Today I am so pleased to welcome Chris Scully to Joyfully Jay. Chris has come to talk to us about her latest release, Until September. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving Chris a big welcome!
Hello! I’m Chris Scully. I’m thrilled to welcome you to my Until September blog tour! Join me at various tour stops, where I’ll be sharing some of the background of this novel, my thoughts on writing, and more. Comment on each stop to be entered in a drawing for a $20 Riptide gift certificate. Thanks for joining me on the tour!
Themes in Until September
I never consciously set out to write with a particular theme in mind, but in hindsight I’ve noticed there is one that unintentionally keeps popping up in most of my writing: it’s never too late to change your life. Many of my characters are at personal crossroads—they are either forced to start over, feel stuck in their current state and need to make a change, or else have a new path put in front of them.
Archer Noble, one of the main characters in Until September, has a horrifying past. He thinks he’s put it behind him, but it still actually shapes his life. When he meets Ryan Eriksson, they are both living the lives they think they want, and they are both fairly rigid in their vision of what that entails. Archer is a bit of a playboy who doesn’t want to be tied down to anyone or anything. Ryan is the exact opposite—a caring, selfless school teacher who idealizes love and romance.
When Archer’s sister, who is also Ryan’s friend, is killed in a tragic accident and Archer becomes guardian to his niece and nephew, his life changes over night. In order to fulfill a promise he once made, Ryan tries to help Archer adapt, although to start they butt heads at every turn. Archer and Ryan find their perspectives on life, and each other, challenged. It’s not an easy journey. Under any other circumstances, these two never would have found each other, let alone fallen in love. But in their time together, Archer learns about love and selflessness, and Ryan learns families can come in many forms.
How we react to change in our lives is what defines us: Do we stay mired in the past? Shut down out of fear and anger? Or do we embrace our new path, take a chance and look at people and places we never did before, and maybe find something better ahead of us? These are the ideas I like to explore.
As Archer grudgingly admits, “It’s not a life I ever thought I’d have, not a life I wanted, but you know what? It’s not too bad. In fact, sometimes it’s pretty damned good.”
Blurb
As a teenager, Archie Noblesse clawed his way out of the poverty, heartache, and abuse of the reservation and left his family behind. Desperate to shake the shadow of his past, he reinvents himself as Archer Noble, an outspoken blogger and controversial author who lives only for himself. But when his beloved sister dies, Archer is saddled with guardianship of his niece and nephew.
Elementary school teacher Ryan Eriksson is devastated when his best friend Marguerite is killed, leaving her two young children orphaned. Helping Archer with his new responsibilities eases his grief, but when Archer offers him custody of the children, Ryan’s left with an impossible choice: get the family he’s always wanted, or respect Margie’s wishes and convince Archer to give parenting—and his heritage—a chance.
To buy time, Ryan promises to stay for the summer, hoping that Archer will change his mind and fall for the kids. But Archer’s reluctant, and the growing attraction between him and Ryan complicates matters. Legal decisions must be made, and soon, before Ryan returns to school. But with hearts involved, more than just the children’s future is on the line.
Bio
CHRIS SCULLY lives in Toronto, Canada. She grew up spinning romantic stories in her head and always dreamed of one day being a writer even though life had other plans. Her characters have accompanied her through career turns as a librarian and an IT professional, until finally, to escape the tedium of a corporate day job, she took a chance and began putting her daydreams down on paper.
Tired of the same old boy-meets-girl stories, she found a home in M/M romance and strives to give her characters the happy endings they deserve. She divides her time between a mundane 9-5 cubicle job and a much more interesting fantasy life. When she’s not working or writing (which isn’t often these days) she loves puttering in the garden and traveling. She is an avid reader and tries to bring pieces of other genres and styles to her stories. While her head is crammed full of all the things she’d like to try writing, her focus is always on the characters first. She describes her characters as authentic, ordinary people—the kind of guy you might meet on the street, or the one who might be your best friend.
Although keeping up with social media is still a struggle given her schedule, she does love to hear from
readers.
Connect with Chris:
- Website: chrisscullyblog.wordpress.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/chris.scully.author
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/6152322.Chris_Scully
- Email: cscully@bell.net
Giveaway
Leave a comment for a chance to win $20 in Riptide credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 13, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
- 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.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- 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.
It sounds really engaging!
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
Until September sounds like a book I’d like to read! Congratulations on this newest release.
Thank you for the post!
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
The story sounds lovely!
The book sounds really god and I love the cover.
Sorry I meant really good!
Love the sound of this book! Added to my wish list. Love finding a new to me author
kathleenpower@comcast.net
This book sounds fantastic, I definitely need to add this to my TBR! And what a gorgeous cover! 🙂
jenndonald00(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Chris! The book sounds amazing!!!! Congrats on the release!
This sounds like something I’d like. I hope to be able to read it soon.
I must be stalking this book and it is on my wishlist. Want it soon.
This sounds so good. I’m glad the 9-5 job didn’t stifle your creativity. 🙂
I am really looking forward to reading this. thanks
debby236 at gmail dot com
I’ve enjoyed other stories by this author and this one sound good too.
Thanks for the interesting post! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds really nice. I’m following the blog tour and enjoying every post! And I’ve already added Until September to my TBR list 😉
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you for the post and the giveaway!
ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
Thank you for this review and the AWESO
E giveaway!!!! Can’t wait to read this!
Thanks for the review and the giveaway.
serena91291@gmail.com
Really nice post, Chris! I hadn’t thought of that as a thread running through your stories, but that’s a really great issue to explore. I think people do often feel like they’ve not done enough, no matter the age, and maybe that’s just a lot of the comparison’s people seem to make between each other. So, it feels like everyone needs to hear that no matter what time of life you’re in, you still have it in you to make a change and have something amazing.
caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com
This sounds like an excellent read!
maggiereadsromance@gmail.com