Monday, September 28, 2015

Blitz- Catriona’s Curse by A. T. Weaver






What inspired you to become an author?

Reading. After years of reading, I thought to myself, “I think I can do that.” So I tried. When a friend said, “I’d like to read a book where the boy gets the boy and they ride off into the sunset together.” I thought, “Why not try.”

Do you write in different genres?

So far, my books have had gay men as the main characters. However, I have done a bit of paranormal in a shifter story, and Catriona’s Curse deals with reincarnation and Paganism.

If yes which is your favorite genre to write?

I love gay men.

How did you come up with the title for your latest book?

If you mean the book we’re blogging about, the original title was “Sunshine and Granny’s Ghost”. It took a while to come up with “Catriona’s Curse” as both the title of the book and the name of the B&B.

Do you title the book first or wait until after it’s complete?

It varies. For Catriona’s Curse, I came up with a title first. But, after I started the book, I realized the title wouldn’t work, because you can’t have a ghost that’s reincarnated.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I set out to show that gay men are just men. They want what every man wants: love, acceptance, and happiness.

Is the book, characters, or any scenes based on a true life experience, someone you know, or events in your own life?

A lot of my characters are influenced by people I know. For instance, in First Impressions, I tell about a sister who offers to bear the child of her brother’s partner. I knew a couple like that. In See You in the Morning, I tell of a couple in a long-term relationship where one suffers a stroke. That was inspired by a couple at my church – but it turned out happier. The man survived and they got legally married on their 33rd anniversary.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

There are two writers to whom I turn for advice. A. M. Burns and Theo Fenraven. Andy acts as a beta reader and Theo is always available to answer questions.

What books are in your to read pile?

So many I’ll never finish at the rate I’m going.

What is your current “work in progress” or upcoming projects?

Right now I’m working on two projects. One is a sequel to First Impressions Don’t Count about four cousins – nieces and nephews of one of the main characters in First Impressions. The other is a Christmas story.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

It’s been thirteen years since we met the cousins. Lizzie is now divorced and married to a woman. Catherine is married to Lizzie’s ex-husband. Mike is in a polyamorous relationship with two other men. Scott is a drag queen in New York. Grandma wants everyone home for Christmas.

Do you have to travel much to do research for your books?

I wish I could. When I was younger, I loved to travel. Now I rely on Google.

Who designed the cover of your latest book?

Ken Clark designs all of my covers. However the picture of the house for Catriona’s Curse was drawn by Brad Shaw who belongs to my church.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Don’t give up. You may never make a million dollars, but keep at it.
Always enlist the help of a good editor or proof reader.

It’s never too late to start on a dream – I was 60.



Catriona’s Curse
A. T. Weaver

Genre: M/M romance, paranormal, historical, fiction

Date of Publication:  Dec. 2011

ISBN: 1470039168
ASIN: B0060QDEP2

Number of pages: 239
Word Count: 73,600

Cover Artist: Brad Shaw and Ken Clark

Book Description:

Although Sunny Nelson was raised in a dual theology family, he doesn’t really believe in reincarnation nor does Jeff Davis. However, the visions and dreams Sunny keeps having lead them to be regressed where they discover they have at least two past lives together.

With Jeff’s sister April, they discover and attempt to dispel the spell cast by Sunny in one of these past lives. Along the way Sunny and Jeff fall in love. Jeff finds Sunny’s Pagan practices and the idea of reincarnation unsettling at first, but eventually decides to accept them if he wants to be with Sunny.

Available at Amazon   Smashwords

Excerpt:

Boonville, Missouri, June 17, 2009

SUNNY

“Granddad, what have you gotten me into now?” I thought as I drove down the gravel driveway lined with majestic oak and walnut trees toward the one-hundred-fifty-year-old, three-story rock mansion.
My name is Sunshine Nelson, thanks to my hippie parents. Actually my first name is Matthew but, since my dad was Matt, I’ve always been called Sunny. I’m almost thirty-five years old and live in Los Angeles, California. My parents have known for nearly twenty years I’m gay. They aren’t really happy with the fact, but have accepted it.
My father’s father died and left me this house my fourth-great grandfather built just prior to the Civil War. My parents insisted I take a few days off work, fly to Missouri and check out the place. In Mom’s words, “Getting away from California and Dan will help you get over him.” After three months, I thought I was over Dan, but seeing him at Dino’s Restaurant last week with his little bear cub hurt more than it should have. After all, you don’t get over eight years of loving someone overnight.
The sticky humid eighty-five degrees made my mood somewhat touchy. I spent last night in Kansas City with my old college roommate, Jack, and his partner, Bret. When Bret suggested he tag along to keep me company, I had no idea what was in store for me. We hadn’t gone twenty miles before I regretted bringing him along. Over the last two hours I’d endured his unending flirty innuendoes and stories about the sex parties he and Jack throw. I’m not one to indulge in sex just for the sake of sex. I believe in monogamous relationships. I know they’re possible. I have friends who’ve been together over forty years.
Driving toward the house, I noticed newly-broken limbs on a few of the trees, but most of them seemed to be healthy and well trimmed. The yard looked as though it could stand to be mowed, but it wasn’t what I’d call overgrown. I stopped the car about fifty yards from the house and studied it. The house stood just off Rocheport Road about five miles outside of Boonville. Made of native stone, it sat in the middle of an expansive lawn. The long drive formed a semi-circle in front of the house.
A wide flat-roofed veranda held up by huge pillars fronted the house and continued around both sides reminiscent of the southern mansions I’d seen in movies. Except for a few missing shingles on the roof and peeling paint on the wooden veranda, it appeared to be in good repair. A sense of calmness settled over me. I felt like I’d come home from a long trip.
Bret’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “That looks more like a hotel than a private residence; it’s huge.”
His words ignited the glimmer of an idea into my head. I put the car into gear and drove the rest of the way down the drive.
As we got out of the car, Bret asked, “Sunny, do you see a shadow in the window to the right of the door? Your grandma didn’t say anything about the place being haunted, did she?”
I removed my sunglasses and looked up. A female-shaped shadow quickly disappeared. “Not to me. But then, she’s never been here. The only member of the family who ever saw the place was Granddad the year he inherited it from a distant cousin. None of us has been back since and no one has lived in it for twenty years. I’m going to look inside. Watch the steps, they might be rotten.”
Bret fanned himself with his scarf. “I think I’ll wait in the car with the air conditioning on if you don’t mind.”
“Be my guest,” I sighed. “If you weren’t wearing that scarf, you wouldn’t be so hot.”
“You’re just like Jack,” Bret whined. “You don’t know anything about fashion.”
“I prefer comfort to fashion.” I retrieved my camera from the car and took several shots of the grounds before entering the house.
* * *
JEFF

My sister and I were in what everyone called the haunted bedroom when we heard the car pull up. April ran to the window and looked down. “Wow. Dibs on the blond; he’s beautiful.”
I walked up behind her and took a look for myself. The tall blond removed his sunglasses and I felt a déjà vu like stirring deep inside. I knew I’d never seen him before. I’d have remembered. He looked to be a little over six feet tall, athletically built and close to my age. A pair of light blue trousers hung loosely around his legs and a short-sleeved, cream-colored pullover almost the same color of his hair accented his taut abs. Just then a ray of sunlight hit his hair and it shone like silver.
On the other hand, the man who got out of the passenger side was several inches under six feet and stocky with dark hair. His outfit marked him as obviously gay. He wore grey trousers and a coral long-sleeved, button-down shirt. A grey scarf the same shade as his trousers wound around his neck.
“Sorry, sister dear, but judging from his companion you aren’t his type,” I said.
Her voice registered disappointment, “And I suppose you are?”
“More so than you. It seems a shame if he’s taken.”
“I don’t know. They don’t look very well matched if you ask me.” She shrugged, “But there’s no accounting for taste.”

April left the room and I followed.

About the Author:

A. T. Weaver is the pen name of a divorced grandmother of eleven, great-grandmother of one. She lives with her cat, Cleopatra, in downtown Kansas City, MO.

When she was growing up, the word gay meant happy and carefree and homosexuals were called queer or ‘one-of-those’. However, she never heard those terms until she was married and a mother. When two men moved in down the street from their mobile home, her husband had to explain they were queer. As far as she was concerned, they were just a couple of men sharing a trailer.

In 2003, through a TV show called Boy Meets Boy, A.T ‘met’ over 3,000 gay men in a Yahoo group. These men educated her as to the inequalities suffered by the LGBT community and she became a staunch ally. She visited one of the men in San Francisco who lived just up the street from the Castro. As he showed her around, they stopped in front of what was once Harvey Milk’s camera store. Her question, “Who was Harvey Milk?” started her education into Gay history.

A. T.’s aim is to move you in some way. Whether you laugh or cry, love it or hate it, she welcomes all comments, whether good or bad.




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