Blog Tour: M/M ~ Percolation, Poetry, and Passion by A.V. Sanders ~ (ARC Review, Author Interview + Giveaway)
Book Information:
Title: "Percolation, Poetry, and Passion"
Author: A.V. Sanders
Page/Word Count: 41 pages/12,000 words
Release Date: August 26, 2015
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Buy The Book:
Blurb:
Beckett works at a coffee shop to make ends meet while attending a prestigious university. It's not the most exciting job, but he's done it long enough he's good at it—and can avoid the tedium by spinning sexy little daydreams of things he doubts will ever happen.
Daydreams that soon include Simon, the hot, handsome, and older freelance writer who stops in one day. But then Simon becomes a regular, a bright spot more interesting than the inside of Beckett's head, and daydreams start to seem like they could be something far more tangible—if reality doesn't get in the way first.
Daydreams that soon include Simon, the hot, handsome, and older freelance writer who stops in one day. But then Simon becomes a regular, a bright spot more interesting than the inside of Beckett's head, and daydreams start to seem like they could be something far more tangible—if reality doesn't get in the way first.
Excerpt:
Beckett did not know the older man’s name, and it didn’t matter. When their bodies met, a hot rush swept over Beckett, his breath catching in his throat. The other man took a step into him, leaving Beckett pressed against the wall. The man leaned in, taking a deep inhale. His rough cheek brushed against Beckett’s stubble, and he pulled back until their lips met.
Beckett lifted his hands, reaching into the man’s soft, graying hair. Clothing had dissolved from their bodies, nothing left to impede. Their arms moved over one another, fingers smoothing along taut muscles and hard lines, Beckett’s olive-toned skin complementing the older man’s deep tan in their tangle.
His lips laid a hot trail of kisses against Beckett’s neck and a low growl rumbled in his chest. Large hands closed around Beckett’s shoulders and turned him around. Beckett’s heart pounded in his ears, anticipation and lust building. The man was rough and strong—knowing what he wanted and what Beckett needed. Then, the nameless man spoke for the first time during their interlude,
“Was my pump sugar-free?”
Beckett startled, blinking a few times.
“What?”
“That syrup you just put in my drink—was it sugar-free? Because that’s what I ordered.”
The harsh mechanical whirl of a blender and the hiss of blow-off steam from an espresso machine brought Beckett back into reality. His handsome stranger had vanished, and in his place was the puffy, pale face of an average guy in his thirties. He was wearing an accusing scowl underneath matte black hair and a salt-rimmed baseball cap.
Beckett took a deep breath, the acrid scent of coffee pushing the last vestiges of his imagined lover out of his mind. He strained to give the customer a pleasant smile.
“Yep. Three pumps, one sugar-free vanilla and two hazelnut—just like it says on the cup.”
Puffy-scowl walked away and didn’t say thanks. Beckett disliked being questioned and prickled further when it was shot from over the coffee bar partition. He took pride in his job as a barista at The Percolation Station. He had been working at the eclectic, industrial-style coffee house since he was a freshman at UC Berkeley. After graduating last week, the four years of pulling espresso shots meant he could make these drinks in his sleep. Sometimes, he did—he always felt ripped-off waking up from a night of those pointless, dull dreams.
An errant thought about adding a pump of simple syrup to the guy’s drink skipped through his mind. Beckett never did understand why people risked being rude to those handling what was about to go into their body.
“Beck, can you cover? I got my fifteen,” Regina, the young woman working the cash register, said. She’d been employed at The Perc’ for a couple of months now. She effervesced without the help of a quad shot latte and was a fun energy to work with. He’d even let her give him a nickname, which was something he never did.
Their shift manager, Jordy, emerged from the back to take over drink making and Beckett signed on the register. He squared his shoulders and mustered his people skills—no more time for pleasant daydreams.
The usual late morning crowd wasn’t a bad group, as far as coffee house patrons went. No one was in a panic to get to work or school or whatever gave them that universal frenzied look between six and eight in the morning. In fact, things were going so smoothly, he didn’t call Regina out when she slipped behind the coffee bar instead of reclaiming the register.
Beckett ran out of quarters with his last customer, so he got a fresh roll and smacked the paper tube onto the edge of the drawer to break it. Not looking up, he told the next customer he’d be right with them. It didn’t matter though; he could hear the customer talking on his cellphone.
Fine, he thought, if this guy isn’t ready to order, I’m going to restock my drawer. There’s no line, anyway. Beckett took his time refilling each change slot and straightening the large bills, tuning in on the customer’s conversation.
“I’m glad to hear from you, too. Yeah, I’ll bring something. Just take it easy today, okay? I’ll be there soon.” Beckett glanced up, hearing a smile in the man’s voice. “Mm-hm. Of course. Love you,” the man said before hanging up.
Beckett noticed he was wearing a good-looking jacket—olive plaid tweed, fit for a professor at an ivy league. The man inside the tweed was even more impressive, and while he flipped through his smartphone, Beckett looked him over.
The man was older, but not ‘old’, maybe teasing into middle age. His ashen hair had some silvering at his temples and peppering the stubble on his chin. His skin was a light tan that looked natural and not procured by UV lights. Tall and well built, Beckett found his total image attractive—elegant and masculine.
Tracy's review:
5 Stars
*copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Beckett, a College student is a barista at a local coffee house. All his naughty daydreams are filled with one of his regular customers, writer, Simon. Simon is older and just getting out of a relationship. Beckett and Simon become friends, but will it move beyond that point?
I enjoyed this story. It was sweet. The flow was good and it held me captivated from the first sentence. Both Beckett and Simon are extremely likable characters. The secondary characters were well developed and added nicely to the story.
A.V. asked me to read this to be sure she had the New Orleans dialect correct, and she did a good job. I only corrected a phrase or two. I may not use all the phrases in this story, but I know people who do! lol
This was and enjoyable read. Sit back, have some coffee, maybe some beignets and enjoy Beckett and Simon's story!
Author Interview:
A.V., welcome to the Krewe of Bayou Book Junkie. Thanks so much for being here today!
Thank you so much for hosting me during this blog tour Mardi Gras parade! I’m super excited to be here!
What inspired this story?
Well, I have a strong pull toward May/December gay relationships. Weaving in New Orleans and the San Francisco Bay Area, places I love, made me happy. Like many other writers, I’ve spent more than a few afternoons in coffee shops working, and it seemed like a nice place for a fictional romance to blossom, so I made Simon a freelance writer. I decided to put a lot of my favorite things in “Percolation, Poetry, and Passion”: the places, the stars, and personal values. So, I guess you could say, it really is a story from my own heart.
What are your favorite qualities about each of these two main characters?
My favorite quality about Beckett is his principles and convictions. He is an environmentalist and a hard worker, and I really admire that about him. My favorite quality about Simon is his heart of gold. He is caring and loving, and I know he will do whatever he can to make sure the man he loves is alright.
Do any of your friends or family members ever end up between the pages of your books?
Ha, ha! I can whole-heartedly say “NO!” Simply because, I hate the question, “is that [this or that real person]?” about any of my characters. They are all works of pure fiction. Of course, little bits here and there come from real experiences, they have to. For example, in this story, I did use a name from my distant past: ‘Regina’, a secondary character in the story, is the name of a schoolmate from my childhood.
Can you share the projects you are currently working on?
Absolutely. I am waiting, impatiently, to see if another contemporary gay romance short of mine has made it into a Christmas anthology. If not, I have some fun plans for it with another author friend for a sort of free “Christmas Gift” to our readers. My current active WIP is a science-fiction series I’ve been writing off and on for several years. It’s sort of my baby, and I want to make sure I put down a good foundation for these characters and the series. It also features a gay couple as two of the three central protagonists.
A night out on the town or a night cuddling in front of the T.V.?
Definitely a night in. I love the idea of going out, but when we actually do make plans, I always dread them by the time they roll around!
Now let's talk a bit about mine, and Beckett's home town, New Orleans! Boy it's stifling here today isn't it? I'm glad they have fans here in the cafe.
Whew, me too! I’m not used to all of this heat and humidity. But I guess that’s what makes all these beautiful trees and moss and bayous around here. My favorite are all the little ferns sprouting from the plaster on the buildings here!
What's your favorite place to visit here?
Oh, the whole French Quarter. It’s just beautiful—magical, really. I don’t see how anyone could walk down these streets and not fall in love with crack and cobble.
What's your favorite food here?
Can I only pick just one? Oh my goodness. I think I need to make a list: bread pudding, creamy pralines, jambalaya, beignets, French bread. The fact some that restaurants serve you a sleeve of fresh, soft, crusty French bread…let’s just say they have a special place with me.
What's your favorite drink here?
Oh, I had a lot of fun trying the drinks in New Orleans, everything from the cheap Hurricanes on Bourbon street (only $5.00, and they were like sunshine in a go-cup) to the frozen daiquiris galore. I also liked learning about the Pimm’s Cup and my husband’s favorite drink since we visited two years ago is the Sazerac. We’ve spent a lot of time scouring Bay Area liquor stores for authentic rye whiskey.
What's the most memorable event you've had while visiting the Big Easy?
I got incredibly lucky and was able to visit New Orleans for my thirtieth birthday. And I went to see one specific holiday and event, my very favorite one: Halloween. It was amazing, I got to see a Mardi Gras-style Halloween Parade, put on by the Krewe of Boo, and had an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. We both had elaborate costumes (as did a lot of people) and were stopped for pictures. Someone even tried to give us a dollar!
What do you love about the culture and vibe here?
It will be hard to put into words everything I love about New Orleans. It truly has a different feeling than anywhere else I’ve visited in the country. The dedication to beauty, color, music, and life is unlike anything I’ve felt before. I think the age of the city is also something special. On the west coast, we just don’t have the same depth in history—New Orleans has been being beautiful for a long, long time. I hope to come back again someday.
About The Author:
A.V. Sanders loves and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She shares her home with her husband, two cats, and tropical aquarium fish. She is an avid hoarder of Halloween decorations and inconsequential information. When writing science fiction, mystery, and horror with LGBTQ main characters, she can be found staying up all hours of the night listening to endless sets of EDM music. She is an advocate of love, art, animals and frivolous acts of beauty. She also has a growing suspicion that not causing harm to one another is what matters in the end.
Finding A.V. around the web:
Giveaway:
Blog Tour Schedule:
8 . 31 – Monday – PRISM BOOK ALLIANCE – Guest Post – On Location: Inspiration for the story + Giveaway
Congratulations on the new release! Looking forward to reading it! I really like visiting New Orleans. You can find or see anything in the French Quarter. I was so happy when Cafe' Du Monde' coffee became available to buy in my area!
ReplyDeletejuliesmall2016(at)gmail(dot)com
It would be fun to visit New Orleans one day. (How cool to possibly win beads, and we don't even have to flash you!)
ReplyDelete--Trix
Congratulations on your new book! I have never been to New Orleans but recently my daughter got a two for one voucher for airfare. She had told me that New Orleans was one of the destinations but I found that she was mistaken. I was so sad.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE NOLA ALSO AND MISS IT VERY MUCH. MAYBE I WILL GET TO GO BACK AGAIN SOMEDAY. IT IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE! SHELLEY S. calicolady60@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new release!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new book and 5 star review. I'm adding this to my wish list.
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