes everything for him. I wish I had someone like Dylan Carver in my life too. It would have made living my life a little more bearable after that awful incident…
I am still searching for him … one day maybe he will walk into my life and will sweep me off my feet. Cheesy, I know… but
well, a guy can dream right?
TITLE: Detour
AUTHOR: Sid Love
PUBLISHER: Cool Dudes Publishing
LENGTH: 226 Pages
GENRE: M/M Romance Thriller
COVER ARTIST: Corneles Bronkhorst
BLURB:
Austin Reyes works as a bartender to support his ailing mother in a small town called Eaton. But his life takes a horrible turn when his boss’ son, Caleb, arrives in town and forces himself upon Austin. There is no end to Caleb’s lustful intentions. Austin leaves Eaton and flees to Denver to start a new life when his mother commits suicide after succumbing to depression. There, he meets Dylan Carver.
Dylan is out and proud. He’s also a well-known actor in the porn industry. When haters damage his car, Austin, now homeless and destitute, is injured and Dylan helps him. In the immediate aftermath, Dylan develops more than a passing interest for Austin, and, though they part ways, chance meetings never stop.
Austin lets Dylan in on the secret about his past, but soon realizes that the man who looked so happy on the outside, has his own baggage. Unbeknownst to them, someone is plotting to get Austin killed.
Even while surrounded by danger, Austin and Dylan’s relationship takes a detour that was always meant to be. Will this detour be Dylan’s undoing? Will Austin finally come to terms with his mother’s suicide and follow his own truth? Or will their lives implode?
Trigger Warning: Content includes a rape scene.
My apartment building had seen better days. It was ancient and looked like it would fall apart any time. The color had worn out over the years and there were cracks here and there, but it was dearest to me anyway. It had been my home for as long as I could remember; well, it wasn’t exactly owned by us — we rented, to be specific — but I speak from the sense of belonging. The owner of the building — Mr. Marshall — had promised to repair it soon. It was a one-story building with four small apartments, two on each floor that faced each other. Our apartment was on the first floor, so, at three in the morning, I took the flight of stairs and walked up to my door soundlessly. I knew better than to wake up our neighbor. I slowly put the key into the lock and opened the door.
Hesitating for some time, I considered again whether to tell my mother about what had happened. I couldn’t hide anything from her, but the explanations would have to wait until morning. I was too tired and sad right now.
I closed the door silently behind me.
The house lights were dim but I could see the light in her bedroom. As always, she was waiting for me to return. She would be curled up in her bed, reading her favorite Nora Roberts novel. She did the same every night before going to sleep.
I headed for her room. Thankfully, I had stopped limping as the pain dissipated; she wouldn’t know anything was wrong right away.
The door was ajar.
I stepped into the room.
…And suddenly it was hard to breathe.
“Mom! Oh, dear God!”
Her lifeless body hung from the ceiling fan.
I rushed to support her feet. Although I knew the worst had happened, I hoped she was alive.
She didn’t move.
Her bare feet were cold.
Her skin, pale like never before.
I couldn’t understand why she would take such an extreme step. She was fine when I had left for work that evening.
My tears flowed freely this time.
That was when I noticed it. The letter on the nightstand.
BUY LINKS
Sid Love grew up in one of busiest cities in the world, Mumbai, listening to the excerpts of Indian epics as told by his father every night. While it served as an inspiration back, he has always had an ambitious mind.
In 2007, when he had just turned sixteen, he decided that he would make his lifelong dream come true—to become a well-known, respected author someday.
Ask him and he would refuse to accept that he is obsessed with books. Or movies. Or TV shows. Addicted may even be the right word.
He is a die-hard fan of Jane Austen’s romance novels and loves to reread them time and again.
Find him on –
Blog: https://sidlovewrites.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sid.love.16
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsidlove/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FatefulMercy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AuthorSidLove/
Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7793040.Sid_Love
Winner gets a paperback copy of DETOUR!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Although male rape isn’t a pleasant topic to read about I think it is very important to give awareness to this fact. Talking about rape is still a taboo, being a male victim is even harder.
Phew. Even without the trigger warning, that blurb already alarm me. Yet I’m still intrigued by the overall prospect of the story.
I like reading dark stories. Male rape is a topic that should be talked about and this book is intriguing as to how the MC deals with it.
This sounds very intense, but it’s important that survivors don’t feel stigmatized!
Wow – this sounds like an intense read but a very interesting story! It’s not always easy to talk about the bad things that happen but it should be talked about and not hidden away.
I’m intrigued by dark themes and how they are portrayed
Such a chilling excerpt. Rape is rape and i’m appalled by how many still think ‘the victim had it coming…’ So much for society making strides beyond that of the ‘apes.’ Hopefully this book has the potential for changing minds.