Diverse Reader: Saturday Author Spotlight: Garrett Leigh #Interview #Giveaway

Happy Saturday Author Spotlight day! I'm very excited to have Garrett Leigh back here and talking with me! She's written so many outstanding books such as, Heart, What Remains, Roads series, Misfits, and so so so many more. Coming soon for you she has the sequel to Misfits, Strays! We are going to have a little pow wow with her, check out some of her work, and shut it down with a giveaway so hang around.

Cornish pastry chef Seb Wright dreads the summer tourist season. The cash injection to his artisan fudge pantry is more than welcome, the extra work, less so. Then one summer, a shadowy Good Samaritan catches his eye. Irish Traveller Dex is bewitching, a beautiful sullen enigma who turns Seb's world upside down until he disappears in the night, vanishing like a mystical summer rain.

Twelve months later Dex is in the midst of a dark storm. A slave to his master, 'Uncle' Braden, he spends his days cleaning caravans and his nights working in Braden's other businesses. His short summer with Seb seems a lifetime ago. Lost in the savage violence of the murky underworld, he doesn't dare dream he'll ever find his way back, until one night, a brutal crime opens the door for a chance escape. A new life beckons, old faces emerge, and immersed in the heady vibe of London’s East End, new love begins to heal his fractured heart.

Restaurant owner Tom Fearnes has loved his partner Cass for as long as he can remember, but their work often keeps them apart. When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.

Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way.

Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.

Web designer Jodi Peters is a solitary creature. Lunch twice a week with his ex-girlfriend-turned-BFF and the occasional messy venture to a dodgy gay bar is all the company he needs, right?

Then one night he stumbles across newly divorced firefighter Rupert O’Neil. Rupert is lost and lonely, but just about the sweetest bloke Jodi has ever known. Add in the heady current between them, and Jodi can’t help falling hard in love. He offers Rupert a home within the walls of his cosy Tottenham flat—a sanctuary to nurture their own brand of family—and for four blissful years, life is never sweeter.

Until a cruel twist of fate snatches it all away. A moment of distraction leaves Jodi fighting for a life he can’t remember and shatters Rupert’s heart. Jodi doesn’t know him—or want to. With little left of the man he adores, Rupert must cling to what remains of his shaky faith and pray that Jodi can learn to love him again.

Don’t look back. Don’t you ever look back…

Shy tattoo artist Ash has a troubled past. Years of neglect, drug abuse, and life on the streets have taken their toll, and sometimes it seems the deep, unspoken bond with his lover is the only balm for wounds he doesn’t quite understand.

Chicago paramedic Pete is warmth, love, and strength—things Ash never knew he could have, and never even knew he wanted until Pete showed him. But fate is a cruel, cruel mistress, and when nightmares collide with the present, their tentatively built world comes crashing down.

Traumatic events in Pete’s work life distance him from home, and he doesn’t realize until it’s too late that Ash has slipped away. Betrayal, secrets, and lies unfold, and when a devastating coincidence takes hold, Pete must fight with all he has to save the love of his life.

Interview

Thank you so much for being here today, Garrett. It’s so great to have you back. I pretty much devour any and every book you publish so you can say I’m a fan. I am just going to poke at your brain a little bit today if that’s fine. So strap yourself in and we can begin.

You have a new book coming out, Strays, it’s the sequel to Misfits but with a different set of MC’s being the focal point. Did you ever think you’d write a sequel to this book and will there be a third?

When I wrote Misfits, it was as a complete standalone, but I don’t think I realized how developed the world I’d created for Tom, Cass, and Jake really was until readers began to ask more and more questions about Urban Soul—many of which centered around Cass, and how he met Nero. And so I sat down and thought about it and discovered that I was completely in love with Nero and had to write his story.

I had no intention of writing a third book, but I have a few ideas percolating that I might explore when I have time. Cass feels like he has more to give, and then there’s Jolen too, who appears briefly in Strays. I suppose it depends on how well Strays sells as to whether I can find the time in my schedule to write more.

In this series you have a character with Tourette’s (I don’t want to spoil anything so I will leave them nameless) My sister and law has tourettes and I know, for her, it’s frustrating and she is often embarrassed. Now hers she growls, purrs, and taps involuntarily. There’s many different sort of “ticks” what made you go the route you did with this character?

I wanted to show that there was far more to the condition that the shouty-swearing most of us imagine when we think of Tourrette’s. Because while the character in question certainly swears a lot, there are many other facets to his condition. I think this is showed in Misfits when he bags his head against the wall, and again in Strays when Cass has to leave work to take care of him.

On top of writing books, as if you’re not busy enough, you design book covers! Can you tell us a little about that side of you? How’d you decide to do that and how do you balance your, well, entire life?

I don’t balance my life well at all. I work full time as Garrett—both as an author and an artist, and I have a day job, two kids, and a bunch of unruly animals to look after too. The reality is a big hot mess, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What would you say was the biggest chance you ever took with your writing?

Switching publishers. When I signed with Riptide, their release schedule and some personal shit meant that I had a year break between releasing Misfits and Between Ghosts. I was terrified that my readers would’ve forgotten all about me, but thankfully, it didn’t happen, and by the end of this year, you’ll likely be sick of me.

Are there any conferences or conventions you will be attending this year?

Not likely. We’re super busy with house renovations over the summer.

Can you tell us about any of your future projects?

I’m writing the follow up to Rented Heart right now, and it has a link to another book entirely, bringing in another character that readers were desperate to see more of. That’s all I’m saying, though more details can be found in Garrett’s Den. <3

What would you say is your least favorite part about publishing a book?

The fear that no one will buy it.

How can your fans follow you: Twitter, FB, Website, Instagram…

The best way is my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/garrettsden/ but there’s plenty of other ways too…

Website: http://garrettleigh.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks

Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

Fast Fire Questions:

Favorite season? Spring

Coffee or tea? Rooibos tea

Favorite flower? Daffodil