I have Brynn Stein stopping today to talk about her latest, Through the Years. As a fellow "Bittersweet Dreams" writer, I can say these are often the most rewarding writes and reads out there. Don't forget to check out the raffle she has going on through the tour as well!
Blog Tour for Through the Years
Thanks Jessica, for hosting me today. This is the third stop
on blog tour for Through the Years.
On this stop, I thought I’d talk about one of my main
characters, Edward. The story is told first person through Gene’s eyes and he’s
obviously very tolerant of Edward’s quirks. He loves him, after all. And Gene
is satisfied being around Edward in whatever capacity Edward is comfortable
with.
Edward on the other hand? Not so comfortable.
He and Gene meet at college in 1967 and become the best of
friends. Gene stays with Edward and his family over that first summer. They
become roommates the next year. They live in each other’s pockets.
Until Edward realizes he’s having romantic feelings for
Gene.
Edward has grown up in a very strict, churchgoing family and
thoroughly believes that kind of relationship is wrong. I’ll discuss the role
of the church in general in another post. I don’t bash churches. In fact there
is another church in this story that is more what I would term Christian. But,
the sad fact is that there are many churches out there that teach their
children that it’s wrong to be gay and those kids sometimes internalize that.
Edward is one of those ‘kids’. He can’t let himself admit his feelings even to
himself, let alone to Gene, so when they both get drunk just before Edward’s
graduation, and Gene kisses him, Edward bolts.
To the point of leaving town right after graduation and not
speaking to Gene for a while.
Even when they get back together a couple years later,
Edward is not comfortable with his feelings, but Gene is fine with just being
friends and they make their way back to a close relationship.
All sorts of typical ‘life’ things happen to both men over
the next decades. Good and bad. Some of the worse stuff has to do with Edward’s
inability to let go of the concept that it is wrong to love another man. He
eventually works it out, but he struggles with it for a long time. And Gene
struggles with the fallout.
What about you? Do you know people who grew up thinking
their feelings were wrong? Either because of a church upbringing or not. Did
they ultimately make peace with who they were? Writers, how do you portray
realistic homophobia without offending people? Readers, how do you feel about a
few extreme churches being realistically portrayed, as long as it’s clear that
the author does not mean all churches are like that?
Comment below to be entered into the raffle.
Here’s how the raffle
works:
I’ve listed the tour stops below and have given either the
link to the blog in general or to my post specifically. Feel free to stop by as
many as you want. For each stop that you comment on, you will receive one entry
to the giveaway. I’ll check all the stops numerous times throughout the tour
and will draw five winners on Thanksgiving Day, so even if you come in late to
the tour, you can go back through the list and comment on past stops.
I’m giving away five prizes. 1) a signed paperback copy of Through the Years; 2 and 3) electronic
copies of Through the Years, 4) your choice of either a signed
paperback copy or an audiobook of Living
Again (the audiobook won’t be available until December), and 5) an electronic copy of Haunted.
Blog Tour Stops for
Through the Years
Blog Stop
|
Date
|
Blog Owner
|
Blog Address
|
1
|
October 6
|
Anne Barwell
|
|
2
|
October 7
|
Grace Duncan
|
|
3
|
October 8
|
Jessica Skye Davies
|
|
4
|
October 9
|
Shira Anthony
|
|
5
|
October 10
|
Emma Tett
|
|
6
|
October 11
|
Kim Fieldings
|
|
7
|
October 12
|
Bike Books Reviews
|
|
8
|
October 13
|
Tempest O’Riley
|
|
9
|
October 14
|
Sean Michael
|
|
10
|
October 15
|
Allison Cassatta
|
|
11
|
October 16
|
Jana Denardo
|
|
12
|
October 17
|
Louise Lyons
|
|
13
|
October 18
|
PD Singer
|
|
14
|
October 20
|
Shae Connor
|
|
15
|
October 21
|
Suki Fleet
|
|
16
|
October 27
|
Charlie Cochet
|
|
17
|
October 28
|
Elizabeth Noble
|
|
18
|
October 29
|
Tara Lain
|
|
19
|
October 31
|
Sophie Bonaste
|
|
20
|
November 4
|
Kit Moss
|
|
21
|
November 10
|
Lane Hayes
|
|
22
|
November 13
|
Mike Rupured
|
Thanks again Jessica, for letting me stop by today.
Blurb for Through the
Years
Edward and Gene were instantly drawn to each other when they
met at college in Maryland. Fast friends, they developed a "closer than
brothers" relationship. But then Edward began to feel more for Gene. In
1967, those kind of feelings would not be tolerated. Not even by Edward
himself.
Gene always thought he was asexual. He had never been
attracted to anyone... until he met Edward. He dreamed of Edward as more than a
friend throughout college, but he knew Edward would not welcome that kind of
attention. So Gene wasn't surprised when Edward reacted badly to a drunken kiss
just before Edward's graduation. He was surprised when Edward moved to Florida
and had little to do with him for years afterward.
When fate finally brings them back together, Edward is
married and has a little girl. Gene gladly accepts the role of "Uncle
Gene," happy to have Edward in his life in any capacity. Together, they
face all the trials and tribulations life throws at them, including the death
of Edward's wife, and as each grows and matures, their life views change. The
relationship they've secretly wanted all along is closer than ever, and if
Edward can break free from his homophobic upbringing and admit his feelings for
Gene, there might still be a chance for them to share their lives in the way
they both desire.
A
Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of
its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire
against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending,
but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you
to tears.
Brynn Stein has always loved to
write. Fan fiction, original fiction, whatever. While Brynn wrote in numerous
genres – everything from mystery, to contemporary, to supernatural – she had
always tended toward strong male characters. And then she discovered ‘slash’,
male/male romance, and all those strong male characters were finally allowed to
express their love for one another. It seems that there are always at least two
characters clamoring to tell Brynn their story.
Brynn lives in
Virginia with one of her two two-legged children, and two four-legged ones. Her
supportive family encourages her writing and provides a sounding board for
fledgling stories. When she isn’t writing, Brynn teaches children with special
needs. In free time, when such a thing exists, she reads anything she can get
her hands on, and haunts bookstores. She draws and paints, and enjoys the
outdoors—especially if she can get to the beach—and is always thinking about
her next story.
Please feel free to contact Brynn at
any of the following:
or
In my experience, no matter how much you want to explain homosexuality to a homophobic, their beliefs are so tight that they won't listen and they claim I was hurting them emotionally and bashing their christianity. There are others who have listened though and, at least while still in my presence, have demonstrated interest in what I've said. I can only hope that what I said did hit somewhere in their hearts and brains.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
zeoanne@gmail.com
As a reader I think as long as the portrayal of the extreme churches fits the storyline and doesn't refer to all churches or other houses of religion, I am Ok with it. ardent(dot)ereader(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteplease count me in
ReplyDeleteleetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
It's a thorny subject, but there's definitely a scope of experience to examine. As long as it's done thoughtfully, I have no problem with it.
ReplyDeleteTrix, vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com
There are two things I don't like discussing in life. One is politics and the other is religion. I think the two just complicates a persons relationship. Everyone has their belief and I've found that they will fight hard for what they believe in to the point that you just wished you never opened your mouth about your own views on such matter. I don't mind reading about such things though.
ReplyDeletehumhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks everyone. I have your names in the raffle. (HB, I got your for Grace Duncan's site too).
ReplyDeleteI agree with HB. But growing up in the 70's in Houston Texas we had all types of friends and family around. It was probably the mid 70's when we as kids knew the differences in the people around us. But they had been in our lives forever so it wasn't weird for us!
ReplyDeleteWhile having faith and hope is a blessing, many terrible things have been said and done in the name of religion.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely.
DeleteAnd the winners are:
ReplyDeleteJulie Small – Signed copy of Through the Years
HB – electronic copy of Through the Years
Zeoanne – electronic copy of Through the Years
Lee Todd – Signed paperback or audiobook of Living Again
Xena – electronic copy of Haunted
Please send your email address to brynnstein2@gmail and I will get your prize right to you. Winners of electronic copies, it’s easier if you have an account with Dreamspinner so I can just move them to your bookshelf. For signed paperback copies, I need your physical address (you can email it to me so it’s not visible to anyone else, and please let me know if you want me to write anything in particular. Lee Todd, let me know if you’d rather have the signed paperback copy or the audiobook.