Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Ron
Kearse and his new book, “Just Outside of Hope”! For other stops on his Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Ron
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Just Outside of Hope
by Ron Kearse
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GENRE: LGBT Fiction
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BLURB:
Just
Outside of Hope,
the sequel to Road Without End, moves through the early years of the
1980s. It takes us from the Canadian Prairies to the pubs, bath houses and nude
beaches of Vancouver, British Columbia.
It is
now September 1980 and ex-Lieutenant Jim Whitelaw is dealing with the guilt he
feels from the fall out of a military tribunal, and lingering family issues
which make things worse. But just as he feels he's getting his life together,
cracks appear once more and he has to make some serious decisions.
Meanwhile,
in a matter of a moment, Jim's friend and sometimes lover Bert Gilhuis, finds
himself trapped in a serious situation that eventually sees him set off on new
adventures in Vancouver.
These
are two more stories in the continuing series of the lives of gay men who lived
through the most exhilarating and terrifying of times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
MAY 1983 – BERT GILHIUS:
Is
this what it feels like when you wake up after sleeping for what seems like
twenty years? It’s been four months since I’ve finished my prison sentence, and
it still feels like the time I’ve spent inside has been some kind of bad dream.
When
I went into prison in September 1981, Calgary was a boomtown where there were
good jobs to be had everywhere. Now here it is May 1983, and as I walk around
town, I see apartment buildings that are almost empty, for sale signs on the
front lawns of houses, and I’m hearing too many stories of people leaving to
get jobs in Toronto. What happened? This drastic change occurred, and I feel
like I was asleep. To top it off, it’s been another frustrating morning at the
Canada Manpower Centre because I’m limited in the jobs I can apply for due to
the criminal record I now possess.
In
spite of all that, it’s late spring, the sun is shining, and I feel okay. After
being confined for eighteen months, I appreciate what a great feeling it is
just to walk down a city side street and enjoy the sun whenever I want to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Some of My Favorite Items in My Office:
As an
author, I get asked all kinds of questions about pretty much every facet of the
writing and publishing process. I get asked things like, where do I get my
inspiration? How do I come up with the characters? Or even, how do I
cope with writer’s block? But sometimes people will ask me things like: what
kind of items do you like to have in your office when you write?
Well,
I don’t have an office, more like a small corner in our living room. Even though my writing space is compact, I
manage to cram, (and I do mean cram), a lot of things in that corner. Things
like: A small pile of copies of my first novel Road Without End, some
small electronic equipment, a small box of memory sticks, and a large tile on
my desk on which to set my morning coffee. There are some things that I like to
have around me while I write. For example, Yoda and a Dalek!
As
far as I’m concerned, Yoda and the Dalek are the personifications of Yin and
Yang, Black and White, Good and Evil, and it’s just fun to be able to look up
and see them both there in front of me. Yoda looks like he’s rolling his eyes
because the Dalek won’t shut up. (For those who aren’t familiar with them, The
Daleks are the bad guys in the Dr. Who TV series).
My
partner and I always like to have music playing. Sometimes I like to go to
other places to write, especially when the weather is nice. I have my little
speakers sitting within easy reach so I can take them with me anywhere I’d like
to write. Generally, Jazz music, or Brian Eno-type of atmospheric music both
seem to really agree with me as I write. But sometimes when I’m writing
something about a specific time or place, I’ll listen to the music that was
popular at the time the stories were set, or music from the area where the
action takes place. For example, my novel Just Outside of Hope is set in
the years 1980 and 1983, so while I was writing it I was listening to the top
100 songs of both of those years. The music helps me to get a feel for the
times that I write about, and of course, many of those songs take me back to
when I was in my early/mid-twenties. Inspiration and memory trips all at the
same time, gotta love it.
I
love art and I like lots of art on the walls. In my writing corner, I have this
big, beautiful painting of a town here in British Columbia called Crescent
Beach, painted by my friend Gord Snyder.
Now
we come to the crowning glory! The next photo is Monsieur Goat. He is the
overlord of my creative space. He oversees the creative process from his perch
high atop a leather, steampunk top hat of mine. He will nod his head and smile
when I’ve written something profound, or something just perfect for the scene
I’m describing.
On
the other hand, if I make a mistake or get lazy, he’ll give me a blast with
that confounded horn he has in his hand. He’s the one that reminds me that I
should be doing some kind of writing every day. Even if it’s just rough notes,
I should be getting something down on paper every day.
I
feel blessed and grateful to be able to do what I love in my retirement years,
and that is to tell stories. I’ll be telling many more stories yet, especially
if Monsieur Goat has anything to do with it.
Ron Kearse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Ron Kearse lists
travelling, photography, art, reading and history as his main sources of
inspiration.
An
artist, broadcaster, actor and writer, Ron has a colourful and varied work
resumé.
Having
lived a nomadic life, Ron has finally settled in Victoria, BC where he lives
with his partner James Howard.
Just
Outside of Hope is the second installment in the Road Without End Trilogy, he
has also published a photo book of Vancouver Street Art in the mid-1980s called
Lost History.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH RON:
Website:
Email:
rwkearse@gmail.com
Phone Number:
(250)
208-6227
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon US Hardcover:
Amazon CA Paperback:
Amazon CA Hardcover:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Hardcover:
The Book Depository Paperback:
The Book Depository Hardcover:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Hardcover:
Indigo CA Paperback:
Kobo eBook:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Ron will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a
randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Ron ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for both the book description and giveaway as well. I enjoy hearing about another good book.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
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ReplyDeleteGreat post and I love the cover! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete