Today I am so pleased to welcome Keira Andrews back to Joyfully Jay. Keira has come to talk to us about her latest release, Beyond the Sea, which I reviewed yesterday and loved. She has also brought along a great giveaway.  Please join me in giving Keira a big welcome!

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’ll be celebrating with my annual Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s, and perhaps a beer or two (or five) later. But first I’m here to talk about my new contemporary romance Beyond the Sea. This is a story of survival, exploring your sexuality, and finding true love where you least expect it.

One of the biggest challenges of surviving on a desert island is finding food and water. Fortunately for boy bander Troy and pilot Brian, they’re marooned in the South Pacific at a time of year when there is usually regular rainfall, typically at night. There are also coconuts and other fruit, as well as an ocean of fish. Of course, some fish are poisonous, so the key is avoiding those ones — without Google to assist in identification.

In fact, for our generation, that might be the biggest challenge of all: not being able to look up stuff on the internet! I don’t know about you, but I’d go nuts. Troy and Brian have to figure everything out themselves, from how to open a coconut to which jungle creature is making that alarming noise in the middle of the night.

But unlike Tom Hanks in Castaway, Troy and Brian aren’t alone. They begin the story as strangers, but soon develop a strong bond of friendship. Here’s an exclusive peek below inside Brian’s mind as that friendship begins to deepen into more…

Thanks so much to Jay for having me today, and I hope you’ll join Troy and Brian on their journey of discovery and love.


Excerpt

With a sigh, Troy looked down and met Brian’s gaze. “Guess we both have our crap to deal with, huh?”

“I think it’s safe to say.” Brian itched to hug him, but he got up and tried for a bad joke. “With all this baggage, it’s amazing the jet took off at all.”

Troy laughed, and something warm and wonderful spread through Brian. “We have island spa day, and clearly we need therapy day too,” Troy said. “We’ll take turns being the shrink.”

“Sounds like a plan.” It was strange how Brian’s heart beat too fast. “Thank you for listening.”

“You too.”

“I guess we should hug it out or something.” Brian laughed awkwardly.

Troy was already moving. “Totally.” He wrapped his arms around Brian and slapped his back.
Brian slapped his in return, but when they should have stepped away from each other…they didn’t. Instead, they hung on tightly. It should have been completely weird, but Brian couldn’t seem to care. It felt so good.

He breathed deeply, inhaling sweat and sand and Troy’s unique scent. He slowly rubbed his hand up and down Troy’s back, the ribbed cotton of the tank top soft. With a little exhale, Troy leaned his head down onto Brian’s shoulder.

This isn’t normal. What the hell am I doing? Guys don’t hug each other like this. We have to stop, or else…

His hand was at Troy’s neck now, playing with the growing curls there seemingly of its own accord.

Or else what? 

He held his breath as Troy’s hand slid down his back to his waist, where his tank top must have bunched up. A shiver ricocheted through Brian as Troy’s fingers brushed over his bare skin. Warm and—

The honking chorus of the parrots going to breakfast exploded from the edge of the jungle, and Brian stumbled back, both he and Troy leaping apart. Troy landed on his ass in the sand, and they stared at the bright swarm of parrots on a nearby tree. They both laughed, Troy’s full lips curving up.

Brian reached his hand down, ignoring the flare of heat as Troy took it.

On his feet again, Troy brushed off his shorts. “Looks like the tide is coming in. I’m going to fish for our breakfast.”

“Cool. I’ll…” He waved his hand uselessly. “See you in a while.” Brian busied himself with even more firewood. He’d made things awkward enough for one day.


Blurb

Beyond the SeaTwo straight guys. One desert island.

Even if it means quitting their boy band mid-tour, Troy Tanner isn’t going to watch his little brother snort his future away after addiction destroyed their father. On a private jet taking him home from Australia, he and pilot Brian Sinclair soar above the vast South Pacific. Brian lost his passion for flying—and joy in life—after a traumatic crash, but now he and Troy must fight to survive when a cyclone strikes without warning.

Marooned a thousand miles from civilization, the turquoise water and white sand beach look like paradise. But although they can fish and make fire, the smallest infection or bacteria could be deadly. When the days turn into weeks with no sign of rescue, Troy and Brian grow closer, and friendship deepens into desire.

As they learn sexuality is about more than straight or gay and discover their true selves, the world they’ve built together is thrown into chaos. If Troy and Brian make it off the island, can their love endure?

This is an LGBT romance about discovering yourself, finding love, and eating way too many coconuts. 85,000 words.


Bio

Keira AndrewsAfter writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”



Giveaway

Keira has brought two backlist books to give away to two lucky readers. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, March 21st 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.
  • 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.
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