‘Regina’ by Adesanya
Her name is Queen by definition, and she wears her dreads – dreads she spent half of her life growing – atop her head as her crown. Her name is Regina, and as romance sweeps through the wintry air with promises of Saint Valentine and Cupid’s mighty arrow, she finds herself entangled with a handsome man who knows all the right things to say. As a love affair blooms and romance comes into full blossom, Regina and Clive seem like a match made in Heaven. But is Regina really the woman that Clive believes her to be, or will a dark secret put an end to their cold-weathered fling?
‘All I Want is to be Happy’ by Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe
Michael is feeling down over his life. He works two jobs, has four roommates, can’t afford a car, and he’s as single as they come. Worse yet, after winning the crown at a local drag competition, he begins comparing himself to his nemesis – Madame Vivian, whom he stole the crown from. Now, as a popular author and a missing wallet come into his life, Michael finds himself on a series of misadventures that will either help him see the silver lining of life or drive him further into his self-despair.
‘On Bended Knee’ by Anarie Brady
As the Greek goddess of Springtime and the queen of the underworld, Kora divides her time equally between her husband, sweet and gentle Aides, god of Hades and her dominant, Grant, a.k.a. Grannus, Celtic god of salt water and spa. This arrangement suited all three of them perfectly for years. However, when Hecate, Kora’s handmaiden and supposed best friend decides she’d make a better paramour for Aides, things could change drastically for everyone.
‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ by Jae El Foster
An infection is spreading throughout the town, and it has made its way to the countryside where a party of high school seniors is underway. When the infection spreads through the party in a most savage way, Bethany and Tommy must flee for their lives before they too are either eaten like their friends or they become a part of the living dead. Will sheer determination and the love that bonds their teenage romance be enough to keep them alive, or will they face a fate that is much worse than death?
Behind the scenes of
You Don’t Eat People You Love by Jae El Foster
It’s so awesome to be back at Romance Novel Giveaways! Thanks for having me again!
I hope I don’t chat your ear off on this one because ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ is one of my favorite things to discuss right now.
Queens of Hearts was an opportunity to highlight some fresh faces of our DCL Publications family and incorporate them with Anarie Brady and myself in an anthology that showcases love and romance in whole new and unexpected lights. Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe brought a fantastic story about a drag queen in peril, offering some great romantic comedy to the readers. Adesanya gave us her very first DCL entry with a story that blends romance with darkness in a way that I thoroughly love. Anarie Brady led us into the world of lust and sexuality with a tale of Greek Gods and their delicious desires.
I was writing a story called A Heart Unfrozen for the anthology, which the reader will notice is not in the anthology. That is, to be honest, the most trying story I’d ever tried to write. It was about a bitter Queen, who earned her crown after slaughtering her father, who had slaughtered her prince on the evening before. The Queen, heart-broken and pained by losing her prince, forbade love to exist in her kingdom and would cut out the hearts of anyone caught professing true love for another villager.
That was as far as I got, and trust me, getting that far was a challenge for some bloody reason that I’ll never understand. Perhaps, one day, that muse will return to me, but scrapping the story paved the way for me to write what has become one of my favorite things that I’ve ever written – ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love.’
‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ is essentially a teenage zombie romance. It focuses on Bethany – Queen of her school’s Valentine’s Ball – and Tommy, her dreamy boyfriend. The two are madly in love with one another, as most teenage relationships seem to go, but that love is put to the test when a zombie outbreak occurs at their after party.
I didn’t want to write a standard zombie story – like a Night of the Living Dead or a 28 Days Later. While those are brilliantly woven stories, those premises have been done and, to a degree, they have been overdone.
The challenge with any writing project is to be as original as one can, and so I decided to explore a different side of the zombie myth with this tale. A few pages into it, the reader will learn that Bethany gets infected. While that is a spoiler, it’s an early one and one that I have to share here in order to explain my original twist. ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ focuses more on what happens to Bethany as the transformation of living, breathing human into a zombie occurs. It explains the state of mind and internal conflicts and transformation of a zombie in ways I’ve personally never seen before, and it shows the human fight and will to live – and love – as Bethany and Tommy try to survive the zombie apocalypse without her eating him.
Another thing I didn’t want to do was make this story so intensely serious that it overshadowed Bethany and Tommy’s love for one another. I had to remember – it supposed to be a story about love and teenagers, and what’s funnier than love and teenagers? So, I wrote out this beautiful but eerie story, which became my first ever piece of Romantic Comedy Horror. I don’t even know if that’s a genre… but if it wasn’t, it sure is now.
If you’re seeking romance and excitement, don’t let the zombie theme of ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ throw you off. It’s a quirky, fun story that defines the great lengths of love in ways that will bring a smile to most any reader.
Thank you again to Romance Novel Giveaways for hosting me! Thanks also to those who have visited today. Please… if you have any questions for me regarding ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ and Queens of Hearts, ask away! My thanks also goes to Goddess Fish Promotions and DCL Publications for making this tour possible, and to my co-authors Adesanya, Anarie, and Jennifer, our fabulous editor Jean, and our stunning cover model CJ for helping make this anthology come together and become one of the best books I’ve ever been a part of.
I hope I don’t chat your ear off on this one because ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ is one of my favorite things to discuss right now.
Queens of Hearts was an opportunity to highlight some fresh faces of our DCL Publications family and incorporate them with Anarie Brady and myself in an anthology that showcases love and romance in whole new and unexpected lights. Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe brought a fantastic story about a drag queen in peril, offering some great romantic comedy to the readers. Adesanya gave us her very first DCL entry with a story that blends romance with darkness in a way that I thoroughly love. Anarie Brady led us into the world of lust and sexuality with a tale of Greek Gods and their delicious desires.
I was writing a story called A Heart Unfrozen for the anthology, which the reader will notice is not in the anthology. That is, to be honest, the most trying story I’d ever tried to write. It was about a bitter Queen, who earned her crown after slaughtering her father, who had slaughtered her prince on the evening before. The Queen, heart-broken and pained by losing her prince, forbade love to exist in her kingdom and would cut out the hearts of anyone caught professing true love for another villager.
That was as far as I got, and trust me, getting that far was a challenge for some bloody reason that I’ll never understand. Perhaps, one day, that muse will return to me, but scrapping the story paved the way for me to write what has become one of my favorite things that I’ve ever written – ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love.’
‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ is essentially a teenage zombie romance. It focuses on Bethany – Queen of her school’s Valentine’s Ball – and Tommy, her dreamy boyfriend. The two are madly in love with one another, as most teenage relationships seem to go, but that love is put to the test when a zombie outbreak occurs at their after party.
I didn’t want to write a standard zombie story – like a Night of the Living Dead or a 28 Days Later. While those are brilliantly woven stories, those premises have been done and, to a degree, they have been overdone.
The challenge with any writing project is to be as original as one can, and so I decided to explore a different side of the zombie myth with this tale. A few pages into it, the reader will learn that Bethany gets infected. While that is a spoiler, it’s an early one and one that I have to share here in order to explain my original twist. ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ focuses more on what happens to Bethany as the transformation of living, breathing human into a zombie occurs. It explains the state of mind and internal conflicts and transformation of a zombie in ways I’ve personally never seen before, and it shows the human fight and will to live – and love – as Bethany and Tommy try to survive the zombie apocalypse without her eating him.
Another thing I didn’t want to do was make this story so intensely serious that it overshadowed Bethany and Tommy’s love for one another. I had to remember – it supposed to be a story about love and teenagers, and what’s funnier than love and teenagers? So, I wrote out this beautiful but eerie story, which became my first ever piece of Romantic Comedy Horror. I don’t even know if that’s a genre… but if it wasn’t, it sure is now.
If you’re seeking romance and excitement, don’t let the zombie theme of ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ throw you off. It’s a quirky, fun story that defines the great lengths of love in ways that will bring a smile to most any reader.
Thank you again to Romance Novel Giveaways for hosting me! Thanks also to those who have visited today. Please… if you have any questions for me regarding ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ and Queens of Hearts, ask away! My thanks also goes to Goddess Fish Promotions and DCL Publications for making this tour possible, and to my co-authors Adesanya, Anarie, and Jennifer, our fabulous editor Jean, and our stunning cover model CJ for helping make this anthology come together and become one of the best books I’ve ever been a part of.
from You Don’t Eat People You Love by Jae El Foster
That thing – that hideous, terrifying being – inside of her house… what was it? She was baffled. It had looked just like a person when it arrived. Someone let it in, believing it to be just another guest. But then… then it went rampant. With the loud music and the celebrating voices to accompany, no one noticed at first. They had all been dancing or drinking… making out, or more. Then, there were screams that blended with the music, blood splattering that blended with the punch, and the deaths of nearly twenty Deerborne High School seniors – a massacre on Saint Valentine’s Day.
Bethany wanted to scream. She knew that she needed to. A scream would be a release, and she was desperate for a release of any sort. She could not unsee everything that she had witnessed. It was burned into her brain and forever etched into her memory.
She had left her home and the carnage within to find help… to stay alive. But Tommy… Tommy was in there, and she didn’t know for sure if he’d been eaten. There was still a chance that he was alive, and it was that chance that – at least for the moment – kept her from further fleeing the scene. Taking a deep but nervous breath, she prepared herself to return to the house and rescue her boyfriend.
Bethany wanted to scream. She knew that she needed to. A scream would be a release, and she was desperate for a release of any sort. She could not unsee everything that she had witnessed. It was burned into her brain and forever etched into her memory.
She had left her home and the carnage within to find help… to stay alive. But Tommy… Tommy was in there, and she didn’t know for sure if he’d been eaten. There was still a chance that he was alive, and it was that chance that – at least for the moment – kept her from further fleeing the scene. Taking a deep but nervous breath, she prepared herself to return to the house and rescue her boyfriend.
Anarie Brady
Jae El Foster
Jennifer Patricia O'Keefe
Adesanya
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Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, James! Happy Spring to you! :)
DeleteThis sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sue, and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThank you for hosting our DCL authors! Good luck to all that have entered!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe follow link used here for twitter also goes to an old account of mine that was hacked. Please follow me at @jaeelbooks - as I can no longer access the hacked account.
ReplyDeleteI am SO sorry about that! I corrected the error!
Deletelol It's quite okay. I do like the title you used and it may have been psychic as that was just about verbatim the title I originally had for it before changing it to the current title. See - ya managed to get even more little known facts outta me. :) :) Thanks again for the spotlight! :)
DeleteSounds like an awesome anthology!
ReplyDeleteI had more fun working on this one than any other anthology. After reading everyone else's inclusions, I was glad I signed on for it. All four stories are so different and really great!
DeleteI like the cover
ReplyDeleteThank you! CJ Hollenbach is the model for this one. He's a terrific guy with a gaze that just won't quit.
Deletethanks for hosting, good luck with the book
ReplyDeleteI appreciate it, Wendy! Thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteWOW this looks amazing, love the cover and the title.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! This was a very fun anthology to work on. The four of us worked hard to create four very unique stories with interesting takes on the definition of 'Queen.'
DeleteThe cover definitely caught my eye. Im looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shannon! That's CJ Hollenbach gracing our cover. Enjoy the book and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteSounds great!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Leonie, and thanks for swinging by!
DeleteThat cover is ridiculous! Looking forward to reading these stories.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I got to do the cover design on this one, and I must say, CJ Hollenbach is a good one to design around. :D Enjoy the book!
DeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Victoria! I hope you're enjoying some beautiful spring weather!
DeleteThank you again for hosting me this week! You're always at the top of my VBT wish list of stops! Thanks also to everyone who stopped by! I really hope you all get the chance to grab a copy of 'Queens of Hearts' and give it a good read. It's one of my favorite things that I've been a part of so far, and I've been in this business for a long time, so that's saying something. Thanks to everyone that had a hand in making this VBT possible also, including DCL Publications and Goddess Fish, my co-authors Adesanya, Anarie Brady, and Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe, the fabulous editor that had to deal with us all Jean Watkins, and our beloved Golden Lord CJ Hollenbach who graces our cover.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have enjoyed following this tour and look forward to checking out this box set!
ReplyDeleteHi Ally! Good to see you! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the book!! :) :)
Delete