Friday, August 21, 2015

Keep Me In Mind: M/M ~ Sex, Love, And Videogames by CJane Elliott ~ (Author Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Keep Me In Mind: M/M ~ Sex, Love, And Videogames by CJane Elliott ~ (Author Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)


Author Name: CJane Elliott
Book Name: Sex, Love, and Videogames
Series: Serpentine Series
Book Three
Can be read as a standalone
Release Date: August 21, 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Buy The Book:

Blurb:


Shy guy Jed Carter has always felt invisible next to his charismatic older brother, Kent. Kent’s master plan for Jed is simple: University of Virginia, business, sports, and ladies’ man. None of it is Jed, except for playing on the rugby team, which he joins in defiance of soccer-loving Kent. Jed comes out in his sophomore year and starts seeing Pete, an attractive junior, who uses him for sex and videogames. Jed wants more—in life and in love—and starts making his own plans. First on the list: getting to know Charlie, the handsome guy working at the local videogame arcade.
Charlie Ambrose has always felt like an oddball, and not just for his tendency to stutter. Being gay sets him apart from his African-American community, and as a “townie,” he doesn’t fit in with the college crowd. Charlie’s inspiration is his cousin, Morocco, who’s transgender and doesn’t give a fig about fitting in. Art is Charlie’s passion, and when a local videogame designer discovers him, Charlie’s living a dream. The only thing he’s missing is love. But the last person Charlie expects to find it with is a cute, white U.Va. rugby player named Jed.

Pages or Words: 264 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Gay fiction, M/M Romance, New adult, *Trans, Interracial

Excerpt:

“Okay, warm up laps!” Beau led the rugby team in a slow circuit around the perimeter of Mad Bowl. After a few laps, he stopped and had them do stretching exercises.
The other team did their warming up, and when they moved to take positions, Jed noticed a pair of people standing on the sidelines. His breathing stopped for a second. Charlie stood, hands in his pockets, shifting from foot to foot, while Morocco, a vision in a pink track suit, set up a camp chair (apt name, that) and sat down. Morocco saw Jed looking and waved. Charlie turned and gave a small wave himself, and Jed waved back, heart beating faster.
“Who’re they?” Bud asked, squinting over at them.
“Um, Charlie’s a guy who works at Lucky’s. In the gaming area. And the other is his cousin.”
“Hmm. Townies?”
“Yep.”
“She’s cute.”
“Um, well, about that….” Jed cut himself off because the referee blew the whistle. Time to play ball and hope he did well in front of those two.
The game proved the usual testosterone-fest, with lots of grunting and body contact. When Jed scored some points, Morocco produced pom poms that matched her outfit and waved them wildly.
At the break, Jed ran over to them for a minute to say hi—fuck what the rest of the team thought.
“Jed, child, my word!” Morocco fanned her chest. “Y’all are such manly men! Rugby is going to be my new obsession, I just know it!”
“I like it. My mom never let me play contact sports in high school, so I kinda love ramming into people.” Jed felt his cheeks flame at what he had said. Crap-a-doodle.
But Morocco laughed and Charlie faked a cough so he could smile behind his fist.
“So, hey, thanks for coming. I gotta go back now.”
Charlie nodded as Morocco said, “We’ll see you after the game.” She picked up her pom poms. “Wa-hoo-wa!”
When the team huddled before the second half, a homophobe named Welburn said with a sneer, “Who are those freaks on the sidelines?”
Another guy laughed. “Yeah. I thought all the he-shes lived in San Francisco.”
“What’re you talking about?” Bud peered over toward Charlie and Morocco. “That girl?”
Welburn spit on the ground. “That girl is no she. She’s a he. What the hell are they doing here?”
Beau raised his voice. “Hey, concentrate, guys. We need to win this game.”
Jed held up a hand to stop Beau from continuing. “Before we do that, you all need to know that those are some friends of mine. So shut your fucking faces before I shut them for you.” He leveled a lethal glare at Welburn and his compatriot.
Fueled by his anger, Jed played an amazing second half, and the team pulled out a victory on the strength of his points alone. After their team high five, he trotted over to Charlie and Morocco. Charlie smiled broadly while Morocco jumped up and down. “Jed, Jed, Jed! Wa-hoo-wa! Thass right!”
“Okay, okay.” Jed couldn’t help laughing at Morocco’s outrageous enthusiasm. “Thanks for coming to the game.”
“It was fun. I’m glad we came.” Charlie took a step back, seemingly surprised to have gotten two stutter-free sentences out.
“I’m glad too.” They gazed tentatively at each other, and Morocco suddenly got busy folding up the camp chair.


Author Interview:

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing CJane Elliott, author of Sex, Love, and Videogames.

Hi CJane, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi there. Thanks so much for having me on your blog today to talk about my newest book, Sex, Love, and Videogames, the third novel in the Serpentine Series. Each book is a standalone but the series has recurring characters. Sex, Love, and Videogames is the story of Jed Carter, who we first met in Serpentine Walls, and Charlie Ambrose, a new character to the series.

Character interview with Morocco, Charlie’s cousin. She’s transgender and has been Charlie’s closest companion through his life.

  1. What’s your job like?

I’m not working yet, praise the Lord, because I have enough to do just getting through college and making sure my cousin Charlie does too. Although his boyfriend Jed is doing a good job of keeping an eye on him. They’re so sweet on each other, it’s sickening. Back to me: what I do is study my butt off most of the time. Myesha, my roommate, and I go dancing and shopping when we need a study break. I also volunteer at the LGBTQ Center. I work mostly with trans youth, getting them off the streets if they’ve been kicked out by their parents, giving them shelter and counseling. It’s shameful how much BS trans kids have to put up with. I should know. I had hard times myself and I was lucky to get through them. My friends at the Center were a big help in the hard times and so was my counselor, along with Charlie, Myesha, and Jed. I’m thinking of becoming a professional counselor or social worker myself.

  1. Would you rather be respected or feared? Why?  

Both, child! Why should I choose one over the other? My Granny Myrt certainly commands both respect and fear. You don’t mess with her and she’s who I aspire to be like, except for her conservative religious views on gender and queerness. She called me by my birth name, Ronald, for the longest time. But back to your question: who I want to be is myself. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. And if people fear that, so be it. I’ve been called outrageous – and lots worse – and I hold my head up high and sail on by.

  1. What’s your favorite book?

Right now, it’s the one by my girl Janet Mock. Redefining Realness. She’s been through it and she keeps it real about growing up as a trans woman of color. She’s my beautiful soul-sister inspiration.

  1. If you could go anywhere, all expenses paid, where would you go?

All expenses paid? Honey, I’d go on an around-the-world tour! And take my posse with me (that’s Charlie, Jed, and Myesha).

  1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up in a big family in Charlottesville. I knew I was a girl from an early age, even though I was assigned male at birth. My mama ran off when I was a baby and I was raised by my dad, my Aunt Tawniece, and Granny Myrt. My cousin Charlie was and is my closest friend. He’s gay and I’m trans. Don’t exactly know how that happened but that’s just how it is. Granny Myrt had a hard time accepting it, but I think she’s coming around. I sing in the choir at our church in Charlottesville and I love it and love our choir director, Mr. Antoine. If he didn’t already belong to that fine brother Edward, I’d be all over him. I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment but I live in hope.


About the author:
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.
In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
Where to find the author:

Tour Dates & Stops:
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7 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 21, 2015 at 6:18 PM

    I'm looking forward to reading this. It's been quite a while since I've played a video game. Not to show my age, but Frogger, Pac Man and Asteroids were my favorites. Thanks for a chance in the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJane ElliottAugust 21, 2015 at 10:35 PM

      Thanks! I remember Pac Man! (showing my age too) I hope you enjoy the book.

      Delete
  2. JenAugust 21, 2015 at 8:12 PM

    Hmmm....I don't really like video games. But, I used to love pinball machines - the real ones with actual balls. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. jodi marinichAugust 21, 2015 at 8:14 PM

    i like pac man

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJane ElliottAugust 21, 2015 at 10:36 PM

      I did too. To confess, I used my son as expert on current videogames because I was pretty much clueless!

      Delete
  4. waxappleloverAugust 25, 2015 at 6:09 PM

    Always and forever Mario Bros. :)

    ReplyDelete

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