Guest Post and Giveaway: The Wayward Son Blog Tour With Shae Connor

The Novel Approach welcomes author Shae Connor today on the Wayward Son blog tour. Enjoy Shae’s article on Finding the Balance: Writing a Threesome Relationship, then be sure to click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for the chance to win a $25 Dreamspinner Press Gift Card and your choice of an e-book from Shae’s backlist.

Good Luck!

First, a big thanks to Lisa for having me back again! Has it already been four months since the last time I did this? Time flies when you’re busy as heck!

Today I’m kicking off the blog tour for Wayward Son, book two in the Sons series. This is my first series, so it’s the first time I’ve worked with same characters from one book to the next. And Cory and Jimmy in particular made it very clear when I was writing Unfortunate Son that yes, I would be writing their story next. They’re demanding that way!

Cory, Jimmy, and Mikey are each loosely based on men I know. Cory matches up closely physically and personality wise with the inspiration, who also provided the name of Cory’s drag persona, Coco Lame. Jimmy’s similarities to my friend are primarily in his personality and sense of silly humor. For Mikey, it’s mostly his interest in art that’s drawn from real life.

(I won’t name the specific people here, in part because the comparisons are VERY loose, but they’re among those thanked in the acknowledgments.)

When it came to writing a three-way relationship, I also drew some inspiration from real-life and a number of polyamorous people I know. One couple I’m acquainted with falls into the category of two people very much in love who like to bring others into their bed now and then. Cory and Jimmy lived that way for years, until they met Mikey and decided to make things more permanent.

And that’s a challenge, both for Mikey and for me as the author. In writing a plausible polyamorous relationship, it’s important to make sure everyone gets equal time—or, at least, the amount of time they want. It’s particularly difficult when two of the characters are larger-than-life like Cory and Jimmy. They have a tendency to command attention in every scene, even when the focus is on someone else.

In Wayward Son, one big obstacle Mikey has to overcome is not feeling like a third wheel. Cory and Jimmy have been a couple for years, and though they’re as clear as they can be about Mikey not being an afterthought to them, it takes Mikey a while to believe it.

In this excerpt, Cory, Jimmy, and Mikey have just had sex, but the natural closeness between Cory and Jimmy leaves Mikey feeling unneeded (again). Cory does his best to reassure him:

Cory tucked him under the covers and curled up behind him while Jimmy ordered room service. When Jimmy was done, he crossed to the bed and gave each of them a kiss with a side of groping. Cory made silly, sexy sounds the whole time, which hit Mikey like a punch to the gut. What did they need him for when they were clearly so in love with each other?

Mikey didn’t know if he’d stiffened up or what, but after Jimmy disappeared into the bathroom for a shower, Cory shifted away and pulled at Mikey’s shoulder until he rolled onto his back. Pinning Mikey with a gaze that saw too much, Cory asked, “Are you okay?”

Mikey tried to shrug. “It’s just with everything….” He tried to drop his gaze, but Cory reached out to lift his chin and force him to look at him again.

“You’re thinking you’re unnecessary again, aren’t you?”

Mikey blushed. He couldn’t deny it. It was the truth, wasn’t it? “You and Jimmy, you’re just so….” In love, he thought, but couldn’t say it. “You’ve been together so long,” he tried instead. “How can you…?”

“Want you too?” Cory finished the question. He smiled a little. “Well, you might not have noticed, but we’re not exactly small personalities.” Mikey could not hold back a grin at that. “And sometimes big personalities need a little bit more than the usual.”

Mikey jerked away at that. “So, what, I’m just a fill-in?”

Cory sighed. “You know it’s not that,” he chided. “It’s like… like a few minutes ago, when he kissed us before he went to shower. When he touches me like that, it’s not just groping. It’s like he strips away all the surface stuff, the blather and the bullshit life forces on us, and touches me. It’s just him, and just me, and it’s a feeling I never want to lose.”

“But then—”

“But nothing, honey. What I’m saying is, what he does for me, he does for you too. What he feels for me, he feels for you. And it’s the same for me, and it doesn’t take a thing away from what’s between him and me.”

Blurb: Sequel to Unfortunate Son

After his move to Atlanta and away from the influence of his conservative parents, Mikey O’Malley finally feels free to be himself: art student, aspiring animator, and out gay man. He has friends, a new job, and not one, but two men interested in him. Cory Lassiter and Jimmy Black have been a happy couple for years, occasionally bringing a twink into their bed, but only for a brief roll in the hay. When Mikey meets the pair, the attraction is immediate, and it runs three ways. Mikey just can’t believe they’d have room in their lives for a permanent addition.

When Mikey’s newfound life is shattered by a lawsuit that accuses him of molesting a child years earlier, he’s determined to face his troubles on his own, but Cory and Jimmy are just as determined that he not have to go it alone. To reconcile his need for independence and his desire for love, Mikey has to learn that being a man isn’t just about standing on your own two feet. It’s about letting yourself lean on the ones who love you.

Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | All Romance eBooks

About the Author: Shae Connor lives in Atlanta, where she’s a lackadaisical government worker for a living and writes sweet-hot romance under the cover of night. She’s been making things up for as long as she can remember, but it took her a long time to figure out that maybe she should try writing them down. She’s conned several companies into publishing her work and adds a new notch on her bedpost each time another story is unleashed onto an unsuspecting universe.

A member of the Romance Writers of America and the Rainbow Writers chapter, Shae was first published in 2010 and has a lineup of short stories, novellas, and novels available from Dreamspinner Press, Wilde City Press, MLR Press, and Amber Allure.

Shae is part Jersey, part Irish, and all Southern, which explains why she never shuts up. When she’s not chained to her laptop, she enjoys cooking, traveling, watching baseball, and reading voraciously, and she’s an annual volunteer for the Dragon Con on-site publication, the Daily Dragon. You can find her hanging out on Twitter most any time @shaeconnor, but for the more direct route, you can email her at shaeconnorwrites@gmail.com or visit her website at shaeconnorwrites.com.

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