Guest Post and Giveaway: Growing Pains by Cass Lennox

We’re so pleased to welcome author Cass Lennox today, on the tour for her latest release Growing Pains, book three in the Toronto Connections series. We’re getting to know the book’s MCs a little better and there’s also a giveaway for you to check out below.

Welcome, Cass!

Get-to-Know-You Memes

I was scrolling through Tumblr while trying to come up with blog posts for this series and found a get-to-know-you meme filled out by someone I follow. I normally don’t fill them out, but on this occasion, it struck me that these kind of meme is a really fun way of getting to know someone – especially if that someone is a character. I decided to fill one out as my two main characters from Growing Pains, Gigi and Brock, and to share the results with you today.

NAME: Gigi Rosenberg

COUNTRIES I’VE LIVED IN: Canada

FAVORITE FANDOM: omgggg I have too many!

LANGUAGES YOU SPEAK: English and musical

AESTHETIC: spotlight, sequins, tight jeans, lick-me shoes, deep red lipstick

FAVORITE FILM OF 2016: that movie with the animals in it was really cute

LAST ARTICLE YOU READ: idk, probably something about Trudeau

SHUFFLE YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY AND PUT YOUR FIRST THREE SONGS HERE:

When The Lights Go Out, Black Keys

Bad Romance, Lady Gaga

La Vie Boheme, Rent cast (OMG THIS TAKES ME BACK)

LAST THING YOU BOUGHT ONLINE: massage oil and lube :3

ANY PHOBIAS OR FEARS?: the outdoors squick me out a lot

HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU?: triple-threat, glamorous, on point

HOW WOULD YOUR ENEMIES DESCRIBE YOU?: with a ton of unnecessary shade

WHO WOULD YOU TAKE A BULLET FOR?: this is Canada, we don’t do bullets

IF YOU HAD MONEY TO SPARE WHAT WOULD YOU BUY FIRST?: better headshots

FAVOURITE PIECE OF ADVICE: Learn how to do your own face and the rest will follow.

§§§§§§

NAME: Brock Stubbs

COUNTRIES I’VE LIVED IN: Canada, Indonesia, Cambodia, France, Germany, UK

FAVORITE FANDOM: does hockey count?

LANGUAGES YOU SPEAK: English, French, tourist German, Indonesian

AESTHETIC: ??? I don’t think about what I wear (Gi says it’s lumberjack hipster which isn’t true. I’m not a hipster. I don’t even get why a flat white is called a flat white when it’s basically a double-double.)

FAVORITE FILM OF 2016: X-Men: Apocalypse

LAST ARTICLE YOU READ: a Buzzfeed listicle about food

SHUFFLE YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY AND PUT YOUR FIRST THREE SONGS HERE:

Sweet Dreams, Beyoncé

Underwhelmed, Sloan

Shell Suite, Chad Valley

LAST THING YOU BOUGHT ONLINE: new headphones

ANY PHOBIAS OR FEARS?: heights and fire.

HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU?: laidback, reliable, athletic, kind of an all-rounder

HOW WOULD YOUR ENEMIES DESCRIBE YOU?: maybe a little dense? I don’t know or care

WHO WOULD YOU TAKE A BULLET FOR?: most people, but there are some orange-tinted exceptions.

IF YOU HAD MONEY TO SPARE WHAT WOULD YOU BUY FIRST?: awww I hate this question because I can never think of anything. Stanley Cup playoff tickets would be cool.

FAVOURITE PIECE OF ADVICE: Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better.

About the Book

Gigi Rosenberg is living his best life: performances in the big city, side gigs at a dance company, a successful drag act, and the boy of his childhood dreams who now adores him. Even if the boyfriend part isn’t the sparkly ride of passion he expected it to be, life is sweet. So when his sister’s wedding calls him back to his hometown, he sees an opportunity to show the hicks from his past how wrong they were about him. Only, his boyfriend isn’t quite on board.

Brock Stubbs left their hometown and his parents behind for a reason, and the prospect of facing them again is terrifying. He swore he’d never go back, but Gigi has made it clear refusal isn’t an option, and Brock will do nearly anything for him. There’s just one deal-breaker of a problem: Brock promised Gigi he was out to everyone, including his parents. He lied.

It’s magical to run into the sunset together, but staying the course takes work. For Gigi and Brock, going home feels like the finale of a long, disappointing year. Sometimes love isn’t all you need.

Available from Riptide Publishing

About Toronto Connections

The winters might be cold, but hearts are warm in Toronto. Canada’s largest city is home to a big lake, a big tower, and a big queer community. People here are trying to get by like everyone else: pay the bills, deal with life in the city, and maybe find some happiness along the way with someone who’s sweeter than maple candy and more constant than a Canadian’s love for Timmie’s coffee.

For some, falling in love is a real challenge. For others, falling is the easy part—it’s the happy ever after that proves a little more difficult. But in the end, love is worth every complication, misunderstanding, and occasional swear word.

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

Connect with Cass: Blog || Facebook || Twitter

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Growing Pains, one lucky winner will receive $15 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!