Hiya guys, we have Brynn Stein stopping by on the tour for his newest release For Mac, we have a great character interview with Liam from For Mac, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Cat’s review. So enjoy the post and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

For Mac

Brynn Stein

Branson Farrell lost his parents when he was thirteen, and for the last ten years his brother, Mac, eight years his senior, has taken care of him. But Mac’s love came at a price. Both brothers were raised to believe being gay was completely unacceptable, and Branson has almost convinced himself he can be what Mac expects. When he looks at a man in a bar and Mac notices, Mac drags him off in horror.

Mac’s distress and disgust leads to a car accident that leaves Branson injured and Mac in a coma. Branson heals and stays at Mac’s bedside, but when Mac doesn’t recover, he is moved to a long-term care facility. There, Branson meets openly gay, confident, and attractive Liam Sullivan. Liam stirs feelings Branson thought he’d rid himself of, and to honor his brother, Branson fights tooth and nail against his attraction. When the cost of denying who he is becomes too high, Branson must battle a lifetime of hatred that’s been beaten into his body and mind to try for something of his own.

Character Interview with Liam Sullivan

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Liam Sullivan from Brynn Stein’s new book For Mac

Hi Liam, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

What’s your job like?

I love my job. I work with patients in a long term care facility. I have up to four patients at any time. We keep the staff/patient ratio low on purpose. Most of our patients are in comas or have had strokes, so they have a lot of needs. I try to get to know my patients as much as possible, as well as their families, and I talk to my patients as though they can hear me, even if I’m not sure they can.

Would you rather be respected or feared? Why?

Respected, definitely. My father is a quiet man whom everyone respects and would do anything for. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him raise his voice and I know I’ve never seen him raise his hand to strike another living being. I’ve also known people who try to lead through fear. It usually doesn’t work. I far prefer respect.

What’s your favorite book?

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. Branson was reading it to Mac one day. It’s sort of how we connected. I recognized it from just a couple of lines and we got to talking about science fiction in general and found out we had a great deal in common.

If you could go anywhere, all expenses paid, where would you go?

Ireland. My family is from there but I’ve never been. I’d love to see the old country.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I come from a big family and tend to touch everyone I meet…a lot apparently. I never knew how much until I tried NOT to touch Branson when we first met. He seemed to be very skittish about touch so I was conscious about it.

I love science fiction, Star Trek in particular. Branson and I bonded over Trek. He said Mac would hate it, but we watched a lot of the episodes in Mac’s room after Branson couldn’t stand westerns anymore.

And I love Branson more than life itself. It looked for the longest time like all we’d ever be was friends but I was willing to be that for him if that’s all he was comfortable with. Fortunately, he worked through a lot of his issues and life is good. 🙂 

Excerpt

Branson

BRANSON AND MacKenzie Farrell were brothers, but Mac was more like a father figure. Because of the eight-year age difference, Mac had taken care of Branson the whole time they were growing up. Their dad worked the day shift and their mother worked nights—both working twelve-hour shifts—so usually whichever parent was home was sleeping. Therefore, it was up to Mac to pack Branson’s lunch, walk him to school, and take care of him in the afternoon. It was Mac’s job to tuck him in at night and read to him. It was to Mac that Branson ran when he had nightmares. Mac was the one who bandaged Branson’s wounds and sat by his bedside when he was sick. Branson idolized Mac. He always wanted to be where his older brother was, do what he was doing. He was sure he irritated the shit out of Mac sometimes, but he just couldn’t stay away. The sun rose and set on Mac as far as Branson was concerned. He did everything Mac said, tried to please him in any way possible. He wanted his brother’s approval more than anything in the world.

When their parents died in a car crash when Branson was thirteen, Mac fought long and hard to keep Branson with him. At twenty-one, Mac already had a job at a local pizza place and was making good enough money to support himself and his brother. Their parents had left the house to both boys, so they had a mortgage-free place to stay. Social Services didn’t particularly like leaving the young teen in the care of a young adult, but they couldn’t really find a good enough reason not to give the older brother custody, so Mac finally had legal “father” status as well as fulfilling that niche emotionally for Branson, as he always had.

Branson was beside himself with grief for his parents, but having Mac there made it easier. He couldn’t imagine life without Mac. He was so grateful that Mac was willing to fight for him, that he wanted to keep Branson with him, even though Mac was devastated by their parents’ deaths too. Branson strove to be the perfect teen. He continued to do everything Mac said, tried to keep Mac happy. He wished Mac would talk to him about everything. It was clear that he was struggling, but Mac took his role as father figure seriously and refused to open up to Branson, or anyone else, as far as Branson knew.

In addition Mac became a hard disciplinarian. Before, Mac had been opinionated—in that way all big brothers could be—and never failed to let Bran know when he had a differing view on something. But after becoming “the father,” he tended to try to make Branson see his side of it. Branson didn’t know what to do. Suddenly nothing he did seemed to be good enough. It was like Mac would accept nothing less than perfect, so Branson tried his best to puzzle out what “perfect” was for Mac, and be just that.

Mac rarely became physical with his discipline, but he made sure Bran knew, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to drink, not to smoke, and not to get a girl pregnant. He should be in by eleven and get up by himself on weekdays and get himself ready for school. He was never to miss the bus and never to cut school. He was to get groceries from the store down the street and have dinner ready when Mac got home. Branson didn’t understand all the changes at the time, but he wanted to keep Mac happy, so he complied with all of it. He became the perfect brother/son, housekeeper, and housemate. He was always quiet, kept to himself, and tried not to bother Mac. Gone were the days that Branson would spend all his time with Mac. Forever over were the times Branson would annoy the shit out of his big brother simply because he could. Mac seemed to work continuously, and Branson knew he was the reason, so he tried to pick up the slack as much as he could and keep his head down the rest of the time.

Mac also made it clear that being homosexual was sinful and despicable and would absolutely not be tolerated. That was brought up numerous times throughout Branson’s teen years because, as other boys his age began looking longingly at, and dreaming about, girls at school or scantily clad models on posters, Branson was more likely to drool over the football team practicing on the field or his friend Amy White’s bootleg Playgirl magazines. Bran smuggled the magazines into the house exactly once. Mac found them, of course, and went on a tirade the likes of which Bran had never seen before. Bran had finally had to crawl under the bed to escape the beating. He had a black eye and bruised ribs the next day, and it became clear to him that there was one issue over which Mac would become extremely physical.

Time after time, if Bran so much as smiled at a cute guy, Mac would at least yell at him. Sometimes he would become abusive. Branson eventually found it easier to bury that part of himself. He tried to become what his brother wanted. He tried to drool over cheerleaders and make crude jokes about women. He even had sex when he was eighteen with a girl down the street who had always thought he was cute. Mac was so proud of him then. He said that had made Branson a “real man.” Bran felt more like a “real heel” for using the poor girl. It had been the first time for both of them, and it was miserable.

But when Branson acted like Mr. Macho, Mac was happy and not abusive, so that was what Branson tried to do until his early twenties.

For more excerpt click here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6438 (Just click the excerpt tab)

About Brynn

I’ve always loved to write and wrote fan fiction before I even knew what it was called. When computers came along, with online communities and places to publish fan fiction, I wrote even more. Then a friend convinced me to try to have an altered version of an AU (alternate universe, meaning all but original) published. My manuscript was accepted and now I’m a ‘published author’.

Where to find the author:

Giveaway!

Win a signed paperback copy of For Mac, an electronic copy of For Mac, and three prizes of electronic copies of your choice of a back title!

Brynn Stein Rafflecopter giveaway!

Review

Title: For Mac

Author: Brynn Stein

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (246pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-63216-568-8

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 29th 2015)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb: Branson Farrell lost his parents when he was thirteen, and for the last ten years his brother, Mac, eight years his senior, has taken care of him. But Mac’s love came at a price. Both brothers were raised to believe being gay was completely unacceptable, and Branson has almost convinced himself he can be what Mac expects. When he looks at a man in a bar and Mac notices, Mac drags him off in horror.

Mac’s distress and disgust leads to a car accident that leaves Branson injured and Mac in a coma. Branson heals and stays at Mac’s bedside, but when Mac doesn’t recover, he is moved to a long-term care facility. There, Branson meets openly gay, confident, and attractive Liam Sullivan. Liam stirs feelings Branson thought he’d rid himself of, and to honor his brother, Branson fights tooth and nail against his attraction. When the cost of denying who he is becomes too high, Branson must battle a lifetime of hatred that’s been beaten into his body and mind to try for something of his own.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6438

Review: Sometimes we care so much about what a sibling or parent thinks of us we tend to live in their shadows or spend our entire life pleasing that person. This is what happened to Branson Farrell. He loved his older brother Mac so much he lived to please him. Mac was 8 years older and basically took care of Branson while his parents worked or slept. After their parents died when Branson was barely 13, Mac fought to get custody. Life wasn’t as easy for Branson as it seemed. His older brother was very bigoted and if Branson so much as looked at another guy Mac would admonish or beat him.  One night when they were out at a bar mac noticed Branson’s reaction to an attractive man and the man was going to approach them. Mac was furious. It led to an accident leaving Mac in a Coma.

This is a very poignant and beautiful story of two brothers, grief, hard decisions and a budding relationship.

I applaud the author for not having Liam and Branson jump right into bed, but build this into a very slow blooming relationship. There is a lot of grief and angst. My only real issue was the story was so long and it felt like so much was repetitive. We spent most of the book at Mac’s bedside. Eventually, it seemed like Branson was a bit whiney.

If you have ever had to make the choice to let someone go that is in a coma or has a fatal illness this book can really hit home. It reminded me when we had to let mom go and move on. Trust me you will need a box of Kleenex for this book!

I adored Liam and his patience with Branson. That is what I call true love.

If you like angst, tough choices, friends to lovers, slow-building stories, and just a little sweet sensual sex this is definitely for you.

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour