Today I am so pleased to welcome J.L. Merrow back to Joyfully Jay. J.L. has come to talk to us about her latest release, Lovers Leap. She has also brought along a great giveaway! Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Hi, I’m JL Merrow, and I’m delighted to be here as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of Lovers Leap, my fast-paced romantic comedy with a leap year theme set on my beloved, native Isle of Wight. Lovers Leap features two very different young men—each of whom will need to take a leap of faith if their love is to survive!
Apostrophe Catastrophe
Ah, apostrophes. Or as many in my native land would put it, apostrophe’s. You’ve gotta love ’em. Well, some people do: there’s even an Apostrophe Protection Society, formed in 2001 to combat the egregious abuse of this poor punctuation mark, traditionally blamed on our hardworking tradesmen (see: Greengrocer’s apostrophe.)
The rules for correctly using apostrophes in English are, we’re frequently told, simple:
- To show possession: eg: Is this really relevant to Jamie’s book?
- To show omission: eg: We’re bored by all this grammar, can’t you blog about something else?
Then we come to the case of its/it’s. Logically, the possessive form of “its” would need an apostrophe, wouldn’t it?
Nope. Why? Nobody knows.
Which is why I prefer the ONE rule to rule them all, as explained in The Dreaded Apostrophe:
Only use an apostrophe when letters are missing.
Take Jamie’s book. This is actually an abbreviation for Jamie, his book. (We’ll ignore the fact it might be, and in fact is, actually an abbreviation for Jamie, her book. Jamie’r book would just look silly.)
And the its/it’s confusion? Well, if you contract it has or it is to it’s, clearly there’s a letter missing, so you need an apostrophe. But the possessive its (as in, say, the collective readership lost its will to live) can’t be expanded to make two separate words out of the its (go on, try it: I did, and it’s flippin’ impossible to come up with anything sensible). So we don’t need the apostrophe.
Simples!
Wait. Do I mean simple’s….?
So why am I rambling on about punctuation? Well, you may notice there’s no apostrophe in the title of Lovers Leap. This is not an oversight. It was actually the subject of several emails and a straw poll. Hey, no one can say I don’t sweat about the small stuff! 😉
And yes, leaving out the apostrophe does change the meaning. Lovers Leap isn’t the same as Lover’s Leap, or Lovers’ Leap. However, you know what? They’re all equally appropriate to the story.
But you’ll have to read it to find out why. 😉
Blurb
If they looked, would they ever leap?
Good-looking, confident, and doted on by his widowed mum, Michael is used to thinking only of himself. Getting shoved off an Isle of Wight pier by an exasperated ex ought to come as a wake-up call—but then he meets Rufus and he’s right back to letting the little head take charge. Rufus is cute, keen, and gets under Michael’s skin in a disturbing way.
Would-be chef Rufus can’t believe his luck when a dripping wet dream of a man walks out of the sea on his birthday, especially when Michael ends up staying at the family B&B. Life is perfect—at least until Michael has to go home to the mainland.
Rufus can’t leave the island for reasons he’s entirely neglected to mention. And though Michael identifies as bi, breaking his mum’s heart by coming out and having an actual relationship with a guy has never been his plan. With both men determined to keep their secrets, a leap of faith could land them in deep water.
Lovers Leap is also available in audio from Amazon and Audible!
Bio
JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards finalists.
JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers’ Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Connect with JL:
- Website: www.jlmerrow.com
- Twitter: @jlmerrow
- Facebook: facebook.com/jl.merrow
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/.J_L_Merrow
Giveaway
Leave a comment for a chance to win $29 in Riptide credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 5, 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.
I loved the plumber’s mate! Can’t wait to read this too! 😀
Thanks – hope you enjoy it! 😀
This sounds great!
kimandpete at me dot com
Thanks! 😀
Man, why would they slander greengrocers that way? I’ve seen more egregious misuse on other signs…
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
It does seem unfair, doesn’t it? Particularly as, with the rise of supermarkets, greengrocers seem sadly to be a dying breed. We used to have one in our village; now we have a Tesco Express.
(Mind you, their veg is a lot fresher!)
I love punctuation!
I love punctuation memes! http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2012/08/16/20-images-that-prove-grammar-and-punctuation-are-important/
Thank you for the punctuation lesson, haven’t read about anything involving punctuation since elementary school.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Ah, but have you wanted to? 😉
Lovers Leap sounds like a good read. I certainly enjoyed the apostrophe discussion. Are you familiar with THE FUMBLERULES OF GRAMMAR? If not, I suspect you’d enjoy reading them. You can see them here: http://dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu/materials/safire.htm
Congratulation on your new release, and thanks for the chance to win.
I hadn’t seen those – they’re fabulous! Thanks for the link. 😀
And thanks for your kind words, too.
The further away I get from school days the harder it is to remember all of the rules. This is fun (and useful).
I can’t wait to read Lovers Leap this weekend. It looks like classic JL. 🙂
oops, aelnova@aol.com
Aw, thanks! I hope you enjoy the book. 😀
Punctuation can make all the difference!
Looking forward to reading Lover’s Leap
debby236@gmail.com
Thanks – enjoy! 😀
Nothing can bring my reading to a screeching halt like poor editing. The results of which are misplaced or missing punctuation as well as spelling errors and wacky sentence structure. I should be an editor but probably would be universally disliked as a nitpicking old bag.
Heh, no, personally I like nitpickiness in my editors. I’d rather they pull me up on things than leave them there to annoy my readers. And it’s amazing how things can slip through when you’re typing quickly. 🙂
Loved the punctuation discussion. All the little rules are so difficult to explain! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
That’s because English is a language designed by a committee. 😀
Thank you for the lesson on the use of the Apostrophe! It made me laugh. Thank you for sharing.
ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
Glad you enjoyed! 😀
LOL! Great post, Jamie. I learnt English as a second language, so the use and evils of abuse of apostrophes was branded in fire in my young brain… Anyway, I’ve just finished Lovers Leap and love Rufus and Michael so much! I already miss them. As for the title, I agree with you, any of the options would suit the story. 😉
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
It’s funny, isn’t it? I was taught far more grammar when learning foreign languages at school than I ever was in English.
And I’m so glad you love Rufus and Michael! I think they’re both sweeties, but I’ll freely admit I may just possibly be a little biased. 😀
I hadn’t even noticed the lack of apostrophe. If I noticed every grammatical error shoved in my face, I’d be sad at life.
LOL! Yes, there are after all more important things to worry about! 😀
Like the misuse of homophones. Grrr! 😉