Saturday Author Spotlight: Ed Davies #Interview #Giveaway

Hey everyone and Happy Saturday Author Spotlight Day! Today we have the truly fabulous Ed Davies. He's showing us some amazing books, saying some terrific stuff, and giving things away. Super awesome!!! So, grab a drink and hang out!

“I’m gonna go from twink to twunk.”

Tired of hookups, Caspian Grey is hitting the gym, though he can’t decide who he’s trying to impress—the sexy gym owner, or his dating app buddy, Bi Unicorn. If he can pack on some muscles, maybe a man will finally overlook his quirks and hold onto him.

Matt Rowan owns a safe, welcoming gym, but his bank account and love life are equally empty. Matt is too shy to ask out members—even the intriguing new guy. If only he could talk himself into meeting Swishy Like Wine, who seems like a perfect fit for the hole in his heart.

When homophobic protesters harass Matt's gym members, things risk falling apart completely, but Caspian supports his decision not to give them an inch. If they can learn to open up face-to-face, they might both be exactly what the other man needs.

Welcome to Hidden Creek, Texas, where the heart knows what it wants, and where true love lives happily ever after. Every Men of Hidden Creek novel can be read on its own, but keep an eye out for familiar faces around town! This book contains blush-inducing text messages, sassy church ladies to the rescue, and two badly timed gifts.

Amazon
Audio

Jake Gray always wanted a real family. He left his own behind when he began his transition, but if he wants a baby he'll need to come off testosterone and get his life in order. The tips he makes as a waiter are barely enough to pay L.A. rent, let alone raise a child. But he’s made his own way for so long that he doesn’t want to rely on others now.

Tristan Bailey makes ends meet and then a bit extra as a B-list actor. He should count his blessings, but it’s hard to see them from inside this closet. The more time he spends at his friends’ charity, the less he wants to pursue this life. And then he bumps into Jake, a runner from a movie Tristan made two years ago. One he wanted to hook up with, but he didn’t have the courage to ask… until now.

Neither of them knows how to be loved, and while things seem to fit perfectly, Jake's unexpected pregnancy sends both men reeling. Jake always wanted to raise a child alone, but Tristan refuses to be yet another let-down in Jake's life. There's no perfect time to find love, have children, or rearrange their lives. There's only now.

Can they trust each other through all the hurt both men have endured and take a chance on finding forever love?

Forever is a standalone gay romance novel with a happily ever after ending and no cliffhanger.

Amazon
Audio

After zero-gravity heroics left astronaut Nicolas Rogers injured, his new job as a park ranger seems perfect. Being a caretaker of his corner of the Smoky Mountains makes him almost okay with having to be on Earth. More importantly, this deep in the woods, Nico's practically a hermit at a remote ranger station. Sure, he has good friends in nearby Knoxville, but he's otherwise free from petty drama and broken hearts... until Deen enters his world.

Caught in a compromising position by relentless paparazzi, rock star and international playboy Deen Jayse barely escaped with his career intact. He needs image rehab and a break from fame. His manager strongly suggests a stint in the Smokies, promoting national parks and being wholesome. Which would be a lot easier if Nico weren't there in his sexy park ranger uniform.

Nico already has his hands full with arsonists at the park without Deen adding to his workload. He thinks he has to babysit a spoiled celebrity, but when he catches a glimpse of the man behind the persona he sees something he can't resist. They've both experienced the isolation of fame, and while their loneliness brings them together, their worlds threaten to tear them apart. Deen can't just drop everything to go live in the mountains, and Nico can't abandon them... After a taste of being together, how can they possibly face a future apart?

Splinter is a standalone gay romance novel with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger. Book #2, Grasp, is available now!
Amazon
Audio

“It's time to stop running away.”

Private security contractor Orion Miele is only back in Hidden Creek long enough to help his Gramma get better. Orion never expected to fall for the only brown-eyed beauty he turned down in high school... one who needs his protection now. Juggling his responsibilities might get messy.

Gabriel Spicer can't wait to get out of this town and his cousin's fixed-up shed, far away from his clingy ex. He works at the Mieles' farm produce stall to save up for the big move to Houston, where his life will get better. But meeting his high school crush all over again throws his careful plans awry.

The walled garden designs Gabriel loves to sketch have nothing on the walls around his heart. While Orion comes to terms with being bi, Gabriel realizes that leaving isn't all it's cracked up to be. What he needs is shelter... here, in Orion's arms.

Welcome to Hidden Creek, Texas, where the heart knows what it wants, and where true love lives happily ever after. Every Men of Hidden Creek novel can be read on its own, but keep an eye out for familiar faces around town! This book contains a sweetly scheming grandma, a guy who thinks he’s straight, and a sketchbook full of hopes and dreams.

Amazon
Audio

“I'm walking away from that dream.”

At twenty-three, an undiagnosed heart condition sends pro hockey player Cameron Riley back to his hometown newly single and looking for work. Cam can't hide his past – especially when his heart racing is a big risk, and boy, does his new boss's nephew make his heart race. Noah's exactly the kind of guy Cam needs after his hellish ex.

Art curator Noah Clark is glad his beekeeping uncle hired this hunk. Cameron is a sweet, smart bad boy. Noah works hard, like organizing a hockey-themed art exhibition, and he wants to let himself love hard. Noah's busy life would be perfect with Cameron, but what's his new lover hiding?

As their relationship blossoms, Cam is offered millions to abandon his new priorities: life, love, and family. The game of their lives is on the line. And after all's said and done, is it too late for Noah to forgive Cam for his partial truths?

Trace is a standalone gay romance novel with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger.

Amazon
Audible

Interview

Hello, Ed, it’s so awesome to have you here again and to get a chance to talk to you. A lot has happened since you’ve been here last so let’s get started.

Last time on here you were releasing Flaunt. So, tell us what has happened since we last spoke and how over a year has changed you?

Thank you! It’s fantastic to be here, and yes… so much has happened in the last year-plus!

Flaunt was the beginning of one of my favorite series—the F-Word, which is about trans, nonbinary, HIV+, demisexual, and other queer characters I don’t see represented often in MM romance.

It was also a book that meant a great deal personally. Kyle and Nic’s journey parallels my own at that time. I’d recently broken up what turned out not to be a life partnership and was feeling unlovable—and Flaunt was the beginning of my healing journey. I’d also just met a guy, and little did I know he’d be persistent and patient enough to become The Boy. For the last year, he’s been by my side as I remember who I am and regain all the sparkle I lost and then some!

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Since I was last here, I’ve finished the last book in the After series (Afterburn, Afterglow, and Aftermath), which is about a group of firefighters and their loved ones coping with PTSD, depression, and anxiety. I released the Significant Brothers series (Splinter, Grasp, Slick, Trace, Clutch, and Tremble), about a small chosen family group in Tennessee. I also wrote books in both the first and second season of the Men of Hidden Creek (Shelter and Adore). I’ve dipped my toe into audiobooks, and Buzz, Clang, and Splinter are now available in audiobook format (two from Michael Pauley and one from Greg Boudreaux respectively), with many more scheduled soon! Last but not least, I came full circle back to the F-Word series by releasing book four (with more to come next year). Forever is the first real-life contemporary mpreg romance I can find—that is, about a trans man’s pregnancy, so no magic required. It was such a pleasure to continue this series, especially getting to challenge ideas about trans representation, mpreg, parenthood, and more!

You just released a book, Adore, and you have another release coming in September. Tell us about these two amazing books?

Adore is the second of my books in the Men of Hidden Creek series. This series currently has two seasons, each with six books written by different authors. Each season happens simultaneously and in no particular reading order, so you can jump from book to book as you please. You’ll catch familiar side characters, and even glimpses of each other’s main characters going about their daily lives in this little Texas town. In Adore, gym owner Matt meets twinky Caspian in real life and online, but they don’t know they’re messaging each other until they finally agree to meet up in person. It’s a fun, sweet, light read about a little town coming together to battle senseless prejudice, and finding allies and even true love where they least expect it! Today, I’m participating in a Facebook party in the Men of Hidden Creek Facebook group to talk about Adore and celebrate our second season.

Next up, I’m thrilled to announce I’m starting a new series! The Brooklyn Boys are making the best of life in New York City, but whatever they do, love never seems to go their way… until their perfect match comes along, and then there’s no stopping it! The first book in the Brooklyn Boys series follows 23-year-old Kev, whom we briefly met in Tremble (Significant Brothers #6). He and his roommate Adam have moved here from Knoxville. Adjusting to life at the New York pace, trying not to butt heads with Adam every day, and figuring out a safer career path when FOSTA-SESTA would drive him back to hustling on the streets… Kev has a lot to overcome. And that’s all before Kev realizes he’s into Charlie, the peevish 32-year-old architect who just wants to relearn how to date for the first time in years.

Brooklyn Boys #1 will be out September 18th, 2018!

Our lovely genre has taken some hard hits lately. How do you push through the negativity to produce amazing stories and a positive attitude?

This is a great question, and one I’ve talked about a lot! At EuroPrideCon 2018, Amelia Faulkner and I were invited to give the keynote speech, and we chose to talk about community, allyship, and how to survive these growing pains as a genre without stifling diversity and new voices, which are often one and the same! It’s a huge, messy topic I can only just begin to address, but let’s see what I can do!

Negativity breeds negativity. I’ve been hurt in the last few years, too, but if you cling to the resentment, suspicion, fear, jealousy, guilt, and other negative emotions, they’ll only drown you. Buddhism has taught me that change and negative emotions are inevitable, and the tighter I hold on, the more it hurts me. There are also legitimate concerns about balancing different groups’ voices. When you’re told you’ve hurt someone, try to step back and overcome the initial defensive “ouch” to listen to what they’re really saying and how your words fit into the big picture. On the flip side, when someone hurts you, try to assume good intentions and approach them with kindness instead of attacking first. It’s (very!) hard, but it’s the only way we’ll learn from one another in a community full of different marginalized groups with different painful histories and goals that often directly conflict. Healthy boundaries are critical, and that’s something we aren’t often taught how to set or enforce, or are too afraid of not being nice to do so… but it’s actually kinder in the long run to know your limits and help others understand them, too. Place your own mask on before assisting others, as they say on planes!

I also believe in separating the authenticity or value of stories from the identity of the author. I judge each story on what’s in it—and this is a tricky balance, because some stories represent bi characters well but then subtly reinforce misogyny, for example. I give new authors an equal chance to impress me as I give established favorites. You’ll absolutely run across some “eurgh! That’s not right!” moments, but you’ll also find totally unfamiliar and refreshing perspectives, and that’s a trade-off I’m happy to make. Most new authors I talk to are queer (and usually otherwise marginalized too), but find it hard to get new readers because they’re not safe to “prove” who they are. The unspoken (and unwanted!) authenticity given automatically to queer male authors hands people a recipe for hurting the whole genre, and leads to people wanting to know more and more about each other to try to prove their identity… but we can take back that power without violating boundaries by judging books on their own merits, and paying attention to who someone is as a person rather than their status, identity, etc.

There’s that saying: when people show you who they are, believe them. I watch how people treat those they don’t expect to gain anything from. I avoid people who try to turn mobs on others, stir up suspicion, resentment, or hatred against particular authors or groups of people, or are constantly controlling the narrative by deleting posts. I unfriend those who seem to be constantly in the middle of drama. More important than identity to me is whether people treat others with kindness, respect, and compassion. Finally, I don’t tend to follow or comment on individual incidents in our communities, and I only comment when I have positive advice and actionable ways to rise above it or address the underlying issues. I need to conserve my time and energy for writing books, and I put most of the positive messages I want out in the world into them!

Are you attending GRL or any other events this year?

I can’t make it to many events right now. The only confirmed event on my calendar is ShiMMer (Feb 2019, Birmingham, UK). I hope to make it to EuroPrideCon (June 2019, Amsterdam, NL).

What are three things about you we wouldn’t know reading your bio?

I’m vegetarian, and mostly vegan. It was pretty much an accident—I didn’t want to cook meat when I moved out, and then I (…accidentally, come to think of it) dated a vegan and learned how to substitute foods easily. I also love cooking, especially for other people. I lost my passion for it last year after everything that happened, but I’ve found myself slowly starting to make my favorite things again (especially for The Boy) and I couldn’t be happier.

When I was 16, one of my best friends taught me to walk in heels. She and another friend put me in 3” stilettos and took me out, grabbed me by the elbows, and started sprinting down the sidewalk. Then, she said that now that I knew how to run in those heels, I could walk or run in pretty much any pair. She wasn’t wrong! (And she’s still one of my best friends despite several entire minutes of pouting.)

I tend to write in US English, but slip Canadianisms or cultural references (Smarties!) into my books sometimes, especially when I’m homesick. I’m Canadian, and I emigrated to the UK a little over three years ago. I meant to do working holidays in different countries, but I put down roots here (accidentally, again… falling forward through life!) and apparently a certain Boy doesn’t want me to move to New Zealand. Weird, huh?

Can you tell your readers and fans where they can stalk… I mean follow you? Twitter, FB, website, Instagram etc…

The best way to follow me is by joining my reader group, Ed’s Petals, where I tend to post most of my news, upcoming releases, hints and teasers, WIP updates, sneak peeks and samples, exclusive-to-fans freebie short stories, etc: https://www.facebook.com/groups/edavies (and I promise lots of cute fuzzy things).

You can subscribe to my newsletter at http://www.edaviesbooks.com/subscribe if you want less frequent release notifications and news (usually about an email a month). Or, for just book links, you can find them on my website at http://www.edaviesbooks.com or Amazon at http://amazon.com/author/edavies (almost everything is in KU, so Amazon-exclusive). I post mostly about my personal life on my Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thisboyisstrange/ (be warned, lots of smooshy romantic hand-holding photos with The Boy). That’s about it for places I regularly visit, though I’m technically on Twitter at @edaviesauthor.

What do you see 2019 being like for you work wise?

I have so many plans! Going to fewer conventions, spending less time online, and getting my life generally in order has given me oodles more writing time. Words come first in 2019, and I couldn’t be happier about it. The poor Boy—I talk his ear off about writing on those rare days off!

I have publication dates planned for the Brooklyn Boys series, and I’m finalizing them this week, so keep an eye out in my Facebook group for more news soon! On top of that, I’ll be co-writing with Zach Jenkins, and working on something else I have to keep hush-hush about for now.

All in all, I should publish twelve books in 2018 (seven have been published so far), and I’m planning slightly more than that in 2019!

Following you on social media I see you live life to the fullest. What are some of the most amazing things you experienced this year so far?

Oh, it’s hard to pick just a few. I feel so blessed in how far I’ve come over the last few years! All the time I’ve spent with The Boy is definitely near the top of the list. Last week, we unplugged and spent a long weekend glamping in Cornwall, and a few months ago, we went hiking in the Lake District. I took him to his first Pride this year, which made my heart burst into a million rainbow sparkles when he told me it was his first at the end of the day.

I’ve also been getting much more comfortable in my own self-expression, and part of that has been learning to dance in the Gay Men’s Dance Company here in London. Performing in London Pride was phenomenal, and along the way, learning to trust my own body and my fellow dancers (especially in lifts!) has done wonders for me. I’ve made friends who have all kinds of similar and different experiences of queerness, and who accept my kinda-nerdy workaholic and fun-loving, wounded and optimistic, femme and outdoorsy, practical and sparkly, generally enigmatic self just the way I am. The sense of being you whatever anyone else says about it, and of community and found family that sneaks into all my books? After a few hard years, I’ve found it again in real life, and it’s recharged my spirit and enriched my work in ways I don’t think I even know!

FAST FIRE QUESTIONS

Day or night? Day!

Favorite color? Pink with rainbow sparkles! ;)

Karaoke or Dance off? Dance off!

Favorite comfort food? Vegan mac’n’cheese!

Super Hero or villain? Heroes who turn out to be the villains, whether or not they ever realize!

Righty or lefty? Both! Lefty for most sports, righty for most other stuff.

Favorite number? 13!

Thank you, Ed, so much for hanging out with me

Thank you for having me, and thank you to everyone reading along! It’s been a pleasure to chat, as always. Stay you, stay fabulous!

Giveaway

Three US or UK Audible codes (for Splinter, Buzz, or Clang), and three copies of the ebook of the winner's choice from Ed Davies back catalogue.

Giveaway ends August 24th

Thanks!

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