Guest Post: Hawthorne Manor by Bryan T. Clark

Today I am so pleased to welcome Bryan T. Clark to Joyfully Jay. Bryan has come to talk to us about his latest release, Hawthorne Manor. Please join me in giving him a big welcome!

The only thing that excites me more than spring is the release of Hawthorne Manor. This story is a humorous exploration of the foibles of aging and the beauty that exists in a found family. The book is filled with witty banter and eccentric characters and yet addresses important issues about family, life, acceptance, understanding, and unconditional love. The heart of the book is a topic that is deeply personal to me—autism.

I have a niece and nephew who are on the autism spectrum. They are incredibly beautiful people who have endured more than they should have to. I witnessed their struggles as teenagers. They are survivors, thriving in a world that doesn’t always understand them. So, when Elliot and Mikael came to me in my sleep, asking me to tell their story, I couldn’t say no.

Hawthorne Manor is a story with which everyone will resonate. We all have imprints from early childhood. As a young boy and throughout my teens, I was teased and bullied because of my skin color. In the book, Elliot is teased and bullied in school for being on the spectrum.

Mikael is an amazing person and a compassionate nurse. He acts as a caregiver and nurturer, an innate quality that comes with a price. My husband is an excellent ICU nurse, and I drew from his many years of work—from patient care to family care to his own self-care and discovery of who he is and why. When you witness a caregiver in action, it’s pretty amazing how they are wired.

Mr. Hawthorne plays an important role in this book as well. Ageism is a real discrimination in this world that no one seems to want to talk about. Society places beauty and youth on a pedestal. Ageism is extremely prevalent in the LGBTQ+ community. The older a person gets, the more invisible they become. Mr. Hawthorne is eighty-eight years old, and Elliot and Mikael are in their early twenties. When we can look past someone’s age, we will see their relevance and gift of wisdom.

One of the differences in my characters that ultimately sets them apart from characters in other books is that they are like you and me. They hurt and feel pain the same as we do. They love deeply and—most importantly—they are flawed.

The core of the plot is not just a beautiful love story but a sense of realism that allows readers to escape their lives as they are reading.

Hawthorne Manor is about finding your place in the world and connecting with people who understand the core of who you are. We don’t get to choose the family we’re born into, but we do get to choose the family we find—our “found family”.

In Hawthorne Manor, a found family forms for everyone. It’s an amazing place to be.

Blurb

Mikael Ferreira seems to have it all—a great career, looks, intelligence, and charm to boot. But his work as a full-time caregiver at Hawthorne Manor barely leaves him time to breathe, let alone date. Then a new employee arrives at the manor and makes Mikael question whether he’s been living at all or merely existing…

Elliot Olsson is Mikael’s polar opposite. Elliot’s autism has always made him feel isolated. Until now. Mikael truly sees him in a way no one ever has. Elliot wants to open his heart to Mikael and connect with him on a deeper level. But wanting won’t make it any easier to overcome the obstacles Elliot knows they’ll face as a couple…

As Mikael and Elliot’s story is beginning, eighty-eight-year-old Walter Hawthorne’s is coming to an end. But while his health is fading, his mind is sharp as ever—and he has a thing or two to share about life, intimacy, and love with the two young men who seem to know nothing about any of it…

Hawthorne Manor, a contemporary LGBTQ+ romantic novel, is an exploration of the foibles of aging, friendship, love, and the beauty that can exist in a found family. It features a house full of eccentric characters, witty banter, and a deeply emotional M/M romance. HEA guaranteed. Download today, and welcome to Hawthorne Manor.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/HawthorneManor

Bio

Bryan T. Clark is a multi-published award-winning author of gay romance, and contemporary books. In his early in life, Bryan learned that he was different from everyone else in his world. As a young African American boy, he was the second to the youngest of seven children. Long before hormones kicked in and the realization of same sex attraction, it was his light skin and blond hair that made him different from those around him. Teased within his own race for being lighter than everyone else, the kids on the playground called him “Cornbread”.

As a writer, Bryan has taken back the power once given up to those schoolyard bullies. He is committed to bringing his readers stories of real life, with multicultural characters, riveting plots, and where the underdog always wins. He is the founder of Cornbread Publishing: the name empowers him and is a constant reminder that life can have a Happily-Ever-After.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Bryan and his husband of thirty-six years has made their home and life in the Central Valley of California.