Blog Tour: The Ghosts Between Us (The West Hills: Chris & Elliot) by Brigham Vaughn (Guest Post+Giveaway)

While I write, I like to listen to music. I don’t always make a specific playlist for every story, but I did with “The Ghosts Between Us”. It’s an extremely emotional book so music helped me tap into those various emotions.

The story begins with a funeral. The funeral of Chris’s brother Cal. So I began with the song that never fails to make me cry: Jeff Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah”.

After the funeral, Chris discovers his brother was bisexual. He meets Elliot, the man his brother was dating. Later that night, Chris and Elliot get drunk in a bar with Cal’s friends and end up in bed together.

Crippled by guilt, Chris falls apart when he realizes what he’s done. He feels he’s betrayed his brother. Because Chris was raised Catholic, I pulled in some of the religious themes with music. Although he’s agnostic now, that sense of guilt and feeling of having sinned linger in his subconscious.

Songs like “Going to Hell” by The Pretty Reckless, “Preacherman” by Melody Gardot, and “Call me Devil” by Friends in Tokyo play into that.

Chris’s work as a psychiatrist at a hospice facility complicate his feelings add to his grief, especially when he meets a young woman who reminds him of his brother. Portishead’s “Mourning Air” and “Winter in My Heart” brought that wistful sadness to the playlist.

As Chris continues to discover Cal’s secrets and packs up his brother’s apartment with Elliot’s, a relationship between Chris and Elliot begins to form. They’re both resistant, but there’s an undeniable attraction between them. And more than that, there’s a deep emotional connection that neither of them can deny.

When they finally act on their feelings, Sam Tinnesz’s “Even if it Hurts” became the perfect song for them. It’s a beautiful song but the lyrics also feed into that relationship Chris and Elliot are building. 

It's darkest

Before the dawn

But you don't need to do this alone (no you don't)

Cause when you get this close

You can feel the heat

Now you're so afraid

Of what's underneath

Ohhh, don't

Even if it hurts

Even if it makes me bleed

I'm gonna carry you

Pushing through

With the dirt on my sleeves

Even if it hurts

Even if it's razor deep

I'm not giving up

Not gonna run

I'll be there when you need me

Even if it hurts

But there are secrets still hanging over them. Chris has kept Cal’s secrets from his family. And he’s kept his relationship with Elliot for Cal’s best friend, Dave. The secrets and lies build to a crescendo and force Chris and Elliot to rethink their relationship.

When they finally reconnect in an emotional and sexually explosive reunion, it was another Sam Tinnesz’s song that I listened to on repeat to set the mood. “Play with Fire” has a dirty beat and emotional intensity that perfectly fit the scene.

There are other songs on the playlist as well that helped me create the story and I hope you’ll check them out here on Spotify.

If you do listen, hopefully you’ll enjoy them as much as I did! And I’d love to hear from you about what your favorite song was.

Buy Links: Universal Buy Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Length: 130,000 words approx.

Blurb

Dr. Christopher Allen knows how to deal with death. He’s a psychiatrist who works with hospice patients and their families, helping them cope with grief and letting go. But Chris’s job doesn’t prepare him for the sudden death of his devil-may-care brother Cal.

At Cal’s funeral, Chris is completely thrown when he meets Elliot Rawlings, an artist Cal has been dating. Chris is hurt to discover that the brother he knew as straight was actually bisexual. Elliot is angry and resentful of having been kept hidden from Cal’s family.

After the funeral, a night of drinking at the bar with Cal’s friends leads to Chris and Elliot falling into bed together. The next morning, they’re overwhelmed by guilt and grief and agree to never speak of it again.

But Cal’s apartment needs to be packed up and Elliot reluctantly agrees to help Chris, as well as answer some questions about Cal’s life and their relationship. Despite their guilt and initial dislike for one another, they sort through the pieces of Cal’s life and begin to fall for each other.

Despite his best efforts to fix things, Chris’s family seems to be crumbling around him and he begins to question who he is and what his role with them is. As his feelings for Elliot grow, Chris must decide if they’re worth further damaging his fragile relationships with his friends and family.

Elliot’s rough upbringing has left him distrustful of getting close to anyone, much less another man who isn’t willing to acknowledge him in public. The odds seem stacked against Chris and Elliot, but if they can overcome them, they may be able to lay Cal’s ghost to rest, along with their own demons.

Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time author. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.

Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.

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