Today I am so pleased to welcome Kate Hawthorne to Joyfully Jay. Kate has come to talk to us about her release, Dreams. She has also brought along an exclusive excerpt and a copy to give away. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Kate has written some questions and answers to share with us today!

Tell us about your new release, Dreams.

Dreams is a bit of a wild one. It’s a jump from what readers have come to expect from me, but I think it’s a nice change of pace. Dreams is written in a single POV, so the whole story is told from Jackson’s point of view, and he’s a bit of an unreliable narrator because he can’t tell what is real and what is a dream. That said, Jackson and Taylor are undoubtedly soul mates, it just takes a bit of magic to get them together. There’s an HEA, I promise.

What inspired this story? It’s such a deviation from your normal books.

I know, right? LOL. The idea started as something completely different than what I ended up writing. I had this idea of one character knowing the other was his soul mate, but every way I talked through it came up with a creepy kind of power imbalance that felt wrong to me. I realized I was over thinking it and forced myself to sit down and start writing. The first thee chapters were super easy, and then I got to work my way back around, picking out things that were real and what was a dream.

What was your favorite part about writing Dreams?

I’m a total pantser, which means what happens next in the book is as much as a surprise to me as it is to the reader, but that was taken to a whole new level with this book. I really loved the nuance this story allowed me that I can’t get in contemporary books. There’s things that exist in Jackson’s dreams AND his reality, but they’re presented differently depending on if he’s asleep or awake. I wonder if readers will catch on!! All in all, it was so much fun and a lot like writing my paranormal romance, A Thousand Lifetimes, because I got to twist and bend the rules a little more than normal.

Should we expect more magical books in the future?

Definitely not! Well, maybe one. Dreams had always existed as the first part of a duet in my head, but the second book was a bit rough to come back to. I didn’t want to wait to release Dreams any longer (it’s been ready for almost a year), so I decided to split them up and get this one out there. After this story, it’s back to kinky angst for me unless Jackson’s best friend Darren demands his turn.

What are you working on next if it’s not a follow up to this?

I have a duet planned for early 2021 that follows two best friends as they accidentally find love (not with each other!). The first book is a fake date plus one bed, and we all know how that goes, and the second story is a sweet little book nerd falling for a very confused and probably bi-sexual business man. More to follow early next year about those books. I’m very excited to share those stories.

Back to Dreams. Does this book have a playlist or any other inspiration?

It does! And oddly enough, the song that inspired the whole idea in the first place isn’t on it. You can give a listen here – https://spoti.fi/3pfc2q4


Excerpt

Taylor tugged him forward and let Jackson lead the final few feet. The building, a cabin maybe, had a door with a latch on it, and Jackson flipped it open. The door swung outward, and he stepped back to avoid getting hit. Taylor’s arms came up behind him, his fingers curling around Jackson’s sides to hold him steady.

“Careful there.” Taylor’s breath was hot against his ear and Jackson didn’t want to move. “Go take a look.”

Jackson forced himself forward, ducking to make it through the short doorway. The shed was a fort. Or, it had been a fort at some point. There was a faded and torn couch against the back wall, a stack of folded quilts stacked on the back of it, a pile of magazines on the floor, and a cut out on one side, serving as a window.

“What is this place?” Jackson asked, turning in time to see Taylor latch the door closed from the inside.

“I told you.”

“Are you going to murder me here?”

Taylor barked out a laugh and leaned back against the door, folding his arms over his chest.

“Do I look like the murdering type?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about you and you’ve brought me to this abandoned shed in the woods.”

“It’s not abandoned,” Taylor corrected. “And you know plenty about me. You know that I smoke. You know where I work.”

“That’s hardly plenty.”

Taylor shrugged and pushed off the door. He walked past Jackson and grabbed one of the blankets. He fanned it out over the exposed couch cushions, then sat down and patted the space beside him, indicating he wanted Jackson to join him.

“You could be a murderer too, you know,” Taylor informed him. “All I know is your birthday and that your mother is dead.”

“I’m not a murderer,” Jackson whispered.

“Then we’ll need to trust each other, won’t we?”


Blurb

Jackson Bishop doesn’t know what’s real.

He had a birthday. He met a man. He buried his mother. He got lost in the woods, and then…

Jackson woke up.

It’s his birthday again and his mother is alive, but the man from his dream is selling him a coffee and he doesn’t know Jackson’s name. Fragments of his memories become tangible threads of his reality and, as the days and nights unravel, Jackson finds himself falling for a stranger he feels like he’s known his whole life.

Jackson needs to uncover the truth before he loses his mind, but when he pieces everything together, will he come out with a soul mate by his side or will he wake up and discover none of it was real? That everything ended much as it had started.

As a dream.

Dreams is a 55,000 word romance, filled with a hint of magic, the promise of true love, and a very solid, very real, happy ending.


Bio

Born and raised in Southern California, Kate Hawthorne woke up one day and realized she had stories worth sharing. Now existing on a steady diet of wine and coffee, Kate writes stories about complicated men in love that are sometimes dirty, but always sweet. She enjoys crafting hard-fought and well deserved happy endings with just the right amount of angst and kink.




Giveaway

Kate has brought a copy of Dreams sent to the Kindle of one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, December 14th 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.
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  • 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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