HELLO FRIENDS, I HAVE A PROMO POST FOR YOU TODAY! DENIAL DECEIT DISCOVERY IS A TRUE STORY, AND IT LOOKS SO GOOD I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT (I THINK I MIGHT NEED TISSUES)! I HAVE THE BOOK INFO AND BLURB, LINKS, AN EXCERPT, Q&A WITH JAMES, AND AUTHOR BIO WITH LINKS, AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE TOUR DATES, AND A RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY SO LET'S GET TO IT:
Author
Name: J. James
Book
Name: Denial, Deceit, Discovery
Release
Date: May, 2013
Blurb:
Denial,
Deceit, Discovery is
the heart-rending story based on true events in the life of Jack
Ellis; a young Catholic man deep in denial of his own homosexuality.
It tells the story of how his own denial and the denial of his loved
ones forced him to conform to the straight world, resulting in his
marriage to his high school sweetheart. After years of cruising gay
porn sites, chatting online with endless guys and intimate encounters
with close friends, Jack was pulled into a life of deceit with a
string of sexual partners.
The
story explains the pain and suffering of those around him as his
secrets unfold and honesty rises up. The torture endured as Jack
struggles to piece together the complex story of his own sexuality is
truly moving. Escaping the shame, Jack flees to Bangkok with his gay
lover where a much greater world of deceit and discovery awaits them
both.
Denial,
deceit, discovery will make you laugh, cry, cringe and blush as
Jack's story unfolds from a life of shame to one of hope and
acceptance for homosexual men.
(TISSUES FOR SURE ;P), HERE ARE THE COVER AND LINKS:
NOW FOR AN EXCERPT:
PROLOGUE
'Did
you ever think of men when you masturbated?'
Sometimes
I cannot believe I have arrived at this point. This is one of many
direct and personal questions from the Catholic priest dealing with
my annulment. I cannot help but sense his judgement of me. From his
failure to hide his disgust to the way his sunken, weathered eyes
glare at me as he waits for my sordid responses. I am sitting in a
room that reminds me of a nursing home. It is bitterly cold; though
I'm not sure if I am shivering from the cold or the depth of
questioning. Excessively floral wallpaper with clashing printed soft
furnishings was never a good look. The mahogany 70's style furniture
pieces marked the perimeter of the room and the over-sized portrait
of God's beloved son hanging above the chimneybreast was particularly
distracting. I did not feel comfortable discussing my love of cock
with a priest, let alone with Jesus in the room!
Two
years after our thirteen year relationship ended, I have been
instructed by my now ex-wife to visit the priest to support her
annulment application - a Catholic loophole that allows two Catholics
to declare that their marriage never truly existed. We have to prove
that I was incapable of willingly entering into the marriage due to
my underlying, yet undiscovered, homosexuality. Personally I do not
have the patience for this, but it is a small gift for my ex-wife
that will enable her to one day remarry in the eyes of God.
In
2001 we married after seven happy years and we stayed married for
another six, although maybe these were not as happy as the first
seven. And why did I do it? Why did I marry a girl when the answer
to the opening question was YES! Quite simply, because I loved her.
When I stood there on the day of our wedding it never entered my mind
that I was lying, or trying to cover up or trick anyone. I simply
loved her and wanted to spend my entire life with her. On
reflection, I guess I knew I was gay but I certainly did not want to
live my life as a gay man. At that point I had never admitted to
myself that I was indeed gay; something I have come to regret. It
was not out of malice or false intentions, rather just total
confusion and denial; born out of an upbringing in a straight,
Catholic world. The signs were all there, but no one ever asked me
the question and, therefore, I had no reason to even question it
myself.
I
have spent many a sleepless night trying to piece together the
complex story of my sexuality and can now define three distinct
periods in my life: one of denial, one of deceit and a final time of
discovery. To some extent they are chronological but there are many
overlaps whilst in each phase of my life. When I finally declared my
sexuality at the age of thirty-one, I ended the thirty-one years of
denial - a pretty hefty sentence for anyone! To some extent I am
still there now. But there have been many exciting and somewhat
dangerous discoveries along the way; from early childhood fumbles
with girls, mutual masturbation sessions with male friends as
teenagers first discovering porn, to naive visits to male prostitutes
as a young man and random hook ups with strangers off the internet as
a married man. With some of these discoveries came webs of deceit
shrouded in guilt, lies and more confusion. But it was these very
experiences that have shaped the gay man I am today - one who has
found true monogamous love.
Since
accepting my homosexuality, many people have used the line, ‘You
had a choice...’
but to me it was anything but a choice. In fact, I would say I did
everything possible to choose not
to be gay and despite my greatest efforts to suppress who I really
was; eventually it came and bit me on the arse anyway.
WOW, THIS IS GONNA BE INTENSE FOR SURE FRIENDS! HERE IS A SHORT BIO AND SOCIAL LINKS FOR JAMES!
James
currently lives and works in Southeast Asia. He enjoys the tropical
climate, and the relaxed pace, which has provided him with the
opportunity to continue developing ideas for his second novel.
Where to find the
author:
Facebook
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/jack.ellis.5220
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/je1author
Other:
http://www.jjamesauthor.com/
Goodreads
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7159734.J_James
NOW FOR A SHORT q & a WITH JAMES: YOU WILL LOVE THESE ANSWERS!
Today
I’m very lucky to be interviewing J. James, author of Denial Deceit Discovery:
Hi James, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little
about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Thank
you for this opportunity to share with you my debut novel, Denial
Deceit Discovery which is a memoir based on true events in my life
when coming to terms with my homosexuality. I am currently a
Principal of a school in Thailand, having worked in education for the
past 17 years. I completed Denial Deceit Discovery in May 2013 and I
am now working on my second novel which will be a M/M Romance. I am
originally from the UK but moved to Thailand about 7 years ago in
search of a sunnier climate and more relaxed pace of life.
Wow, I can't wait to check out these books, and it must be challenging to work as a Principal, but also very rewarding! Now for the questions:
- What book do you wish you could have written?
I wish I
could have written 50 Shades of Grey – look at the success! I know
people have a lot to say about the literary quality but the book
stimulated so much debate and discussion around so many topics –
women’s sexuality, S & M, the publishing industry, the role of
social media in creating a frenzy etc. Whatever you opinion of the
book – who would not love to have been the author behind such a
phenomenon. But on a more serious note I wish I could have written
Harry Potter because I have dedicated my life as a teacher to
motivating children, especially boys to read and I think JK Rowling
achieved this. That would have been a great reward for me.
Bec- I haven't read 50 Shades, but it sure did rake in the money that's for sure, is this where I get lynched for admitting to not having read/seen Harry Potter either?
- How important are names to you (in your books)? Do you choose names based on liking the way it sounds or meaning? How do you choose your names?
I find
it incredibly difficult to find names for characters in books – my
mind always goes blank so I tend to use the names of real people I
already know which is not always a good thing because a personality or
a physical appearance often comes attached to the name then. But I
think the sound of the name is really important to me – it helps me
to connect with the character when I write about them and so I am
sure it has the same effect on readers.
Bec- I would have to do the same, it would get too confusing otherwise ;p!
- Were you already a great writer? Have you always enjoyed writing? How long have you been writing?
I am not
sure I would ever describe myself as a great writer – I am a writer
who tries hard and writes from the heart. Denial Deceit Discovery is
actually my first book and now I am on my second. I have spend so
much time teaching pupils about creative writing skills but never
explored it personally. I had always wanted to write children’s
books and planned to explore this once I retired.
Bec- I am sure there is a big difference between teaching it, and applying it yourself!
- Which character, from any of your books, do you consider your greatest work?
It is
difficult to answer this question about my first book because the
characters are all based on real-life people so I do not feel that I
‘created’ them and can therefore take credit for them. But I
have a real fondness of Jack which is strange because essentially he
is me. But I guess writing about my story through Jack enabled me to
step back a little and I actually feel really proud of the man he
evolved into. I am proud of how he coped with the difficulties and
challenges he faced and of how he remained a good person even when
some of his choices were bad.
Bec- I imagine that would be hard to write your story yourself, though it might make for cheap therapy! ;)
- What hobbies do you enjoy?
I have a
really demanding day job so when I am not working or writing I really
enjoy keeping fit and working out in the gym. I love to travel and
my long holidays enable me to do this. Being in Thailand I am central
to South East Asia and have been fortunate enough to explore so many
neighbouring countries.
CATCH UP WITH THE REST OF THE TOUR HERE FRIENDS:
10-Jun
11-Jun
12-Jun
LAST BUT NOT LEAST CLICK BELOW ON THE RAFFLECOPTER PIC TO ENTER TO WIN ONE OF FIVE COPIES OF THE BOOK: GOOD LUCK:
THANKS FOR JOINING ME FOR THIS TOUR STOP, NOW JOIN ME IN READING THIS ONE FRIENDS, BUT DON'T FORGET THE TISSUES!
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