Today I am so pleased to welcome J.L. Merrow to Joyfully Jay. She has come to talk to us about her latest release, Wake Up Call. J.L. has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

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You Couldn’t Make it Up (Except When You Do)

Hi, I’m JL Merrow, and I’m delighted to be here today as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of Wake Up Call, the first of my contemporary MM romances in Riptide’s multi-author Porthkennack series.

Wake Up Call is set in the fictional Cornish town of Porthkennack. Cornwall, like other Celtic lands, is rich in myth and legend. Ancient Celts, before the coming of Christianity, worshipped gods connected to their lives, to the land and the water, and told tales of fantastical creatures, such as giants, piskies and mermaids.

Some stories might be an attempt to explain away natural features of the world—for example, St Michael’s Mount, a tidal island near Penzance, was said to have been built as a seaside home by the giantess Cormelian and her husband Cormoran, who later fell victim to Jack the Giant-Killer. (Lest you start feeling sorry for Cormoran, he apparently terrorised local farmers and wasn’t very nice to his wife).

Other creatures, such as the Knocker, a kind of goblin or fairy, come from Cornwall’s tin-mining past. Cave-ins were an occupational hazard for miners, and would often be preceded by a knocking sound (in fact, the noise of earth and mine supports giving way.) According to whom you believe, the Knockers were either helpful little imps who made the noise to warn miners of the imminent disaster—or malevolent sprites who caused the cave-in themselves! They also tended to mischievously steal mining tools and/or lunches left unattended.

Toiling long hours in the near-dark, with an indifferent air supply and the constant threat of death very literally hanging over their heads, is it any wonder the miners came up with these supernatural explanations for the bad things that could, and did, happen to them?

Some tales were inspired by stone circles and monuments left by earlier residents—such as The Hurlers, a group of stones on Bodmin Moor, which are said to be the remains of a group of men who were turned to stone after playing games on a Sunday. Right. And if you don’t stop doing that, you’ll go blind…

In Wake Up Call I’ve borrowed the bloody legend of St Agnes and her giant suitor, which properly belongs to Chapel Porth, and taken it further north to Porthkennack, which conveniently possesses a similar geographical feature to the one essential to the original tale. I’ve also made up one or two legends of my own—but come on, the landscape was just asking for it. 😉


Blurb

Wake Up CallSouth London mechanic Devan Thompson has gone to Porthkennack to track down someone he’s been waiting all his life to know. But Dev’s distracted from his quest by Kyle, a broodingly handsome local of only a few months, who’s already got a reputation as an alcoholic because of his strange behaviour—including a habit of collapsing in the street.

Kyle Anthony fled to Porthkennack to escape from the ruins of his life. Still raging against his diagnosis of narcolepsy—a condition that’s cost him his job as a barrister, his lover, and all chance of normality—the last thing he wants is another relationship that’s doomed to fail. But Dev’s easy-going acceptance and adaptability, not to mention his good looks, have Kyle breaking all his self-imposed rules.

When disaster strikes Dev’s adored little sister, Kyle steps up to the plate, and Dev sees a side of his lover he wasn’t prepared for: competent, professional—and way out of Dev’s league. With one man determined that they don’t have a future, and the other fearing it, life after Porthkennack is starting to look bleak for both of them.

Now available from Riptide Publishing


Bio

JL MerrowJL 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 the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novella Muscling Through is a 2013 EPIC ebook Award finalist. She is a member of the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.

Connect with JL:


Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Wake Up Call, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 22, 2017. 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.
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