The Gospel According to Cher and a Giveaway!

As part of the Next Big Thing Blog Hop, I'm here to chat about my new WIP, the second in the Cupid Knows Best franchise. There’s a nasty word, franchise, but this is not really a series. This second book is nothing like the first book in the Cupid realm, entitled, spiffily enough, Cupid Knows Best.

There’s no first POV in this book. Amazing how certain readers despise first person point of view. It makes them break out in hives. When I first started I made the decision to switch to the third POV because this book demanded I burrow into more than one character’s perspective, much like a mental pilot.

In the comments section, let me know your favorite song. One lucky person will win an ebook of Cupid Knows Best.

Time for the TEN questions!

What is the working title of your book?

The Gospel According to Cher. Her song “Believe” plays a huge part in the story.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

As I developed the secondary character Hindy from Cupid Knows Best, I wanted to know more and more about the diva gallery-owner. I gave Hindy a tragic yet weirdly funny love life. This book piles more trauma and drama on the devastated diva until Hindy meets lovelorn Patrice. Patrice is a character I kept dreaming about last year. He’s a frightened drag queen with a heartbreaking romantic past who really needs someone to take care of him, to protect him. The romantically-bruised Hindy does not seem like he can handle the huge task until Cupid steps in to maneuver the pair together.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s a comedic gay male romance with vaguely supernatural spice.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

What a tough question. Handsome Daniel Henney is a great choice for Patrice. He’s a little older than Patrice, but he’s half-Korean, half-Irish which is the perfect blend.

Here’s some pics of him. Cute, right? I think he’d look lovely sporting tiny braids.

Daniel Henney photos

Hindy, ahhh, dear, diva Hindy. I need a sexy, commanding man who can flash-freeze someone with a look but who also succumbs to tears when his romances fail. I know Michael Fassbinder seems to be in everything, but he has the right look for Hindy. He’s also the perfect age.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?

Really? Ha, I imagine the words being said in the big movie announcer voice, like “In a world torn by turmoil…” yep, that voice. Eeee, well, here goes!

When Cupid brings together a dramatic diva and a drag queen together in the wilds of the Adirondack mountains, who will end up wearing the spike heels in the relationship?

Yeah, what a sucky sentence. I’m not much for one sentences zingers.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I plan to offer the novel to Dreamspinner in February. How’s that for putting the cart before the horse. Is the correct cliché?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I wrote most of the story during National Novel Writing Month, or, in shorthand, NaNoWriMo, from November 1^st to November 21^st. I’m finishing the first read through now. Major editing will take place in January.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre.

Cupid Knows Best or my other comedy An Elf for All Centuries. I haven’t read a book like this in the m/m genre which probably means it’s doomed. There's no cops, firemen, cowboys, or shifters.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Like I said, a demanding secondary character and a dream. The combination works for me!

What else about your book might interest the reader?

Hindy and Patrice should not click together. When they grow to understand each other, they realize how much they need each other. As in any good romance, ugly forces conspire to drive them apart, but Cupid, a mystical romance Moose named Big Floyd, Nate Jennings, the FBI profiler turned B&B owner and other characters help Hindy and Patrice’s romance blossom.

Here’s a little unedited excerpt:

Doors slammed shut. Sunglasses assumed positions atop nose bridges. Black hair shook back from high cheekbones. Hindy felt like a fighter pilot ticking off the take-off countdown. They prepared to enter romantic orbit.

Cupid rested on Esmeralda's black dashboard like a spiritual GSP system. The silver lip base shot wobbly sparkles across the interior. Hindy started Esmeralda, revved and roared from the parking lot.

Patrice raised his arms in the air. “Whooo-hoooo! I am outta here!” He almost stood in glee. Good thing Hindy had Esmeralda's top down.

Gleeful laughter seemed like the proper response. Laughter felt fine. Hindy crested the hill into the— fuck no. He slammed on the brakes. The car skewed to the right. Cupid slid down the dashboard until the windshield trapped his blond curls.

Patrice bounced up and down in manic glee. “Big Floyd! Holy cow, its Big Floyd!” His bouncing threatened Esmeralda’s delicate suspension.

Cow? Not the correct way to describe the lumbering beast. Hindy stared in epic disbelief. This could not be happening to him again. Hindy blinked. Hard. The huge animal’s mild brown eyes regarded him in disquieting intelligence. He suffered the damned phantom moose again?

Despite his trapped position between the windshield and dash board, Cupid started twirling. Cher belted out “Believe.”

Big Floyd swayed his antlers from side to side. The men watched as he high stepped around the car shaking his antlers to the throbbing beat. Once he performed a complete revolution, the hairy creature threw back his head and released a braying hoot.

Big Floyd’s head swooped down toward the ecstatic Patrice. He released another hoot. Patrice clapped in delight. The moose turned, shook his tail, and stepped into the pine forest.

Before he disappeared into the old trees, a silver shimmer surrounded his powerful body. Another raw hoot echoed through the foliage before Big Floyd’s tail flickered and vanished through thick pine growth. The strong sunrays illuminated the little dust motes swirling around the pine needles.

Cupid ceased wobbling around. Only birdsong and the creaking of Esmeralda’s springs filled the warm air. Hindy blinked for the fiftieth time.

Patrice’s goose honk laughter snapped Hindy from his stunned panic. He stared at his thrilled lover. Bouncing in joy suited Patrice. “Patrice, you did see what I just saw, correct?”

“Indeed I did, Spike! We have Big Floyd’s double supreme blessing! Whooo-hooo!” Patrice lunged forward to kiss Hindy before he hoisted Cupid into the air. A few glitter flakes drifted to rest on his shoulders. “Floor it, lover! Let’s go to my new home! New York City, here I come to cum!”

Hindy pressed the gas pedal to the floor.

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Thanks for dropping by. Please comment! I’ll pick a winner on December 26^th.

On December 26^th, make sure you hop to these blogs to keep the “Next Big Thing” Blog Hop going strong!

Diane Adams:

http://dianeadams500.blogspot.com/

Augusta Li and Eon de Beaumont

http://www.booksbyeonandgus.com/

Elizabeth Noble:

http://www.elizabeth-noble.com/blog-hop.html