Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Release Day Promo! Scenes from Adelaide Road by Helena Stone #Giveaway #Review Guest Post



Release date:
    General Release: December 1, 2015

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Pages: 188

Genre: Contemporary Romance / MM / NA

Buy links: Pride Publishing           Amazon.com           Amazon.co.uk

Link to book trailer: YouTube


Can a young man find the courage he never knew he had when faced with losing everything he holds dear?
A few months before his final exams in secondary school, nineteen-year-old Lennart Kelly discovers he’s inherited a house on Adelaide Road in Dublin from a grandfather he never knew. Having been ignored, bullied and abused for as long as he can remember, Lennart can’t wait to leave behind his father and the small town he grew up in. Moving away as soon as he finishes his exams doesn’t cure his deep-rooted insecurities though.
Meeting twenty-three-year-old Aidan Cassidy in a gay club on his second night in Dublin, scares Lennart. Used to being ignored and ridiculed, he doesn’t trust the attention he receives and can’t believe a man like Aidan could possibly be interested in him. It takes infinite patience and understanding from Aidan to slowly coax Lennart out of his shell.
But the past refuses to stay where it belongs and Lennart’s father is determined to take the house in Dublin off his son by whatever means necessary. Just when Lennart is learning to trust and embrace life, a violent attack threatens everything he holds dear. Suddenly Lennart is in danger of losing his house, the man he’s grown to love and maybe even his life. If Lennart wants to protect Aidan and safeguard his future, he’ll have to find the courage he never knew he had.


First I’m going to start out with saying that I adore the way Helena Stone writes. There’s such a poetic grace to her style. I’ve read many of her works and have never been disappointed. I’ve always felt like I just experienced something extraordinary and with Scenes from Adelaide Road that feeling still stands.
This is a breathtaking story. One that brings a secret past to a hopeful future. My heart wept for Lennart. For his tragic life growing up to discovering something I felt had he known, his entire upbringing would have been better. He’d have felt the love he so desperately deserved. Then there’s Aiden. Oh I love that man. He is an anchor for Lennart and you just kind of cling to him right along with Lennart.
Now this story isn’t all self-discovery and finding love. Lennart and Aiden have a fight on their hands and it gets so ugly my heart broke and rage flared as I turned the pages.
This story has a lot to it. Love, power, bliss, hatred, discovery, and relief. This is an absolute must read by all!


 
Thank you Diverse Reader for hosting me on your blog today.

A Family Affair

Just over a year ago:

My husband: “Hey, did you see this?”
Me: “What’s that?”
Husband: “A short story competition.”
Me: “Oh that looks interesting. Six-thousand words is doable. I wanted to write something based on that song by Tara any way.”
Husband: “Which song?”
Me: “Anything.”
Husband: “Great idea, go for it.”

A month and fifteen-thousand words later I gave up on the idea of a short story. I shelved what I had written in separate folder and decided to write a full length novel based on Anything during NaNoWriMo 2014.

By early 2015 the written version of Anything had been retitled Scenes from Adelaide Road and my husband did his usual proof-read, so that I could send a relatively mistake-free version to my beta-readers.

In subsequent months the story went through a few changes, was submitted to Pride Publishing, accepted and edited. Fast-forward to October 2015.

Me: “Remember how that book I wrote was inspired by your song?”
Daughter: “Yes.”
Me: “Well, I’ve been thinking.”
Daughter: *looks at me suspiciously* “Okay….”
Me: I was thinking how nice it would be to have a book trailer.
Daughter: “Sounds good.”
Me: “Do you know how to do something like that?”
Daughter: “Yeah.”
Me: “Would you do it for me. Using your song, of course.”
Daughter: “Sure.”

In between these conversations, another one took place; this one between my husband and my daughter. The end result of that talk was a studio production of the song Anything.

They say writing is a solitary activity, and for the most part I’d have to agree. However, they also say there’s an exception for every rule, and Scenes from Adelaide Road proves how true that is.

Without my daughter’s song this story would never have been written. Without my husband’s studio project, the music wouldn’t have sounded as professional as it does, and without my daughter sacrificing several hours to the project, I would never have had a book trailer.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. I say it sometimes takes a family to get a book from idea, through promotion, to release. I count myself very lucky that not only do I have the full support of my loved ones when it comes to my writing, they are also more than willing to put their time and energy into what, until recently, was merely a dream of mine.

A few links, just in case you’re curious:








Helena Stone can’t remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, it’s hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode.

The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world.

Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.

Helena can be found in the following places:

Author website       GoodReads   Facebook      Twitter         Pinterest



Helena Stone will be gifting one person a copy of Scenes from Adelaide Road. Simply fill out the rafflecopter below. Contest runs until December 6th. Winner will be contacted via email so please check your spam. 

Thank you to Helena for being here today and writing such an excellent book!








a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new release Helena I like the cover and the book is on my wishlist.

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  2. The book is awesome - as is the song. Such a talented family!! Happy Release Day, my friend. <3

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  3. Thank you so much for hosting me today, Meredith <3

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  4. Congratulations on the new book! I can't wait to read this one!

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