Interview and Giveaway: Come to the Oaks by Bryan T. Clark

We’re so pleased to welcome first time visitor author Bryan T. Clark to TNA today, on the tour for his new novel, Come to the Oaks. Bryan’s answered a few questions and is also offering a great giveaway, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below.

Welcome, Bryan!

Signal Boost: Today we are chatting with Bryan T. Clark author of Ancient House of Cards, Before Sunrise and his latest release, Come to the Oaks. Bryan writes romance novels with an emphasis on moral dilemma. His multicultural characters and riveting plots embody real life, filled with challenges, personal growth, and, of course, what we all desire—love.

SB: Are you married or single?

Bryan: Married. My college sweetheart and I have been together for over thirty years.

SB: Wow! What’s the secret?

Bryan: (Laughing…) There is no secret. He’s my best friend; he’s the person who I want to spend my free time with. We even share the same name.

SB: How sweet. Do you hold hands in public?

Bryan: I wish. No, my husband is that quiet guy over in the corner at any party. The last thing he wants is to garner any attention.

SB: Do you think of yourself as a romantic?

Bryan: Not really, but I get a tremendous amount of pleasure in spoiling my husband. He has been there for me through some of the toughest times in my life. He knows me better than I know myself. How can you not love a person who knows your demons and still loves you back anyways?

SB: So are you admitting you have demons? Any that you care to share?

Bryan: Oh hell no! However, if you read my books, they’re in there, embedded into my characters.

SB: Speaking of your books, what did you do before you became a romance writer?

Bryan: I was in law enforcement. Specifically an Internal Affairs Investigator for the bulk of my career. The last couple of years before I retired I switched over and did Background Investigations on all new Officers coming into the department.

SB: Dog or Cat?

Bryan: OMG… I love kittens! However, I’m allergic to them. I found that out the hard way. I was once given a stray kitten that was nearly starved to death. I kept that cat for twenty-one years before her passing. Therefore, I guess out of default, I’m a dog person.

SB: Do you believe in soulmates?

Bryan: No. I believe there is someone for everyone. I have seen that over and over and said many times, “I can’t believe he or she found a boyfriend.” Soulmates to me sounds like you were always meant to be together, until death do you part. I’m not buying that. You have to work in a relationship, pay attention to the other person’s needs, and when those needs change for whatever reason, you have to be willing to adapt.

SB: You’re kind of a deep person aren’t you?

Bryan: I don’t think of myself as deep. But I do know that I have many complicated layers to me. Stuff I’m still learning.

SB: Do you send Christmas cards or electronic cards?

Bryan: I love sending real Christmas cards. I usually buy two or three boxes of different cards. I love beautiful cards, but I also love that card that is so nasty, you can’t hang it on the wall.

SB: I heard you’re afraid of haunted houses and scary movies, confirm or deny?

Bryan: Who told you that, my mother or my husband?

SB: Never mind who told me, confirm or deny?

Bryan: Confirm. You don’t want to be in a haunted house with me. At 6’2” and two hundred pounds, I’m going over you to get out of there. In a theater, whatever you do, don’t have your drink between your legs because I’m coming over on your lap if something jumps out on the screen.

SB: What’s the rudest word you know?

Bryan: The ‘C’ word. I hate, hate, hate that word. Although I love to cuss, I never use that word.

SB: What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever won?

Bryan: True story. Years ago, I received a call that I won a prize in some Christmas raffle. You know those raffle tickets that your co-workers are always pushing on you for their kid’s soccer team or church. I drove forty-five minutes over to another city to pick it up. When I got there, they handed me a ceramic rabbit dressed like a Raggedy Ann doll.

SB: What did you have for breakfast?

Bryan: Same thing I always have, two cups of coffee, a protein bar and yogurt.

SB: What’s the longest you have ever gone without showering?

Bryan: I’m a clean freak; I have to shower every morning.

SB: Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?

Bryan: What was that woman’s name on Three’s Company? Chrissy I think her name was. Okay I didn’t actually meet her, but I saw her on the beach walking and we passed each other on the boardwalk.

SB: You mean Suzanne Somers?

Bryan: Yeah, that’s her. I hope I age as nicely.

SB: Speaking of Stars, the Voice or American Idol?

Bryan: The Voice. One, I’m in love with Adam, and two, the judges seem more authentic, not so theatrical.

SB: Okay, I saved the hardest question until last. What’s your definition of a friend?

Bryan: Oh, why did you ask me that? As much as I am a people person, I don’t make friends easily. I think because of being in law enforcement for over twenty-seven years I tend to keep people who I don’t really know at bay. I don’t trust easily and you have to earn my trust, and that takes a long time. I value my close friendships. I know they have my back even when I’m not present. They’re the ones who tell me when I’m wrong with no hesitation. Because I trust them, I also trust their opinion. I hate liars and people who are fake. Be yourself, and if that causes you insecurities, then acknowledge that, and then work on them. I have many insecurities and I work on them every day. None of us are perfect, but we are special in our own way.

About the Book

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Length: 89,745 words
Blurb: In 1845, as America is drowning in its own racial conflict, in a time when forbidden love has to remain a secret, can two young men find love when one has everything to lose, and the other has nothing?

For Tobias, a young African man, life has ended before it began. Snatched abruptly from his homeland and enslaved into the Antebellum South, grand homes and majestic oak trees meant little to him. Now he is considered the property of other men, but his spirit would not be broken.

The awkward Benjamin Nathanael Lee lives a privileged life. His father owns the largest tobacco plantation south of the Mason Dixon line. Ben wants little to do with the harsh realities of running a plantation—that is, until he meets Tobias, the one person that changes everything for him.

Wealth, greed, and power brought them together. The same now threatens to separate them forever. The two men are on the verge of losing the one thing that matters: their love for one another. Against the odds, they steal off and embark on a journey to find freedom: the freedom to love one another and to live a life without the chains of slavery.

Come to the Oaks is the tale of a forbidden romance—a love forged by two young men as they journey through a land that is tearing itself apart.

About the Author

Bryan Thomas Clark is a boisterous extrovert who is a proud member of the GLBT community. After twenty-seven years in law enforcement, he retired in 2015. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Bryan now lives in the Central Valley of California with his husband of thirty-one years. Behind his keyboard working on his next novel, Bryan writes gay fiction with an emphasis on a moral dilemmas and M/M romance. On the rare occasions he isn’t writing, Bryan enjoys traveling, following his husband around the state of California to various equestrian competitions, laying by a body of water soaking up the sun, and watching a good movie while snuggled up with his husband on the couch.

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