Title: Living on the Inside
Author: Londra Laine
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Length: About 55,000 words
Genre: Romance, Single dad, gay romance, interracial, ex-con, domestic abuse, work romance
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Synopsis
Micah Grayson lives in his baby mama’s guesthouse. It’s unconventional and awkward, but he’s happy for a chance to reconnect with his teenage son. He doesn’t have time for other distractions—no matter how sexy, independent, and compassionate that distraction might be. Besides, he’s not good enough for more than a fling—no one would ever take him home to meet their parents.
Adrien Darling has book smarts, but no street savvy—at least that’s what his family says. And after a heart-breaking betrayal by the man meant to love and protect him, Adrien believes them. But then a gorgeous guy with a defeated look in his eyes walks into Adrien’s coffee shop and makes him want to take a chance.
After years of living on the outside as two misfits looking in, both men are afraid to reach for more. But in each other’s arms, Micah and Adrien find out what it’s like to live on the inside. As their tender bond grows and blossoms, old insecurities bubble to the surface. Will their commitment crumble under the pressure? Or will the two find the strength to fight for each other.
***Please be aware that this book contains a flashback of and several references to domestic abuse that may be triggering to some readers.***
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It is such a pleasure to have a guest post on Love Bytes and I’m thrilled to share my new release Living on the Inside with you all. Living on the Inside is my third self-published book and marks my one-year authorversary, so this book and its main characters, Micah and Adrien, are special to me. I want to share some of the inspiration behind these characters.
Micah is an ex-con looking for a job when we meet him. He’s also living in his baby-mama’s guesthouse and trying to reconnect with his 13-year-old son, Caleb. I really wanted to show how being formerly incarcerated can impact a person’s life and the lives of those you love — the struggle to find work and the effort it takes to repair broken relationships and trust.
I wanted readers to feel for Micah and relate to him so they see his humanity and all the things he is other than a felon. This was personal to me because my dad was incarcerated, so he certainly inspired some of Micah’s experience. Even after you’ve paid your debt to society, the stigma follows you and impacts those closest to you too and you’re a bit of an outsider for the rest of your life.
Adrien’s character was inspired by the highly polished and curated lives we project on social media. I have one friend in particular who I love and am crazy proud of, but seeing her social media posts made me feel like a loser, like I was behind in life. Then she confided in me that she was dealing with a serious health issue and things weren’t as perfect as they looked on Facebook. All those months I’d been making assumptions and she had been quietly struggling.
Like my friend and so many others, Adrien has kind of been suffering quietly. He is booksmart and business savv, but has been burned and experienced some trauma, so he doesn’t trust his own judgement. But because his family is so judgemental, he doesn’t feel like he can share his problems with them.
Luckily, Micah and Adrien find much needed friendship in each other. Of course, there is that initial attraction, but they establish a friendship that both of them desperately need and that grows into more. Along the way, they have to tackle challenges with their respective families, something else that I wanted to touch on in this book.
I’ve read a lot of MM romance with the stereotypical bigoted families or the evil ex-girlfriend and I wanted to move away from that a bit. Bigotry won’t ever go away and I certainly don’t knock that particular trope. I have dozens of books on my Kindle featuring that trope. But I really wanted to focus on other family dynamics where my characters’ orientation wasn’t necessarily central to the conflict.
I hope you take the time to read Micah and Adrien’s love story and once again thank you to Love Bytes for hosting me on the blog!
To learn more about my works in progress you can follow me on Twitter at @LondraLaine or on Facebook at @LondraLaineWrites
Londra has loved reading since she figured out how to do it. She writes to give her guys the happy ending she wishes everyone––no matter their race, religion, gender, or orientation––could experience in real life.
Londra makes money as a communications manager. She is a former journalist, a runner and a mezzo soprano.
In 2010, she moved from her native California to New York City where she lived in Harlem for nearly eight years. In early 2018 she relocated to Seattle with her spouse.
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