Today I am so pleased to welcome Rosalind Abel to Joyfully Jay. Rosalind has come to talk to us about her release, The Garden, book two of the Lavender Shores series. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

Banner

 

Perhaps it sounds obvious when we’re talking about romance novels, but when planning the series Lavender Shores, I kept love front and center as I mapped out the series. Specifically, the setting. Each of the couples, that star in the stories, needed a safe and beautiful place to fall in love. The beautiful part was easy. I stumbled across Point Reyes National Seashore.  The reserve is in California about an hour north of San Francisco. It offers woods, ocean, cliffs, wildlife, everything that you need for a gorgeous place for romance. The safe aspect was a little different, as I wanted a location where my characters wouldn’t have to battle with overt homophobia and coming out of the closet. While those are important stories to tell, I wanted these romances to focus purely on the romance and less on societal inputs. In short, good luck finding that in the real world, so I made up a town. Lavender Shores. It was founded In the 1940’s as a safe haven for members of the LGBTQ population. But, that’s about as far as I was willing to go to make life easy for my men. All the things that are true in small towns across the country are also true in Lavender Shores. Everyone knows everything about everyone. And when they don’t, they think they do talk about it anyway. There are the town elites,  and the ones that are barely tolerated by the more powerful in the community. It’s a delightful mix of beauty and small-town drama. In other words, a hell of a lot fun.

Each installment of Lavender Shores focuses on a different couple. While you will see returning characters in each book, you can pick and choose the ones that sound the best to you. In all of them, you’ll see many of the same supporting characters throughout. There is a huge cast within this town, with a wide and sometimes wacky, assortment of personalities. So many, in fact, that the town required its own website. Here, you can find behind-the-scenes details of the town’s history and founding, images of Lavender Shores’ unique style and aesthetic, as well  as a directory of who’s who in town. Complete with images, and biographies, of everyone.  None of what you will find there will spoil the book, however, as you’re reading, you might enjoy perusing some of the finer details of the characters you’re beginning to fall in love with.
The Palisade  came out in June and tells the story of love at first sight overcoming external forces. The Garden, which came out yesterday, focuses more on the internal struggle of the town bad boy and prodigal son falling in love with the high school teacher who appears to be an innocent. In August, The Veranda,  delves deep into what small town is like when two of the men who were never supposed to fall in love do just that, a small town Romeo and Juliet. Or, a small town Romeo and Romeo. (The books are also available for free on Kindle Unlimited.)
Whether or not you’ve read any of the books of Lavender Shores books, I invite you to  take a tour around Lavender Shores, see the sights, meet the characters, and get all caught up on the gossip. Oh, and of course, get ready to fall head over heels in love and be overwhelmed by all the sexual chemistry waiting to be ignited within the town’s borders.

Promo


Blurb

CoverBeautiful Gilbert Bryant designs jewelry for the rich and famous, and he made his escape from his gossipy little hometown of Lavender Shores. However, with so many friends and family, he keeps getting pulled back. When he attends his best friend’s engagement party, Gilbert can’t help but sample one of the new men in town. It’s just some innocent—or not so innocent—fun. Nothing that will even cross his mind once he gets back to his everyday life.
Walden Thompson dreamed about living in Lavender Shores since he visited as a child. He finally gets his chance, and he embraces the opportunity to start over, to become someone new. He leaves both hurts and dangerous habits in the past, where they belong. When Gilbert crosses his path, Walden gives in to his baser instincts. He can indulge in the carnal pleasures this once and still be okay.
Their few hours together haunt Gilbert, the two-hundred-mile buffer from home no longer shutting out the past or the sexy man he left behind. Walden is just beginning to recover from the smoldering encounter with Gilbert when they are thrust together once more. This time, neither of them can walk away, no matter how hard they try. But when their pasts crash into each other as surely as the magnetism that pulls them together, walking away may be the only option.


Bio

RosalindRosalind Abel grew up tending chickens alongside her sweet and faithful Chow, Lord Elgin. While her fantasy of writing novels was born during her teen years, she never would have dreamed she’d one day publish steamy romances about gorgeous men. However, sometimes life turns out better than planned.

In between crafting scorching sex scenes and helping her men find their soul mates, Rosalind enjoys cooking, collecting toys, and making the best damn scrapbooks in the world (this claim hasn’t been proven, but she’s willing to put good money on it).
She adores MM Romance, the power it has to sweep the reader away into worlds filled with passion, steam, and love. Rosalind also enjoys her collection of plot bunnies and welcomes new fuzzy ones into her home all the time, so feel free to send any adorable ones her way.


Giveaway

Rosalind has brought a $5 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Sunday, July 30th at 11:59 pm EST.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  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.  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.
FILED UNDER: Giveaway, Guest Post
TAGGED: