Hi guys, we have CJane Elliott and her new release Where You Are, the second book in the Wild and Precious series. We have a short interview with CJane, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Where You Are
CJane Elliott
Bisexual musician Cody Bellstrom is a free spirit, easygoing and unattached. On a cross-country trip, Cody befriends young Sandy Nixon and gets him safely to Portland and his uncle, Phineas MacDonald. Beautiful Phineas turns Cody’s life upside down, and Cody learns he’s not as unattached as he aspires to be. With the hard-won knowledge of what lies underneath his need to be free, Cody wins a chance at real freedom and true love.
Ever since his longtime lover Allen died, Phineas MacDonald has lived a circumscribed life. He stopped performing as fierce drag queen Phanny Hill and works part-time in a bookstore. Phineas never expected to find love again. But when sexy and caring Cody Bellstrom turns up, Phineas feels his orderly life slipping out of his control. Cody brings him alive again, but now Phineas must find the courage to let go of his grief over Allen and give love a second chance.
Excerpt
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing CJane Elliott, author of There You Are.
Hi CJane, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hi there! Thank you for having me on the blog today to share about my new novella, There You Are, which is the second book in the Wild and Precious series. There You Are picks up the story of Cody Bellstrom where we left him in Wild and Precious. He moves to Portland, Oregon to join a funk band and meets the man who is to become the love of his life, Phineas MacDonald. But they both have issues to work through before they can get to their happy ending.
By the way, a third story in the series, Sand-Man’s Family, will be released by Dreamspinner in the spring. It’s the story of Phineas’s nephew, Sandy Nixon—his coming out and running away from home, and what happens to him after the events of There You Are.
Is there a character in your books that you can’t stand? And what makes them someone you don’t like?
One might think that my main antagonist in the Serpentine series, the dastardly Professor R, would be someone I can’t stand. And yet, I really like the character of Rodney Montgomery, even though I hate what he does to people. I had to make him appealing and human enough for Aidan (and others) to fall in love with him. He has the capacity to love, which allows him to fall in love with Aidan. He’s a damaged person, which doesn’t excuse his heinous behavior, but which makes him interesting to me.
The characters I can’t stand are the flat-out bullies, such as Sandy Nixon’s dad, who we will meet in the third book in the Wild and Precious series, Sand-Man’s Family. I can’t stand their ignorance and their holding on to a fixed belief system that allows them to justify abusing others (verbally, psychologically, and even physically).
Are there misconceptions people have about your genre?
Of course. Romance in general is disparaged as not important, and not even literary. That has to do with misogyny in general. If women like it, it must not be significant. Put that with m/m romance, and people really have a problem. They see our genre as porn and condemn it. Or on the other side, gay white males disparage we women writers of the genre, saying we couldn’t possibly understand them or that we’re “fetishizing” them. Yawn. If Wally Lamb, who is male and I presume straight, can write a female main character who he takes from childhood up through adulthood, give her a lesbian interlude, and get into her head the way he does in his first novel, She’s Come Undone, then I can do the same for a character like Aidan Emery in my novel, Aidan’s Journey, and for all my male MCs. *hops off soapbox*
Is there a message in your novel that you hope readers grasp?
I think the message in There You Are is encapsulated in the quotation from which the title comes: No matter where you go, there you are. You can keep moving from place to place, job to job, relationship to relationship, but the one common denominator is always you. And if you have baggage – something holding you back from giving and receiving love – a new situation isn’t going to solve it until you actually deal with your baggage. Do I sound like a therapist? That’s because I am one!
How has your writing evolved since your first book?
I’m a better writer now simply because of how much writing I’ve done since my first novella was published in 2011. I write faster and it’s easier for me to get the words on the page. I cut out more excess when I edit. I have a better understanding of pacing and getting to the heart of a story, but that is a skill I hope to keep improving.
One food you don’t care if you never eat it again.
Raw oysters. Slimy, cold, fishy… they just didn’t do it for me.
Excerpt
“YOU SURE about this?” Bette’s pointed glance packed a world of meaning as she maneuvered the car through the DC traffic and Union Station came into view.
Cody shifted, touching the door handle to ready his escape. “Yes, I’m sure. Didn’t we go over this?” In excruciating detail, he added silently but didn’t dare say aloud. Not with the mood Bette was in.
“I’m giving you one more chance to come to your senses.” Bette pulled up outside the train station, frowning, and turned off the engine.
She looked so unhappy, Cody wanted to change his mind. I can’t, he thought.
Won’t, you mean, said the Bette in his head. He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers. “You’ll get along fine without me.”
“That’s not the point.” She nailed him with a baleful scowl. “We don’t want to get along without you. Dang you, Cody Bellstrom, you have no idea who you are to us.” At his puzzled expression, she turned away and stared stonily through the windshield.
“Well… I guess this is it.” Cody waited, but she didn’t respond. “I love you, girl, you know that, right? You and Aurora.” He meant it. He, Bette, and Aurora had been friends since they were college freshmen ten and a half years ago. Cody sometimes found it hard to believe that he’d known them since before Bette and Aurora had become a couple. It seemed like they’d been together forever.
A barely perceptible nod.
“Come on, Bette, don’t be mad. I’ll be back. I swear.”
“Sure you will.” She sighed and turned a softer face toward him. “Goddammit, you better. We love you. If you gotta do this, of course we can’t stop you. All we want is for you to be happy.”
A car honked behind them, and a uniformed officer motioned them to get moving.
“Shoot,” Bette muttered. “All right, babe. Get outta here.”
Cody leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll text. And call. And Skype.”
“Okay. Send us a postcard from every stop, and take a picture of yourself in Powell’s Books when you get to Portland.”
“Will do.”
Cody opened the door and unfurled himself from the passenger seat, then hauled out his luggage, such as it was. He traveled light; always had. A knapsack, one rolling suitcase, and his guitar, and he was good to go.
He stood on the curb and waved as Bette pulled away, then strode into the station, his spirits lifting, while Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” played on a loop in his mind.
Wild & Precious
Aspiring writer Brent Granger has good friends and a great job at an arts magazine in DC, but he’s batting zero in the arena of love. Brent begins to get a clue why things aren’t working with women from his strong attraction to his gorgeous, gay, and already attached boss, Graham Stoneford. When he sees a personal ad from a man that quotes his favorite poet, Brent decides to do something wild and answer.
Enter Cody Bellstrom, easygoing bisexual musician, who is happy to initiate Brent in the ways of gay sex. Brent now has a new problem: he realizes he’s gay and no one in his life knows it. Cody tires of hiding their relationship, but Brent finds it challenging to come out to family, friends, and especially to Graham. In the end, Brent must confront the truth of where – and with whom – his heart lies.
About CJane
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.
In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
Where to find the author:
E-mail: cjaneelliott@gmail.com | Website | Twitter | Facebook
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