Hi, I’m Mari Evans, and I’m here today to talk about my first novel Trusting Love. I’m doing this blog tour thing for the first time, so bear with me guys.
The story is about Sam and Laurie, who have quite an age difference between them. Sam is twent- seven and Laurie turns eighteen in the book. I didn’t start out writing this story and thought, ‘I’m going to give them an age gap to overcome.”
The inspiration for this book came from an actual boy that a friend told me about and showed me pictures of. Some of his story made it into the book, and lots of it came from me. The real life boy didn’t have a boyfriend yet, though, so I had to find him someone in the story. It wasn’t hard to come up with one; I just let the first chapter flow out of my brain, and there was Sam!
Laurie has been through a lot in his life: abuse, bullying and foster care. It was only natural to give him an older boyfriend. I didn’t even think about it until people started to ask me why. Laurie needs someone understanding and mature enough to handle all the baggage. He needs someone to care for him a little but not smother him, because he has to be able to grow. He’s only eighteen after all.
Sam is a likable guy. He’s down to earth, smart and funny. He’s not perfect, though, and Laurie has to work on him a bit. Sam has doubts in the beginning. He thinks Laurie is too young, that he has to live a little before settling for a steady partner. But that’s not the only reason, of course. He’s secretly also scared that if he truly falls for Laurie he will be abandoned as soon as Laurie grows bored with ‘the old guy.’ Little does he know about Laurie’s past.
I don’t think their relationship would have worked as well if Sam were any younger, because Sam is mature enough to handle all the shit (pardon my French) that happens during the story. A younger man would’ve just run and found another guy to have sex with. Even if he would have stayed, he wouldn’t be as good at handling Laurie as a guy who can keep his calm and who’s old enough to be this nurturing.
Sam is ready for a steady, long-term relationship, and he knows things will need work and time. Young people want instant gratification, perfect romances and the best sex, now! Laurie has had to grow up fast because of his past. He’s still young and naïve in some ways because he didn’t get to be a true teenager, but mostly he’s pretty mature for his age.
So you see, the age difference was just the natural way to go. Meant to be, I guess. And yes, I like stories about people that aren’t ‘old’ yet. Older guys just don’t give me that young and energetic feeling that I love to get in a romance. A friend told me once, “You like ‘em young”. That’s not entirely true, though. It’s just that an older guy, say over forty-five, has a different vibe and level of energy than a twenty-five year old. But that’s just personal.
I hope you guys will enjoy Sam and Laurie’s story. I’ve been told it’s a sweet read, but with some angst and hotness in it (not my words).
Thanks for your patience and for reading my ramblings.
Mari
Blurb: Laurie Stallon isn’t like other high schoolers. After suffering years of abuse at his father’s hands, he now lives in a foster care facility and finds solace volunteering at the local animal shelter. Laurie’s had to grow up fast, and even though his eighteenth birthday is still weeks away, he’s more adult than most adults he knows. When he meets Dr. Sam Davies, the new shelter veterinarian, the attraction is instant. They become friends at work, but Laurie knows Sam will never go for someone like him. No matter how Laurie tries to prove his maturity to Sam, Sam continues to reject him as too young.
Needing a distraction, Laurie goes out dancing for his birthday and finds his life in danger yet again. When Sam is called to the hospital, he realizes Laurie needs someone to care for him. Sam takes him home, and they slowly build a relationship. But more than their age difference works against them. Facing the disapproval of friends and the scars from Laurie’s past, they’ll need to put all their trust in love for a chance at a future together.
Buy Links: Amazon
Author Bio: Mari Evans is a wife and the proud mother of a very active daughter, two dogs and two cats. She’s a very social kind of girl, who loves to talk. It’s both her best and worst quality.
From the moment she could read, she devoured books. Anything goes, as long as it has a happy ending.
There were always stories swirling around in her head and as a child, she liked to lay in bed and let the characters have their story and happy ending. It wasn’t until 2013 that she actually tried to put one of the whole stories down and submitit to a publisher. To her own surprise and excitement, it was accepted. This gave her the drive to keep going.
The decision to write m/m was made when a friend told a story about a young gay man that struck a chord, even as her husband had already encouraged her to try it earlier.
Now she found her passion, having already found the love in her family and friends. Her life is completely chaotic, crazy but wonderful.
The Giveaway: Three E-books and One Signed Print Copy of Trusting Love
Tour Stops: 8/11 – Love Bytes
8/12 – The Kimi-Chan Experience
8/13 – Prism Book Alliance
8/14 – Joyfully Jay
8/15 – GGR-Review
8/16 – The Novel Approach
8/17 – MM Good Book Reviews
8/18 – Rhys Ford
8/19 – DSP Twitter
8/20 – JP Barnaby
The book sounds very interesting. Thanks for the giveaway!
Definitely my type of story!
Congrats on your first book! I am excited to read it.
I like sweet reads with angst etc. Thanks for the giveaway!
This looks gorgeous!