Today I am so pleased to welcome Tanya Chris to Joyfully Jay. Tanya has come to talk to us about her latest release, Aftermath. She has also brought along a great series giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Warning: contains minor spoilers for the first two books in the Ever After series.

Hi, everyone! I’m Tanya Chris and I’m excited to be here today to talk to you about the final book in my Ever After series—Aftermath. Writing the Ever After series has been a long and rewarding journey that I didn’t know I’d be taking.

When I started writing the first book in the series, Aftercare, it was only supposed to be a standalone. Syed was on trial for murdering his submissive boyfriend while his brother and his defense attorney fell in love and worked out their own power exchange relationship. When Aftercare ended with Syed’s acquittal and Aayan and Garrett’s engagement, I figured we were done. Happy ever after achieved!

But readers asked for more. They were glad to see Syed acquitted, but they also wanted to see justice served. If Syed didn’t murder Jamie, then who did? And yeah, I’d dropped a hint in book 1 about Syed and Dashiell. Dashiell had the hots for Syed, and with some time for Syed to heal, sparks might fly.

I’m what they call a pantser, meaning I don’t know what’s going to happen until I write it, so I started book 2 without intending to do anything except solve Jamie’s murder and give Syed and Dashiell the happy ending they deserved. Two books would be enough. The Denir brothers would both be settled, and since there wasn’t a third Denir brother, I’d be done. No book 3.

By the time I’d finished writing Aftershock, I knew I had a book 3 in me. But would readers want to see Casey, who was one of (though by no means the worst) villains from book 2, redeemed? Apparently yes. Feedback poured in and it all said the same thing. Readers wanted a third book, and they wanted it to be about Casey.

I try to avoid writing traumatic stories about being gay. Since I’m not gay myself, they’re not my stories to tell. Instead I write stories in which the world is just a little bit better than it really is, where gay men are more likely to find acceptance and love than rejection and hate, where the characters are comfortable in their skins, at least as far as their sexuality is concerned.

So writing Casey was new territory for me. His internalized homophobia drives his character, and his externalized homophobia has had serious results that can’t be shrugged away. I know there will be some readers who can’t stomach him, which is why I’ve given a strong content warning. His level of internalized homophobia may be triggering or may be a subject that a gay person doesn’t want to read about from a straight author, which is fair and every person’s right to decide for themselves.

But I’ve got to say that I’m proud of this work. I felt so strongly for Casey as I was writing him, and I hope you will too. I’ve never been as glad to give someone a happy ending, a happy ending I believe he deserves, despite his past mistakes. He’s been deeply, deeply wounded, and in Aftermath, he gets beautifully healed.

And now I’m done. Please enjoy the third, and definitely final, book in the Ever After series: Aftermath.


Blurb

The Ever After series concludes in Aftermath. Tragedy, redemption, love… Ever After

Once upon a time, Casey flirted with a pretty boy at a bar, and that changed everything. Recently released from jail, he’s starting to rebuild without the family who raised him to hate himself. He’s got a new job, a room at his aunt’s, and community service hours at an LGBTQIA community center. But his biggest challenge is figuring out how to live as the one thing his father and brother drilled into him he could never be: a gay man.

Once upon a time, Brooks was a confident Dom with a particular taste for bigger men. But since his run-in with a dangerous homophobe, he’s lost his touch. Big, buff guys are hot but scary, and hurting people isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

Until he meets Casey, the big guy with the problematic past. Casey’s willing to do anything, but does his submission stem from healthy kink or from an unhealthy need to be punished? And is Brooks doling out release or revenge? Two people who share a past as violent as theirs could never fall in love. Unless, somewhere in the aftermath, there’s forgiveness.

Content warning: internalized homophobia, homophobic language, and references to homophobic hate crimes that have occurred in the past


Bio

Tanya Chris writes feminist-friendly romance in a variety of sub-genres and pairings—most especially M/M—as well as kink-driven erotica under the pen name T. M. Chris. Born on the West Coast and raised on the East Coast, she’s fact-based but thirsty for justice, and her books often include an examination of a current social issue, even when they’re set in the past. As a lifelong genre-hopping reader herself, she admires character-driven work with a message, regardless of the form it takes.

Tanya is an avid rock climber, a long-distance runner, and a participant in her local community theater where she has tackled most roles, including playwright, actor, director, producer, and stage manager. Her travels, both for climbing trips and for cultural exploration, have brought her to places as fascinating as Egypt and as beautiful as the Dolomites, though there’s no place like home.

Tanya is best known to readers for having written Aftercare and to writers for the quote “Writer culture is researching what degree is needed to be a paleontologist so your shapeshifting vampire dinosaur erotica will be authentic.” Her website features dozens of free stories, including the aforementioned (and highly authentic) shapeshifting vampire dinosaur erotica.


Giveaway

Tanya has brought a copy of all three books in the Ever After series to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, July 8th at 11:59 pm ET.


  • 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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