Hello everyone! Today I am super excited to welcome the fabulous Damon Suede to the blog.  Damon is here to talk us more about his new release, Bad Idea, and how it relates to his book Horn Gate and his Scratch series. I reviewed it here last week and totally loved it so I am so happy to have him here to talk to us more about it.

Damon has also brought a copy to give away to one lucky reader so be sure to leave a comment at the end of the post to enter.  Please join me in giving him a big welcome!


Thank you so much for letting me visit with y’all today!

bad ideaBad Idea really started as a fun project to get out of a creative tarpit so I could cut loose, do something that felt funny, sexy, and not too torturous. It’s about a comic book artist and a special FX designer who are the worst possible match and the best possible fit for each other. Because the two heroes are creative people, I wanted their emotional connection to play out in the kinds of art that they make. Like many artists, Trip Spector and Silas Goolsby do work to pay the bills but want to push the boundaries, to do something instinctive and personal. I loved playing with the idea of creative people’s personal problems getting loose and changing the world.

Trip begins the book uptight and reclusive…For years, he has drawn a sanitized superhero comic for tweens, burying all of his pain and lust and anxiety and hope to protect his steady paycheck. Meeting Silas sparks a racy new comic called Scratch, a “very graphic novel” about a heroic sex demon. As their relationship develops, Trip starts to work through his darker fantasies and romantic fears. Silas’s experience as a movie monster creator and laissez-faire love life provides the perfect twist to unblock Trip’s dream project so that it can take on a life of its own. Ultimately, their collaboration unleashes a homoerotic anti-hero that wreaks havoc on pop culture.

When Bad Idea first started to take shape, I realized that since both my heroes were artists so their collaboration was bound to reveal juicy details they kept hidden from each other and themselves. The best way for me to get inside Trip’s head and heart was to read the story-within the story, which meant I had to write it. Horn Gate is Scratch: Issue 1. On one level it’s an erotic paranormal romance set in a magical Manhattan with forbidden books and demonic whorehouses. Simultaneously, the story hints at the danger and possibilities of Trip’s feelings for Silas in Bad Idea. Writing as Trip, I turned the comic into a novella, exploring his issues and kinks, in character.

Fans usually ask if Bad Idea and Horn Gate need to be read together, but these two stories operate independently, so the pairing is optional. Their themes just refract in ways that give a peek into the characters’ psyches and also add dimensions to the worlds of each series. Readers who love contemporary but don’t like paranormal lose nothing by not reading Horn Gate. Likewise, urban fantasy junkies can stick to Horn Gate’s demonic adventure without reading Bad Idea. However, reading both stories expands the impact and emotional resonance drastically.

On that tip, these two books can be read in any order, but the best option depends on the type of reader you are and whether you tend to dig process or product more. I’d say contemporary readers ought to start with Bad Idea and paranormal readers with Horn Gate because they’ll find Scratch more geektastic. If you read Bad Idea first and want to dig deeper into the heroes, you can go through Horn Gate after the fact. Aficionados of the otherworldly might want to hit Trip’s sex demon urban fantasy first to peek behind the curtain so they’re in the know when they double back to watch Trip and Silas cooking up Scratch in Bad Idea.

The Scratch series is the graphic novel reimagined as a novella, the biff-wham-kerpow outcome of desire and pain between two gifted men distilled into something spooky and seductive. More than anything these parallel storylines poke around in what makes creativity sexy-infuriating-and powerful and the ways that sex can create, infuriate, and empower us… I’m calling the contemporary series Itch because it’s about all the little things that get under our skin in our day to day lives and make us crazy, horny, passionate.

After all, every pearl starts out as a bit of grit that makes an oyster itchy. 😀

Buy Links


Bio

Damon Suede head shotDamon Suede grew up out-n-proud deep in the anus of right-wing America, and escaped as soon as it was legal. Though new to romance fiction, Damon has been writing for print, stage, and screen for two decades. He’s won some awards, but counts his blessings more often: his amazing friends, his demented family, his beautiful husband, his loyal fans, and his silly, stern, seductive Muse who keeps whispering in his ear, year after year. Get in touch with him at DamonSuede.com.


Giveaway

Damon is giving away a copy of both Horn Gate AND Bad Idea to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment below to enter.  The contest closes on Thursday, October 24th 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.
  • 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.
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