Today I am so pleased to welcome Jeff Adams to Joyfully Jay. Jeff has come to talk to us about his latest release, Rivals. He has also brought along an exclusive excerpt and a copy to give away. Please join me in giving Jeff a big welcome!
Many thanks to Jay for allowing me to drop in and talk about my new release (or actually re-release) of the short story Rivals. There’s a giveaway for a free ebook copy for some lucky commenter so I do hope you’ll say something below. I’ll come back periodically to see if there are any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.
When I got the chance to bring Rivals back into the world (it’d previously been in print form 2009-13) one of the things I wanted to do was elaborate more on the relationship between brothers Mitchell and Trevor Turner. In the original story, it was clear that the were brothers that got along well, and had each other’s back. I wrote two additional scenes for the new Rivals that show how tight Mitchell and Trevor are, particularly how Trevor wants his older brother’s love life to work out.
I’ve had a thing for writing about brotherly dynamics in my stories. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child and I’m giving my characters the siblings I never had. I was definitely in a brothers mode when I originally wrote Rivals as it was done while I was on a break from the Hat Trick manuscript. The two stories couldn’t be more of a contrast since the brothers in Rivals get a long great while the ones in Hat Trick are polar opposites.
Expanding the role of Trevor improved the story because it gave Mitchell the chance to talk to someone about his growing desire for Alex, and how to make the relationship work given they live hundreds of miles apart. The original version worked because it was implied those conversations happened. To see it all play out on page, and with an expanded ending, makes the overall story stronger.
Below is a brief excerpt from one of the new scenes showing the interplay between Mitchell and Trevor as the prospect of bringing Alex home to meet the parents, for Christmas dinner no less, looms large. I hope you enjoy the sneak peek, and that you’ll pick up the story as part of your holiday reading.
Excerpt
“So,” I said, taking over the conversation as I laced skates, “mom and dad got anything crazy planned for tonight?”
“It seems like a straight forward Christmas dinner. Mom and grandma were already up cooking when I came here. The tables are already set for nineteen. I made sure Alex is sitting between us, so he’s somewhat protected. More than anything they’re just excited you’re bringing someone for dinner. I think they’re more excited than when I brought Julie home during my birthday, which I might be a little upset about.”
“Do we get to see her, too?” I asked.
“No. We did our Christmas stuff a couple days ago. She went with her family to Chicago to see grandparents. She’s back before New Year’s, so we can all definitely do something.”
“So you think everyone will behave?” I looked to Trevor. I wanted some assurances this wasn’t a mistake to make the introduction like this.
“For dinner?”
I nodded.
“I’m sure there’ll be stories you’d wish wouldn’t be told. But is it a problem you’re introducing your boyfriend to everyone? Not that I’ve heard. I mean I was pretty heads down until a couple days ago with finals, but I haven’t seen or heard anything but excitement.”
“Cool.”
“You really worried about something?” Alex asked as he finished up his lacing.
“No. Just paranoid. I’ve never brought anyone home before.” I looked over to Alex, my lacing also complete. “Should we tell him?” I gestured towards Trevor.
“Sure,” Alex said without hesitation. “We can tell anyone and everyone.”
“Oh my god,” Trevor’s eyes got wide. “One of you is pregnant. I’m going to be an uncle.” He held a look of amazement, his mouth hung open until Alex dissolved into laughter, quickly followed by me and Trevor.
“He’s good,” Alex said, getting his laughs under control. “You’ll make a great teacher if you can entertain a class like that.”
“The setup was too perfect for me to not say that.” Trevor took a seat next to me so he wasn’t standing over us. “So what’s really up?”
Blurb
Mitchell Turner and Alex Goodman squared off over a face-off dot throughout high school. Their schools were cross-country rivals. Those face-offs were tough on Mitchell because he harbored a huge crush on Alex. High school, and college, are behind the guys and they meet unexpectedly on Thanksgiving Day, once again on the ice. Mitchell is home for the holidays and is thrilled to see his crush all grown up.
Alex asks Mitchell out for coffee to catch up. Could this be the start of something magical for the holidays … and beyond?
Bio
Jeff Adams caught the writing bug in middle school and finally became a novelist with the Hat Trick series, which will conclude in 2015. He’s also written a number of m/m romance shorts. Jeff and his husband, Will, left the hustle and bustle of New York City to return to the more peaceful lifestyle of Humboldt County, California, during the summer of 2014, which allows more time for him to write. Extending his love of hockey beyond novels, Jeff covers the Detroit Red Wings, as well reviews books that feature LGBT hockey players, for PuckBuddys.com. To learn more about Jeff, visit jeffadamswrites.com and follow him on Twitter at @hockeyguynyc.
Find Jeff at:
- Website: http://www.jeffadamswrites.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hockeyguynyc
- Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/jeffadams
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/writerjeff
Giveaway
Jeff has brought an ebook copy of Rivals to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Saturday, December 13th 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.
I love the blurb and the cover! Thank you for the giveaway!
I love the cover. The book sounds great too!
Siblings can be the best friends… When they are not a pain in the ass! I adore my sister, but sometimes I would strangle her if I could. 😉
The book sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks for the giveaway! I have added this to my TBR!
jasdarts at hotmail dot com
Great post and you are so right about siblings!
I’ve always been amused at how eager brothers are to play against each other in the NHL (though I think the Primeau brothers’ fight traumatized me somewhat)…
This sounds so great. Loved the ending of the blurb.
Hi everyone. Thanks for saying hello and entering into the giveaway!
Glad to hear some shoutouts for the cover. I like it a lot. It really conveys “Rivals” well, and the guys are pretty hot, too!
@Trix: I hadn’t really thought about brothers playing against each other in the NHL, but you’re right there are quite a few. I wonder if there’s correlation to what their childhood together was like. 🙂
@Susana: You’ll see in the story that while Alex and Trevor are very supportive, they do know how to get on each other’s nerves sometimes.
Great post & giveaway!
I’m looking forward to reading this! Big fan of your Hat Trick series.
Thanks, Lisa! Hope you enjoy “Rivals” as well.
Fan of “Hat Trick” take note, “Hat Trick Overtime: Summer Camp” is coming January 11. It’s a new short story installment in the series. I’ll be here January 21 to talk about that one.
I know nothing about brothers since I only have sisters, and in our family we all run to girls. There is only one boy born to one of my sisters and the rest are girls. Soooo….I’ve always been interested in observing and reading about brothers. 🙂
Please count me in. Thanks.
The blurb really piqued my interest. Thank you for the contest.
I like the cover, it’s great! Thanks for the chance to win.
I’m an only child too. When I was very young, I thought the term was “lonely child” People would ask, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I reply “no, I’m a lonely child” Haha I’ve always been curious about a brother relationship, which is probably why I look for that in my friendships and personal life. I’m curious about this story, I just learned about you. hopefully you have more then one electronic copy to give away!
Hi Buster! Thanks for stopping by. I’m happy I had the chance to introduce you to my work. I’ve only got one copy of “Rivals” to give away here, but there is an ongoing blog tour with some other stops. You can see the full schedule at http://www.jeffandwill.com/jeff-adams-writes/2014/12/01/rivals-blog-tour-announcement-giveaway/. Each stop has a giveaway and I’ll update the links on that page for each day’s post as well as soon as I have them. On my site you can also check out my other books and stories. Good luck in the giveaway!
I like the sound of this so please include me in the draw. Thanks