Thank you, Jade, for hosting me today. I’m so excited to be on your blog for the release of my second novel, Aidan’s Journey. Aidan’s Journey is a stand-alone novel that is part of The Serpentine Series, contemporary stories that feature characters who attend the University of Virginia. The series started with my first novel and 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Serpentine Walls, although the books can be read in any order.
Many people who read Serpentine Walls were drawn to the character of Aidan, the glamorous 4th-year student who the main character Pete has a giant crush on. Aidan is a theater star who seems to have it all: looks, talent, and charm. He’s also a player who never leaves a party without a guy, but he’s not as free as he appears.
When I first wrote Aidan’s character in my initial drafts of the novel Serpentine Walls, he was a charming cad who slept with guys right and left and had something going on with the sleazy Professor R. But as I continued to write, Aidan’s character got more and more dimensional and I could see he had a heart and a lot of pain under that gleaming surface. I started to wonder why he was the way he was and what had led him to be involved with Professor R. Being a therapist by profession, I’m fascinated with people’s psychology and what drives them. I also wanted to explore how Aidan could heal himself and get to his own happy ending. And that was the inspiration for Aidan’s Journey.
In Aidan’s Journey, Aidan tells his story, from his lonely childhood to his falling into a dysfunctional relationship as a naïve 1st-year student with the worldly Professor R, to his becoming “the manwhore of U.Va.”, to his breaking away from Professor R to move to New York after he graduates. Aidan thinks he’s finally free, but he discovers that it takes more than a physical move to leave his demons behind.
In the words of Buckaroo Banzai: “No matter where you go, there you are.”
In the end, Aidan realizes he must journey down into his own psyche to heal himself and set himself free from the past. It’s not easy, but the rewards of this final journey are sweet and he gets the happy ending that he deserves.
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
BLURB:
The star of the University of Virginia theater department, Aidan Emery is lusted after and admired for living out and proud. He uses his talent and good looks to his advantage and never sleeps with the same guy twice. But his glamorous patina has been carefully honed to hide the pain he carries inside.
Aidan wasn’t always such a player. He starts college naively romantic, hungry for the attention he can’t get from his workaholic father and mentally ill mother. Unfortunately, that leaves him ripe pickings for predatory professor Rodney Montgomery. Rodney’s flattering regard seduces Aidan into a dysfunctional relationship that destroys his innocence.
Life looks up for Aidan when he finally breaks free of Rodney’s pull and moves to New York City to make it as an actor. Meeting sweet fellow actor Patrick Jaymes seems like the start of a fairy tale. But before Aidan can rebuild his life into happily ever after, family secrets rip him wide open, leaving him easy prey when Rodney decides he’s not willing to let Aidan go.
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult
Pages: 326
EXCERPT:
Every good story begins with a journey. Mine started on a June day in 2011 as the Amtrak train pulled out of Union Station in Washington, DC. Lee and I were bound for New York City, ready to dazzle ’em all with our acting and singing chops. Look out, Broadway, here come Aidan Emery and Lee Dunlap, the stars of the U.Va. drama department! Jazz hands!
I was leaving my family home—which I’d recently been kicked out of by my father. I was also leaving behind a long-term, toxic relationship. Yes! I felt pretty fucking victorious sitting on that train, talking and laughing with Lee. I’d done it! Left my past behind! Right? I was sure, with all the surety of a twenty-one-year-old, that my dragons had been slain and New York City was where the gold awaited.
Not so fast there, bucko, I want to tell myself now. You’ll get to the gold, but you have many more hard roads to travel before you arrive. Oh, but don’t despair—there is a Prince Charming at the end of it all.
PRIZE GIVEAWAY:
Enter the drawing for an ebook of one of CJane’s previous titles, including the novel Serpentine Walls, or novellas.
TOUR STOPS:
October 14: Love Bytes
October 15: Amanda C. Stone
October 16: MM Good Book Reviews
October 17: Wicked Faeries Reviews
October 20: Tara Lain, Michael Mandrake
October 21: Parker Williams, Multitasking Mommas
October 22: Cate Ashwood
October 23: Inked Rainbow Reads, It’s Raining Men
October 24: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
October 27: Rebecca Cohen Writes, BFD Book Blog, Smoocher’s Voice
October 28: Prism Book Alliance, Jade Crystal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of gay equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.
In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
Author Contact:
You can contact CJane at cjaneelliott@gmail.com. Her website is http://www.cjaneelliott.com. Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjane.elliott
