Guest Post and Giveaway: Earthquakes by Kelly Wyre

Please join us in welcoming author Kelly Wyre today, on the tour for her new novel, Earthquakes. We’re so glad to have her with us today to chat a bit about the book, and she’s also got a great giveaway going on, so be sure to check out the info on that just below.

Good luck!

Hi there! I’m so excited to be here today on The Novel Approach to talk about my new novel, Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story. It’s the next installment in the New Amsterdam series, and it involves guns and ballet, two of my favorite things.

To celebrate the release, I’m doing a blog tour, and no tour is complete without prizes, amirite? I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card, a lovely necklace with a quote from Sinatra’s, Strangers in the Night – “Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away” – and a free ebook copy of the book! Just click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

And that’s not all…

Today one lucky commenter will win a free ebook copy of the novel! All you have to do is comment below. Say hi, tell me what you love to read, what you had for breakfast – anything goes! I love hearing from you.

Meanwhile, I think I’d like to chat a bit about the characters in this world. It’s quite the web they weave.

See? I know that thing makes MY eyes cross, so let’s break it down. Today? We’re going to talk about MAXWELL (YOU-CAN-JUST-CALL-ME) CLARK. Clark. Ooooh Clark. What can I say about Clark?

I love this man, for starters. We have him to thank for the entire world and series, really, as it was him walking into my head that began the shenanigans. Clark is the Great Connector. The enigmatic bartender. The information man. The one with the insights, the wisdom, the healer-heal-thyself experience. He’s charming. He’s attractive in the kind of way that makes everyone in the room keep looking at him, even when he’s just wiping down the bar. And at any given moment he can kill you in no fewer than seven ways.

I mean, WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?

According to my (old) notes, Clark’s about 6’1” or so. He has prematurely gray hair – that lovely silver toned stuff – that somebody else styles for him in the just-out-of-bed fashion. He has two differently colored eyes – one blue and one brown. The blue is the original. The brown is a transplant eye. He lost one during his tour of duty and he signed up for an experimental treatment that got him a new eye. Unfortunately, it also got him migraines and vision that can go blurry under duress.

Thus, his military career ended.

He’s broad-shouldered, classically handsome. Think of what would happen if Matthew McConaughey and Paul Walker had a love child. You’d be in the right ballpark. Just, you know, give him jet-black-gone-silver hair and mismatched eyes.

Yeah… I used to drive many an artist insane who wanted to draw this man. Though despite my endless list of confusing details, there have been some amazing pieces done. Go check out my FAN ART page to see them. Make sure you look at the one where Lucian Gray is pissed off and covered in teeny tiny Clarks.

Anyway, here’s some facts about Clark:

• Ex-military, special ops
• Both parents are deceased
• Old family money that increased when he sold his childhood home, a massive apartment in the most expensive part of New Amsterdam
• He owns the Bar, Glow
• He also has a 1/4 ownership in the dance club Bliss and the kink club Break
• He is Lucian Gray’s information man and one of Lucian’s, Merry Band of Vigilantes (as Clark calls them)
• He’s a Dom who only subs for his husband, Daniel Germain
• His story is told in Hearts Under Fire. It’s a painful one. He also keeps popping up in basically every other story as… well… He’s everywhere, man. Just everywhere.
• His wit keeps me writing this series when nothing else motivates me. I love writing him and Lucian together, as they’re smart enough to keep up with the other and ruthless when it comes to teasing.

He’s one of my favorites, if you hadn’t picked up on that. :D I could likely write about him all day, but I shall refrain. Though if you happen to have questions for this character, please feel free to ask ‘em in the comments!

Thanks for reading, as always. Follow the BLOG TOUR to learn more about the characters of New Amsterdam.

And to win prizes.

‘Cause PRIZES, y’all. They rock.

(Speaking of – don’t forget to comment to enter to win a copy of Earthquakes – A New Amsterdam Story!)

Thanks for reading!

Xxoo

Kelly

Connect with Kelly: 

❧ Website ❧ Blog  ❧ Twitter ❧ Facebook ❧ Fan Page ❧ Google Plus
❧ Tumblr – NSFW! ❧ Pinterest ❧ Amazon Author Page ❧ Goodreads

Want to Know More?

Check out the World of New Amsterdam

Peruse the Free Reads

See the Fan Art & Cool Stuff

And definitely catch up with Ellis and Bryn in Earthquakes, the latest installment of the New Amsterdam series. Need a taste? How ‘bout an excerpt?

PS – It’s better to read it with the SOUNDTRACK.

Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story: Ellis Parker is a lucky man: he escaped his persecuting family, survived his tour of duty, and met Maxwell Clark in the city of New Amsterdam. Clark showed Ellis more than the ropes: Clark helped Ellis figure out who he is – a gay submissive with a massive fixation on a beautiful, mysterious ballet dancer named Bryn Rothe. Ellis knows a Good Man when he sees one, and he wants nothing more than to score a first date with Bryn.

Little does Ellis know that Bryn has a violent past that is crawling out of shallow graves to haunt him. Even his hectic schedule and beloved stage aren’t enough to distract him. It’s impossible for Bryn to figure out how he feels about Ellis with his demons between them, but when Ellis saves Bryn not once but twice, Bryn is forced to admit that there’s something about Ellis that Bryn might not merely want but need.

Together, they journey to the scene of Bryn’s original crime – Charles Towne, South Carolina. There they will dig up secrets that might explain Bryn’s tortured life but might also be his – and Ellis’s – undoing.

Own a Piece of the City – Get your copy of Earthquakes: A New Amsterdam Story, Today!

Excerpt: Ellis had been close to martial artists when they were training. He’d sparred with Clark. He’d seen Kris and Daniel and all his friends shoot at the range. There was an economy of motion that the athletically and lethally inclined all shared. Ellis admired it, strived for it, and knew he’d never get there. He was a workhorse, not a prince of motion.

And as he watched Bryn begin to move – not merely stretch or contort but move – Ellis thought of churches and gods and houses of worship.

Bryn’s feet bent in ways Ellis had never seen. Bryn could balance perfectly on one foot or even a single toe. When Bryn shed his pants after a moment or two and took the first few steps in only a pair of snug briefs, Ellis wasn’t hit with a wave of arousal. He was struck dumb with awe. Every line of Bryn was defined. Even the lift of one arm and the point of his fingers were deliberate and beautiful. Ellis stood completely still and held his breath. He was in the presence of some sort of everyday magic and calling attention to himself might break the spell.

The concentration on Bryn’s face was unlike anything Ellis had ever witnessed. He didn’t exist for Bryn. Nothing did except the music, the motion, and whatever spirit had come alive in Bryn to make Bryn…shine. There was no other word for it. The light played through the windows and infused Bryn with incandescence.

And when Bryn started to dance, really dance, he outshone the sun. A turn here, a pointed foot there, a twist and a glide and… God, Ellis didn’t know what Bryn was doing. But he felt it. The music was hopeful and yet haunting, and Bryn’s dance tugged at every ache both old and new in Ellis’s body. Bryn’s face portrayed almost no emotion, but with every dart of his hand, every slice of his leg through the air, with every crumble, fall, and rise, Ellis was struck over and over.

I will try, said Bryn’s reach toward God and Heaven and all things on high.

Though I know I will fail, said the drop of Bryn’s arm.

I will carry on, said the sweep of his leg.

But I’ll lose, said an arch of his back.

I will fight, said a twisting leap.

I will fall, said the thuds of Bryn’s feet on the floor.

I want to love, said the open reach of Bryn’s fingers.

Please, said Bryn’s clutched fist.

Bryn’s expanse of chest, his shut eyes, and his rise onto his curled toes snapped something in Ellis, and as the music faded, Ellis couldn’t take it anymore. He shut off the music, strode to Bryn, and caught Bryn up in his arms. Bryn was sweaty and warm and breathing hard. Ellis couldn’t stop kissing him. Bryn melted against Ellis, resting heavily against him. Ellis ran a hand through Bryn’s hair.

“I see you,” Ellis whispered. “I see you.”

THE GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Grand Prize Contest Fine Print: This giveaway will run throughout the blog tour, and finish at midnight on March 18. Winner must be of legal age, and legally able to accept the prizes as awarded. By entering this giveaway, you are confirming your eligibility. Void where prohibited by law. Entries will be collected by Rafflecopter on each tour stop and via my blog post. No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning are determined solely by the number of eligible entries. Winner must respond within seventy-two hours of the congratulatory email and post. Posts will be made on my social media platforms. Winner may or may not be announced on the blog sites, in accordance with that site’s preference. It is the responsibility of the winner to watch for the announcement. A new winner will be redrawn otherwise. Shipping costs will be to the expense of Kelly Wyre, and can be shipped worldwide, where legally permitted. This contest is not sponsored by Blogger, Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Tumblr, or any of the sites wherewith the giveaway has been posted. By entering this giveaway you agree to hold Kelly Wyre and designates harmless should something go awry with either contest or the prizes awarded.