BOOK TOUR with REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY: 'Junkyard Heart' by Garrett Leigh
Have I got a treat for you! On the heels of her release in the fan favorite Porthkennack series, Garrett Leigh flattered me with the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her writing process and what she brings from her real life onto the page.
But before I share those with you take a look at book 7, Junkyard Heart.
And don't forget to enter the giveaway while you're here!
Title: Junkyard Heart
Series: Porthkennack #7
Author: Garrett Leigh
Published: December 4, 2017
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: G.D. Leigh/Black Jazz Design
Genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance
Length: 195 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Bisexual; Comfort/Hurt; Family Drama; Standalone; HEA; CW: Alcoholism
About Junkyard Heart
Tired of the London rat race and the heartbreak that comes with it, photographer Jas Manning returns to Porthkennack, the Cornish seaside town where he spent every childhood summer on his father’s farm. Resigned to year-round rain, wind, and homemade jam, he’s sorely unprepared for the impact that artsy carpenter Kim Penrose has on his heart.
Kim’s free-loving reputation precedes him, and he’s as generous with his inked-up body as he is with his time. The sex is hot, the easy friendship even better, and Jas’s time with him building his family’s new farmhouse canteen is everything Jas was missing in his empty city life.
But Kim’s carefree existence isn’t as simple as it appears. He’s worked hard to vanquish his demons and build his dreams, but the devil on his shoulder is ruthless, and when it comes to call, their happy bubble bursts like it was never there at all. The canteen opening looms, but Kim is gone in more ways than one, and it’s down to Jas to shore up Kim’s soul and convince him that he deserves his place in Jas’s heart.
NOTE: Questions were presented to author in writing and responses may include English phrasing/spelling.
Do you start with a story line, then fit the protagonist's to mold it? Or do you start with characters, and let them tell their stories?
My books almost always begin with a character and something key about their personality. With Jas, I knew before I wrote him that he was a little cynical and city-hardened, and that Kim was quite sensitive underneath his free-loving soul. Occasionally, it flips and I get a plot first, but that’s rare, because a plot can’t define itself if you don’t know whose journey it is.
How did Jas and Kim come to you?
Kim evolved as I wrote House of Cards and began to consider his relationship with Lena. And as I realised they weren’t as HEA as I’d assumed, Jas arrived in my tiny brain. I wanted Kim to be with someone from outside Porthkennack, but also someone who had a deep connection to the area, so Jas was perfect.
How closely do they, or prior characters, resemble people you know? Or do you use tidbits from your own experience to enliven a manuscript?
Sometimes. I had a friend piss me off once, so I murdered her and buried her in a car park (Cass’s mother in Misfits). And a lot of the humour comes from my loved ones. I’ve never taken anyone’s life and written it into a book, though. That shit’s just creepy.
Do you fall in love with your characters, or do you prefer to maintain distance from their struggles?
I love them all. If I don’t, I find it very hard to finish the book because I simply don’t care what happens to them.
How do you write such masterful dialect?
Ah, that’s such a nice thing to hear. Basically, my dialect comes from me, and the people in my life. I’m surrounded by people who speak their minds, and use humour to hide how they really feel—I think it’s a British thing. Sarcasm, cursing, brutal/gallows humour. The men in my life are particularly sharp tongued, and I think that definitely shines through. I often hear my brother in my characters, and my partner too.
Any suggestions for aspiring writers who want to improve their ear for lingo?
Be real. Don’t attempt dialogue you have no direct experience of, and don’t try to be cool. When I wrote my YA book, I was utterly convinced that I’d nailed some dope teenaged dialogue. My teenaged kid disagreed. Harshly.
Do you have any personal habits that accompany your writing day?
I’m a total sloth when I’m writing—pyjamas, cups of tea, cookies. I love to write in bed, but I’m trying to do that less often because it’s murdering my sciatica.
What inspires you?
Life. Food. Love. Laughter.
Also, reading. You can’t write if you don’t read.
What do you want readers to get from your novels?
That love is always possible, even when we think life is done with us. It’s there before you ever know it.
About Porthkennack
Welcome to Porthkennack, a charming Cornish seaside town with a long and sometimes sinister history. Legend says King Arthur's Black Knight built the fort on the headland here, and it’s a certainty that the town was founded on the proceeds of smuggling, piracy on the high seas, and the deliberate wrecking of cargo ships on the rocky shore. Nowadays it draws in the tourists with sunshine and surfing, but locals know that the ghosts of its Gothic past are never far below the surface.
This collaborative story world is brought to you by five award-winning, best-selling British LGBTQ romance authors: Alex Beecroft, Joanna Chambers, Charlie Cochrane, Garrett Leigh, and JL Merrow. Follow Porthkennack and its inhabitants through the centuries and through the full rainbow spectrum with historical and contemporary stand-alone titles.
Check out Porthkennack! http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/porthkennack
Meet the Author
Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.
Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards. In 2017, she won the EPIC award in contemporary romance with her military novel, Between Ghosts, and the contemporary romance category in the Bisexual Book Awards with her novel What Remains.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.
Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess.
For more from Garrett be sure and visit her website!
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Junkyard Heart, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 9, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
