A warm Love Bytes welcome to author R.L. Merrill joining us today to talk about new release “Typhoon Toby”.

R.L talks to us about the story and brought a wonderful giveaway for our readers with her 🙂

Thank you for having me on Love Bytes today to share my new release, Typhoon Toby, with you. It’s a story of two men who share a few anonymous days together at an exclusive gay resort in Bali, never expecting to see each other again. But the problem with finding your perfect match in a situation like this is that Fate likes to put you back in each other’s path when you least expect it. Toby and Spencer will have to weather a storm fraught with danger and heartache if they are to find the love they both desperately need. The book is the follow up to Hurricane Reese. You’ll be pleased to spend some more time with the cast of characters from Hurricane Reese, as well as a new group of friends who have traveled from my indie published series Teacher. I am incredibly proud of how this series is coming along and I can’t wait for you all to read this latest installment.

 

There are some very personal connections I’d like to share with you about Typhoon Toby. You frequently hear people say, “write what you know.” In the case of this novel, a very real experience compelled me to write thos story that deals with mental illness and the lurking danger of suicide. The remaining paragraphs in this post may contain triggers for anyone who has experience in this area, so I will totally understand if we need to part at this point. Thanks for stopping by.

 

I’ve been an educator for 25 years this year, and during that time I’ve worked as a high school teacher in both comprehensive and independent study programs and I’ve also been a school counselor in a variety of settings. Before I earned my master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, I nearly lost a student I was very close with to suicide. I was the faculty in charge of the activity this student was a part of, and one day my principal called me to let me know that this student was in the emergency room. They’d left school at lunch, downed a bottle of pills, and then called their father. I had seen them that morning in class and I was completely unsettled. I was given permission to leave campus and go to the hospital as it seemed the student had asked for me.

 

When I arrived, I found a child who looked much younger than their age lying in a hospital gown on a gurney. Their mouth was black from eating charcoal paste. They cried and asked me to please deal with their father because they were too afraid. I did speak with the student’s father and he was just as stunned as I was. We talked about how we could keep the student safe and agreed to keep in touch. I went back to the student and held their hand while they gagged on the rest of the tube. They promised me they would reach out if they were feeling like they wanted to hurt themselves again, and I promised to check in with them daily and let them know I was there. The student was back at school a couple of days later, all smiles, and for the remainder of my time at that school we continued to touch base regularly. I pray they are still smiling.

 

As a counselor I have called for countless psychiatric holds for students who were a danger to themselves. I’ve held the hands of abuse victims as they shared with police what happened to them. I did therapy as an intern with battered wives and their children and tried to reassure them that life could be different, and supported them when they were too afraid to leave. And sadly, I’ve lost students to suicide. One that comes to mind was a brilliant and popular graffiti artist in the Bay Area where I live. Occasionally I see people post tributes to him and it makes me smile. I’m glad his spirit is alive.

 

All of these memories crawled to the surface as I wrote Typhoon Toby, a tale of a man who has survived the unthinkable to find love with a man who heals people for a living. Spencer Hart comes into Toby’s life for what is supposed to be a vacation fling, but back in real life, they are tossed into the fray together once more. Spencer is the perfect balance for Toby, but it takes Toby a lot of soul searching before he’s ready to accept the love Spencer has to give. In Spencer’s professional life he deals with many of the kinds of kids that I have dealt with in my career and I wrote these scenes as a love letter to those kids in hopes they have all made it out of the darkness and into lighter times. Everyone deserves happiness and love, no matter what their past experiences. So if you read Typhoon Toby, and I hope you will, I hope you’ll also send a little hopeful thought to all of those out there hurting. If you happen to know a kid who is struggling, maybe even give them a hug. It could make all the difference in the world to them.

 

Thanks again, and as always, Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance with R.L. Merrill.

 

Blurb:

Forces of Nature: Book Two

On the surface, Toby Griffiths appears to have it all—talent, money, a brilliant mind, and model good looks. With his best friend, Reese, he’s built an empire as a singer/songwriter.

But beneath that glittering exterior, Toby suffers the lasting effects of abuse. To keep his tempestuous past where it belongs, he insists on anonymity with lovers—no names, no personal information. But a vacation fling in Bali changes all that, and he can’t get his recent playmate out of his mind.

Therapist Spencer Hart left Bali with a bad case of pneumonia and a broken heart. Although he’s recovering, he’s shocked to find his secretive partner on TV, and he’s determined to see him again. Spencer arranges to attend one of Toby’s fundraising galas, and their reunion is tense.

Toby tries to stick to his rules… until a New Year’s kiss with Spencer washes away the last of his resistance. But Toby is a man with secrets, and when the storm comes ashore, it could devastate not just his professional life but his fledgling love affair and his longtime partnership with his best friend.

Will Spencer stand by his side and help him weather the storm as Toby faces his worst fears?

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Spotify Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6imlyzVuBmOfa0rzDSEf86

 

Once upon a time… a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ’n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most, such as Hollywood, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Northern California—and Iowa. Ro also loves connecting with other authors online, at the annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, and chapter meetings for the Romance Writers of America, of which she’s been a member since 2014.

A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted a wide variety of pets including cats, dogs, rats, a snake and fish. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or head banging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Connect with Ro:

Website: www.rlmerrillauthor.com

Twitter: @rlmerrillauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor

Instagram: rlmerrillauthor

 

And stay Tuned for more Rock ’n’ Romance.

R.L brought a fabulous giveaway for our readers!

Have a chance to win a $10 DSP credit 🙂
a Rafflecopter giveaway