Please join is in welcoming author Alicia Nordwell today, on the One Pulse Anthology tour. Dreamspinner Press has brought together a group of authors, including Connie Bailey, Ellis Carrington, Edmond Manning, Chrissy Munder, Caitlin Ricci,Andrea Speed, M.T. Aspen, Jayce Ellis, Sera Kane, Dev Bentham, George Seaton, Renee Stevens, Emery C Walters, Vicktor Alexander, Alicia Nordwell, C.C. Dado, M.A. Church,Troy Storm, Mickie B. Ashling, KC Burn, Jon Keys, John Goode, John Amory, Grace R. Duncan, Felicitas Ivey, Elizabeth Noble, Bree Cariad, Lila Leigh Hunter, Laura Lascarso, J. C. Long, with a collection of stories that range from contemporary romance to paranormal and sci-fi, to help raise money for the benefit of the victims of the Orlando shooting.
Welcome, Alicia.
About Best Friends & Boyfriends
There’s one thing about the LGBTQ community that has stood out for me is how inclusive it feels. Sure, sexuality might be the tie between people, but it can be a strong one. Not everyone can find acceptance in their friends or family, but this community? It is often the family we find and need when the rest of the world is not so kind.
That’s why the attack against our community spread such a widespread sense of victimization and loss. Pulse was a safe place. A place of acceptance. That safety was taken away, again, by hate in a very public way that hit so many all over the country, and the world. Dreamspinner Press’s One Pulse anthology is a way to counter that, to share the love in the LGBTQ community, in such a way to help those who were affected the most—the victims and family of victims of the Pulse tragedy.
I don’t go to bars or clubs, and I’m in a heterosexual relationship so to the bigots who are looking for victims who dare to show their love that bucks the ‘norm’ I’m not a target. But I know what it’s like to fear the invisible threat that could be just around the corner, that you can’t prevent because you can’t know for certain when or where it might come from. It’s a nebulous fear that can consume you if you let it, but there’s really no way to make it stop except to keep going and be brave in your love and life.
For my story in the One Pulse anthology, I wanted to show a love that had more to it than just romance. I’ve known my best friend since I was six years old, and while our relationship isn’t romantic, it is so very pure because I know she’ll always be there for me, accept anything and everything about me, no matter what. And I’d do the same for her. Having that sort of love in my life directly affects the relationship I wrote between my main characters, Elliott and Cory. Their details, like who’s the protector, their ages, and, of course, their genders, are flipped around and their life path is totally different from ours. What stays the same is that core knowledge of “This is my person” in our relationship that is the foundation for theirs.
Elliott is older than Cory and has been protecting him since they were younger. Since Cory was skipped a few grades to just one below Elliott’s, due to being scary smart, he’s smaller than his peers and an easy target for bullies on the playground. Cory is Elliott’s rock when he faces an academic challenge, pushing Elliott to not give less than his best. Time, puberty, small-town life, and separation test the tight bonds of their friendship. Secrets—that aren’t so secret—don’t help either.
When Cory returns to college for his junior year, Elliott is ready to be more than just friends. He’s waited for so long for the right moment, and he’s not going to miss out now that Cory’s eighteen. An underlying tension, a silent scream of want, has stretched between them for two years while they were roommates. Cory’s about to learn just how best friends can become boyfriends… if Elliott doesn’t screw it up.
Love should be the one thing that connects everyone, not hate, and it can overcome so many obstacles between us and those we care for. We just have to be brave enough to embrace it.
About the Anthology
Stories drive life. Sometimes life is good; sometimes life is bad. But it’s the nature of our community that in the aftermath of an act of hatred, we respond with love. Because darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Cruelty cannot stand against compassion. Negativity will never overcome hope. To show our support for those affected by the Orlando shooting, our authors, editors, artists, and staff have volunteered their talents to create this anthology. All proceeds will be donated to LGBT organizations in central Florida. Join us as we celebrate the triumph of love over every obstacle.
Jon Keys—A Single Night
Alicia Nordwell—About Best Friends & Boyfriends
Mickie B. Ashling—Adíos
M.T. Aspen —Asking for Trouble
M.A. Church—Chasing Tyme
Caitlin Ricci—Coming Out
George Seaton—Cucurrucucú
Jayce Ellis—Dance
Bree Cariad—Everyday Miracles
Chrissy Munder—Everything I Need
Ellis Carrington—For the First Time
Felicitas Ivey—Get Me to the Church Town Hall on Time
John Amory—Happy Pride
Grace R. Duncan—Hope
John Goode—Let Them Eat Cake
J. C. Long—Magical Boys Just Wanna Have Fun
Elizabeth Noble—Magicicada
Renee Stevens—More Than a Pact
Troy Storm—One Big Happy… Bunch
Connie Bailey—One Heart at a Time
Dev Bentham—Perfection
Andrea Speed—Pride
Laura Lascarso—Pull
Lila Leigh Hunter—Raffled Kiss
Emery C. Walters—Ranch Dressing
C.C. Dado—Read My Lips
Sera Kane—The Stag’s Bane
KC Burn—The Tithe
Vicktor Alexander—The Wooing of the Marqués de Sierra de Outes
Edmond Manning—They Danced
Purchase Links: Dreamspinner Press || Amazon || ARe
About the Author
The number one question folks ask Alicia when she shares she’s a MM romance author: “Why gay fiction? Why write men when you’re a woman?” and her answer is: “Why the hell not!” Alicia Nordwell is one of those not so rare creatures, a reader turned writer. Striving to find an interesting story one day, she decided to write what she wanted instead. Then the voices started… Yep, not only does she talk about herself in the third person for bios, she has voices in her head constantly clamoring to get out. Fortunately, with the encouragement of her family and friends, she decided for her own sanity to keep writing. Now you can find her stories both free and e-published. When she’s not on the computer typing away, she’s a wife and a mom of two in the dreary, yet ideal for her redhead complexion, Pacific Northwest. Except for when she disappears into one of the many worlds in her head, of course! She can also be found quite often at her blog, where she has a lot of free fiction for readers to enjoy or working hard, or maybe hardly working, as an admin on GayAuthors.org under her online nickname, Cia.
Follow the Tour
Monday 9/19 – The Novel Approach – Alicia Nordwell
Tuesday 9/20 – Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter – J.C. Long
Wednesday 9/21 – MM Good Book Reviews – John Amory
Thursday 9/22 – Diverse Reader – Grace R. Duncan
Thursday 9/22 – Gay Book Reviews – Dev Bentham
Friday 9/23 – Prism Book Alliance – Felicitas Ivey
Saturday 9/24 – Boy Meets Boy – Renee Stevens
Sunday 9/25 – Bayou Book Junkie – M.A. Church
Monday 9/26 – Tammy’s Two Cents – Elizabeth Noble
Tuesday 9/27 – Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy – Bree Cariad
Wednesday 9/28 – Scattered Thoughts – Jon Keys
Wednesday 9/28 – Tammy’s Two Cents – Jayce Ellis
Thursday 9/29 – My Fiction Nook – M.T. Aspen
Friday 9/30 – Open Skye – Edmond Manning
Saturday 10/1 – Wicked Reads – Lila Leigh Hunter
Sunday 10/2 – Love Bytes – Chrissy Munder
Sunday 10/2 – Alpha Book Club – Caitlin Ricci
Thank you so much for sharing my post about One Pulse as well as Best Friends & Boyfriends.
It’s my pleasure! :)
LOVED the book. Each story & poem were well written and held your attention. Not a single ‘Klunker’ among them.