Today I am so pleased to welcome Elle Keaton to Joyfully Jay. Elle has come to talk to us about her latest release, Unforgivable. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

What other artistic pursuits (if any) do you indulge in apart from writing?

Ha. I think it’s funny – and I know it’s not meant this way here– that we often phrase writing, or painting or anything that is not a Boresville 9-5 office job, as an indulgence. Art is a way of life. To me an indulgence is something that is not necessary, something we can live without. I can’t imagine life without art.

Now that I have that off my chest. Yes, yes, I do indulge in lots of arty stuff. Primarily I am a photographer. I’ve been ‘taking pictures’ almost longer than I have been writing. I was lucky enough to take a photography class in high school and never looked back.

My first trip overseas was in 1984. My passport arrived, my step-dad let me borrow his SLR and away I went. I took it travelling again several years later before finally coughing up the money for my own. I don’t particularly like to shoot humans so most of my portfolio is nature oriented and architectural. I also dislike having my own photo taken so…maybe that is the core reason I don’t like to take other people’s photographs.

After contemplating a bit, I think growing up in a family and extended family of artists gives a person a different perspective on what you can do to ‘make a living’. I spent the formative years of my life at craft and art shows with my parents and grandparents. As a young adult I also helped my dad (who is a painter and poet) with his art shows. From my youngest years I witnessed artists using their art to put food on the table and clothes on their kids backs.

Unforgivable (and Storm Season) features a character who is a visual artist, life-art-life is a theme I touch on, or try too, in both books with varying degrees of success. Ira is a painter who primarily does still life both indoor and out. Perhaps his muse will call him somewhere else once he finally finds true happiness!

 

What are you working on now, and when can we expect it?

Well of course I am working on the next in the Accidental Roots series, that’s a given. I think I have about four more to write there. The Super Exciting Big News is that I am a third to halfway through my first Urban Fantasy/romance – it’s mm and set in the Pacific Northwest, I’m planning for it to be a three book series. Can I tell you how fun this has been to write? At this point Codex Obscura is scheduled for the end of June. *squints at the calendar* Which may not be possible but I tend to do my best work under impossible deadlines – even if I set them myself.

EK

Thank you so much for having me!


Blurb

UnforgiveableNo one ever said it would be easy.

Running away from his messy divorce did not bring Ira Fragale the peace he sought. If he is going to get his life together he needs to pull up his big boy pants and take care of business. He’s been hiding out licking his wounds in Skagit for two years now, keeping his head down (except for the trail of twinks he’s left behind). Something’s going to give.

Cameron McCulloch needs to knock Ira off the pedestal he’s placed him on. Because he’s older doesn’t mean Ira has any clearer idea about life and the universe than Cam. Cam needs to focus on his own needs and forget about Ira, but he can’t. Bartending at the Loft is easy and he likes the community he’s fallen into since his family rejected him, but if he wants more out of life he’s going to have to go out and get it himself.

Ira didn’t choose Skagit at random, he came to the small city because events twenty years ago set him on his path on today. The mystery of his father’s murder may never be solved but Ira would like to lay his spirit to rest.

None of this explains the upswing of possible hate crime in Skagit. The small town has its share of trouble but someone, or someones, are on the prowl, harassing the LGBTQ community, and Cameron is in their crosshairs.

HEA, 18+, MM Romance


Bio

Author/imaginator & photographer (also rare Pacific Northwest Native), Elle grew up in Seattle, WA., with the Cascade Mountain range to the east and Olympics to the west.

Elle shares her life with between three to five cats (depending on who’s counting), an extremely patient fiancé and a flock of young adults. She’s lived in four US states, London England, and Hong Kong; always knows what time it is, and has little problem finding parking even in the most difficult places.

Elle’s series made its debut spring of 2017. Accidental Roots is set in the Skagit Valley of Western Washington. Writing has always been a passion but not something she was able to take seriously until recently. Some journeys are longer than others. Now her head is full of ideas and not enough time in each day. As far as we know she wasn’t actually raised by wolves.


Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive an eBook copy of “As Sure As the Sun,” book four in Elle’s “Accidental Roots” series. Enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win.

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