Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Book Spotlight & Giveaway~ With or Without You


Discover the world of author Zane Riley in With or Without You and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post for a chance to win some great prizes. Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, 5 first prizes: e-Copy of ‘With Or Without You’ by Zane Riley

The tour is sponsored by Pride Promotions and the contest closes on August 10th.

Talking with author Zane Riley

What started your interest in writing?

Reading fascinating stories as a kid. I always had a vivid imagination, and reading grew that exponentially. I read the stories and when they ended my brain kept going, popping off new ideas and imagining what happened next to those characters. So naturally, I eventually started to write those ideas out.  

If zombies attacked what kind of supplies would you want?

The basic toiletries and a lot of alcohol. The toiletries are just to last me for as long as I survive which probably won’t be very long. The alcohol, however, is partially for myself and also for the zombies. I’ve always wondered if you could get a zombie drunk, and how that would affect their behavior since they’re already the undead. Maybe it would have the opposite effect that it does on a living human. Only one way to find out.

If you could sit down with any author dead or alive who would it be?

 Sherman Alexie. I’ve read a few of his books and I’m planning on getting more, but I really love what I’ve read of his work. He writes about Native American characters, which isn’t something you see a lot of in mainstream literature. One of my professors in college had one of his books on our reading list and I loved it. It was about a boy growing up on a reservation and then going to a white school off the reservation, and it was so refreshing to see that perspective. Seeing both the external culture clash and then his internal clash with conforming versus not versus trying to maintain his identity when his history classes and classmates tried to erase it.

Do you keep a notebook near your for when new ideas pop into your head?

I try to, although lately I’ve been failing at that. I’m about to move across the country, so everything I own is in boxes. Or buried under boxes or stuffed behind something. My room’s a disaster zone of cardboard cubes. Fortunately, I have a notes app on my phone and a good memory so I’m managing to suffer the move with my new writing ideas (mostly) still intact.


If you write a series do you reread your previous books before you begin the new one?

Definitely. It gives me a chance to get my head back into that world and reacquaint myself with the characters. I reread Go Your Own Way when I wrote With or Without You, and I reread both for the third one I just started writing. It drops me right back into the world as I left it so it’s very easy to continue the story.


Is there anything you wish to say to your readers?

 “Thank you!” seems the obvious choice, but it’s still the truest. So many of you have hung with me for years while I’ve been writing online. You’ve been reading my work since I first started posting and you’ve encouraged me countless times over the years. You’re the reason I had the confidence to transform the original Go Your Own Way into these books, so thank you. And to any new readers, welcome! I hope you love these boys and their story as much as I do.

For readers who haven't tried your books yet, how do you think your editor or loyal readers would describe your books?

Some of my readers, especially those who have become friends over the years, would probably shout a lot about me breaking their hearts with these boys or this character. A lot of “How dare you!” would be involved, because Lennox’s journey in these books isn’t an easy one as he has a lot of ups and downs that can mess with your emotions.

My editor would undoubtedly be more articulate. I love her to death, honestly, she’s so wonderful. She would most likely wax poetic about the realism I bring to my sex scenes. It’s becoming a stark characteristic of my writing from what I’m told, and when I stop to consider it, I suppose it’s true. I don’t care to write sex scenes that are continuously perfect or steeped with everyone have the greatest orgasm on the face of the earth. I want my characters to be themselves, regardless of whether or not they’re naked together or on stage singing a duet. So I bring in their awkwardness, their clumsiness, their uncertainties. I write the sex I expect and experience in real life which is silly and fun and also romantic and emotional and sometimes unfinished. I like to say I keep the story in the sex, because I read a lot where the sex scene starts and it seems like everything else stops. As if the sex scene happens inside of a bubble where nothing can go wrong.

I’m always looking for book recommendations. What books have you been reading? Would you recommend them?

I’m actually pretty limited on books right now since almost everything I own is in boxes. Moving is a pain sometimes. I’ve reading two books at the moment on my Kindle. The first is A Game of Thrones which I’m rereading out of boredom. The second book is Seven Tears at High Tide which is adorable so far. I’d recommend it. It’s about two teenage boys, Kevin and Morgan. Morgan is a selkie who comes on land to fulfill Kevin’s wish to have a summer of love.


How often does your muse distract you from day to day minutiae?

 Too much in all honesty, ha ha. Trying to answer a call at work? There’s Lennox all super excited about, like, polka dots or something ridiculous. In the shower humming my favorite song? Nope, say hi to Will chanting baseball statistics and running through all the pitching signs so he doesn’t forget them. Time to go to sleep? Forget it. Every night, some character wants to come join me with their greatest sadness at two in the morning when I should be sleeping. I love my characters to bits, but sometimes I just want a day of normalcy.

What do readers have to look forward to in the future from you?

Oh, a third book for this series! It isn’t named yet, officially or unofficially, but I’m in the process of writing it. Most likely it’s going to be the final one, but I won’t say for sure.

Besides my Go Your Own Way series, I have two other ideas I’m considering for longer stories. Both feature transgender characters since that’s very important to me. The first is tentatively called The Soulmate Cure and the other is still nameless. It’s a story about a teenage boy who who’s struggling to deal with his brother’s death and salvage his relationship with his parents.



Book Name: With or Without You
Sequel to ‘Go Your Own Way’
Should be read in order to appreciate the books
 Publisher: Interlude Press
Release Date: July 21, 2016

In the much-anticipated sequel to Go Your Own Way, high school seniors Lennox McAvoy and Will Osborne pick up right where they left off—navigating the tumultuous waters of a new relationship and dealing with Will’s disapproving father.

When a violent incident forces Lennox to give up his independent ways, he must come to terms with his past just as Will is grappling with his future. As Will’s college plans become reality, will Lennox have the courage to go after the opportunities he doesn’t think he deserves?


Pages or Words: 348 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult

Excerpt:
The band room was empty when he pushed the door open, but the piano was set up like it was almost every afternoon these days. Only Mr. Robinette and a music stand littered with sheet music was absent.
   "Hello?"
   The silence struck Lennox as odd, but as he sat down he also realized how strange it was to announce himself. So much had changed since the first time he'd snuck in here to play on his own. Now he was auditioning for some college he still couldn't fathom.
   To make Will happy. And maybe a little bit for himself.
   "Ah, I wondered if you were going to show up."
   Mr. Robinette was behind him, the door to his office now wide open. He'd taken off his tie and undone a few buttons on his shirt like he did most afternoons when they practiced.
   "You just want to play it through a few times or mess around with something else?"
   Lennox took a seat at the piano, but didn't both opening his bag. He'd memorized the piece he was playing by Valentine's Day and now, almost two weeks later, he could write it out measure for measure on blank sheet music. But playing it was becoming repetitive. For two hours, three times a week, almost nonstop with the same four pages and nothing else.
   "I'd rather try something new. That piece is getting a little old."
   Mr. Robinette smiled and pulled a chair up beside him. "I had a nightmare the other night and it was the theme song while I ran around a haunted house Scooby Doo style."
   "You didn't catch a ride in the Mystery Machine, did you? I've always wanted that van."
   "I've got a lunch box version of it. It doesn't fit much though because it's too narrow. Anyway, play what you want. I'll be here until about four-thirty, so it's all yours."
   As Mr. Robinette returned to his office, Lennox pulled what had become his music notebook out of his bag and opened it to the latest page. He'd taken to composing during class when he should have been taking notes, especially calculus where he had no reason to pay attention anyway.
   The latest page was a tune he'd come up with while the other kids had been tapping their pencils and erasing answers. Every moment of his life carried a rhythm, a melody, and an emotion he could create with, and his notebook was becoming a testament to that. He played through everything he'd jotted down over the past few days, but after several rounds he kept coming back to one. It was a piano version he'd tried—and mostly failed—to create of one of the songs Will had played on a loop a few weeks ago.
   "I'm getting ready to lock up!"
   Mr. Robinette's voice carried out of the office and into the band room. A few minutes and several jingles of Mr. Robinette's keys later, the office door was shut and Lennox was closing the cover on the keys.
   "That last piece you were playing, was it a cover?"
   Lennox shrugged as they headed for the door.
   "It was supposed to be. Didn't sound much like the song."
   "Well, the others did. They were all really good, even the ones that weren't covers."
   "Uh, thanks."
   Lennox watched him at the door to the parking lot for a moment. He'd been a great help over the last month—all year if Lennox was honest. Mr. Robinette had believed in him in his own way since school had begun, and thanks to him he had a decent shot at this audition.
   "Thanks for… all of this. I actually feel like—just thanks."
   Mr. Robinette gave him a genuine smile and patted him on the shoulder.
   "You're very welcome. Let me know how it goes when you get back, okay? I'm rooting for you. Got all of my fingers and limbs crossed. You deserve the chance. Don't doubt that or yourself."
   "I-I won't."
   It was funny to have so many people believing in him after so long. Happiness was a strange feeling as well. Until he'd let Will into his life he couldn't remember how to capture such a feeling in his chest and keep it there.






Tour Dates & Stops:

Meet the author:
Zane Riley is a transgender writer who wrote his first work of fan fiction in the fourth grade. He is a recent transplant to Vancouver, Washington where he spends his time watching long distance baseball games, hiking, and exploring the musical depths of the internet. His first novel, Go Your Own Way, was published by Interlude Press in 2015.


Where to find the author:
Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/ZaneNebula
Twitter: @ZaneNebula

Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, 5 first prizes: e-Copy of ‘With Or Without You’ by Zane Riley




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1 comment:

Zane Riley said...

Thanks for hosting my tour today!

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