As many of you know, we recently lost our dear friend, author Ethan Day. His passing was a loss for our community, especially to those of us lucky enough to call him a friend. I shared my thoughts about Ethan just after he died, and you can read more about them here.

So the reason I am back talking about Ethan here today is that soon after he passed, I realized that he had scheduled a guest post on the blog for today to talk about Life in Union, the long-awaited third book in his Summit City series. I was also startled to realize that Ethan had already submitted the guest post and it was sitting right there, as yet unread. I’ll be honest, I have really been struggling here with what to do. I don’t want to in any way seem to be using Ethan’s passing to promote the blog. So I debated just skipping the post completely. But I also know that for many of us, Summit City is so intrinsically tied to Ethan, and that this book is one that many people have been eagerly awaiting (and that he was eager to write) for a long time. I wanted to celebrate the book and Ethan’s writing, as well as to help share his final book with as many people as possible.

I gave some serious thought to using Ethan’s actual post here. In a way, I feel like it’s my last conversation with him. But I’ll be honest, I just can’t even bring myself to read it. Just thinking about reading it is enough to bring tears to my eyes, and I just can’t do it. One day I hope to. Ethan was so full of fun and joy and I know this book meant a lot to him and I would love to hear this thoughts. But right now things are too raw. So instead, I am just going to use this space to share more about this book, and point you in the right direction in case you want to check out this series for yourself.

I first read Sno Ho, the first book in the series, back in 2012. It was my first book of Ethan’s and it was my introduction to his incredible sense of humor. I still laugh thinking about the infamous (to me at least) banana nut muffin scene (you can check out an excerpt from the scene in my review). Sno Ho follows up with Life in Fusion, and then now the third book, Life in Union. While I have read many of Ethan’s other books, this is the series I will always identify with him the most. It is fun and funny and romantic and so worth reading. I haven’t yet read Life in Union, but here is the blurb:

Over the past eight months, aspiring author Boone Daniels has seen his entire life turned upside down and inside out. Having survived a recent auto-accident and an impromptu proposal of marriage from his one-night-stand-turned-boyfriend, Wade Walker, Boone has finally moved to Summit City to begin a whole new chapter.

Having adapted to several big life-changes within a relatively short window of time, Boone has embraced the idea of spending the rest of his ‘forever’ with the man he loves. However, he quickly recognizes that it takes more than finding true love and relocating to make a house feel like a home.

As Boone and Wade merge their separate lives into a life in union, they’ll struggle to strike a balance between ‘the me’ and ‘the we’. With patience and perseverance, they’ll eventually say their I Do’s and get that happily-ever-after…after all.

I’ll also note that there is a Go Fund Me campaign set up by Ethan’s family to help defray some of the funeral costs. If you are interested in donating, you can find out more here.

It is still so hard to believe Ethan is gone. It has been two weeks and I still feel just as shocked as when I first learned of his passing. Ethan left behind many people who loved and cared about him and we are so lucky to have had him as part of our community. May his books bring joy and happiness for many years to come.

FILED UNDER: Jay's Thoughts
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