Erica Pike’s Black Hurricane

Today I have the pleasure of having Erica Pike on my blog today. Her book Black Hurricane has been sitting there waiting for me to read it for so long. This tour made me bump it up in the TBR list and I’m glad that I did. I was given the chance to interview Erica and we had a blast laughing at my crazy questions. Be sure to read all about the book and an excerpt that will make you want to keep reading. At the very bottom enter for a chance to win a prize pack consisting of an Amazon gift card, signed paperbacks of A Life Without You, Hot Hands and The Walls Have Ears.

Amanda C. Stone: Good morning Erica! I’m going to ask a bunch of fun questions for the interview so it’s different than the typical questions authors get asked. Anyone can buy the rights to name a star. What would you name a star bought for you?
Erica Pike: I guess it would depend on my mood. If I was being sappy, I might name it something like The Peace Star, you know, as opposed to The Death Star spaceship in Star Wars. If I was feeling selfish, I’d name it S.J. Valdimars. Or I’d make a combination from my kids’ names. If I was feeling particularly fond of Iceland that day, like if there was no wind or rain and it was gay pride parade downtown, I’d name it Stella Islandia – because Planet Iceland sounds so much cooler in Latin. We’d later discover that it’s a habitable planet for the human race and start all over again – me and my family being on board with the first settlers. Imagine the adventure. This way, I’d make it to the history books for naming the first known habitable planet, besides Earth.
ACS: I’d live on Planet Iceland in heartbeat! Snap your fingers. You just made an invention that can do anything you want. What does it do?
EP: A pocket-sized time travel device that doesn’t change the future if I were to accidentally squish a bug. Yes, I saw that Simpson’s episode! Of course, I’d like to travel to the future as well. You may not believe this, but 70% of my daydreams throughout my years have been about time travel. I mean, what’s more fun than to be able to look at history with your own eyes? Or see what happens in the future? I might risk beaming myself only to die of poisonous toxins a thousand year from now, but hey, there’s a neat feature on my device that prevents me from dying.
ACS: I like that your device is proactive and keeps you from dying. There is magically 25 hours in a day. What would you do with the extra hour?
EP: Aside from working on my time travel invention, or it’s cousin: the beaming technology for free travel? Probably sleep. I never seem to get enough sleep.
ACS: You’re just inventing all kinds of awesome devices. No wonder you don’t get enough sleep! If you could travel anywhere all expenses paid where would you go? Name one thing you’d see or do there.
EP: This one’s a given. I’d go to San Diego in October 2015 along with my cousin. The main purpose would be to go to GRL, but I’d also love to spend a month in California. However, since I’m doing that anyway (except for two weeks, not a month), I’d love to go to Australia. I’ve already been to China, USA, loads of European countries, Malaysia, etc., but I’ve never been to Australia. I’d visit my buddies Zathyn Priest and Geoffrey Knight and I’d love to find a beach town and just hang there with the locals and tourists. I don’t know, but to me, Australia seems laid back and at the moment that sounds very appealing to me. If the powers that be are too cheap to send me to Australia, I’d love to go to Greece or Cyprus, just to revel in the beauty of the men there.
ACS: I’d love to go to Australia too. Some beautiful things there to see. If you could be famous/infamous for one thing, what would you choose?
EP: Writing books, of course! I’d love to be famous for that, although that will probably never happen while I write gay romances – at least not with how things are today. Okay, let’s say that I’d write a gay romance that really broke through all charts and I’d be famous for that. That would be perfect. I’d be infamous for it too, among some groups. To rub it in their faces even more, they’d make a movie based on the book and it would revolutionize the movie industry, opening doors for more multi million dollar gay romance movies. Protest all you want, bigots! You will never be able to defeat Hollywood!
ACS: That would be the best thing to be famous and infamous for! Thank you so much for joining me today. It was so much fun having you.

Blurb:
Twenty-three year old Jasper Jones fell in love with Dean McQueen at fourteen, but after a disastrous relationship, Jazz would like nothing better than to see the rock star choke on his own vomit.

After a catastrophic reunion, Dean seems bent on destroying Jazz’s life. It all started when an impromptu bar performance ended up on YouTube and Jazz became an internet sensation overnight. The name “Jazdean” keeps popping up in headlines and the paparazzi stalk his every move. To make matters worse, Jazz is about to end up on the streets for the second time in his life.

In a desperate attempt to keep his home, Jazz signs a deal with Dean’s band, Black Hurricane, to perform at a couple of concerts. It feels like one of Dean’s feeble attempts to get Jazz back, but painted into a corner like he is, Jazz has no choice.

Excerpt:
“Jazz, take pictures!” Eric pokes me hard in the side with his bony elbow.

I wince and raise the camera, clicking a shot.

“Go to the front, like they’re doing.” He points at the photographers running to the front and clicking madly on their cameras.

Heaving a sigh, I drag my ass off the chair to walk forward. I rake my hand through my hair before I glance back at the monstrosity on the platform. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be in this position. Suddenly oil paint and new guitar strings don’t seem all that important. I just wanna get out, but Eric needs these pictures for the magazine and I’d rather die than let one of my friends down.

My heart thuds when I see Dean looking right back at me as I approach. His brow furrows as if he’s trying to place me. Typical. Of course he wouldn’t remember me. Why would he? My heart hammers a fast beat as my body breaks out in sweat. The inside of my throat thickens, stopping half of the oxygen from reaching my lungs. And still, I’m having the hardest time looking away.

Am I nervous under his green-eyed gaze? Or is it just the hate? It’s been years since I last saw him.

Not wanting to give the wrong impression of an adoring fan, I narrow my eyes and spew out all the venom I feel for this man into one, hateful glare, just before I raise the camera and snap my shots.

About Erica:
Erica lives in Iceland with her adorable little twin boys. She often says that her real name sounds like Klingon to foreigners. Seriously, if “Eyjafjallajökull” looks like a random strings of characters, it’s nothing in comparison to Erica’s name.

She’s been writing for several years, or ever since reading became an obsession. Aside from a business degree, Erica has taken English courses at the University of Iceland and gulped down anything that might help her in her career as an author. She takes great interest in English, but will break every single grammar rule for the sake of The Voice.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEricaPike
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EricaPike
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/EricaPike
Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/94436-gay-romance-by-erica-pike

Buy Links:
MLR Press: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=EPBLKHUR
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-blackhurricane-1271227-149.html?referrer=5314fed11fb4f
Amazon: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQM5AOE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EQM5AOE&linkCode=as2&tag=pridepromo-20&linkId=LWZUYCMEJN5WRSWQ

Tour Stops:
August 11: Because Two Men Are Better Than One
August 18: Full Moon Dreaming
August 25: MM Good Book Reviews, Hearts on Fire
September 1: Velvet Panic, Fallen Angel Reviews, Havan Fellows
September 8: Decadent Delights
September 15: Up All Night, Read All Day, Love Bytes
September 22: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Smoocher’s Voice
September 29: Prism Book Alliance
October 6: It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake
October 13: Cate Ashwood
October 20: The Novel Approach
October 27: The Hat Party, Dawn’s Reading Nook
November 3: Tara Lain
November 10: My Fiction Nook
November 17: Emotion in Motion, Kimi-Chan
November 24: Amanda C. Stone

Giveaway:
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