Clayton Taylor is smart and skilled, and born into privilege. His expertise with navigation lands him a job on The Irish Lady, a ship which promises a world of new experiences. Half in love with Peter, The Lady’s roguish captain, Clayton signs on for adventure and a chance to test his skill against the sea. Once aboard he meets Jorge, a pillar of quiet strength.

Clayton’s life among the sailors and thieves is happy, wild, and free. He learns to sail, to fit in with the crew, and to cheat at cards. There isn’t a course he can’t chart, or a job he can’t design.

But Clayton can’t navigate love, nor can he plan for the whims of his heart. Bold and direct and often stubborn, Clayton’s uncharted heart will plot its own course, bound for a union with two men who need him as much as he does them.

Together Clayton, Peter, and Jorge will discover the heart has no need of map and compass.

Author Name: Amelia Bishop

Book Name: Uncharted Hearts

Release Date: August 14, 2015

Pages or Words: 240 pages

Categories: Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Romance

Cover Artist: Amelia Bishop with photo by Dan Skinner

The Irish Lady’s gangway was up, and I had a flash of panic. Was I too late? I caught a glimpse of Peter on deck, and called out to him. “Sir! Peter Simpson!”

He turned and strode back to the rail, a light in his eyes and a smile on his face. My trunk seemed suddenly much easier to haul.

A large black man lowered the gangway, and looked me over as I struggled up it, raising an eyebrow at my large case. He wore his hair in long twisted locks, and his shirt, open at the chest, revealed heavy glistening muscles. I swallowed hard. Was this a ship full of temptation? Would I spend my entire time here aroused and useless?

“You came!” Peter rushed to me, not hiding his excitement.

I nodded, smiling.

“I’m so glad.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek in a move much too affectionate for public display. I glanced at the large man, but he’d turned away.

“Come, I’ll get you settled in and explain your position.” Peter hoisted one end of my trunk, and led us toward the hatch.

I felt as if I had to ask him, before I went below, exactly what kind of situation I was signing on to here. “Just what sort of a ship is this, precisely? I’m sure you aren’t an entirely reputable merchant?”

He dropped his side of the trunk, and I feared I’d erred. Perhaps that was too forward a thing to ask. But his crooked grin told me he was not offended. “Is that a problem?”

Good lord, he was sexy. His chin was shadowed with a fine dark stubble, and his hair was gathered at the top of his head in some sort of ridiculous knot, which only accentuated his chocolate brown eyes and thick brows. “No…” I smiled. “But you’ll have to teach me.”

His mouth opened on a gasp. Finally, I’d unbalanced him.

“Gladly,” he rasped, and picked up the trunk again.

Author Interview:

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Amelia Bishop, author of Uncharted Hearts.

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

Tell us about your book.

Hi! I’m happy to be here J

My book “Uncharted Hearts” is an m/m/m romance, set in 1795. It’s a story about making that leap from sex and companionship to the stronger bonds of family. In it the main characters are forced to fight to keep each other, but that means different things to each of them.

It’s an historical, I guess, but I wrote it more like a contemporary that just happens to be set in the past. I am not a fan of deep, detailed historical novels, and I found I could not write like that. I even considered re-writing this so that it WAS a contemporary, but in the end I decided to try something new and go ahead with my edge-of-the-genre historical romance. I’m hoping that people who maybe don’t usually like historical novels will enjoy this one.

How difficult was it to get into the main character’s head?

The hardest thing for me is often to write younger characters. If my MC is in his mid-twenties, sometimes I find that difficult to keep consistent. It’s a tough balance to make someone inexperienced enough, and innocent enough, without having them sound like a teenager.

Also I notice when I read that many popular Romance MCs in their 20’s talk and act like 50 year olds, so I am never sure how much I should write to reality and how much I should match current trends and reader expectations.

I prefer to write slightly older characters, but for this story I thought a 20-something would be really a full on adult, given the time period. I hope I managed it!

Is this book a standalone or do you plan on visiting it again?

Definitely a standalone. I am really not a series author, though I wish I were. There are a lot of readers who enjoy series books, I think.

Why did you choose to write M/M stories?

I have read m/m for a very long time. Back in the early 90’s, there were mainly gay erotica stories, serious/sad “gay fiction,” and a small amount of campy gay pulp. I was drawn to it all, but fell in love with the gay erotica, for its wild and open sexuality. I loved watching the genre expand, and especially after the introduction of e-books, I spent a lot of time (and money! LOL) reading all kinds of m/m Romance.

So when I started to write, I guess those were the romantic pairings that naturally came into my imagination.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Everywhere! I think most often lately I find myself scrolling through tumblr or pinterest, and I’ll see some photo, or a little factoid, or even an interesting quote, and it will spark an idea. I love that we have so many tools to collect these “inspirations” and save them. What a great time to be a writer!

Thanks so much for having me here today!

I am a reader and writer of romantic erotic fiction of all varieties. Sometimes, the little stories in my head just need to be shared (and sometimes they are just for me). I enjoy red wine, black rum, shell-hunting walks along the seashore, and solo late-night drunken dance parties.