Hiya guys, Mia Kerick pops in today with her new release The Art of Hero Worship, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Lisa’s review, so check out the post and then click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~

The Art of Hero Worship

Mia Kerick

Trembling on the floor, pressed beneath a row of seats in a dark theater, college freshman Jason Tripp listens to the terrifying sound of gunshots, as an unknown shooter moves methodically through the theater, randomly murdering men, women, and children attending a student performance of Hamlet. Junior Liam Norcross drapes his massive body on top of Jason, sheltering the younger man from the deathly hail of bullets, risking his life willingly and maybe even eagerly.

As a result of the shared horror, an extraordinary bond forms between the two young men, which causes discomfort for family and friends, as well as for Jason and Liam, themselves. And added to the challenge of two previously “straight” men falling into a same-sex love, are the complications that arise from the abundance of secrets Liam holds with regard to a past family tragedy. The fledgling passion between the men seems bound to fade away into the darkness from which it emerged.

Jason, however, is inexplicably called to rescue his hero in return, by delving into Liam’s shady past and uncovering the mystery that compels the older man to act as the college town’s selfless savior.

The Art of Hero Worship takes the reader on a voyage from the dark and chilling chaos that accompanies a mass shooting to the thrill of an unexpected and sensual romance.

Excerpt

I wake up crying.

Okay… if I’m going to be real, I’ll admit that I’m sobbing.  In these strong arms—no, sprawled on top of the solid chest of a man I hardly know—I sob in a way that I never have before. And hopefully, I’ll never have occasion to cry this bitterly again.

My emotions are practically indescribable, yet I need to apply words to them, in an effort to make some sense of what I’m feeling. The pain is raw, grating, and unbearable… and unfortunately there’s more. I’m guilt-ridden and mortified.  Devastation crossed with desperation—this is me, at the moment.

And I’m not sure why I’m still here on earth. I want to disappear.

Liam stays silent, but I know he’s awake because his hands have resumed the rhythmic stroking on my back.

“Why’d you have to go and s-save me? Y-you should have let me d-die like I was supposed to!” I’m furious, which is evident in my trembling accusation. The pain would be over if he’d have let me die. I add mad as hell to my list of indescribable emotions. And highly irrational… I tack this one onto the end of the fast growing list.

He inhales deeply. “We’re gonna survive this. Our bodies survived Friday night in the theater. Now we’ve gotta make our minds survive the aftermath.”

“What makes you think I want to survive it? What makes you so sure I didn’t want to go with her?” It’s too hard to say her name.

Wide palms freeze on my shoulder blades and rest there heavily. “Sorry, dude, but it wasn’t your day to die.” He takes another one of those huge swallows of air that causes both of our bodies to rise and fall. Then the mesmerizing movement of his hands resumes.

About Mia

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to CoolDudes Publishing, Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Where to find the author:

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Twitter | Facebook | Clean Facebook Page | Mia Kerick Author Facebook Page | Newsletter Sign Up

Giveaway!

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Review

Title: The Art of Hero Worship

Author: Mia Kerick

Genre: New Adult/ Romantic Suspense

Length: 181 pages

ISBN: 9781311511614

Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing (February 14, 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: Trembling on the floor, pressed beneath a row of seats in a dark theater, college freshman Jason Tripp listens to the terrifying sound of gunshots, as an unknown shooter moves methodically through the theater, randomly murdering men, women, and children attending a student performance of Hamlet. Junior Liam Norcross drapes his massive body on top of Jason, sheltering the younger man from the deathly hail of bullets, risking his life willingly, and maybe even eagerly.

As a result of the shared horror, an extraordinary bond forms between the two young men, which causes discomfort for family and friends, as well as for Jason and Liam, themselves. And added to the challenge of two previously “straight” men falling into a same-sex love, are the complications that arise from the abundance of secrets Liam holds with regard to a past family tragedy. The fledgling passion between the men seems bound to fade away into the darkness from which it emerged.

Jason, however, is inexplicably called to rescue his hero in return, by delving into Liam’s shady past and uncovering the mystery that compels the older man to act as the college town’s selfless savior.

Product Link(s): http://www.cooldudespublishing.com/tb-books/coming-your-way-in-january-2016/the-art-of-hero-worship/ | https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/606912 | http://amzn.to/1QeHC3l

Review: I have only read one or two books by this author and I must say that she has a blare about her stories. Although I am not one for teenagers or even college students in stories because they just don’t seem to come off the way many stories should. I also don’t like characters who are not gay then all of a sudden they are having sexual relations. It just doesn’t come off like what would happen in real life so for me this story was a mixture of many feelings.

Jason is watching a play with his girlfriend when some nut case student starts shooting. Jason was saved by Liam but his girlfriend didn’t make it. They form a bond that strengthens through time but Jason is still having a bit of troubles with it all. He had never had any plans or ideas of being with another guy but Liam is his hero.

Liam has such a horrible past and it leads him into his hero ways. He feels like he is making up for past mistakes by saving Jason. However he also has feelings growing for Jason and he wants to follow through with it all. The problem is he keeps trying to save others and it makes things difficult for them both.

Now with this Liam comes off more as a stalker and kind of creepy in a way. Whereas Jason comes off a bit of a wimp and off. Now the shooting was horrible and Mia wrote it with such a perfect direction that one would feel like they were right there. It was amazing the way it came off. I also loved how the guys dealt with the backlash of negative feelings from friends and family. Other than my problems with it the story was well written and fully developed. It was a good story and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

It caught my attention from the start but unfortunately my attention wavered quite a bit so for me it wasn’t a win for me. I would like to say though that you can tell right off the bat that this author put her heart into her story and I would definitely recommend it.

However it really wasn’t for me.