We’re so pleased to have author Blake Moreno joining us today, the alter ego of author Leta Blake. She’s talking about her novel The Difference Between and is sharing a bit about why her two identities initially remained separate, and why now was a good time to merge.
Welcome, Leta!
Thank you so much, Lisa, for hosting me here today. I’m excited to talk about a book of mine that many of you might not know I wrote.
When I emailed asking Lisa if there might be a spot available for me to talk about my book The Difference Between, released in January under the new pen name, Blake Moreno, she said I’d kept the connection between me and the Blake Moreno pen name a fantastic secret, since she’d had no clue!
I didn’t work to keep my new pen name a secret, so much as I simply hadn’t advertised it. There were several reasons for that choice, some personal and some less so:
- Initially, because the content of the book is quite dark, especially at the beginning, I hadn’t thought my usual readers would be interested. This proved to be false when some general genre readers recognized my style from having picked up The Difference Between not knowing it was me. These readers emailed asking if I was writing as Blake Moreno too, and, when I confirmed it, they offered the opinion that other Leta Blake readers would be interested in the book if they just knew it was written by me.
- After the election in November, I was quite emotionally raw. Working on The Difference Between really helped me heal, both from that new trauma and from gender-related traumas of old. The draft of The Difference Between had been on my hard drive for many years, but I’d never been able to find my way toward seeing it as a Leta Blake book. But in November, when I needed to work through fresh pain, this book was there for me. And I dove into it, fed my trauma into the words, and decided that I would release it. I’d put this book out into the world in some way or another.
- I chose the name Blake Moreno because it means ‘dark’. (Leta) Blake Dark. I do intend to put out more Blake Moreno titles in the future. Books that have been lingering on my hard drive that just don’t feel like Leta Blake books will be released under this name. I have another book, for example, that also explores the boundaries of consent (and the lack thereof) that I’ll put out as Blake Moreno. I have another that I’m working on right now that is more erotica than romance and it will likely come out as Blake Moreno, too.
For anyone who chooses to take the journey of reading The Difference Between, I urge you to heed the trigger warnings both in the blurb and at the start of the book. I hope, if you read the book, that you find it ultimately healing, hopeful, and that it covers your raw places with strength. Please take care in the reading of it, though, because it goes to some dark places.
In the end, I believe The Difference Between is my most romantic book to date, but I know it’s not a book for everyone. If you take the journey, I hope it brings you out of the dark. If you don’t choose to go on this journey, I more than understand.
The Difference Between has been in Kindle Unlimited since January but has recently come out and been released into the wild! You can find it on:
Amazon || Other E-tailers Coming Soon
Thank you again to Lisa and The Novel Approach for hosting me! I’ll be back with both the Leta Blake pen name and the Blake Moreno pen name with future offerings!
About the Book
“You’re the strongest person I know.”
Wade Maguire and Russ Paulson are in love. After a year of passion and happiness, they’re buying a home and moving in together. Everything is rosy for them—until a jealous and insane ex from Wade’s past puts all of that to the test.
“I need to figure out if there’s a way to move past this. For both of us.”
After being kidnapped and tortured by his deranged former lover, Wade loses his ability to engage with his own sexuality or with Russ. With the help of a psychologist, EMDR therapy, and a sex plan, they work together to overcome the damage inflicted. In the process, they discover wells of love they’ve never known before.
“You never deserved what happened to you. No matter what you’ve told yourself. You only deserved love.”
As passion is reborn and their sex life reignited, Wade realizes a need to re-experience certain events in Russ’s loving arms. For Wade, the difference between pain and pleasure is love, and the difference between rape and rough sex is consent.
Dark, and yet ultimately hopeful, this story of true love and rape recovery contains many emotional and graphic scenes of two men making love, as well as some intense scenes of torture. Proceed with care.
The Difference Between is a 78,000 word steamy, graphic, intensely emotional novel with a strong happy ending. No cheating and no cliffhangers, just two men who fight for their love. STAND-ALONE
About the Author
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.
If you’d like to be among the first to know about new releases, you can sign up for Leta’s newsletter HERE, or you can find out more about her by following her online: On the web, On Facebook, On Twitter.
Blake Moreno explores the darker side of erotic romance. Married to a hot tech nerd, educated in BDSM, and attracted to twinks and twunks alike, Moreno embraces taboo explorations. Come along on a quest for intensity and deep emotion. Don’t fear the dark. Discover more about Blake on Facebook.
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