Monday, May 30, 2016

Virtual Book Tour ~ In The Present Tense by Carrie Pack ~ (Review, Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Virtual Book Tour ~ In The Present Tense by Carrie Pack ~ (Review, Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Author Name: Carrie Pack
Book Name: In The Present Tense
Release Date: May 19, 2016
Blurb: 
Miles Lawson goes to sleep dreaming of a future with his boyfriend Adam, but wakes to find he is married to Ana, an acquaintance from high school. When he learns he has been time traveling, Miles is consumed with finding a cure for his rare condition—and finding his first love. But will he be able to convince Adam he is telling the truth before it’s too late?
Pages or Words: 336 pages
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction
Excerpt:

Miles sat there and tried to make out shapes and colors in the dark room as he searched his brain for a memory of anything.
Nothing looked familiar. His desk, his drum set, the sheets—all gone. Not one thing looked the way it had when he'd fallen asleep, and Ana certainly hadn't been in his bed.
He tried to replay the previous day's events, but everything seemed fuzzy, like a fogged bathroom mirror that he couldn't wipe clean.
Why was everything so fuzzy?
Last night... What happened last night?
Adam had come over and they were watching TV together, and Adam had given him a small stuffed giraffe because Miles was scared about having surgery. He reached for his left arm, expecting to find the cast that had been there for the last two months, but it wasn't there. His heart began to beat so loudly he glanced over at Ana to make sure she was still asleep.
Unable to determine what had happened to his cast, Miles resumed his tally of the previous evening's chain of events. At around ten-thirty, his mom said Adam had to leave because they had to get up early to go to the hospital. He had taken his pain meds and gone to sleep with the phantom of Adam's goodnight kiss on his cheek. He'd been happy.
He'd gotten a text from Ana earlier in the evening, but she was only wishing him luck with the surgery. She hadn't come over. In fact, as far as Miles knew, Ana had been several hours away in her dorm room.
So how had she gotten into his bedroom? And who had changed his sheets?
He threw off the covers and stood up, noticing he was only wearing a tight-fitting pair of boxer briefs instead of his usual basketball shorts.
He looked around the room for anything familiar, but it was still dark out, and all he could see were shadows and vague shapes. On the dresser opposite the bed, he found a few framed photos. Squinting to see without turning on a light, Miles studied the images carefully.
As his eyes focused, he recognized a couple of the photos. One was from last year's prom: Adam wearing that ridiculous corsage Miles had bought him, Ana being dipped by her date, David, as all four of them smiled widely in front of a cheesy faux tropical scene. One of the frames held a collage of photos of his and Ana's friends. He recognized Adam, Lucky, Antonio, Dahlia and Brienne. But the last one, the largest of all the photos, was of him and Ana—her in a flowing white dress and him in a black suit, both wearing broad smiles and flanked by Miles's parents and a woman Miles had only seen once: Julia Espinosa, Ana's mother.
A loud clatter echoed through the bedroom as the frame hit the edge of the dresser and fell to the hardwood floor. This wasn't his room, and he didn't remember that photo being taken.
"Go back to sleep," Ana mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"Ana," he whispered, risking her full anger, but unable to stop himself, "we're married."
"Thanks for the update. Now go back to sleep before I divorce your dumb ass."
He dropped to the floor on his knees, barely even noticing the sharp pain of bare skin hitting the hard surface.
Married. To Ana?
What the hell had happened?
Buy the book:


Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Carrie Pack author of In the Present Tense.
Hi Carrie, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Thanks for having me. In the Present Tense is my second novel with Interlude Press and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! It is the tale of a young man named Miles who has a mental illness that manifests as time travel. Throughout the story, we learn that not everything is what it seems, and Miles must make some tough decisions to fix his past mistakes and to secure his future.

  1. What is your least favorite part of the publishing/writing process?
Waiting for the book to come out. I’m sure a lot of authors would tell you this, but there can be months, sometimes years between when an author signs their initial contract until the time the book is out in the world. During that time, you will spend months crafting your world, the characters and the story, and when that’s over, you spend several more months editing, where you reread your book at least half a dozen times to get everything just right. So by the time the real waiting happens, you’re just ready for people to read it and (hopefully) love it. Instead you wait. Patience is not a virtue I possess, so it’s always the toughest part of the process for me.

  1. As an author, is there one subject you would never write about? What would it be?
I’ll never say never, but I probably won’t write about vampires or werewolves any time soon. It’s not that I don’t love the supernatural or paranormal. In fact, I love it. And it’s because I love those genres that I probably won’t play in that pond. So many writers have done it already and better than I ever could. I’ll just read and enjoy what’s out there.

  1. When did you first realize you wanted to write?
I wrote a poem about Thanksgiving in fifth grade. It included my best line to date: “Eat up but don’t be rude.” At the end of the year, the teacher put it in a compilation of students’ best work. From then on, I’ve craved seeing my name in print.

  1. How long did it take to write your book?
In the Present Tense had been brewing in the back of my mind for over a year before I wrote a word and when I did, the words poured out. It only took me about six months to complete my manuscript. In all, it’s been two years since the inception of the idea and a year since I wrote the first words.

  1. For Fun: Where is one place you’d like to visit you haven’t been before?
Europe. All of it. I’ve actually never been out of North America, so I’d be happy to go just about anywhere. My bucket list definitely includes the UK, Italy, France and Spain. But I add to it all the time.

Miles Lawson is trying to get a handle on his complicated life.  The night before he fell asleep a gay 17-year-old boy and the next morning he wakes up a 25-year-old man in bed with his beautiful wife. With no true answer as to whether or not he can really travel through time or if he is simply mentally unstable, Miles doesn't know what to do.

At 17, Miles loved Adam and thought they'd be together forever, but now at 25 Miles is married to Ana, a woman from high school he had become friends with. When Ana tells Miles he hasn't spoken to Adam since they'd graduated high school, Miles can't believe that could ever happen. While his 25-year-old self knows all of the details of their painful breakup, 17-year-old Miles has no clue what could have happened. In his time he's still very much in love with Adam and that love is what leads him to seek the man out.

No one knows that Miles journey to finding Adam and learning what drove them apart would start them all on a collision course of secrets and lies, betrayal and heartbreak and ultimately love and understanding.
Miles will have to dig through his past, try to remain in the present and hope for a future.
In the Present Tense is not just a book about romance, in fact, the romance takes a backseat to the real story which is about Miles finding the truth about his condition. He has to struggle with learning and reliving things from his past that he may have tried to forget and moving on to have the future he truly wants. Things aren't always what they seem and people you trust may be the ones who ultimately betray you the most.

I honestly loved the premise of the book and was excited to read about Miles and Adam, however, in the end, I found that the story was not really what I expected. I really wanted more romance between Miles and Adam and truthfully, I didn't really like Ana. I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

While I found myself anxiously waiting to find out why Miles and Adam were not together at age 25 and whether or not Miles condition was real or not, after a while I felt there was too much going on. This definitely didn't feel like a standalone book to me. I had way too many questions at the end and felt as if not much really got resolved.

While I may not have loved In The Present Tense, I am sure fans of time travel, and Sci-Fi/ Fantasy will enjoy Miles' story.

3 Stars!
Meet the author:
Carrie Pack is the author of Designs On You and a part-time college professor who recently left her job in marketing to actively pursue her writing career. Carrie lives in Florida, which she fondly calls America’s Wang, with her husband and four cats.
Where to find the author:
Website:  www.carriepack.com


Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: CB Messer

Tour Dates & Stops:


Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, 5 First Prizes: eCopy of In The Present Tense by Carrie Pack
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