Today I am so pleased to welcome Taylor V. Donovan to Joyfully Jay. Taylor has come to talk to us about her re-release of Six Degrees of Lust. She has also brought along copies of the series to give away! Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name’s Taylor and I’m an author of gay romance and suspense. Today I’m here to talk a bit about Six Degrees of Lust, the first installment in my By Degrees series, which is romantic suspense featuring a serial killer of gay men and the FBI team leader trying to catch him. Thank you for hosting me once again, Joyfully Jay!
My first visit to this review site was January 10, 2012, eleven days after the first edition of Six Degrees of Lust was released on December 30, 2011, and one day after Jay posted her review of my book. It was a 4.5 star. I can still remember my reaction to it. I whooped. I jumped around. I might’ve cried a little. You see, Six Degrees of Lust is the first book I ever wrote, and I knew going in that it wasn’t conventional. It didn’t follow most of the written and unwritten rules of romance, hence I wasn’t expecting good reviews or a wide audience. I had a few story lines going on. Several points of view. By the end the main couple was at a happy for now place, but the other threads ended with a cliff-hanger, something lots of readers hate. Getting a 4.5 review right off the bat was beyond my wildest dreams. Being contacted by Jay to do an interview? That was one of the most amazing moments of my writerly life, and I’ll forever be grateful to her for taking a chance on a rookie author with zero promotional skills.
One of the questions in the afore-mentioned interview was what kind of research I had to do, as there’s a lot of detail in the story about the investigation and the religious zealotry of the killer. At the time my answer was “Extensive.” I had to study notorious serial killers, religion, crime scene investigation, and psychological profiling. Then I started working on Six Degrees of Separation, the second installment in the series, and research time multiplied. My job wasn’t only getting two guys together in between killings—it was figuring out the plausibility of at least ten different characters’ actions at any given time. It was learning the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. It was immersing myself in the different needs of my characters and their psyche. It was feeling how the investigation was affecting them. It was creating cause and effect. It was keeping everything as realistic as possible while making it engaging and enjoyable.
By Degrees isn’t only about finding a serial killer—it’s about an FBI team building a case that would get the killer convicted. About getting in the killer’s head. About anticipating his moves. About dealing with the sense of failure when they don’t. About handling work and personal life, and managing the effects one has on the other. That doesn’t happen in two months or one book, and By Degrees reflects the timeframe.
This series is a giant web. You’ll get fully-fleshed characters with their own backgrounds and story arcs. You’ll get a lot of material to sink your teeth into, so if you’re into gay romantic suspense and ensemble casts, then go ahead and give By Degrees a try.
xoxo
Taylor
P.S. I’ve brought some copies to give away. Let me know what your criminal investigations TV show is, or your favourite serial killer book or movie, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a signed paperback set of the Second Edition of Six Degrees of Lust and Six Degrees of Separation, and one electronic set.
P.S. 2 Six Degrees of Lust, Second Edition, releases today. If you read the first version, I’d still recommend you get this one as well, as some characters were fleshed out and, even though the story arc remains basically the same, there are tweaks foreshadowing events in Six Degrees of Separation, which in turn leads to events in Six Degrees of Agony, finally coming to you late 2017.
Good luck!
Blurb
New York City FBI team leader Samuel Shaughnessy lives for his immediate family and his job. After a marriage gone wrong he has stuck to a firm rule when it comes to relationships: he doesn’t have them. Sexually active and emotionally unavailable keeps him satisfied, especially now that he is in hot pursuit of a serial killer targeting gay men.
Former firefighter Machlan O’Bannon now manages a successful sports bar in Houston and after years of waiting he’s ready to stand up and be the man he always wanted to be: out, proud and drama-free. His politically-aligned family wants to keep him locked in the closet, but Mac just wants to meet the man of his dreams.
One man is as high strung as the other is laid back. A chance meeting brings the two men together, and one night of passion ignites a fire neither can fight. Their lives are not only miles apart, but as different as day and night. They don’t want to get involved, but they might not be able to keep apart.
First Edition published by MLR Press, December 2011.
Bio
Taylor V. Donovan is a compulsive reader and author of gay romance and suspense. She is optimistically cynical about humanity and a lover of history, museums, and all things 80s. She shamelessly indulges in mind-numbing reality television, is crazy about fashion, and passionate about civil rights and equality for all.
When she’s not writing or making a living in the busiest city in the world, Taylor can be found raising her two daughters and their terribly misbehaved furry baby in their home.
Giveaway
Taylor has brought a set of signed paperbacks of Six Degrees of Lust and Six Degrees of Separation, Second Edition to give to one lucky reader. She has also brought a second set in ebook format for another winner. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday, January 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.
- 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.
This series sounds intriguing, haven’t got a chance to read it yet. Congrats on the re-release, Taylor.
Congratulations on the re-release, Taylor. I’ve read many good critics about your books. My favourite crime investigation series was CSI, but I recognise I got a bit tired after the fifth season. As for books, American Psycho is an all time favourite for me.
Happy re-release day, Taylor!
My favorite serial killer movie would be Natural Born Killers.
So excited to get more of the series!
Thank you for the post and the insight how much extensive research it took to write the books. They sound intriguing.
Congratulations on your re-release I’m a great fan of Crime Show at the moment I have started watching “Blindspot” it’s great to have a female lead and CSI the original is my long term favourite also Criminal Minds.
I don’t watch a lot of TV however my favorite criminal investigation show is NCIS
Wow! I have had this series on my wishlist for a while. Thank you for the great giveaway chance! I used to love CSI and Criminal Minds. My favorite shows now are NCIS and NCIS: LA.
I loved the early seasons of PSYCH (before they made Shawn totally obnoxious…he and his best friend were amazingly ‘shippable, even my MOM thought that Shawn was going to propose to Gus instead of his girlfriend in the finale), MONK (when it was a little more whimsical), and WHITE COLLAR (when the characterization was more consistent). I avoid serial killers whenever possible! 🙂
I watched Criminal Minds until it got a little too creepy, and I’ve always liked NCIS. 🙂
Please count me in. Thanks.
My favorite show is Sherlock and soon I’m gonna watch Hannibal , I’m curious for this killer.
I like Major Crimes. I also like Sherlock Holmes.
Happy re-release day. Can’t wait for further installments of this series.
I LOVED “The Closer” and “Major Crimes”. Those are two of my all-time favorite criminal shows, I could re-watch those two shows over, and over, and over again. AS for my favorite serial killer, if you watch CSI, there is this one killer “The Miniature Killer” … I enjoyed that particular arc and also because the killer was surprising.
Congrats on the re-release! I’ve always enjoyed crime themed shows. My favorite being Criminal Minds, Mentalist, the short stint with Stalker, CSI: NY and the list can keep going.
My fav investigative show is probably Blindspot. #JellerForever. Though Sherlock did just start up again and that’s right up in the top 3.
My favorite serial killer movie? Hmmm Identity maybe? I think that counts. But it’s been awhile so I could be wrong.
This sounds like a great book, I’m definitely adding this to my TBR list! I was a criminal justice/psych major in college and loved studying serial killers, always the most interesting! Criminal Minds is one of my favorite shows!
I’ve always been a sucker for crime TV shows. I love CSI (original recipe is best) Law and Order, and L&O: SVU, and dating myself, but I loved shows like Knight Rider and Dukes of Hazzard and Magnum PI and the A Team. I like action with a bit of laughts, and romance is just a nice kick, the hot fudge on the sundae! I loved the first two books in this series!
Bones is usually my go-to investigative show, although I have been on a bit of a Torchwood binge. That totally counts, right? 😀
I don’t have a favorite serial killer series per se; I’m willing to give anything a try. Best wishes on the success of your series!