Hello, everyone and welcome to another wonderful Author Saturday Spotlight! I'm thrilled to have a new face here on Diverse Reader. She's no stranger to the book world but she's a first timer here. Foster Bridget Cassidy has written books for Dreamspinner Press, JMS book, and Queer Sci-Fi's 2016 and 2017 Anthologies. Today we're going to look at some of her work, do an interview, and wrap it up with a terrific giveaway! So, get comfy.
One is trying to heal a broken heart, the other, a broken family.
After
separating from his partner of nine years, Palmer Simpson flees to the
island of Oahu to pursue a carefree life of surfing. There, he meets
Riku Usami, a more skilled surfer—but one with a bad attitude and a
boatload of family drama. A contest between the two men leads to
friendship and the possibility of something more meaningful. When a
tsunami threatens the island, a friend is stranded out on the waters of
the deadly Banzai Pipeline. Palmer and Riku must face the dangers of the
barrel waves and the looming forces of nature in order to get their
friend to safety. If they survive, they’ll have to contemplate what
their future together will look like after the storm blows through.
States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.
Marty
Smith was born in Accident, Maryland, and his whole life reflected it:
he missed the game-winning free-throw junior year, got chicken pox twice
in grade school, even lost his mother to cancer. To break this supposed
curse, he fled Accident as soon as he graduated high school.
Now, ten years
later, Marty must face his past when he's forced to care for his
suddenly-immobile father. Marty knows his close-minded hometown hasn't
changed, but seeing an old classmate named Colten Williams makes him
wish things were different. The more time he spends with Colten, the
more he wants to stay. Accident isn’t so bad when viewed through
Colten’s eyes.
Or is it just the curse lulling him into a false sense of security before it pounces again?
Sean
Stirling isn’t having a good day. Hearing snide comments on a
photoshoot, he storms off, not caring that he looks every inch a
celebrity throwing a tantrum. Things get worse when he falls on the
ice-covered street. As a car comes barreling toward him, there’s nothing
he can do to prevent his fate.
Luckily, Emerson Willis is there to save the day.
Emerson pushes
the man from the street, then gets bamboozled into accompanying the
stranger to the hospital. After Emerson sees himself on television, he
realizes the man he saved is a pop star.
Now, Sean is
smitten and eager to thank his rescuer. Emerson, whose mind is still
spinning, can’t tell what to think about the sudden attention. Can the
musician convince Emerson they’re made for each other? Or will Emerson
dismiss it all as the passing fancy of a rich and famous man?
Mel
finally gets to go home for Christmas. In his absence, his hometown has
changed, and Carlos, his best friend’s little brother, is all grown up
and interested in a relationship. But Carlos has his work cut out for
him since Mel's having trouble seeing past the little brother part and
his big brother, Aldo's determined to keep them apart.
Interview
Thank you,
Foster, for being here today to talk about your books, you, and random things.
You’ve never been on Diverse Reader so it’s a treat having you here. For those
who have read your work this will be a lot of fun to get to know you more and
for those who haven’t, this will be a great intro.
Thank you
for having me! I’m very excited to be
here!
Obviously
you write LGBTQA+ book, specifically M/M, but tell us what type of books you
write and the subgenres you decided to focus on?
For me, it’s
all about romance. I’ve wanted to be an
author since high school, yet I struggled with actually writing. My passion for the written word was there,
but I couldn’t harness it. The problem
was I tried to write novels that were science fiction or fantasy. About four years ago, I decided to try my
hand at a romance (specifically male/male romance), and the words flew from my
brain onto the page. I completed my very
first novel in fifteen days. Since then,
I’ve completed fifteen novels, and have four published.
So far, all
my published novels have been contemporary romance—with the plot line revolving
around falling in love. I still want to
write science fiction and fantasy stories, and I have several in the works. Romance takes center stage in those, but it’s
not the complete plot.
There’s
always a book out there or an author that inspired us to take the leap into
becoming an author. What book or author was that for you?
Robert
Jordan—the epic fantasy writer of The
Wheel of Time series—inspired me more than I can say. I avoided reading in high school, until my
freshman year when I read the first in the series, The Eye of the World. I was
hooked. I devoured the series; there
were currently eight published at that time.
The series is full of emotion, wonderful characters, a rich world, and a
fascinating magic system. I was so
invested in the characters and their lives.
I wanted to be able to touch people in the same way Jordan’s story
touched me.
I mimicked
his epicness, but it didn’t work for me.
It took me several years to find the right way to express myself and
tell my own kind of stories.
If one of
your books could hit the silver screen, which would you want up there and why?
It’s hard to
pick, as naturally, I love all my stories!
However, I’d love to see The
Accident Curse on the big screen. It
takes place in Accident, Maryland, which is where my husband grew up. It’s an interesting, small town, lush and
beautiful. Very different from Phoenix,
Arizona, where I’ve lived all my life.
Many of the themes in the story remind me of my husband, so it holds an
extra special place in my heart. Also, I
feel the humor would be a great draw for a film audience!
Authors
always feel differently about triggers in books. What is your take on this?
As long as
there’s a trigger warning, I’m fine with almost anything in a fictional piece
of work. If it’s not something I want to
read about, I’ll stay clear. If it’s
something I’m okay with, I’m still glad I had a warning up front. I feel trigger warnings are very important,
be it books, films, or any other media.
People are quick to judge others as being overly sensitive. I think those people should be grateful
they’ve never been so horribly traumatized that it impacts their daily
lives. Many people struggle with
triggers, and we cannot fully understand how much it affects them. To dismiss their unease as oversensitivity is
doing them a disservice. It takes very
little effort to show compassion for another’s feelings. This is one way to do it quite easily.
Will you be
attending any signings or conventions this year?
I will be
attending a convention called JordanCon, but only as a fan. This convention is dedicated to Robert Jordan. It began in 2008, the year after he passed
away. This year, we’ll be celebrating
our 10th Anniversary! It’s a
great convention, on the small side, but full of passionate people. I’ve already constructed two new cosplay
outfits to wear!
Can you tell
us all what you are currently working on or future works?
I’ve got too
many to count! My main focus right now
is getting one of my sci-fi/fantasy stories polished. I have four currently finished, but in
desperate need of editing. The one I’m
fixing up now is about a young man who uses false credentials to get a job as a
spaceship mechanic. It’s full of humor
and has a great romance plot with the mechanic and the ship’s half-alien
captain.
How can
readers follow your work via SM: Facebook, Twitter, Websites etc…
I can be
reached on several social media outlets.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are
updated the most frequently. Information
on all my novels and anthology pieces can be found on my website. I also have a Wordpress blog where I
mainly talk about my love of sewing and crafts, and a Tumblr blog where I
focus on artwork!
Fast Fire
Questions
Summer or
winter? Summer
Cats or
dogs? Dogs
Favorite
dessert? Brownies
Best comfort
food? Pizza
Early bird
or night owl? Early bird
Wine or
beer? Beer
Comedy or
romance? Both? If I have to choose one, romance!
Okay, thank
you, Foster, so much for talking with me today!
Giveaway
If the winner is in the US Foster will gift them a signed copy of
The Accident Curse.
If the winner is international she will gift it to the electronically.
This contest will end on March 30th
Thanks
a Rafflecopter giveaway
New-to-me author. I'll have to check these books out.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview it was great to get to know a new to me author.
ReplyDeletefoster is a new author to me and enjoyed the interview
ReplyDeleteI love learning about new to me authors. Enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the interview! I've added the books to my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteI have never read any of your book and am delighted to meet you. Thanks
ReplyDelete