Thursday, August 24, 2017

Blog Tour: Grounded by Aidan Wayne ~ (Interview, Review + Giveaway)

Title: Grounded

Author: Aidan Wayne

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: August 21

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 40000

Genre: Contemporary, chefs, children, contemporary, sports, gay, pansexual, trans

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Synopsis

Between raising his daughter Camille, his work as a full-time pastry chef, and his hobby of capoeira, Baz’s life is pretty full. He may be a little lonely, but he’s too busy to think about it all that much.

When his cousin Alaina introduces him to Terry, another capoeira student, Baz is instantly drawn to him. Though quiet and withdrawn, Terry ends up being a fun, interesting person who Baz can’t help but fall for. And when Baz does things, he doesn’t do them halfway.

Terry is a successful voice actor and a talented martial artist. But the fact that he’s shy, on top of being a trans man, has kept him from really dating. He likes Baz, he does—he just doesn’t want to mess up their friendship by failing at romance. Still, Baz is nothing if not stubborn, and Terry is willing to give things a try.

Excerpt

Grounded

Chapter One

Baz was going to throw up.

It was finally time for the Roda Capoeira showcase. Baz’s martial arts school put on a demo once a year, and he was one of two people demonstrating advanced flips. He was ready, he’d been practicing for weeks, the show started in ten minutes, he was the eighth performer out of twelve, and he was going to seriously throw up if he thought anymore about performing in front of an audience. He was fine with regular capoeira games, the fighting dance performed in a rodacircle. But for some reason this felt a lot different from playing a game with his regular group.

Maybe it was because Andre and Aunt Emma had collaborated with the local community broadcast system, so there were television cameras around.

There was a quick rapping on the dressing room door—three sharp knocks to warn them all before it was pushed open. Someone Baz had never seen before walked in, looking for all the world like they belonged there.

“Terry!” Lydia, who was closest to the door, immediately rushed at them, throwing her arms around their neck. They looked tiny next to Lydia’s five-ten frame but didn’t buckle after being practically jumped on. “Oh my god, Terry, you’re back! Guys, Terry’s here!”

Baz turned to get a better look, grateful for the distraction, as all of the eleven other performers made their way toward the door and the short dark-haired newcomer, who quickly disappeared underneath a multitude of hugs. Dee, who had been putting on their makeup, practically tripped over themselves to run forward.

“Hey everyone,” Terry said, muffled under Dee and Alaina. “Missed you.”

“I’m glad you made it. Welcome back.” Andre grinned, clapping Terry on the back.

“Well, I couldn’t miss the showcase,” Terry said, smiling down at the floor. They spoke quietly, but in a way that carried. “And I’ll be coming back to classes finally. Got my schedule changed around. Just wanted to tell you all that I’m here. Put on a good show so I can see what I missed?”

“Yeah, of course,” Lydia said.

“I’ll let you guys finish getting ready. See you all soon.”

They left with a wave and a bunch of goodbyes, with a promise to Andre they’d come backstage again after the show.

Baz caught Alaina’s arm as she made her way back to the mirrors to finish helping Dee with their makeup. (Dee used they/them pronouns, so when it doubt, that was what Baz had learned to default to.) “Who was that? I’ve never seen them before.”

Alaina looked delighted. “That was Terry. I think I’ve mentioned him to you before? He’s the guy who does Tae Kwon Do and likes all the same bands as you. You’d be great friends. I’m so glad he’s back—I’ve been dying to introduce you. And, you know, see him again.”

“Has he been coming to capoeira for a long time?”

“He’s been pretty off and on. But it sounds like he’s going to be back.”

“Five minutes till curtain, everyone,” Andre called. “Let’s get into our seats.”

The performers all rushed around finishing up last-minute touches, and Baz was distracted enough by the commotion and the rest of the showcase that his nerves died down, at least a little bit.

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If you could travel forward or backward in time, where would you go and why?

I’d worry about traveling backward in time because time-space-continuum-mumble-mumble, but if I was guaranteed that no harm would come of my trip, I’d go back in time and eat everything. I want to know what an original twinkie tasted like. I want to try the first ice cream. What was fast food before it became today’s fast food? I want to know, and I want to know by eating it.

We’ve all got a little voyeurism in us right? If you could be a fly on the wall during an intimate encounter (does not need to be sexual) between two characters, not your own, who would they be?

Matt and Foggy from Daredevil sitting down and having a conversation like real adult-people about Matt’s life, without Matt lying or planning to lie in the future.

If I were snooping around your kitchen and looked in your refrigerator right now, what would I find?

Milk, eggs, some sort of fruit or two, some sort of vegetable or two, chicken probably, and frozen broccoli. Other items might come and go, but those are my perishable staples.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

Flight or teleportation because I always want those, and strength (way easier to be a superhero if you’re stronger).

If you could trade places with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Bao, from my story Counterbalance. He’s an acrobat and handbalancer in a Cirque show. I want to be that! Or maybe Skye, who is the Broadway star. Because come on, Broadway star. He’s got really bad anxiety though, which isn’t fun to deal with.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Baz is a busy man working as a pastry chef, being a single father and spending his spare time doing capoeira. For those who don't know (i.e. Me!), Capoeira is Brazilian martial arts that combines dance, acrobats and music. I had no idea what all the talk and discussion was about in this story regarding capoeira and should have looked up the definition while reading, instead of just doing it for this review. All the capoeira talk was a little overwhelming with no explanation for someone who had no clue what was being talked about. It sounds really interesting and something that would be enjoyable to watch! After a performance, Baz is introduced to Terry. Terry has been out of capoeira for a little while but was interested in getting back into it. Baz works hard and he and Terry become friends. This story is told by Baz's POV and I would have loved to have had Terry's as well, to understand his reluctance in being friends, dating, and everything else.

This story is a novella and I really think it could have helped the story if it was longer, and had Terry's POV. I struggled understanding Terry. He told Baz that he had no friends which was hard to understand because many people within this story tried to friend him, but he just shut down. And, Terry is transgender, and he seemed to have some issues that were not really resolved, or talked about in the story but seemed to be difficulties in the sense of him having relationships. Baz was a great support to Terry and put no pressure on him. I thought Baz showed great patience and understanding building a friendship, then a relationship with Terry. Overall, this was a short story with good bones.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Meet the Author

Aidan has several plants: Viola and Baby V., the African violets; George, the ponytail palm; Antigone, the orchid; and an unidentified succulent, the-plant-that-has-not-yet-been-named-but-is-often-called-Steve. They live with their plants on the seventh floor of an apartment building. The building has an elevator, but Aidan refuses to acknowledge its existence.

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NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Aidan Wayne has been a jeweler, paralegal, neurofeedback technician, and martial arts instructor. And that’s not even the whole list. They’ve been in constant motion since before they were born (pity Aidan’s mom!)—and being born didn’t change anything. When not moving, Aidan is usually writing, so things tend to balance out. They primarily write character-driven stories with happy endings, because, dammit, queer people deserve happy endings too.

Aidan has several plants: Viola and Baby V., the African violets; George, the ponytail palm; Antigone, the orchid; and an unidentified succulent, the-plant-that-has-not-yet-been-named-but-is-often-called-Steve. They live with their plants on the seventh floor of an apartment building. The building has an elevator, but Aidan refuses to acknowledge its existence.