A warm welcome to author AF Henley joining us today to talk about new release “But by the Grace of Dog

AF talks to us about the new release, shares an exclusive excerpt and brought a giveaway to participate in!

Welcome A.F. 🙂

Hello, and thanks for joining me! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been here, and I have to say that I am so glad to be back for a visit! It’s been a challenging year, and not just for me. It seems like everyone I talk to has their own story about how 2019 has forced them to either re-evaluate the path of their lives or re-establish boundaries that were already in place. It was on one of this year’s particularly difficult weekends that I sat down and asked myself what I really wanted to do with my writing, if anything at all. I was tired, I am not good at change and change kept invading my personal space like a hungry toddler, and I found that it was getting progressively harder to force myself to keep trying. So, was it time to let it go? Was there a point to pushing on with it? Was there something I was hoping to accomplish?

 

The answer that came back to me was that I wanted to promote harmony, acceptance, and positivity through the portrayal of Universal Intervention and True Love.

 

To which myself instantly responded, with, “But, why, though?” (My inner voice can get a little petulant.) “With everything that’s going on out there these days,” it asked me, “with all of the negativity and the hate, isn’t feel-good-fluff kind of pointless?”

 

After a long and arduous pondering on that, the only way that I could respond to myself was, no. It’s not pointless at all. In fact, the only way to balance unnecessary negativity and caustic hate is to lean all the way to the other side and pile on the positivity. At least that way, there’s a possibility that the scales will tip and meet somewhere in the middle. If nothing else, I’ll expend a bit of nervous energy by beating down the pessimism with big, fluffy, love pillows.

 

“Is it even possible to do that?” my argumentative self asked me.

 

I looked around the room and gave that question a second to bounce through my brain, but before I could come up with an answer, my little Chihuahua, Penny, looked up and gave me a “Hi-there, remember me?” expression. I thought, “Hunh,” and before I could take that thought any further, my occasionally-obnoxious, always-doting cat, Trevor, walked in and nodded a, “S’up?”

 

That was the day that But by the Grace of Dog was born, and I wasn’t even halfway through writing it when I knew that an entire series had come to life that day.

 

After all, what brings more happiness and connection than a four-legged buddy? One walk through the park with a dog (or a stroll down the street or while sitting in a vet’s office) makes it pretty obvious that there are not a lot of better ways to bring people together. And who makes a better wall to hide behind if you’re nervous, or shield to peek over if you’re timid, than a dog? Even if they are only 30 cm tall.

 

Man + Dog + Neighbour = True Love (but does it equal a HEA?)

 

Thank you to Love Bytes Reviews for hosting me today. I’ve missed you all madly and it’s an honour to be here. And thank YOU again for joining me. Please be sure to continue reading below for a short exclusive excerpt and all the details for the giveaway. A quick comment here will net you a chance at one of the adorable keychains pictured below and promo pack. Further, if you click through to the Rafflecopter, you just might walk away with a $25 credit to JMS Books that you can use however you choose to.

All my love!

AF Henley <3

Blurb

 

GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance, Canadian English

LENGTH: 49,400 words

RATING: contains some explicit sex scenes

NOTE: contains brief character thoughts about suicide

 

Thom Baron has been struggling with social anxiety his entire life. He’s taken the medications, gone to the therapists, followed the programs, and concluded his best life is a solitary one. When he comes across a dog in obvious need at his local market, it rekindles the desire to have some company around. It may come with a dishevelled coat, a notched ear, and a refusal to respond to anything but its given name “Ugly,” but it could still be a friend.

 

However, Thom’s new fur buddy has no such need to keep to itself and immediately befriends the man Thom has secretly coveted since he moved in — Justin, Thom’s gorgeous, bright-eyed neighbour. No matter how Thom tries to evade the man, the dog keeps drawing them back into each other’s lives, and it doesn’t take Thom long to recognize it’s simply pursuing the demands of Thom’s own heart. With the dog giving him the courage to try, Thom reaches out to return the love being offered.

 

Until a stranger shows up insisting the dog is his and demanding its immediate return … a loss Thom knows will take all of his efforts and newfound confidence with it.

Buy Link:

JMS Books

Amazon

Thom told himself not to look. He even managed to keep himself from doing it for all of about four seconds. The moment he peeked over, as if he’d been waiting for Thom to do it, the dog reached out. It was only an inch, as if to paw the front of the cage, but his short arms didn’t go that far and he didn’t put any effort beyond that first stretch. To Thom it seemed as if the dog had been rendered exhausted by trying. And man, oh man, if that wasn’t something Thom could relate to.

 

Black puppy eyes locked onto Thom’s, and for a moment, he was back in his parents’ living room, watching the street parties that had been a common mid-summer theme in their suburb. From

behind the glass and behind the gauzy folds of the window sheers, he watched people mingle and talk and drink beers and pops and they all seemed to have the social thing down perfectly. They made friends and connections, passed out hotdogs and freezies. And while that house had been no cage, Thom had definitely felt trapped. The worst part of it all was, he hadn’t wanted anyone to let him out. Trapped was safe. Trapped was comforting. The dog, however, seemed to want to be saved quite badly.

 

Thom knelt, gripping the table with one hand so he wouldn’t fall on his ass again, and reached between the bars. His fingertips barely touched the dog’s outstretched paw. The dog didn’t pull back, though. Nor did Thom have a bad reaction to their connection. Rather, a kind of warm, almost excited emotion

began to twist through him. If Thom couldn’t make friends with people, maybe a dog would be the next best thing. A friend was, after all, a friend. Regardless of type.

 

“I’ll give you twenty bucks for him,” Thom said, still staring into the dog’s eyes. “But you throw in the cage.”

 

“If you want the cage, too, he’s going to cost you forty,” the kid said quickly. To Thom’s delight, the boy actually sounded pleased. Maybe the dog’s fate had been marked in hours and not days.

 

“Thirty,” Thom countered.

 

“Forty, or my dad’ll kill me.” The boy held up the bag of strawberries. “But I can throw in the berries. He won’t notice two pints.”

 

Thom nodded. “Deal. But I’m going to need a leash.”

 

Before the words had even settled in the air, there was a metal rattle, the dog sat up, and the boy was smiling behind the dangling leash he had gripped in his fist.

 

“You made the right choice, mister,” the boy said around a huge smile. “I just know it!”

 

First, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of these adorable keychains, along with a promo pack. One winner per blog post. Second, check out the Rafflecopter link for a chance to win a $25 credit to JMS Books. One winner throughout the tour. All contests close December 9th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway