Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Virtual Book Tour: M/M ~ Please Understand by Fai Marie Dawson ~ (Author Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Virtual Book Tour: M/M ~ Please Understand by Fai Marie Dawson ~ (Author Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Author Name: Fai Marie Dawson
Book Name: Please Understand
Release Date: July 30, 2015
Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Melody Pond

Buy The Book:


Blurb:

To keep his mother off his back, Fox struggles to live life as a straight man. Following his failed marriage, he thinks he’s found a piece of heaven when he meets Audrey, a sexy dark-haired beauty. When he’s introduced to her twin brother, his life turns upside down. Mrs. Jones, a regular shopper at Fox’s quaint neighborhood bookstore, steps in to referee the fall-out. Can Fox maintain relationships with both Audrey and her brother? Can a late night train chase bring Fox closer to the one he loves? How far will Fox’s mother go to keep her son tight in her clutches?

Pages or Words: 239 pages/82,000 words

Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, *Trans

Excerpt:
It was shortly after lunch on Friday that Mrs. Jones came in. Although she had shown such tenderness to Audrey, I was still in fear and awe of this woman. To me she was curt and demanding. I still dreaded Fridays on account of her. Today she barged through the door: middle aged, shaped like a tank, with a formidable purse that I suspected she could brandish as a weapon if she so chose. I shamefully admit that I hid, shaking, in the back room. I remained hidden behind the door as I watched through the space under the hinge.
She marched straight over to Tommie, who was innocently concentrating in his chair, bent over his laptop. He didn’t stand a chance.
“You, there!”
Tommie looked up and scanned the shop. Not finding me, he sacrificed himself for the greater cause.
“Yes?”
“Tommie?”
He said something I couldn’t hear then he looked around the shop again, I supposed in a vain hope that I might come rescue him. I saw him take a deep breath, preparing himself for the inevitable. Poor man didn’t have a clue what he was up against. I knew I should come out of hiding, but so help me, I didn’t have the strength. I had been dealing with her on my own every Friday for over a year, and my morbid curiosity wanted to see what she could do to someone else.
“What can I help you with, Ms. ––?
“Mrs. Jones.” She said it decisively and firmly. No question about it, she was Mrs. Jones. Like no other, she stood like a rock.
He nodded and snapped his laptop shut. “What can I help you with, Mrs. Jones?” When he stood, her eyes scanned down his body like a CT scan, slowly taking in and savoring every inch carefully.
He carried his laptop and set it on the shelf under the front counter. Mrs. Jones took in the view from behind, her head tilted thoughtfully.
I remained silent. This was getting interesting. I was seeing a side of Mrs. Jones I hadn’t known existed. I was anxious to see if Tommie could handle her.
“Well,” she said a bit breathlessly. “Tommie, your jeans are a bit tight.” He turned slowly, but her eyes settled on his mid­section, centering on the zipper of his jeans.
“My eyes are up here, Mrs. Jones.”
“Totally inappropriate!” But her eyes still wandered appreciatively over Tommie’s landscape.
“Very well, Mrs. Jones,” I saw him smile pleasantly then ask, “But may I help you find something?”
I didn’t hear what she said, but to my dismay, he led her to the closet where my adult books were stashed. I almost came out to prevent the disaster that I anticipated, but instead of indignation, within moments they returned to the front desk, and I watched as he rang up her purchases. She had chosen several books.
“I hope you enjoy these, Mrs. Jones.”
“You’ve been most helpful, Tommie, not like that naughty Fox that you work for.”
She waved goodbye happily and blew him a kiss as she went out the door, her purchases held tightly to her ample chest.
“Coward!” I assumed he was talking to me, although he didn’t look up.



Author Interview:

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Fai Marie Dawson author of Please Understand. Hi Fai, thank you for agreeing to this interview.


  1. How do you develop your plots and characters?
The characters come to me first, and they bring their problems. Then I begin my work. First I flesh out my characters. What makes them the way they are? What motivates them, and what do they need to be able to reach their goals? Then I plot the outline with the obstacles and frustrations they face. Once the rough outline is in place, I fill colorful index cards with details, as many as possible and I number them to match the outline. Then I begin to write, taking time out to research as I go.

  1. Who doesn’t love a good hero? Tell us about your protagonist. Was there a real life inspiration behind them?
Fox’s mother was not based on any one person, but a recipe for disaster concocted from every story of a nasty mother-in-law that I’ve ever heard. The Internet, and my friends are full of details! Nosy, opinionated, devoted to mold her son into the man she wants him to be. She is a force to be reckoned with, yet Fox loves her and has spent his life trying to please her. I have promised my own darling daughter-in-law that I will never become Gloria…I think perhaps she would use ‘Gloria’ as her safe-word!

  1. What real-life inspirations do you use when world building?
I love to watch people. Talk to strangers. Read. Empathize. Feel the emotions. Experience nature or city life. All these things go together as building blocks for my characters and their world. I don’t use actual events from my life, but I use the emotions caused by those events. Being lost in a huge department store as a child, becomes the distress my seventeen-year-old character feels when a trucker drops him off alone in a big city. I use calendars to plot out the events of my characters; I use maps and the Internet to see my locations. It’s all so three-dimensional. And then you bring to that their separate personalities…

  1. Did you learn anything from this book and what was it?
I learned that it was okay to write the rough draft straight through. Before I had always edited and shared with readers as I went. This way it is easy to keep my enthusiasm, concentration and momentum going. There was plenty of time for edits, beta reading and re-writes when I was done.

  1. It’s your last meal on earth. What do you choose?
Everything gluten! Carrot cake! Bread! Pasta! Gravy! Then if I got a reprieve, I’d be so sick I’d want to die! Sigh…


Meet Fai Dawson:
Fai Dawson lives in a small town thirty miles northeast of Seattle Washington in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains with her beloved wife, Becky. Together, they work on restoring their 110-year-old Victorian home. She spends her days writing, blogging and walking Moxie, their Newfie-Chow through the rainy streets of town. Pepe, a brave and proud tuxedo cat is her muse, ever mindful of providing inspiration for her next project. Although she has filled countless journals in her life, she began writing seriously in 2009 as a way to deal with anxiety. She is currently working on her next manuscript.

Where to find Fai Dawson:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fai.dawson
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/faimariedawson?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Faidrah
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/faimarie/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/faidrah/

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