Love Bytes welcome to their blog author Thom Collins to talk about his new release “Anthem of the Sea”, book 1 in the Anthem Trilogy.

Welcome Thom 🙂

Thanks for having me here today to talk about my new release Anthem of the Sea, the first novel in the Anthem Trilogy. In this book you’ll meet the main characters Daniel Blake and Elijah Mann. The guys get together while performing on a huge cruise ship as it returns to the UK. It’s far from smooth sailing in a story full of drama, romance, envy and murder.

I love this book. It’s thrilling, sexy, suspenseful, maybe a little shocking – an absolute blast to write. And quiet terrifying. The first book in a trilogy. My first trilogy. What was I thinking? Well, it didn’t quite start out that way. In the very early stages I planned to write one big story that took place over a period of three years, but quickly realised I’d be writing a book of 600 – 700 pages.

That’s a tough sell for most genre publishers, so I decided to break the story down into three more manageble parts. However, I knew straight away what I didn’t want to write. I’m not a fan of those series books that end on a chapter cliff hanger. Or trilogies in which book two is nothing more than filler, with characters arguing round in circles in a story that goes nowhere.

It was important that each of the three novels be a complete thing in it’s own right. With that in mind, each book was planned, written and edited as a single title, with a beginning, middle and end. There are a few loose ends carried over each time, Daniel and Elijah have to deal with the consequences of book one in the following novels, but they should still provide a satisfying, individual read on their own.

Anthem one was written, polished and submitted to the publisher before I started work on book two. Likewise, I finished and rewrote the second novel before starting the third. I’m in the early stages of book three right now and it’s very exciting, though there’s also a huge amount of pressure.

If a reader sticks with these characters and their stories I have to reward them with a great ending. Now book one is out there I know there’ll be pressure to get the other books out quickly but some things can’t be rushed and this has to be done right. There’s a lot more to come.

Blurb:

An ocean of possibility. For love, revenge and murder.

Daniel Blake, a handsome young singer, boards the Atlantic Anthem in Portugal for the final voyage of her maiden season. The state-of-the-art ship is the jewel in the Royal Atlantic cruise fleet. For Daniel, a one-time boy band member and TV talent show winner, it’s an honor to perform aboard such a vessel. Daniel loves the freedom and adventure of the sea. He began his solo career as a cruise ship entertainer and returning to the ocean as a headline act brings him full circle. He isn’t looking for love.

Neither is comedian Elijah Mann. Working at sea has given Elijah’s career the boost it desperately needed. Often considered too good-looking and sexy to be funny, work has been hard to come by since his TV show was canceled. With a potential new career opening up, he must remain focused. But when Elijah meets Daniel the attraction is mutual and instant. As the ship sets sail for England they have three days to get to know each other. Elijah can’t let that opportunity pass.

The voyage home is far from smooth. Also on board is a figure from Daniel’s past. A man who’s been holding a grudge for years, waiting for his moment. As a storm builds in the North Atlantic, Daniel and Elijah discover that the trip of a lifetime could be their last.

General Release: 20^th June

LINKS:

Pride Publishing

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

Thom Collins is the author of the novel Closer by Morning, with Pride Publishing. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and promptly confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels.

The novellas Gods of Vengeance and Silent Voices were published by Pride in early 2017, followed by the novel Anthem of the Sea, the first book in the Anthem Trilogy. He has recently finished writing the second book in a series and is working on the third.

Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonk-busters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age. Since taking his first cruise in 2013 he realized that sailing is the way to go.

Links:

Blog: www. thomcollinsauthor.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter:   @thomwolf     and @realthomcollins

Email: thomcollinsauthor@aol.com