Michele Rakes

Detective Sergeant Vincent Sweetwater hates dead bodies. That’s why he’s an undercover narc and not a homicide dick. So why is he standing on a sandy beach in California staring at a lifeless body—oh yeah, the suicide attempt. Lieutenant Hanson is making a statement. Something about life worth living. Shows what he knows.

As Vince examines the tortured body, he feels an empathy and déjà vu for the victim, her wounds are similar to scars he has only a vague memory receiving. An intense desire to find her killer fills his queasy belly as a dark game of cat and mouse begins.

The young woman’s death forces Vince back into a secret life dominated by sex, perversion, and sadomasochism. Estranged from his wife he still loves and longing for the man who possessed him once, Vince buries his torment deep inside meaningless sex.

*Warning: This book contains adult content and situations. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

Author Name: Michele Micheal Rakes

Book Name: Trainwreck

Series: Trainwreck

Book: One

Release Date: January 25, 2016

Pages or Words: 374 pages

Categories: BDSM, Bisexual, Crime Fiction, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Ménage/Poly, Romance, Thriller

Goodreads Link

Publisher: Michele Micheal Rakes

Cover Artist: Drai Bearwomyn

Cover Photography by Dan Skinner

Editing: Tina Adamski

Vince grabbed the remote and clicked on the news. He paid little attention as he rubbed his aching hip. When Lola Romero began her news report he glanced up to see an official photo of himself in uniform.

“Jesus, talk about an old fucking picture.”

Despite being only twenty-three in the photo, he hadn’t appeared young and fresh faced. His eyes had held a kind of darkness even then, and his best efforts were unable to hide the pain.

“An L.A.P.D. Information officer confirmed the return to duty of Detective Vincent Sweetwater just one week after a horrifying display of violence toward a man who was reportedly beating his five-year-old son in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Inglewood. Detective Sweetwater was nearly killed last year in a motorcycle accident on the Pacific Coast Highway and is still under scrutiny following alleged misconduct while under deep cover with the narcotics division.”

“Bite me, Lola.” Vince shut off the TV, flopping back on the bed, staring into the darkness.

“Fuck my life. It was more than a year ago. Bitch.”

I hate people.

Amazon

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Michele Micheal “Mikey” Rakes, author of Trainwreck, the series.

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

Well, I’ve written two novels for Loose Id: Saving Kane and Fourth and Long. Saving Kane is by far my most popular. Trainwreck is my first self-published work. I also have two short stories with MuseItHot publishing: Cold Darkness and Ephemeral Darkness.

Surviving Adam is the sequel to Trainwreck, yet unpublished obviously, and I have After Party which is nearing completion, the sequel to S.K. and F.A.L. Maddox and Frank will round out the last in that series.

Trainwreck is about a guy who is just that…a trainwreck. The guy is a mess, but he’s trying to get his shit straightened out. He’d love to come out of the closet, but as a cop he doesn’t feel like he can, plus his marriage is already on the rocks. He’s afraid Mica will divorce him if she finds out what a freak he is, but he can’t stop thinking about Greg, the man who used to whip him silly. He misses Greg and his lover Grayson. Vince wanted what they had, but couldn’t bring himself to take the plunge he so wanted to take with the loving, handsome couple. What would his wife say? Could he ever get her to join in the fun. Then his daughter died and there was no more fun to have…Vince became a suicidal wreck of a man who now has to hunt down a serial killer as part of his job. The case takes him back into the world of BDSM and within proximity of the man he could fall in love with, given different circumstances.

What is the most satisfying thing about being a writer?

When people fall in love with your characters and want to talk to you about them. That’s fun. I also like when they share their ideas about how the character appears to them. Some send me pics of models they think represent the character well. I’ve been trying to put some of those up on my author page and would encourage folks to post to the page or send them to me via a messenger. I like seeing how they view the characters.

Do your characters ever take over your writing and make the story go somewhere you hadn’t originally planned?

Vincent Sweetwater took total control. Even if it meant complete torture for him, he took the reins and said this is who I am, now make the world understand. Trainwreck started out as an m/f romance where the couple is already married and on the verge of divorce. I killed their only child because so many couples don’t survive the death of a child. So, with that, Vince let me know as the story progressed, how much he loved his wife. Yet, he also loved someone else who could give him what he needed and how much he wanted his wife to meet this man.

How did you celebrate the release of your book?

I guess I don’t celebrate much. A jagerbomb here and there, but I’m always off to the other projects. It’s more of a relief than a celebration. That’s the part I need to work on. Instead of: that’s done, what next, I should say: That’s done, baby make me a drink and pour a shot for Mary, we’re gonna toast her move into another plane of existence…until we meet again! That’s how I’ll celebrate from now on…a shot of Tarantula Blue in honor of Mary.

How did you come up with the idea for this book?

I wanted to read a story like this one, so I wrote it for myself, and my wife and husband both loved it…that’s how I started writing again. I used to write all the time, but when a fire destroyed all my writing on Thanksgiving day 1998, I pretty much hung it up. Then I wrote some poetry that doesn’t exist anymore because of a massive computer crash while trying to back it all up, so yeah…gave it up for a while. Writing had always been my gig. In school, I used to put Mary (then my bf and not my wife) in all my stories. She was pissed the one time I had her as a slightly burnt offering to a pack of werewolves. She wasn’t pissed she died as werewolf food, but that she died a virgin. I used to write horror. Now my horrors are serial killers and other assorted baddies. Child molesters and murderers.

Have you ever written naked?

ALL THE TIME! My husband came home from work one day (while I was still going to school to be a scrub tech) to find me in the living room naked and writing. I had a pink cigarette hanging from my mouth unlit (because I don’t smoke anymore) and a drink in my hand. I was reading what I’d just wrote. My cat sitting next to me. After that, he called me Hemingway. Still does. Um, in fact, I’m naked right now. When hubby would get home, I’d make him try out my sex scenes with me (for the m/m, those who know me, know I’m gender fluid and my wife was straight and my husband is bisexual. Mary always said I was more like a dude)…always great fun.

Michele Micheal Rakes lives in a small town in the shadow of a big mountain and works as a surgical technologist assisting in the removal of tonsils and testicles. Three grown children, a one year old granddaughter named Thrasher, two psychotic Egyptian Mau’s, a husband with hair down to his knees, an Amazon for a wife, two Harley’s, and a ferret named Teeny Tiny Ferret Feet (husband insists her name Little Feet, we all know he’s wrong) life is gets pretty wild.

Note: Wife recently passed away from cancer and this book is dedicated in loving memory of Mary Louise Castleman. Love you babe!

Where to find the author:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelerakes1

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/michelemichealrakes

Twitter: @MicheleRakes

Blog: www.michelerakes.wordpress.com

Tour Dates & Stops:

17-Feb

Book Lovers 4Ever, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

24-Feb

Love Bytes, Mikky’s World of Books

2-Mar

Full Moon Dreaming, Man2ManTastic, Bonkers About Books, Bayou Book Junkie

9-Mar

BFD Book Blog, Velvet Panic, My Fiction Nook, Gay Media Reviews, The Novel Approach

16-Mar

Happily Ever Chapter, Hearts on Fire

23-Mar

Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Three Books Over The Rainbow

30-Mar

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, KathyMac Reviews

6-Apr

Havan Fellows, Jessie G. Books

13-Apr

Cathy Brockman Romances, Inked Rainbow Reads

20-Apr

Divine Magazine, Prism Book Alliance

27-Apr

4-May

11-May

18-May

25-May

1-Jun

Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

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We here at Two Chicks Obsessed want to take some time to spotlight Hidden Gems, as we call them. These are books (in the case of this week’s post) or authors (next week’s post) that people have recommended that are not on the “most often recommended” list. We are all aware of the authors that are recommended when you want a paranormal, or a contemporary m/m, or even historical, and we love them, too. However, these Hidden Gems are books and authors you may not have heard of before…I know many of these, I have not! We will also spotlight, with a review, or an interview, one book or author during each post, so you can have a more in depth look at it.

So take a look at all the books, give us your thoughts, let us know if you have Hidden Gems, and they may be in a future edition of Hidden Gems.

Hidden Gem Spotlight:

Saving Kane by Michele M. Rakes (AKA Mikey Rakes)

Synop

sis:

A twenty-something paramedic suffering from PTSD and a failing relationship with his high school sweetheart becomes embroiled in the tragic life of a young, gay man brutally beaten, raped, and left for dead.Kane Abel can’t help falling for his caregiver, the handsome paramedic who saves his life, but he’s resistant. The one time Kane threw caution to the wind, he was left with a wired jaw and a tracheostomy. He can’t take much more hurt. But with his attacker’s promise to return, Kane lives in a constant state of fear, and with the ever-present paramedic, arousal.Garrett Young struggles with the question of his sexuality, unable to get Kane out of his mind even as he fights against the demise of his long-time engagement with his girlfriend Amanda. Every day is complicated by his ongoing battle with PTSD and alcoholism, compounded by his fear for Kane’s life.

I won’t lie. I was afraid to read this book. Like, big spider holding you hostage in the corner of your bedroom, scared. (Yes, that was a recurring dream for me as a kid…don’t ask…) I read Fourth and Long in March, but hadn’t read Saving Kane. I heard it was a not a light read. And although not all the books I read need to be light (Fourth and Long certainly isn’t), I just kept thinking I needed to mental prepare myself to read this book. I finally did, and I’m sorry I waited so long to read it! It wasn’t a light read, that is true, very heavy subject matter, but these men grab your hearts from the word go. I definitely had built up the fear in my mind, but found it was not as frightening as I had initially thought it would be! I mean let’s face it…it has an HEA, so what was I afraid of? 🙂

I don’t know how to describe the feelings throughout this book. Anguish immediately, as you see what Kane is going through. Hope, as he recovers physically, and Garrett is by his hospital bed every night, talking to him, despite Garrett believing Kane was asleep. Love, as they try to find a way to connect with each other, despite Garrett being straight. Heartbreak as Kane is a victim once again. And pure joy as they are able to connect with their families, after they have vanquished the evil that had lain before them.

In the end, their love began as a questioned emotion by these men, neither quite sure where they stood with the other. However, where they never failed to stand, was right by each others side. They were, without a doubt, loyal to ensuring that the other was safe and healthy, as much as they could be for not being in a relationship.

As a reviewer, I feel that something being an actual re-read, not just an “I hope to re-read this again someday”, but one that will be re-read with certainty is the highest compliment I can pay an author, and deserves a five pieces of eye candy rating. Their work is such a joy, or so emotion evoking, or whatever it is that catches each reader, that you are planning into your time to re-read a book that you don’t have to read, but that you are looking forward to re-reading. This book (as well as Fourth and Long) are both “must re-reads”, without question. Five pieces of eye candy.