Guest Post: Raine O'Tierney.
Today, my guest is the bubbly and delightful Raine O'Tierney. Please welcome her to the blog! Take it away, Raine!
When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing in the third grade when I-like the smartass kid I was-read a short story a classmate wrote and thought, “I could write a way better narrative about bubblegum!” I wrote all through high school (mostly in math class!) in spiral-bound notebooks. Het romances and dystopias exclusively. Then I really found my calling in ’04 when I started sampling the gateway drug: yaoi. Didn’t take long before I was writing my own M/M stories, trying to fill the world with a whole lot o’sweetness.
Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?
My husband, Siôn, has probably been the biggest influence on my writing. When I’m being lazy with plot or sticky with characterization, he’s the first to point it out. He’s also the first to praise me for well-crafted prose and to sit and have long plotting sessions with me. I’ve become a better writer because of his encouragement, expectations, belief, and general all-around awesomeness.
What's your favourite genre to read and to write?
My favorite genre to read is a toss-up between YA-SciFi and Adult Regency Romance. I write M/M rom exclusively, but my secondary genre changes all the time. My active stories involve two contemporaries, a weird west, and a paranormal.
We share a love of books and reading in general, what was it about that love that led you to become a librarian?
I always saw the library as one of those jobs that you could really be proud to have. When you work for the library you know you’re doing good for your patrons and you’re serving a fundamental need in your community. It was my dream to be a part of that and I’ve been lucky for the last seven years because my keep-a-roof-over-my-head job has also been that dream job.
Another thing we share is an interest in UrbEx and Abandoned Places. What are some places you've visited? Which ones would you like to visit?
The coolest place I’ve found nearby is the Norman School in Kansas City, which went the way of most schools in KC after they lost their accreditation. I stumbled on it completely by accident one day while driving around old KC neighborhoods.
I have a special fondness for dead malls and would love to take a tour of some of the remaining malls that haven’t been redeveloped. My wildest dream, for many reasons, would be to explore Chernobyl though.
What do you do when you get hit with the dreaded writer's block?
Walk a dachshund or take a shower or a drive, I get the best ideas when I’m distracted.
So what are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on my free fiction for the M/M romance Goodreads group and gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ll be writing a sequel to Sweet Giordan, Please Remember about Shane Devereaux’s best friend Julian Bentley.
Is there anything that you've always wanted to do but haven't?
Get a tattoo. I promised myself that I would when I finished my first novel, and then I promised myself I’d do it when I got published, and now it’s just lingering in my head. I’m really fraxxin’ scared of needles though.
What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?
I’m certainly not what you would call a religious person (like…at all), but right now I’m enjoying “She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future” from Proverbs. I’m also very fond of “I must become a lionhearted girl, ready for the fight” from Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up) by Florence + the Machine.
Do you have any heroes and/or inspirations? Who and why?
My friend Lisa is my hero. She taught me about grace and forgiveness. She taught me how to genuinely care about people, to move past petty hurts, to think rationally, and to love with an open heart. She’s the rational voice that says, Raine, you can’t write every story at once… and Raine, you make your own definitions of success.
Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?
Yes… but it’s het… Sarah MacLean’s No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. I went to MacClean’s talk about ‘Romance as a Feminist Genre’ before RT Convention last year when she was in Kansas City and fell immediately in love with her.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who always had something positive and encouraging to say. I’d like to be known for lifting people up and celebrating their creativity.
What is your favourite room to write in? Do you have any little rituals or quirks that you do while you write/prepare to write?
I have this fantastic writing cove in the back bedroom. I’ve got my Royal Arrow typewriter, my 20 gallon fish tank, my apothecary set, B&W urban decay photography, dried flowers, all the things to create an amazing ambiance! And as far as rituals, I always wear my writing pants. I cannot write without those pants-the words just won’t come. (Super soft gray sweats!)
Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview-if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?
Husband says I’d be Kudzu so I could take over the world, but I think I’d like to be a Maypop because they are so unique and they remind me of good times in my childhood with my PawPaw.
(Thank you for having me, L. J.!)
Blurb
Sweet Giordan, Please Remember by Raine O'Tierney
Giordan Stone is lucky, all things considered. Sure, he spent five years in a coma only to wake with a right leg that’s practically useless and no memories other than his name. But now he’s under the care of sassy southern surrogate mother, Chloe Devereaux, spending his days painting and healing. Giordan wants for nothing at all… until he looks out the window one morning and sees Chloe's gorgeous son, Shane, standing there. Something very familiar stirs in Giordan.
When he sketches, Giordan is able to go into an “art trance” where pieces of disjointed memory come back to him without time or place. More and more of these flashes are of Shane Devereaux and the intense, intimate experiences they shared together. Even though Shane keeps his distance now, Giordan is convinced his flashes are real. But he doesn’t have the whole story. Giordan is determined to fill in his memory blanks and convince Shane his feelings are genuine.
Excerpt
Outside, the light of the morning was a gentle white. He was ready to go with Chloe to the orchard and paint anything and everything. Maybe she’d take him all the way down to the end of the lane so he could sit near the creek that separated the Devereaux’s property from county land.
Giordan was daydreaming about smearing blues across fresh canvas when something down below caught his eye. He looked closer.
His cane slipped through loose fingers, but he didn’t hear it clatter to the wood floor. He didn’t hear anything. Suddenly, his whole attention was intensely focused on a man standing down on the walk. He was talking seriously with Chloe’s husband, Mr. Devereaux.
Giordan couldn’t have torn his eyes away if they’d been burning, because something about the man he saw there was familiar and that familiarity strained against the mental veil. A hot feeling spread over him, and he flushed, at once both embarrassed and curious. He wanted to throw open the window and call out to this stranger, but of course, he didn’t know his name. What in the world was happening to him? Did he know the man standing below?
Giordan opened his mouth and raised his fists to the pane to call attention to himself when Chloe caught his arm and placed the cane back into his hand.
He’d never seen the look on her face before, and it startled him into obedient silence. She placed a finger to her lips and motioned him back to his bedroom. Giordan snuck one final look at the man standing outside before Chloe hurried him on, faster than his aching side wanted to go. That deep, familiar feeling lingered inside him, and Giordan felt achingly disappointed at his missed opportunity.
“Maman, who is that?” Giordan asked once she’d shut his door.
Her look softened and she placed a gentle hand against his cheek. “That’s my son, Shane.”
“Shane,” Giordan repeated. He was hoping once he had a name to go along with the handsome face that memories would flood in and everything would become clear. “But I know him, right?” he begged, certain she would confirm it. Seeing Shane’s face was like the trances Giordan went into when he drew: too familiar not to be real.
Chloe took one long, slow breath and replied, “Ah, not anymore, honey. It’s been a long time.”
“Well, then I’d like to meet him. I-I should reintroduce myself!”
“Giordan, I….” Chloe’s hesitation, much like the expression she’d had on her face, quieted him. She didn’t want them to meet. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Buy links
DSP: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_1024
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Giordan-Please-Remember-OTierney-ebook/dp/B00J3JJTFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395358570&sr=8-1&keywords=Sweet+Giordan
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sweetgiordanpleaseremember-1453078-149.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-giordan-please-remember-raine-otierney/1118935103?ean=2940149452255
Bio
Raine O’Tierney is an always-writing, boundlessly enthusiastic, exclamation point addict! (!!!) She is known for declaring every day “the best day EVER!” and everything her “all-time FAVORITE!” Despite this (obnoxious?) exuberance, she still somehow manages to have a wonderfully encouraging husband and writing partner, Siôn, and an amazing group of friends and colleagues who continue to support (read: put up with) her. Raine spends her days working as a library lady, fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom.
Website and social media links
Website: http://raineotierney.com/
E-mail: Raineotierney@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
The Hat Party (LGBT Author Interviews) http://raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @RaineOTierney
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/RaineOTierney
When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing in the third grade when I-like the smartass kid I was-read a short story a classmate wrote and thought, “I could write a way better narrative about bubblegum!” I wrote all through high school (mostly in math class!) in spiral-bound notebooks. Het romances and dystopias exclusively. Then I really found my calling in ’04 when I started sampling the gateway drug: yaoi. Didn’t take long before I was writing my own M/M stories, trying to fill the world with a whole lot o’sweetness.
Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?
My husband, Siôn, has probably been the biggest influence on my writing. When I’m being lazy with plot or sticky with characterization, he’s the first to point it out. He’s also the first to praise me for well-crafted prose and to sit and have long plotting sessions with me. I’ve become a better writer because of his encouragement, expectations, belief, and general all-around awesomeness.
What's your favourite genre to read and to write?
My favorite genre to read is a toss-up between YA-SciFi and Adult Regency Romance. I write M/M rom exclusively, but my secondary genre changes all the time. My active stories involve two contemporaries, a weird west, and a paranormal.
We share a love of books and reading in general, what was it about that love that led you to become a librarian?
I always saw the library as one of those jobs that you could really be proud to have. When you work for the library you know you’re doing good for your patrons and you’re serving a fundamental need in your community. It was my dream to be a part of that and I’ve been lucky for the last seven years because my keep-a-roof-over-my-head job has also been that dream job.
Another thing we share is an interest in UrbEx and Abandoned Places. What are some places you've visited? Which ones would you like to visit?
The coolest place I’ve found nearby is the Norman School in Kansas City, which went the way of most schools in KC after they lost their accreditation. I stumbled on it completely by accident one day while driving around old KC neighborhoods.
I have a special fondness for dead malls and would love to take a tour of some of the remaining malls that haven’t been redeveloped. My wildest dream, for many reasons, would be to explore Chernobyl though.
What do you do when you get hit with the dreaded writer's block?
Walk a dachshund or take a shower or a drive, I get the best ideas when I’m distracted.
So what are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on my free fiction for the M/M romance Goodreads group and gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ll be writing a sequel to Sweet Giordan, Please Remember about Shane Devereaux’s best friend Julian Bentley.
Is there anything that you've always wanted to do but haven't?
Get a tattoo. I promised myself that I would when I finished my first novel, and then I promised myself I’d do it when I got published, and now it’s just lingering in my head. I’m really fraxxin’ scared of needles though.
What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?
I’m certainly not what you would call a religious person (like…at all), but right now I’m enjoying “She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future” from Proverbs. I’m also very fond of “I must become a lionhearted girl, ready for the fight” from Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up) by Florence + the Machine.
Do you have any heroes and/or inspirations? Who and why?
My friend Lisa is my hero. She taught me about grace and forgiveness. She taught me how to genuinely care about people, to move past petty hurts, to think rationally, and to love with an open heart. She’s the rational voice that says, Raine, you can’t write every story at once… and Raine, you make your own definitions of success.
Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?
Yes… but it’s het… Sarah MacLean’s No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. I went to MacClean’s talk about ‘Romance as a Feminist Genre’ before RT Convention last year when she was in Kansas City and fell immediately in love with her.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who always had something positive and encouraging to say. I’d like to be known for lifting people up and celebrating their creativity.
What is your favourite room to write in? Do you have any little rituals or quirks that you do while you write/prepare to write?
I have this fantastic writing cove in the back bedroom. I’ve got my Royal Arrow typewriter, my 20 gallon fish tank, my apothecary set, B&W urban decay photography, dried flowers, all the things to create an amazing ambiance! And as far as rituals, I always wear my writing pants. I cannot write without those pants-the words just won’t come. (Super soft gray sweats!)
Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview-if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?
Husband says I’d be Kudzu so I could take over the world, but I think I’d like to be a Maypop because they are so unique and they remind me of good times in my childhood with my PawPaw.
(Thank you for having me, L. J.!)
Blurb
Sweet Giordan, Please Remember by Raine O'Tierney
Giordan Stone is lucky, all things considered. Sure, he spent five years in a coma only to wake with a right leg that’s practically useless and no memories other than his name. But now he’s under the care of sassy southern surrogate mother, Chloe Devereaux, spending his days painting and healing. Giordan wants for nothing at all… until he looks out the window one morning and sees Chloe's gorgeous son, Shane, standing there. Something very familiar stirs in Giordan.
When he sketches, Giordan is able to go into an “art trance” where pieces of disjointed memory come back to him without time or place. More and more of these flashes are of Shane Devereaux and the intense, intimate experiences they shared together. Even though Shane keeps his distance now, Giordan is convinced his flashes are real. But he doesn’t have the whole story. Giordan is determined to fill in his memory blanks and convince Shane his feelings are genuine.
Excerpt
Outside, the light of the morning was a gentle white. He was ready to go with Chloe to the orchard and paint anything and everything. Maybe she’d take him all the way down to the end of the lane so he could sit near the creek that separated the Devereaux’s property from county land.
Giordan was daydreaming about smearing blues across fresh canvas when something down below caught his eye. He looked closer.
His cane slipped through loose fingers, but he didn’t hear it clatter to the wood floor. He didn’t hear anything. Suddenly, his whole attention was intensely focused on a man standing down on the walk. He was talking seriously with Chloe’s husband, Mr. Devereaux.
Giordan couldn’t have torn his eyes away if they’d been burning, because something about the man he saw there was familiar and that familiarity strained against the mental veil. A hot feeling spread over him, and he flushed, at once both embarrassed and curious. He wanted to throw open the window and call out to this stranger, but of course, he didn’t know his name. What in the world was happening to him? Did he know the man standing below?
Giordan opened his mouth and raised his fists to the pane to call attention to himself when Chloe caught his arm and placed the cane back into his hand.
He’d never seen the look on her face before, and it startled him into obedient silence. She placed a finger to her lips and motioned him back to his bedroom. Giordan snuck one final look at the man standing outside before Chloe hurried him on, faster than his aching side wanted to go. That deep, familiar feeling lingered inside him, and Giordan felt achingly disappointed at his missed opportunity.
“Maman, who is that?” Giordan asked once she’d shut his door.
Her look softened and she placed a gentle hand against his cheek. “That’s my son, Shane.”
“Shane,” Giordan repeated. He was hoping once he had a name to go along with the handsome face that memories would flood in and everything would become clear. “But I know him, right?” he begged, certain she would confirm it. Seeing Shane’s face was like the trances Giordan went into when he drew: too familiar not to be real.
Chloe took one long, slow breath and replied, “Ah, not anymore, honey. It’s been a long time.”
“Well, then I’d like to meet him. I-I should reintroduce myself!”
“Giordan, I….” Chloe’s hesitation, much like the expression she’d had on her face, quieted him. She didn’t want them to meet. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Buy links
DSP: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_1024
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Giordan-Please-Remember-OTierney-ebook/dp/B00J3JJTFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395358570&sr=8-1&keywords=Sweet+Giordan
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sweetgiordanpleaseremember-1453078-149.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-giordan-please-remember-raine-otierney/1118935103?ean=2940149452255
Bio
Raine O’Tierney is an always-writing, boundlessly enthusiastic, exclamation point addict! (!!!) She is known for declaring every day “the best day EVER!” and everything her “all-time FAVORITE!” Despite this (obnoxious?) exuberance, she still somehow manages to have a wonderfully encouraging husband and writing partner, Siôn, and an amazing group of friends and colleagues who continue to support (read: put up with) her. Raine spends her days working as a library lady, fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom.
Website and social media links
Website: http://raineotierney.com/
E-mail: Raineotierney@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
The Hat Party (LGBT Author Interviews) http://raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @RaineOTierney
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/RaineOTierney