Blog
21
Oct
2015

C.B. Lee’s Seven Tears At High Tide

I’ve got a brand new author joining me today and her debut book, Seven Tears at High Tide, sounds absolutely wonderful. I’ve got my copy and I cannot wait to read it. She stops by for an interview where tells us a bit more about her book and some of her goals. After the wonderful interview, read all about the book including an excerpt you that will make you want to keep reading. At the very bottom, enter for a chance to win a an Interlude Press gift card or one of five copies of the book.

Amanda C. Stone: Good morning! I’m very lucky to be interviewing C.B. Lee, author of Seven Tears at High Tide. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
C.B. Lee: Hello there, I’m so happy to be here today! Thank you for having me here and taking the time to interview me. I’m C.B., a bisexual woman from California who loves writing, reading, hiking and traveling. As a first generation Asian American I’m so excited to have the opportunity to introduce characters whose backgrounds are my own. Seven Tears at High Tide is the story of Kevin, who makes a magical wish for a summer love and then meets Morgan, and how the two of them have to face difficult decisions when summer is over.
ACS: It sounds like a fabulous book. Talk to us about your characters in this book. What makes them unique?
CBL: I think Kevin’s loyalty and devotion makes him unique; he’s dedicated and determined, and he’s not without his flaws. Kevin knows his shortcomings and tends to focus on them, not seeing his positive traits, but he develops in the novel. Morgan on the other hand is curious and doesn’t let other’s expectations of him run his life. I think what’s special about him is that he maintains a positive attitude throughout many things.
ACS: Oooh! I cannot wait to meet him when I read your book. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in getting your book from start to publish?
CBL: I think I was pleasantly surprised by how closely knit my publishing house was; it’s a small independent publisher, so all the authors and editors and artists and everyone involved was very open about how things worked and introducing authors to each other, and people were very open about helping others who were new to the experience. I’m still very happy about this, how amazing all the support has been from start to finish.
ACS: That’s wonderful that you have such a positive experience with your publisher. I hope you continue to write and publish. Have you ever gone to a convention?
CBL: Last year I had the opportunity to attend the Romantic Times Convention in Dallas, TX.
ACS: How was it?
CBL: It was a lot of fun. It was my first convention as a published writer, and it was quite intimidating by the sheer size of how many other authors and readers were there. I enjoyed attending the panels, especially the one on We Need Diverse Books where there was a lot of important conversation about changing the landscape of fiction. I had a great time and learned a lot about the publishing world, and I’m planning to attend RT again next year in Las Vegas!
ACS: I’ve always wanted to go to RT but I think the sheer number of people there would intimidate me. Would you like to be a full-time writer?
CBL: I would love to be. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a child. Somewhere in my parent’s garage is the fading vestiges of a school project made by eleven-year-old me: a diorama labeled “My Dream Job,” where I have a photo cutout of myself sitting at a paper desk, surrounded by drafts and happily writing away.
ACS: That’s great that you’re headed in that direction. Keep that project! It can be a great motivator. Last question and you know I’ve gotta do something fun. Design the ultimate pizza.
CBL: Ultimate as in designed specifically for me?
ACS: Yup, just for you!
CBL: I’m a huge fan of garlic, and I understand if this isn’t to everyone’s taste, but this is my favorite pizza: a thin crust smeared with an entire clove of roasted garlic and a dab of tomato sauce, then topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, chunks of roasted chicken, slices of roasted bell peppers, and then drizzled with a balsamic-honey-barbeque glaze.
ACS: Pizzas with garlic are definitely underrated. I enjoy garlic on mine but you take it to a whole new level! I love it! Thank you so much for stopping by. I absolutely adored having you.

Blurb:
Kevin Luong walks to the ocean’s edge with a broken heart. Remembering a legend his mother told him, he lets seven tears fall into the sea. “I just want one summer—one summer to be happy and in love.” Instead, he finds himself saving a mysterious boy from the Pacific—a boy who later shows up on his doorstep professing his love. What he doesn’t know is that Morgan is a selkie, drawn to answer Kevin’s wish. As they grow close, Morgan is caught between the dangers of the human world and his legacy in the selkie community to which he must return at summer’s end.

Excerpt:
They wander into the house, wipe their wet feet on the welcome mat, climb up the stairs and giggle as they pass Ann’s bedroom. She’s dancing with her headphones on, oblivious to the open door, swaying to the beat.

In Kevin’s bedroom, he quickly scrounges up some clean shirts and shorts. “Here, you can wear this,” he says, handing an outfit to Morgan and then ducking into his bathroom to change. He peels off the wetsuit and hangs it up in his shower, then leans his surfboard carefully against the wall, eyeing the crack. He’ll have to fix it tomorrow.

When he returns, Morgan is holding onto the wet board shorts, wearing the outfit Kevin gave him. He looks curiously at the rock collection prominently displayed on Kevin’s bookshelf. “These are beautiful,” he says.

“Here, I’ll take that,” Kevin says, holding out his hand for the bedraggled board shorts to hang in his shower. He’s certain now that they’re the ones from the lifeguard’s lost and found. Kevin’s starting to worry that Morgan doesn’t have any other clothes, but he doesn’t know how to bring it up. Money can be a touchy subject.

Morgan holds Kevin’s favorite specimen, a piece of green olivine on basalt. Kevin once almost convinced Ann it was an avocado roll—it certainly looks like one, bright green speckled with sesame seeds, wrapped in dark seaweed.

“That’s from Mexico. My family went on vacation to Baja last year, and I got that out of an old volcano.” He tries his best to describe the sweltering heat and the excitement of finding geodes and cracking them open with a hammer. Morgan listens in rapt silence as Kevin talks about the find and tilts the olivine so it catches the light. He sets it back in its spot behind its label, slowly so as not to disturb the other specimens, and Kevin is quietly pleased with Morgan’s careful appreciation.

“I changed my mind,” Kevin blurts out.

“About what?”

“I do want this to be a date. For us, to do that,” he says, blushing. “I like you. A lot.”

Morgan’s face breaks into a bright, happy smile.

“And what do we do differently, for this to be a date?”

Kevin can feel the heat on his cheeks. “We can hold hands, if you like. Um, or kiss, if you want to. But we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I’m fine just hanging out and watching a movie with you.”

Morgan tilts his head and steps closer. “I want to,” he says, not specifying what, but Kevin knows immediately.

It’s just the quickest brush of lips, but Kevin feels it all the way to his toes. A warm curl of excitement blooms throughout his body, and Morgan’s mouth is warm and wet against his. It’s not like any kiss he’s had, chaste and sweet and over in a second, and yet his heart is still pounding after Morgan leans back. He’s close enough for Kevin to be able to count the eyelashes dark against his cheek.

Morgan ducks his head and asks, “Was that okay?”

Kevin’s a little dazed, but he finds his voice. “Yeah. Yeah, that was great.”

About C.B.:
C.B. Lee is a bisexual writer, rock climber and pinniped enthusiast based in California. Lee enjoys reading, hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Seven Tears At High Tide is a first novel.
Connect with C.B. at cb-lee.com, on Facebook,  https://www.facebook.com/authorcblee, on Twitter @author_cblee, and on Goodreads at Goodreads.com/cb-lee.

Buy Links:
Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/frontpage/products/seven-tears-at-high-tide
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1gr8j3R
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=InterludePress
Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978-1-941530-47-4?aff=InterludePress

Tour Stops:
15-Oct:
Prism Book Alliance, Happily Ever Chapter, Velvet Panic, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Michael Mandrake, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
16-Oct: BFD Book Blog, Books A to Z, The Jena Wade
19-Oct: It’s Raining Men, Hearts on Fire, Bayou Book Junkie
20-Oct: Divine Magazine, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bike Book Reviews
21-Oct: Amanda C. Stone, Just Love Romance, Mikky’s World of Books
22-Oct: Emotion in Motion, Kimi-Chan, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
23-Oct: Molly Lolly, Love Bytes
26-Oct: Boys on the Brink Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads
27-Oct: Cathy Brockman Romances, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, MM Good Book Reviews
28-Oct: TTC Books and More, My Fiction Nook

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2 Comments

  1. CB Lee says:

    Thank you for having me on your blog today and the lovely questions!

  2. […] Amanda C. Stone [Pizza, publishing and conventions] […]

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