Hello everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome author Jeff Adams to the blog. Jeff is here as part of the Rainbow Con blog tour to talk about his book, Hat Trick.  Jeff has also brought along a signed paperback to give away to one lucky reader. So please join me in giving him a big welcome!

rainbow con logoThanks, Jay, for hosting me today. It’s awesome to get the opportunity to post on a blog that I read often. Thanks to all of you who’ve dropped by to read too. I hope you’ll put your name into the giveaway for the chance to win a book.

I’m excited to be part of the RainbowCon blog tour. I’ve been to cons over the past couple years as a reader, but this is my first to attend as a registered author. I have, however, been to a couple others as readers. My husband and I read a lot of m/m and cons are great opportunities for us to see authors we love and get introduced to new ones. Plus we discover new blogs. It was at GRL last year that I first heard about this blog and got to meet Jay.

So who am I? I’ve been publishing for a few years, but my output was sporadic. I’ve had some short romance stories available since 2009. Last fall was the most exciting time since my debut novel, Hat Trick published. The YA romance is the story of Simon and Alex, high school seniors and teammates on their school’s hockey team, who discover they have crushes on each other.

Simon and his friends have been awesome to write. Simon, in particular, has been an active voice in my head for years (it took about six to write the book). He loves to talk about what’s going on with him, Alex and their friends—both the fun and the difficult. He also decided fairly early on that he wanted life beyond the first book. While I was doing a round of editing for Hat Trick, Simon’s voice encouraged me to jump forward a couple years and continue a thread of the story from the novel. As a result, I wrote a draft for a short story sequel that I then put aside to finish the novel.

That short story wasn’t the end though, over the past year its evolved into a second Hat Trick novel, which should be out later this year. In fact, Simon has been vocal enough over the past few months to create a trilogy, plus a short story that serves as a bridge between the first book and the second. If you’re coming to RainbowCon, you’ll get the limited edition print version of Hat Trick Overtime: A Classic Winter’s Night, which first published at the end of last year on my website and then become a free ebook through Queerteen Press.

What’s been so exciting since Hat Trick came out is the response from readers. I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been thrilling to hear people’s response to the story and to know that there’s a desire for more. The feedback isn’t always about Simon and Alex either, one reader requested a story focusing on one of the secondary characters. That got Leo’s voice running in my brain (Leo, by the way, is one of Simon and Alex’s best friends). Leo’s talked just enough for me to make notes for what could become a short or a novella to continue his story. I suspect if I go forward with that, he’ll be happy to provide more detail.


Blurb

hat trickSimon Roberts’ plan for his senior year is simple – help his high school hockey team win the state championship and earn a college scholarship so he can get away from his dysfunctional family, especially his belligerent father and obnoxious older brother. When the Central High Falcons open their season with an away game, Simon is forced to deal with the problem he’s struggled with for months – his crush on teammate Alex Miller. After the game that night, Alex makes an unexpected announcement – he’s gay and in love with Simon. Now that they’re out they have to decide what to do next. Should they date? They want to. Should they keep it a secret? Simon can’t imagine telling anyone, let alone his family. What about the team? Can Simon and Alex hide that they’re more than friends from the guys they spend so much time with? Can Simon juggle school, commitments to the team, the new relationship and an unexpected tragedy all before the end of the hockey season?


Bio

Jeff Adams started writing fiction in middle school and hasn’t stopped. Hat Trick, his debut novel, was published in September 2013. He is currently working on the next two novels in the Hat Trick series. Prior to this, he wrote several m/m romance shorts that are published with Dreamspinner Press and JMS Books. Jeff lives in New York City with his husband, Will. He plays hockey with the New York City Gay Hockey Association and writes about the Detroit Red Wings, and reviews books that feature gay hockey players, for PuckBuddys.com.


Giveaway

Jeff has brought a signed paperback copy of Hat Trick to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Sunday, April 6th 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.