So The Rebuilding Year released on Tuesday, and I watched with a mixture of delight and disbelief as it moved up Amazon’s Best Sellers in Gay & Lesbian Genre Fiction. Until around 24 hours after release, it briefly hit #1. Wow.
At that time the book had no reviews on Amazon, although I was deeply appreciative of the two that had come out on Reviews by Jessewave. (So glad that the threatened “dueling reviews” turned out to be both positive.) Still, to move that fast, most people were buying the book based on very little information, simply because I wrote it and they trusted me to give them a good story. That’s… amazing, heartwarming, and a little scary.
I try not to write the same book over and over. So this one is slower, less dramatic, bi-for-you (or gay-for-you) and family oriented. It’s not as much of a mystery as the blurb suggests. (There’s a downside to having a publisher with a professional blurb-writer – I guess they like to emphasize the drama. Although it may well help sales so it has pros as well as cons.) The mystery is a backdrop to the personal story. Hopefully most of the people who buy it will like it and find it worth the read. Inevitably, some won’t. That’s been true of anything I ever wrote – not one book without some two-star reviews. That’s life. (I like remembering that’s true even for The Lord of the Rings.)
It’s a little more salient, though, when people are buying my work based mainly on my previous skills. The desire not to disappoint is sharper, I guess. I am fascinated to see the early reviews, what worked and what didn’t, for readers. (Sometimes it was the same thing, a positive or a negative for two different viewpoints.)
I wanted to just say thanks here, for showing your faith in my writing by grabbing this book so quickly. And for all the thoughtful reviews that are already popping up, that will help other readers decide if this one is for them or not. The readers in this m/m romance community have been wonderful, articulate, and supportive in a way I never expected. As a writer, you guys just blow me away. Thank you.
No, thank YOU for writing such involving stories! 🙂
And you wrote another of those wonderful advance reviews and ran the contest and generally were another reason my book got that kind of notice. Authors, you want folks like Chris around – worth her weight in Kindles 🙂
*blushes*
you are one of the few authors with REAL talent. i enjoyed your work immensely !
And you indeed manage to write smth different : from cops & teachers, to shifters, to gardeners & students , etc… amazing!
please keep it up ! i´m stalking MLR for your next book!
*waves*
The next one’s in formatting – so coming soon. And thanks, although I have found so many good authors in this genre in the last year, I think there is a ton of talent out there. I have half a dozen auto-buy authors myself. Glad you’re putting me among them, though. Now if I can only make the WWII historical short I’m doing for Goodreads work LOL – so much fun to try something else new.
I just finished The rebuilding Year. Wow. I’ve never thought that a “gay for you” setting could work for me, but you blew me away. I loved the fact that the book ended in such an open way, almost like the ending of a short story, so that I can spend some time digesting the book and also imagine how the story goes on. You are, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors. Thank you so much for the great books, I hope you keep them coming.
That’s so nice to hear, that it made intrinsic sense to you. That was one of my goals for this book. I wanted to try to write a realistic story about older guys who hadn’t identified as gay finding each other. I’m delighted it worked for you. For some folks it won’t, but each reader who says that the relationship between John and Ryan feels like it could have been true just delights me, because that was what I was reaching for in writing it.
You’re one of the authors which I have on auto-buy (the others being Josh Lanyon, Heidi Cullinan, Lucius Parhelion, JL Merrow, Damon Suede, Jane Davitt, James Buchanan, and Marshall Thornton). I’ve loved everything you’ve written and am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment of your werewolf series. Just a few days I hope?
I loved The Rebuilding Year. The characters were sympathetic and the plot kept me turning the page. The one thing I didn’t like about it was the whole gay-for-you (or bi-for-you) thing. I just don’t think male sexuality works that way in reality…it’s just not that fluid. That meant to enjoy the book I had to suspend my disbelief. Thankfully the writing was so sublime that this was easy to do and read was fantastic!
Wow, I’m in stunning company there, thank you. You list several of my own auto-buy authors in that group.
The question of how fluid sexuality is is hotly debated. Kinsey thought it was pretty fluid, based on his data and experiences. Some research suggests it may be more fluid for women than for men, with a higher percentage of women reporting emotional relationships with both sexes (as opposed to just sexual encounters.) I guess I like to think that enough people straddle the middle of the Kinsey scale. For them, it’s conceivable that the person matters more than the package, enough to make bi/gay for you work.
But if I could make you believe in my guys even without convincing you of that point, then I am very glad of that too.
I have loved all your books (even the shifter which is so not my genre). I appreciate the family aspects of the story. People have real complex relationships and you did a beautiful job of locating the romance within the context of that reality. So yes I am waiting for your next one (although really waiting for next lessons book) great work.
Life Lessons #3 is just starting editing, so it will be a couple of months (depending on how busy my editor is.) I’m having fun getting back with Mac and Tony though.
Congrats on the reviews and ratings, I plan to start reading “TRY” this weekend, can’t wait!
It’s nice to see your work getting the recognition it deserves…
I just finished this one. Enjoyed it quite a bit. Appealing characters, good family dynamic.
I’ve already read your Life Lessons books. Not a big fan of PNR, but I’ll be checking out more of your contemporary stuff at the very least. Keep up the good work! 🙂
I’m glad you liked it. Paranormals are not everyone’s cup of tea, for sure. But since I love writing contemporaries there will be more of those coming out too.
I just have to say that I am in love with your books. Your stories are so captivating. As a brazilian guy, it is a little hard to get your books here in Brazil. Thanks to Ipads and Kindles for making things easier!!! Congrats for been such a great writer. Cheers from Brazil!
It’s amazing how ebooks are bringing people from around the world together. I’m so glad to meet you and thanks for the encouragement. As a female writer, I especially appreciate when a guy says my stories work for him.
I just finished The Rebuilding Year now–I had to tear myself away at 4am last night, just to get some sleep. I am so anxious to read more of your work! I won’t review it now, but you can expect something nice but objective on goodreads, I’ll be reccomending this to all my friends who read m/m.
On a personal note, I appreciated the mens’ slight struggle with their sexuality. The way I understand bisexuality is there is a whole lot of room between homo- and heterosexual. And your sexuality changes as you grow up–why not go from thinking your heterosexual to being homosexual? It makes sense to me, and to see it portrayed respectfully may turn off some people, but it was admirable.
I also enjoyed how you wrote Cynthia, the Detective and other women–Carstairs especially. It’s refreshing to see women treated as actual characters and not as pure foil or “Omg, she wants to get in my pants? Ugh!” I actually felt like you could have written another novel, pure mystery, about Carstairs going to mexico and finding the culprit.
Thanks for a great read, I’m not a shifter fan–but I may become one soon.
I’m so glad this story worked for you. I do imagine a lot of people as being bi, to one degree or another, but having obvious societal reasons not to explore or even acknowledge their gay side, until they meet someone who changes that for them. Thanks for coming here and commenting – I appreciate it.
Hi, I’m over half way finished with The Rebuilding Year. I’m taking my time because I don’t want it to end! I love GFY themes, especially with older men. Hot, hot, hot…I just finished the first Hidden Wolves, can’t wait to read the second one.
Yay, so glad TRY is working for you. Thanks for stopping by.