Hello everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome back the fabulous Marie Sexton to the blog! Â Marie is here to talk to us about her newest release, Normal Enough. She has also brought a great tour wide giveaway you can enter through Rafflecopter. So please join me in giving Marie a big welcome!
I’m just going to get this out of the way: Normal Enough is about a man with a sexual fetish for classic muscle cars.
Yes, you read that right. He has a car fetish.
It’s an unusual choice, to be sure, and I have a feeling it might not be popular with readers. But the thing is, sometimes we write the stories we need to write at that particular moment, rather than the story everybody expects.
Let me back up a bit.
2013 wasn’t a great year for me. I feel like I’ve been saying that each year for a few years now, but it’s true. 2010 was a lot of fun, but after that, things got weird. 2011 was full of mishap and discovery and disillusionment. 2012 was a long and bitter battle with depression. I finally emerged from that terrible fog in early 2013, and my number one priority was not falling back into it. The first step was to fully and honestly admit to myself that I’d fallen out of love with writing. It was no longer fun, and I was tired of telling myself I should be doing it. I was tired of stressing myself out over something that started out a hobby and had become a chore. I was tired of a great many things. So I took the year off.
Now, I know a lot of people say writers aren’t supposed to do this. We’re supposed to write every day, whether the muse strikes us or not. We’re supposed to put ass to chair and fingers to the keys and just DO IT. But I didn’t care. I went to conventions. I had a great time hanging out with readers and friends, both old and new. I had four new releases (all books I’d written in 2012), and I was perfectly happy to not be writing.
It was time I needed in order to figure out where I wanted to go.
Then, sometime just after the middle of the year, I decided it might be time to get back in the game, and I ended up on the list to write a story for Amber Allure. It was this strange confluence of events – me suddenly asking for direction, and another author who was overbooked and asked me to take her spot – and before I knew it, I was committed to writing a story for Amber’s Grease Monkeys, Inc. Pax, with a deadline of December 1.
Great, I told myself. This is it. I’m going to write again.
Except I had no clue what to write.
I spent a few months agonizing over it. I debated trying to back out of the Pax, but knew I’d beat myself up for failing. In the end, I sat down one day with my BIL (who’s a mechanic) and asked him (over a couple of beers) what kind of juicy stories he could tell me.
From there, Normal Enough was born, and for the first time in almost a year, I was excited again about writing. Words flew onto the screen, and I didn’t bother to ask if they were too weird or too kinky. I just wrote, and it was liberating. As my character Kasey discovered that he was as normal as anybody else, I discovered that maybe I can learn to love writing again. I realized that I’m allowed to define the role writing takes in my life. I can say no. I can take days or weeks or even months off. I’m now (mostly) secure in the fact that I can write at my own pace, and it might mean fewer releases per year than I’ve had in the past, but at least I no longer feel the pressure of it like a noose around my neck. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m where I need to be.
So yes, Normal Enough may be a strange little novella, but in some ways, it changed my life. At that moment in time, it was the exactly the story I needed to write. I just have to cross my fingers and hope that for somebody out there, it’s exactly the story they’ve been waiting to read.
Blurb
When Brandon Kenner shows up at Kasey Ralston’s garage with a 1970 Chevelle SS 454, Kasey is smitten by both the man and his car. Between what Kasey considers a shameful fetish and his long estrangement from his family, Kasey finds it easiest to be alone, even distancing himself from his coworkers. But Brandon doesn’t think Kasey’s fetish is weird. In fact, he likes it.
Kasey doesn’t know how to resist a man as charming as Brandon, and he’s more than willing to be seduced. But what are Brandon’s long-term intentions? Kasey is afraid of hoping for too much, but equally afraid that when all is said and done, Brandon will leave, and Kasey will be left alone once again.
Bio
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.
- Website: http://mariesexton.net/
- Goodreads:Â http://www.goodreads.com/MarieSexton
- Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/MarieSexton.author
- Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/MarieSexton
- Pinterest:Â http://www.pinterest.com/msextonauthor/
Giveaway
There is a giveaway that will be available throughout all blog tour stops. The prize is an ebook copy of Normal Enough and a $50 ARe gift certificate for some of Marie Sexton’s backlist books.
To enter, follow the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway.
I’ve got to say, I’m quite intrigued!
I forgot to say, I like all of Mary Sexton’s books. The one that immediately jumped to mind, though, was Blind Space. I mean, what’s not to love about hot space pirates in lace, right??
I fell in love with marie the first time I’ve read Promises… I love this series
I am happy to hear that you are back in a good place with your writing, it would be a major loss if we never got more of your wonderful stories. Hot guys and cars , what more can we ask for, looking forward to reading this one.
Strawberries for Dessert is my go to MS book, I love quite a few but Cole stole my heart.
Strawberries for Dessert is probably my favorite.
Favourite ummmm, Promises is where I started, Strawberries is a go to book, and my copy of Song of Oestend from GRL is well read. Its like trying to pick a favourite child!
I love Marie’s books “Never A Hero” is one of my favourites also the “Coda” books
ShirleyAnn@speakman40.freeserve.co.uk
As someone married to a guy who’s a ‘car-guy’ I get it. Only his thing is old english cars – and a few new ones, but let’s not talk Aston Martin’s or my head might explode and I’ll need a second and third mortgage. 😛
Good luck with this one – sounds like the right book to get you back in your groove.
Yes I am married to a car guy too. we have 8000 car magazines and he can tell you just about anything about any car on the road. Makes shopping time very pricey!
Hope to learn more about car fetish. Sounds like a good read.
Book sounds great. Â I love Marie Sexton!
My favorite book is Promises
I’ve only read Second Hand so far but I’ve had Strawberries for Dessert on my Kindle for a long time now, I need to bump it up.
I loved Family Man, and am excited to see that Marie is back to writing again!
Never a Hero is the only one I’ve read so far but I loved it!!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Being married to a guy who looks at every muscle car that drives buy and gives me its story, I can’t wait to read this one. And I love all of the ones I’ve read, but I love Blind Space. And I have to go check out this Strawberries for Dessert.
Difficult to choose, but probably Promises is my favourite. Â But I love them all!
BETWEEN SINNERS AND SAINTS is my favorite so far…
I read an excerpt from this at The Sweet Spot’s RAD party this weekend & it looks REALLY good. Please count me in on the giveaway.
My favorite Marie Sexton books are Second Hand and Never a Hero. But I am very excited to read Normal Enough, because I enjoy exploring different kinks and fetishes, and I’m interested to see how this turns out.
Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite so far is Promises. Â Thanks for the giveaway!
My husband has a 68 Firebird that I have referred to many times as “the other woman”. 🙂  I love Marie’s Coda series, her Tucker Spring books, and Between Sinners and Saints.  Thanks for the giveaway!
Marie Is a fave author of mine and I’m sure this latest book from her will be another excellent read! =) Thanks for a chance to win a copy!Â
Good to have you back, Marie! Your books are always worth waiting for!!! Really like both the Coda and the Tucker Springs series!
I’m sorry to hear that it has been such a hard time for you, but happy that you have found a better way that works for you.
And a car fetish? Well, compared to some of the stuff out there it almost seems normal….Â
I really liked Between Sinners And Saints, but the Coda books are great too. A to Z and Promises are especially good, I think.
My favorite is Fear, Hope and Bread Pudding. Thanks for your personal sharing about what has been happening with you. I’m so glad that this book has made you excited about writing again.
I feel like I’m late to my own party! Thanks so much to everybody who’s stopped by so far, and thanks to Jay for hosting me. 🙂
The first book I read was Family Man and then I went back and read the Coda series. Â I enjoyed all the books. Thanks for the contest.
Strawberries for Dessert is my favorite. Â It was one of the first M/M stories to make me cry. I love the character of Cole and the evolution of his relationship with Jonathan.
Love the sound of this read. My favorite book of Marie’s, so far, is Promises!!
I’m so excited for new Marie Sexton!
I’ve never read a books that featured a MC with a car fetish. This should be interesting. My favorite book is Cinder and not because it’s the only book so far I’ve read by this author.
I have every other book she’s written – needless to say, I’d love to win this one.
I’m very much interested in reading this book that got you back to writing. Thank you for sharing your ups and downs over the last year. I hope 2014 will be a great year for you. Your Coda series ranks as one of my favorites!
This book seems very nice. I already read some of this author and until now, my favourite book is Blind Space.
Never read anything by Marie Sexton. The cover was what caught my attention first then the description did. Sounds fantastic. Thank you for the giveaway.
I love classic muscle cars so the idea of this makes me squee.  I’m glad you found your writing place again and you’re enjoying it again.  Thank you for the giveaway. 😀
My favorite Marie Sexton book is Blind Space. I freaking love her space pirates.