HELLO FRIENDS, TODAY WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL TREAT: AN INTERVIEW WITH DWYER, ONE HALF OF THE COUPLE IN DERRICK KNIGHT'S WONDERFUL BOOK, 'THE REKINDLING OF LOVE', INNKEEPERS SERIES BOOK 1. YOU WILL LOVE THIS INTERVIEW, LET'S GET STARTED, WE WILL HAVE MY REVIEW (I SHARED PREVIOUSLY) AND BUY LINKS FOR THE BOOK, THEN THE INTERVIEW, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY!
The Rekindling of Love: (Innkeepers Series #1) by: Derrick Knight
reviewed by: Becky
Dwyer Von Strohm thought his life was perfect. He had a great job as a pharmaceutical sales representative; he lived in Downtown Chicago where he had an unlimited number of hot gay men to pursue. Then one day he becomes a casualty of a poor economy and is terminated from his job.
Dwyer’s situation forces him to move back home and live with his parents in the small town of Glasburg Illinois. Dwyer left Glasburg many years ago because the love of his life, John Fitzgerald, broke his heart. Soon Dwyer and John’s paths collide and it is evident both men still have strong feelings for each other. Will Dwyer find it in his heart to forgive John or will he let the demons from their past prevent them from rekindling the love they once shared?
Even though Dwyer and John’s friends are rooting for reconciliation, their friends are experiencing their own life dramas. Dwyer’s childhood friend Nathaniel Schmitt and his partner Dustin Hurst for years have tried to adopt a child without any success. Now they have opportunity to adopt a baby. Will Nathaniel’s Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder and Dustin’s introverted personality prevent their dreams of becoming parents coming true?
Mark Glaser is living with HIV and is in a long-term relationship with Erik Wolters. Mark contracted the disease after being sexually assaulted while attending college. His attackers were never brought to justice. Now Mark is receiving harassing anonymous phone calls and threatening letters. Has Mark’s stalker returned from his painful past or is this a new foe?
David Smith is a local high school art teacher and freelance artist. One day David is offered a solo exhibition at the local Art Center. They want him to include all of his artwork including provocative drawings of he and his lover Lance Perry naked. Soon a powerful and ruthless school board member finds out about David’s pornographic pictures. This school board member gives David an ultimatum. If he displays his work, he will be terminated. Will David have the courage to display his talent or will he succumb to a bigoted conservative’s threat?
The Rekindling of Love is about a group of friends’ experiences with hope, fear, pursing dreams, prejudice, justice, and love.
I loved this book, and I would like to tell you why. This story is like reading 4 books for the price of one, there are several different stories playing out at the same time, but this is done in a wonderful way without being confusing. Derrick Knight has masterfully given us a book that as we read we can experience not just one couples story, but the stories of the friends around them. The main couple in this book, Dwyer and John, haven't seen each other in years, not since a betrayal of trust. You will be rooting for this couple to overcome their demons (in the form of one very vindictive woman), and give in to the love that has always been there between them! Thanks Derrick for this lovely book that I wholeheartedly enjoyed! I have included the Amazon US and UK buy links so that if you haven't read this book, you can grab it and dig in! *4.5 Stars*
reviewed by: Becky
Dwyer Von Strohm thought his life was perfect. He had a great job as a pharmaceutical sales representative; he lived in Downtown Chicago where he had an unlimited number of hot gay men to pursue. Then one day he becomes a casualty of a poor economy and is terminated from his job.
Dwyer’s situation forces him to move back home and live with his parents in the small town of Glasburg Illinois. Dwyer left Glasburg many years ago because the love of his life, John Fitzgerald, broke his heart. Soon Dwyer and John’s paths collide and it is evident both men still have strong feelings for each other. Will Dwyer find it in his heart to forgive John or will he let the demons from their past prevent them from rekindling the love they once shared?
Even though Dwyer and John’s friends are rooting for reconciliation, their friends are experiencing their own life dramas. Dwyer’s childhood friend Nathaniel Schmitt and his partner Dustin Hurst for years have tried to adopt a child without any success. Now they have opportunity to adopt a baby. Will Nathaniel’s Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder and Dustin’s introverted personality prevent their dreams of becoming parents coming true?
Mark Glaser is living with HIV and is in a long-term relationship with Erik Wolters. Mark contracted the disease after being sexually assaulted while attending college. His attackers were never brought to justice. Now Mark is receiving harassing anonymous phone calls and threatening letters. Has Mark’s stalker returned from his painful past or is this a new foe?
David Smith is a local high school art teacher and freelance artist. One day David is offered a solo exhibition at the local Art Center. They want him to include all of his artwork including provocative drawings of he and his lover Lance Perry naked. Soon a powerful and ruthless school board member finds out about David’s pornographic pictures. This school board member gives David an ultimatum. If he displays his work, he will be terminated. Will David have the courage to display his talent or will he succumb to a bigoted conservative’s threat?
The Rekindling of Love is about a group of friends’ experiences with hope, fear, pursing dreams, prejudice, justice, and love.
Thanks for joining us Dwyer, we will get right to the questions,
A little bit. When I first moved back home, I was secretly a little envious of my friend's relationships. I love them all like brothers. Growing up with three older sisters, I enjoyed the male companionship. Nathaniel is my oldest friend. Nathaniel and I met in the first grade and have been the best of friends ever since. I didn't realize how much I missed all of my Glasburg friends until I moved back home and we started hanging out together again. It was like I never left. Erik, Nathaniel and Lance were exactly the same, except they all have successful relationships and I was still single. I thought moving to Chicago with such a large gay community that I would find true love but none of my relationships lasted more than a year.
Moving in with my parents was the greater challenge, then the chance of running into John. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom and dad very much, but I felt like a failure because I wanted to prove to all my Glasburg friends, and even John, that I could make it in the big city on my own. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for me.
1. Was it hard for you to come back home knowing John was there and had broken your heart?
Yes, it was but I had to deal with my unemployment situation. I had worked as a sales representative for Ashcroft Pharmaceuticals since I graduated from college. I had been out of work for over two months and no job offers or leads on perspective positions. Living in my brownstone in Chicago's Boystown had been great! When I could afford it. After, renting my brownstone, I decided to move back to my hometown of Glasburg, Illinois to save on expenses. I wanted to keep as much of my severance package as possible and I didn't want to dip into my 401K.
Bec- I can see the need for that, things are so expensive now days! It turned out all right in the end though ;) !
2. You have lovely friends, I know it was great to get back into their lives, but was it hard to see most of them so settled?
Bec- Maybe the reason they didn't last was, even though the betrayal was great, you knew that you only had one true love.
3. Was it hard moving back in with your parents?
Bec- I know how hard it is to move back home after being out on your own, but luckily I haven't had to do that in a while, that must have been an adjustment to you and your parents! As far as feeling like a failure, I get it, but you weren't.
4. I know you had other relationships, but would you say that John was always your one and only in the back of your mind?
Looking back, I now realize John was my one and only true love. The problem was we both were so young and inexperienced when we started having a relationship during our senior year of high school.
We thought we were the only gay people in school. Boy were we wrong.
Bec- Haha yes, very wrong! You were young, and things happened that shouldn't have, but it just goes to show that when love is real, it never goes away!
5. When you found out what really happened that night, how did you feel?
When John told me what had happened on the night after prom, a flurry of emotions stirred inside of me. I felt devastated, hurt, betrayed, and angry all at the same time. I was so sadden when John told me what he had done. I thought he was a stronger person. I didn't think he could be so easily manipulated. Now, I realize John was as much of a victim as I was.
Gwen Owens, is the most ruthless evil person I have ever encountered. Ironically if I told Gwen that, she would take it as a compliment. Mark my words, if I ever run into Gwen again, I am going to spit in her face and call her the "B" word.
Bec- I would love to do that too! If anyone deserves to be called the B word, it is Gwen!
6. There are a lot of things going on with your friends, who is the couple you are closest with and why?
I'm the closest to Nathaniel and Dustin. Like I said before, Nathaniel and I have been friends since the first grade. We tell each other everything. I totally trust Nathaniel. I know some people, find Nathaniel's OCD traits to be very annoying, but that is who Nathaniel is. If our friendship can survive the Easybake Oven incident, it can survive anything. Dustin is very sweet.
John is the closet to Erik and Mark, especially Erik.
Bec- Lol, Nathaniel is a very genuine person, what you see is what you get, and I love that. You both have some wonderful friends, that is a true blessing!
7. I know you and John have just started your adventure, do you think it will be a hard or easy road ahead?
John and I are more mature and have good communication between us. I believe our relationship is solid. Besides our bed and breakfast business, John is supporting me with my dream of opening a coffee shop. It will be called Innkeeper's Cup. I'm really excited.
I understand any relationship isn't easy. A couple really needs to work at making their relationship work, but I think John and I are on the right path. John and I have been through a lot. I think together we can handle any obstacle that comes our way. I'm just glad Gwen Owens is out of our lives forever!
Bec- Communication is really the key, and I am so glad the two of you reconnected! You are truly a lovely couple, I truly wish you the best, and wish you two the best. I can't wait to see where the future takes you!
Thanks Dwyer, for joining us today for a chat! It was a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again soon!
WHAT AN INTERVIEW RIGHT? I LOVE DWYER, AND CAN'T WAIT FOR PART TWO OF THEIR STORY, YOU CAN BET I WILL LET YOU GUYS KNOW WHEN IT COMES OUT! THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY, SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME :)
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