A warm welcome to author E.J Russell joining us today to talk to us about new release “Mystic Man”, part of Dreamspinner Press States of Love series.
Many thanks to Love Bytes for inviting me to stop by today as part of the Mystic Man blog tour! Mystic Man is a contemporary novella set in Connecticut, part of Dreamspinner’s States of Love collection.
To celebrate the release, at the end of the tour I’ll be giving away a $20 Amazon gift card and an ebook copy of Clickbait (another of my contemporary romantic comedies) to one lucky commenter.
During my freshman year of college, I was somehow talked into going sailing with a group of friends. I’m not entirely sure why I agreed—sailing was never something that had occurred to me to do. But my best friend, Gordon, was going, along with six or seven other people, so one absolutely gorgeous day in January, we set out from Newport Harbor in a rented sailboat.
I have no idea why the company rented the boat to us—a more ragtag group you’d never want to see. At nineteen, I was probably the oldest. But the one other person who was about my age somehow managed to convince the sailboat people that he knew what he was doing.
Attempting to tack out of the harbor disabused most of us of that notion, but once we were beyond the jetty (and the alarming proximity of other boats) it was glorious. Sunny. Very warm for January, especially considering we were on the water. The other girls and I were actually wearing halter tops as we sat on the bow.
I look back on this now and scream at myself, “WERE YOU INSANE? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??? YOU WERE ON THE FREAKING OCEAN!” None of us were wearing life jackets. The boat was not that big. And did I mention that most of us had no clue how to sail?
Yeah. To this day, I’m stunned that we survived.
But we blithely stayed out all afternoon, and when it was time to head in (I think the boat was due back by 5:00), the wind died as soon as we got inside the jetty. Yep. Becalmed. We were going nowhere and were starting to get very nervous. Al, the guy who rented the boat, had probably pledged a pound of flesh or his first born if we didn’t return the boat in time. So (since none of the people aboard had a fully functional prefrontal cortex), two of the guys, Mike and Steve, decided to swim to shore (e.g., the jetty) and walk back to the rental shop to tell them the problem. So they jumped in, fully clothed.
The water was rather colder than they anticipated.
I don’t remember how long it took us to finally dock, but I know it was after dark. We had to drive home with Mike and Steve still dripping wet.
And then we ran out of gas.
Oh yeah. Good times.
But the post-event terror is what I remember the most. I don’t think it even occurred to me to be terrified until years later (perhaps after my own prefrontal cortex came on line—or maybe it was after Jaws was released). At that point, the idea of setting foot on a boat ever again became out of the question.
Because I’m so kind and generous to my characters, I gave Aaron in Mystic Man that same soul-freezing terror of being on the ocean. I mean why should I be the only one to suffer? 😉
Mystic Man
A States of Love Novella
When a series of personal crises prompt risk-averse research librarian Aaron Templeton to apply for a job on the other side of the country, nobody is more surprised than he is. He nearly runs home before the final interview except for one little problem: he has no home anymore. He put his condo on the market before he left California and it’s already sold. Only an encounter with free-spirited Connecticut native Cody Brown at the Mystic Seaport Museum staves off Aaron’s incipient panic attack.
Cody loves nothing better than introducing newcomers to the great features of his beloved home state, and when the newbie in question is a rumpled professorial type with the saddest blue eyes on the planet? Score! The attraction between the two men deepens as they explore Cody’s favorite spots, but when difficulties arise and Aaron’s insecurities threaten to overwhelm him, will Cody’s love be enough to keep him in Mystic?
Buy links:
E.J. Russell–grace, mother of three, recovering actor–writes romance in a rainbow of flavors. Count on high snark, low angst and happy endings.
Reality? Eh, not so much.
She’s married to Curmudgeonly Husband, a man who cares even less about sports than she does. Luckily, C.H. also loves to cook, or all three of their children (Lovely Daughter and Darling Sons A and B) would have survived on nothing but Cheerios, beef jerky, and Satsuma mandarins (the extent of E.J.’s culinary skill set).
E.J. lives in rural Oregon, enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.
Website: http://ejrussell.com
Newsletter: http://ejrussell.com/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ej_russell
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Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/ej_russell
Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/e-j-russell
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/ej_russell
Congrats and thanks for the story. I love the ocean, so it’ll be interesting to see Aaron’s experiences.
He resists…all the way!
What an experience – I really don’t regret my experience with boat on a sea/ocean can be counted one-handed, lol. And color me me intrigued with the book! Then again, I have a soft spot for a bookish/studious looking characters and this book seemed to have it!
Congrats on the new book, EJ – can’t wait to read this book!
Thanks, Didi! Needless to say, my subsequent sailing experiences were non-existent!
We all do things we never should have when we were younger.
IKR? So cringeworthy!
becalmed….sounds fun….NOT!!
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Oh so not! Nothing like being simultaneously bored to tears and terrified of Big Stinkin’ Consequences!
If you were friends with me, you never would have gone sailing. My sense of self-preservation is high and I would have refused to go and physically tried to stop everybody else. I’ve always been the responsible one!
jlshannon74 at gmail.com
Believe me, I have a *highly* developed sense of caution these days! My brain now delivers entire pageants of Ways Things Can Go Wrong!
I’ve been a boat once and I probably could take it or leave it. It was okay just not something I would want to do again. It sounds like you had an experience and it’s great that nothing bad happened.
It’s amazing how oblivious young people can be to danger.
Although my zodiac sign is fish, I don’t think I’m THAT calm in the water. I mean, I’ve experienced going on boat to a touristic island, and there was high waves, and I was pretty terrified!! Congratulations on this book, by the way…
Brrr! Whenever I see film of boats fighting gigantic waves, I cannot see how they can possibly not capsize or sink. (And thanks!)
Thank so much to Love Bytes for inviting me to stop by today. And thanks to everyone for commiserating with me about my youthful folly!
LOL! I am quite terrified of boats myself, I had a bad experience when we happen to encounter a storm while in a small fishing boat… I’m sworn out of boats forever
Congratulations on the release. I love your books!
Susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
OMG, Susana! What a nightmare! So glad you came through safely!
I can’t imagine being far away from the ocean, but somehow the cold water and possibility of sharks make me okay with just standing on a beach!
Trix, I still much prefer living on a coast (either east or west)–but I’m with you: the beach is close enough!