There You Are by CJane Elliott : Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

Bisexual musician Cody Bellstrom is a free spirit, easygoing and unattached. On a cross-country trip, Cody befriends young Sandy Nixon and gets him safely to Portland and his uncle, Phineas MacDonald. Beautiful Phineas turns Cody’s life upside down, and Cody learns he’s not as unattached as he aspires to be. With the hard-won knowledge of what lies underneath his need to be free, Cody wins a chance at real freedom and true love.

Ever since his longtime lover Allen died, Phineas MacDonald has lived a circumscribed life. He stopped performing as fierce drag queen Phanny Hill and works part-time in a bookstore. Phineas never expected to find love again. But when sexy and caring Cody Bellstrom turns up, Phineas feels his orderly life slipping out of his control. Cody brings him alive again, but now Phineas must find the courage to let go of his grief over Allen and give love a second chance.

Author Name: CJane Elliott

Book Name: There You Are

Series: Wild and Precious

Book: Two

Series should be read in order to best appreciate this book

Release Date: December 23, 2015

Pages or Words: 33,000 words

Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: AngstyG

“YOU SURE about this?” Bette’s pointed glance packed a world of meaning as she maneuvered the car through the DC traffic and Union Station came into view.

Cody shifted, touching the door handle to ready his escape. “Yes, I’m sure. Didn’t we go over this?” In excruciating detail, he added silently but didn’t dare say aloud. Not with the mood Bette was in.

“I’m giving you one more chance to come to your senses.” Bette pulled up outside the train station, frowning, and turned off the engine.

She looked so unhappy, Cody wanted to change his mind. I can’t, he thought.

Won’t, you mean, said the Bette in his head. He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers. “You’ll get along fine without me.”

“That’s not the point.” She nailed him with a baleful scowl. “We don’t want to get along without you. Dang you, Cody Bellstrom, you have no idea who you are to us.” At his puzzled expression, she turned away and stared stonily through the windshield.

“Well… I guess this is it.” Cody waited, but she didn’t respond. “I love you, girl, you know that, right? You and Aurora.” He meant it. He, Bette, and Aurora had been friends since they were college freshmen ten and a half years ago. Cody sometimes found it hard to believe that he’d known them since before Bette and Aurora had become a couple. It seemed like they’d been together forever.

A barely perceptible nod.

“Come on, Bette, don’t be mad. I’ll be back. I swear.”

“Sure you will.” She sighed and turned a softer face toward him. “Goddammit, you better. We love you. If you gotta do this, of course we can’t stop you. All we want is for you to be happy.”

A car honked behind them, and a uniformed officer motioned them to get moving.

“Shoot,” Bette muttered. “All right, babe. Get outta here.”

Cody leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll text. And call. And Skype.”

“Okay. Send us a postcard from every stop, and take a picture of yourself in Powell’s Books when you get to Portland.”

“Will do.”

Cody opened the door and unfurled himself from the passenger seat, then hauled out his luggage, such as it was. He traveled light; always had. A knapsack, one rolling suitcase, and his guitar, and he was good to go.

He stood on the curb and waved as Bette pulled away, then strode into the station, his spirits lifting, while Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” played on a loop in his mind.

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Author Interview

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing CJane Elliott, author of There You Are.

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

Hi there! Thank you for having me on the blog today to share about my new novella, There You Are, which is the second book in the Wild and Precious series. There You Are picks up the story of Cody Bellstrom where we left him in Wild and Precious. He moves to Portland, Oregon to join a funk band and meets the man who is to become the love of his life, Phineas MacDonald. But they both have issues to work through before they can get to their happy ending

By the way, those who have read my novella, Mercury In Retrograde, will recognize a cameo appearance of one of the main characters, Alex Harrison, toward the end of the book. It’s a short but key scene which proves to be a turning point for Cody.

Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

I hadn’t planned to write a series, but when I released Wild and Precious, so many readers liked Cody Bellstrom that I decided to give him his own story. The same with Sandy Nixon, who I didn’t know existed until I started to write There You Are, and who will be the main character in the third book in the series, Sand-Man’s Family.

How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

The title Wild and Precious comes from Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day” and refers to the last line: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

The title There You Are comes from the line in the movie Buckaroo Banzai (and it’s also been attributed to Confucius): No matter where you go, there you are.

Have you ever given one of your characters the personality of someone you know?

At times. The dad in my first novel Serpentine Walls was a lot like my own father. And Matthew from that book was based on a guy I knew in my twenties who was merry and fun and had reddish hair! But more often than not, my characters aren’t strictly based on real life people, but are more an amalgam of personality traits.

What do you think makes a good story?

Realistic characters with believable dialogue and enough drama (internal and external) to make the resolution satisfying. I love when characters have to grow and change in order to reach their happy ending.

What does your family think of your writing?

They all know what I write and thinks it’s awesome that I’m publishing fiction. I read my drafts aloud to my husband when I have him captive driving us on a road trip. My 20 year old son has read at least one of my books and survived the experience.

Also in the Series

Aspiring writer Brent Granger has good friends and a great job at an arts magazine in DC, but he’s batting zero in the arena of love. Brent begins to get a clue why things aren’t working with women from his strong attraction to his gorgeous, gay, and already attached boss, Graham Stoneford. When he sees a personal ad from a man that quotes his favorite poet, Brent decides to do something wild and answer.

Enter Cody Bellstrom, easygoing bisexual musician, who is happy to initiate Brent in the ways of gay sex. Brent now has a new problem: he realizes he’s gay and no one in his life knows it. Cody tires of hiding their relationship, but Brent finds it challenging to come out to family, friends, and especially to Graham. In the end, Brent must confront the truth of where – and with whom – his heart lies.

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After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.

CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.

In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.

Where to find the author:

E-mail: cjaneelliott@gmail.com

Website: http://www.cjaneelliott.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjane.elliott

Tour Dates & Stops:

23-Dec

Book Lovers 4Ever, Louise Lyons, Joyfully Jay, The Hat Party

30-Dec

Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bytes

6-Jan

Unquietly Me, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, A.M. Leibowitz