Jodi: Hey y’all! Oh. Wait a second, that’s BA’s line. Sorry! This is what happens when you write with a brilliantly creative woman like BA Tortuga. She rubs off on you, even from 2000 miles away.
I’m Jodi Payne, and BA and I are here to talk a little about our new five-book series, entitled Collaborations. The first book, Refraction, is out now! The second book is due sometime in the spring.
BA: So, you know how you start talking to someone and you carefully plan a series and pitch it and…
Okay, stop laughing.
Y’all never know! Jodi might work that way!
Jodi: Nope. Not even.
This series came about like the platypus sketch that Robin Williams did years ago. “Okay, what if I took a beaver, and put a duck bill on it?”
Right? It was just like that.
What if we took a tortured Texas painter and dropped him in the lap of an insecure New York underwear model? What if we sent a rural, laid back, seat of his pants, Cajun blues guitarist to the big city and he crossed paths with an intense, Type-A ballet dancer born with a silver spoon in his mouth?
BA: It went from a couple of what ifs to a five-book series about artists and how they learn to love something other than their art.
Jodi: There are all kind of passion. Art is one. Love is another. We challenged ourselves to figure out how one could make room for the other and to see if they could find space in their creative brains for someone else’s passion. We thought about where inspiration comes from and what obstacles there are to creativity.
And if that sounds too lofty, we should also say that we wanted to create some hot men, stick them in a room together and watch the sparks fly. These artistic types are hotter than a New York City sidewalk in July.
BA: *grins* I love how she thinks, don’t y’all? I just showed up with Tucker in the snow and dangled him. It was a little like fishing. Calvin totally took the bait.
Jodi: Boy did he. *boggles* Oh, but there was more to what we wanted to do than create great characters, right? We wanted some serious tension. Talk about taking these men out of their comfort zones.
BA: Yeah, we did explore the city mouse/country mouse trope and then we turned it on its ear. And no, you don’t get to know how. Jodi’s anti-spoiler.
Jodi: I am! But I’ve seen Avengers Infinity War so we’re good there. *winks* So. The Collaborations series. What are we giving the reader? Artists. Creativity. Passion.
BA: Wild sex. Hang ups. Obsessions. Food. Lots of food.
Jodi: Oh, and a happily ever after.
BA: You know it, honey. That’s guaranteed.
Blurb
Refraction A Collaborations Novel
Texas artist Tucker Williams arrives in New York City for a gallery showing of his work and finds the city blanketed in snow. He meets free-spirited underwear model Calvin McIntire on the steps of the Midtown library and is captivated by a wild beauty that manages to compete with the demons that occupy his soul and fuel his work with their lust for blood and erotic imagery.
Unable to deny a new inspiration, Tucker sublets a studio and finds the city’s energy almost as addictive as Calvin.
Tucker is obsessive, barely holding on to sanity as his art consumes him, and Calvin is dealing with demons of his own, trying desperately to protect his soul in a business where only his appearance has value. They each prove to be the perfect remedy for the other’s personal brand of crazy until, in the midst of stress and exhaustion, they discover that a promise Calvin needs is the one thing Tucker can’t give him, and their heaven turns to purgatory.
Can both men find a path toward wholeness in Tucker’s beautiful but chaotic Texas home? In order for them—and their passionate relationship—to thrive, they’ll need to adapt, share their psychoses, and find a true balance between New York City and rural Texas.
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Jodi Payne takes herself way too seriously and has been known to randomly break out in song. Her men are imperfect but genuine, stubborn but likable, often kinky, and frequently their own worst enemies. They are characters you can’t help but fall in love with while they stumble along the path to their happily ever after. For those looking to get on her good side, Jodi’s addictions include nonfat lattes, Malbec and tequila any way you pour it.
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BA Tortuga: Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds and her beloved wife, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friend, Sean Michael, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.
Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.
BA
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