Well, it’s that time again . . . Anne Tenino Blog Tour Time!!!
This tour is in celebration of my July 22 release from Riptide, Sweet Young Thang. This book is the third (but not the last) in my Theta Alpha Gamma series. As is usual for the blog tour, I’ll be giving something away, but what’s unusual (for me) is that this year, what I’m giving away is a mystery. To me. In other words, I’m going to offer the winner their choice of a number of items, like signed copies of my print books, or possibly a crocheted to order phallus, or even a different handmade item—I have a few things in mind . . .
So, how do you win? Well, it’s simpler this year. There will be one question and one question only about Sweet Young Thang, but you have to find the question somewhere on this tour. I’ll be announcing just before the tour where each post will be, so make sure you check in if you want to win.
Okay, enough housekeeping, on with the tour!
(Not Quite) Insta-love
Insta-love. It’s an interesting trope, usually associated with shifters and vampires. The vamp/shifter sees/smells his/her mate and ta-dah! They bond—a ritual usually involving blood, biting and sex.
In Sweet Young Thang, Collin and Eric are not vampires or shifters, nor are they any other sort of paranormal creature. They’re just a couple of regular dudes who meet. And yet, there’s (nearly) insta-love on Eric’s part.
Why, you ask? Because I read an article about how much more easily men fall in love, overall. (For a quick overview, check this out: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/02/620009707/1#.UeNcehbpzlI) It’s not exactly a secret that men are susceptible to visual sex cues. The highly lucrative porn industry trades entirely on that single trait (and it’s definitely visual stimulation, because if you’ve ever watched porn you know it’s not the dialogue that’s doing it).
Now I’ll tell you my dirty little secret: I love insta-love. It’s so secure, isn’t it? Destined mates who are perfect for each other and capable of meeting each other’s needs instinctively. However, I live in the real world, and I know that’s an utter fantasy (it was a very black day when I figured that one out). I could even go on to claim it’s a harmful fantasy, I suppose, and talk about how some people think insta-love is reality, and expect these perfect, soul-bond relationships.
I won’t bore you with that, though. I’d rather talk about Eric, and how he feels about Collin, and how quickly he figures it out. The thing is, he’s been around the block a time or two, and he knows what true love isn’t. He quickly moves from feeling a deep connection to Collin to knowing Collin is The One.
Collin, on the other hand, hasn’t had any relationship experience, and while he knows this is different than anything he’s felt before and he wants to be with Eric, he’s freaked out because how will he even recognize love when it comes along? What if love isn’t wearing what he expected it to wear? What I’m saying is, the boy is naturally cautious.
Let me show you just how cautious by excerpting a short scene from the book. It’s their first night together, and Eric is realizing just how serious he is about Collin:
About a minute into his conversation with Collin that morning, Eric had decided he wanted a lot more than sex with him. If it had been all about physical attraction, he probably would have shrugged it off, figuring if they ran into each other again, it was fate. But something told him it could be more, and that’s why he’d hunted Collin down at the Slaughterhouse.
He hadn’t been prepared for this kind of connection though, not this fast. It hadn’t been this way when he’d met Jay, let alone any other guy he’d dated in the past.
He’d definitely never gotten out of a warm bed at 2 a.m. to make spaghetti when any of his previous boyfriends had asked if he had a granola bar or some other snack. He threw on sweats while Collin tried to talk him out of it.
“It’s not a big deal. I’m not that hungry.” Collin’s stomach growled, and Eric laughed before heading downstairs.
Collin followed him, stealing a blanket from the foot of Eric’s bed. “Really, a granola bar or, like, toast, is fine.”
“It’s okay, I’m hungry too.” Eric paused halfway down the steps to turn around and kiss Collin. Another thing he doubted he’d ever done. “I’m just going to reheat leftover noodles and open a jar of sauce.”
Collin’s fingers massaged the nape of Eric’s neck. “Let me help you.”
“It’s freezing down there, and all you have on is this.” Eric reached out to touch the blanket to illustrate, but somehow he ended up with his hands all over Collin’s ass. They’d spent a lot of time there already, they knew they liked hanging out in that neighborhood.
Collin raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want me half-naked in your kitchen?”
“I like the idea of you fully naked, waiting for me in my bed, much better.”
Collin chewed on his lip a second. “Do you do this regularly? Pick up guys at the bar, fuck them silly, and make them midnight snacks?”
He pulled Collin closer and kissed his chin, then his cheeks and eyelids, keeping his lips as soft as possible. “I don’t think I’ve ever made anyone a midnight snack.”
Yes, there we have it, folks, the key to true love is midnight snackery. Okay, well, not really, but you know what I mean, right? Now, if that didn’t make you go “awwww,” feel free to follow this link and read the official excerpt, and/or buy the book—http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/sweet-young-thang-theta-alpha-gamma-3
Title: Sweet Young Thang by Anne Tenino
Theta Alpha Gamma Series Book Three
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, M/M, Erotic, Romance
Length: 419 pages/Word count: 108,400
Summary:
When Plan A fails, turn to Man A.
Thanks to Collin Montes, Theta Alpha Gamma now welcomes gay and bisexual students. Persuading his Uncle Monty, president of the TAG Alumni Association, that the open approach won’t adversely affect TAG’s reputation is Collin’s own first step toward coming out. As long as there are no repercussions, he’ll escape the closet by graduation.
Enter repercussions, stage left: someone rigs the TAG House water heater to launch through the ceiling, then plants a bomb—thankfully unsuccessful—in the fraternity’s basement. Now Collin has his hands full not only trying to convince his uncle that this might not be the work of homophobes, but also dealing with a fratful of brothers worried about their kegger fridge.
Paramedic Eric Dixon can’t stop thinking about the kid he met during a call at his former college fraternity house. The age gap between them is trumped by sexy eyes, so when Eric sees Collin again at the bomb scene, he pursues him. Soon, Eric is dreaming of being a househusband, fighting to keep Collin safe from whoever’s trying to destroy the fraternity, and helping his sweet young thang realize that repercussions sometimes have silver linings.
Author Bio
Raised on a steady media diet of Monty Python, classical music and the visual arts, Anne Tenino rocked the mental health world when she was the first patient diagnosed with Compulsive Romantic Disorder. Since that day, Anne has taken on conquering the M/M world through therapeutic writing. Finding out who those guys having sex in her head are and what to do with them has been extremely liberating.
Anne’s husband finds it liberating as well, although in a somewhat different way. Her two daughters are mildly confused by Anne’s need to twist Ken dolls into odd positions. They were raised to be open-minded children, however, and other than occasionally stealing Ken1’s strap-on, they let Mom do her thing without interference.
Wondering what Anne does in her spare time? Mostly she lies on the couch, eats bonbons and shirks housework.
Check out what Anne’s up to now by visiting her site. http://annetenino.com
Follow the rest of the tour HERE.
I love Anne Tenino! Can’t wait to read this, insta-love is fine with me.
i haven’t read any of anne’s books as yet but i have added her to my TBR list
Nice excerpt! Count me in please 🙂
Very sweet excerpt. Hurray for TAG! I love these books, thank you Anne Tenino.