Today I am so pleased to welcome J.L. Merrow to Joyfully Jay. She has come to talk to us about her latest release, Wake Up Call. J.L.ย has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
You Couldnโt Make it Up (Except When You Do)
Hi, Iโm JL Merrow, and Iโm delighted to be here today as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of Wake Up Call, the first of my contemporary MM romances in Riptideโs multi-author Porthkennack series.
Wake Up Call is set in the fictional Cornish town of Porthkennack. Cornwall, like other Celtic lands, is rich in myth and legend. Ancient Celts, before the coming of Christianity, worshipped gods connected to their lives, to the land and the water, and told tales of fantastical creatures, such as giants, piskies and mermaids.
Some stories might be an attempt to explain away natural features of the worldโfor example, St Michaelโs Mount, a tidal island near Penzance, was said to have been built as a seaside home by the giantess Cormelian and her husband Cormoran, who later fell victim to Jack the Giant-Killer. (Lest you start feeling sorry for Cormoran, he apparently terrorised local farmers and wasnโt very nice to his wife).
Other creatures, such as the Knocker, a kind of goblin or fairy, come from Cornwallโs tin-mining past. Cave-ins were an occupational hazard for miners, and would often be preceded by a knocking sound (in fact, the noise of earth and mine supports giving way.) According to whom you believe, the Knockers were either helpful little imps who made the noise to warn miners of the imminent disasterโor malevolent sprites who caused the cave-in themselves! They also tended to mischievously steal mining tools and/or lunches left unattended.
Toiling long hours in the near-dark, with an indifferent air supply and the constant threat of death very literally hanging over their heads, is it any wonder the miners came up with these supernatural explanations for the bad things that could, and did, happen to them?
Some tales were inspired by stone circles and monuments left by earlier residentsโsuch as The Hurlers, a group of stones on Bodmin Moor, which are said to be the remains of a group of men who were turned to stone after playing games on a Sunday. Right. And if you donโt stop doing that, youโll go blindโฆ
In Wake Up Call Iโve borrowed the bloody legend of St Agnes and her giant suitor, which properly belongs to Chapel Porth, and taken it further north to Porthkennack, which conveniently possesses a similar geographical feature to the one essential to the original tale. Iโve also made up one or two legends of my ownโbut come on, the landscape was just asking for it. ๐
Blurb
South London mechanic Devan Thompson has gone to Porthkennack to track down someone heโs been waiting all his life to know. But Devโs distracted from his quest by Kyle, a broodingly handsome local of only a few months, whoโs already got a reputation as an alcoholic because of his strange behaviourโincluding a habit of collapsing in the street.
Kyle Anthony fled to Porthkennack to escape from the ruins of his life. Still raging against his diagnosis of narcolepsyโa condition thatโs cost him his job as a barrister, his lover, and all chance of normalityโthe last thing he wants is another relationship thatโs doomed to fail. But Devโs easy-going acceptance and adaptability, not to mention his good looks, have Kyle breaking all his self-imposed rules.
When disaster strikes Devโs adored little sister, Kyle steps up to the plate, and Dev sees a side of his lover he wasnโt prepared for: competent, professionalโand way out of Devโs league. With one man determined that they donโt have a future, and the other fearing it, life after Porthkennack is starting to look bleak for both of them.
Now available from Riptide Publishing
Bio
JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novella Muscling Through is a 2013 EPIC ebook Award finalist. She is a member of the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Connect with JL:
- Website: www.jlmerrow.com
- Twitter: @jlmerrow
- Facebook: facebook.com/jl.merrow
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/.J_L_Merrow
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Wake Up Call, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 22, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and donโt forget to leave your contact info!
- By entering the giveaway, youโre confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number.ย No purchase necessary to win. ย The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. ย Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Congrats on the new release, J.L. The book sounds wonderful. I have fond memories of Cornwall: Penzance and Polperro are love towns. I remember the houses with all the shells.
tankie44 at gmail dot com
Thank you! I love Cornwall – even the place names are so evocative. ๐
Congrats on the new release. I always really like your books.
kimandpete123 at gmail dot com
Aw, thank you! <3
Love the post. Thanks for pointing out some local myths and stories. It’s always interesting to hear about where these come from. Congrats on the release!
waxapplelover (at) gmail (dot) com
Thank you! ๐
Looking forward to reading Wake Up Call. j dot stonewright at gmail dot com
Hope you enjoy it! ๐
Congratulations, J.L., on the release of Wake Up Call. I’m always happy to see a new book by a fellow non-tea drinker! And thank you for the chance to win.
Tea haters of the world, unite! ๐
And thank you!
Congrats on the release. Thank you for the post. It sounds wonderful and it’s already on my wishlist.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Thank you! ๐
Can’t wait to read this one.
Hope you enjoy it! ๐
I think I have every JL Merrow book and I’ve read all of them more than once. I’m in the middle of re-reading the first Plumber’s Mate book for the umpteenth time. I just wish I had more than 15 minutes at a time to read. ๐
aelnova@aol.com
So glad you enjoy my books! ๐
World-building of an original legend must be fun!
vitajex(at)Aol(Dot)com
Cornwall is very inspiring that way! ๐
Thanks for the interesting post! I’m loving Wake Up Call. violet817(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you! ๐
Congratulations on the new release, Jamie, and thank you for the interesting post. You see, Celts are supposed to be the ancestors of my own people (I live in Galicia, North west of Spain), so it is always interesting to see how local legends relate to others of the same origin.
Susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh, how cool! I love learning about how different peoples are related to one another, and have shared language origins and legends. ๐
Thanks for the post, this sounds like a fun story & the series sounds spectacular!
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks – and you’re welcome! ๐
These legends sound very interesting! I can’t wait to see how you’ve worked them into the story.
ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com
Hope you enjoy it! ๐
Congrats and thanks for the post. The story sounds great, as does this new collaborative series. I love when a book takes me places where I haven’t been, and deals with topics I can learn more about, like Celtic myths. –
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
๐
Congrats on the new release. I am looking forward to reading it!
JackDaniel42 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Thanks – and I love your email addy! ๐
^_^ Thank you!