Read Around the Rainbow | Someone insults your main character, how do they react?

ReadAroundTheRainbow

It’s time for the monthly Read Around the Rainbow post. Every month we’re a group of authors who blog on the same topic, and this month we’re talking characters, more specifically:

Someone insults your main character, how do they react?

Had I been another kind of author, I’d written a bonus scene to show how one of my characters reacts, but I tend to forget them the moment I let them go. The little things that make them them disappear from my memory, and if I try to write them again, they’re flat, uncooperative people.

I’m also super stressed about Holly’s deadline that’s coming up, so I’m taking the easy way out 😆

I don’t really know how my characters react when insulted unless they’re insulted in the story, but the first character who popped into my mind when we decided on this topic was Thaddeus in Soul Eater.

Thaddeus is a mage, but a weak one. His favourite spell is reheating his coffee when it’s grown too cold. then one day, he happens to release a trapped spirit from a werewolf skull that he stole from the black market, and he realises that maybe he’s not a mage at all.

But for this topic, we don’t need to know what Thaddeus is other than him being a magic user. His go-to response when insulted, yelled at, attacked, accused, or anything really, is to throw blue sparks at people.

I’ll leave you with a little blue-sparkling snippet below, but before you go:

Check out what the others have to say on the topic!

Holly Day

A.L. Lester

Fiona Glass

Addison Albright

Ellie Thomas

K.L. Noone

Excerpt Soul Eater

Elora cleared her throat. “She was preparing wings to make the women pretty, but it’s their scents enticing her.”
“What?” Ric whirled around and glared at Elora. “What do you know about scents?”
“N-Nothing.” Elora glanced at Thad.
“Seriously, Ric—” Anger manifested itself in more tiny, blue sparks at Thad’s fingertips. “Get out of here. We’re trying to work. We have a few minutes before Elora crashes, and I want to hear what she has to say before she does, so if you could bury your massive ego for a couple of seconds, we’d appreciate it.”
Ric flashed sharp teeth at him, and Thad was tempted to throw a ball of fire at him.
Thad patted Elora’s knee and nodded for her to continue.
“It’s their scent, their magical scent.”
“Magic doesn’t have a scent.”
Thad didn’t so much as think, he flung a rain of blue sparks over Ric. They wouldn’t harm him, but they did sting. Ric hissed, but Thad spoke over it. “Magic has flavor. Every practitioner has a unique…taste.” He didn’t know how to explain so they understood. “As a psychic, Elora can’t sample it, so explaining it as scent makes sense. How can you be able to know what she’s thinking?”
They were running out of time. After Elora had touched something she—’fell asleep’ wasn’t the right expression and she wasn’t unconscious either, rather something in between.
“Not thinking. I saw the wings…sensed the hunger.”
“How?”

Soul-Eater

Wrap-Up Wednesday | February

It’s Wrap-Up Time! I actually had #WhatToReadWednesday on my to-do today, but February is a short month, and I’ve got too few Wednesdays to work with, so I’ll do the Wrap-Up.

I read a few books at the beginning of the month, and then I got too busy chasing deadlines to have time to read. But we have a few titles.

Out of Focus by A.L. Lester

I’ve had this a long time but haven’t read it until now. A cute, slow-burn, contemporary story set in A.L. Lester’s Theatr Fach universe. I’ll definitely check out the other stories there!

Out of FocusAlex has never quite believed he’s good enough. Not as a person and not as a lighting technician. He hates that however hard he tries he can’t get his boss, Luke, to like him. In the two years he’s been in the job it’s become a Thing with him and he’s got a huge crush on the man. He needs to move on for his own sanity and his career and he’s just about to accept a job at a bigger theatre when one of the volunteers he’s bedded and dumped pushes him off a ladder.

Luke likes Alex a lot and has done since the day he walked through the door of Theatre Fawr two years ago. He doesn’t date his staff though, or do casual, and Alex is the epitome of casual. So Luke keeps his distance despite Alex’s constant flirting.

Will Alex’s injury give Alex and Luke the push they need to open up to each other? Or will Luke’s inadvertent discovery that Alex has a secret job offer push them further apart?

https://books2read.com/Out-of-Focus

Blind Space by Marie Sexton

I reread Protection by S.A. Reid for Holly’s ReRead Friday post since The Devil Will Care is an alien prison romance, but since I read a prison romance, I then felt like reading a little sci-fi. This is great! I almost liked it better this time than the first time I read it.

51masnck1clCaptain Tristan Kelley enjoys the luxuries of Regency service, as well as the pleasure of his Prince’s bed. It’s an easy life, if not a happy one. When the Prince decides to take a trip through the perilous Blind Space, Tristan must go with him, but somebody in the Prince’s guard is a traitor.

Blind and held prisoner, Tristan finds himself at the mercy of Valero, a pirate who bears no love for the Regency. Valero is determined to seduce Tristan, and Tristan fears his resolve won’t last. His duty is clear, but so is his desire. As the days tick by with no word or ransom from the Regency, Tristan begins to question what loyalty means to his Prince, the Regency he’s sworn to, and to the man who holds him captive. He begins to realize that being a prisoner may actually set him free.

https://books2read.com/BlindSpace

Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala

I’m not gonna bore you with more talk about Ondry and Liam. I read Blind Space and was in the mood for aliens, it doesn’t have aliens even though they’re in space, or not aliens-aliens 🙄 and this was on my phone… Awesome, as always.

Claimings, Tails and Other Alien ArtifactsLiam loves his life as a linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld, but he has ignored his heart and sexual needs for years. After escaping the horrors of war, he wants a boring life. He won’t risk letting anyone come too close because he won’t risk letting anyone see his deeply submissive nature. For him, submission comes with pain. Life burned that lesson into his soul from a young age.

This fear keeps him from noticing that the Rownt trader Ondry cares for him. Ondry may not understand humans, but he recognizes a wounded soul, and his need to protect Liam is quickly outpacing his common sense. They may have laws, culture, and incompatible genitalia in their way, but Ondry knows that he can find a way to overcome all that if he can just overcome the ghosts of Liam’s past. Only then can he take possession of a man he has grown to respect.

https://books2read.com/ClaimingTails

Paranormal Protectors: Atlas by Michelle Frost

I’ve just spent a good chunk of time trying to find you a cover and/or a blurb for this one, and instead, I’ve now ended up frustrated AF. I don’t remember where I got this story, but it’s not available anywhere, so probably some giveaway/newsletter sign-up thing.

I caught Michelle Frost, the author, at a bad time. All my googling/Goodreads searching/Amazon searching has told me they’re in the middle of switching websites.

It’s a cute story about a barista being saved by a mage when someone is trying to take him out because he too can turn into a mage with a little help. It’s an interesting universe, and I wouldn’t mind reading more…if I could find the information.

Protection by S.A. Reid

As I mentioned above, this was my ReRead post over at Holly’s. I love this book, and you can read all about it here.

ProtectionWhen Gabriel MacKenna enters Wentworth Prison in 1931, he promises himself two things: never to be buggered and never to turn prison queer. Tough, smart, and ruthless in a fight, he quickly makes a name for himself inside. But Gabriel, saved from the noose by a social crusader, is serving two life sentences. And life is a very long time to endure Wentworth with no comforts but prison food, card games and cigarettes. To survive endless days without the touch of another human being…

Five years after Gabriel’s incarceration, Joey Cooper arrives at Wentworth. Every convict claims imprisonment through a miscarriage of justice, but Joey is truly blameless. Trained at Oxford as a physician, the young doctor is innocent of prison culture and too handsome for his own good. Facing eighteen years behind Wentworth’s towering gates, Joey cannot hope to survive without protection. And protection is just what Gabriel MacKenna offers. At a price…

https://books2read.com/Protection

 

#SalesSaturday | A Touch of Spice by Ellie Thomas

Today, we have Ellie Thomas on a visit! She’s here to tell us about A Touch of Spice that’s released today 🥳 Welcome, Ellie!

Touch of Spice Promo 2

Thank you so much, lovely Ofelia, for having me as a guest on your blog today. I’m Ellie, and I write MM Historical Romance novellas. Today is release day for my new story, A Touch of Spice, set in Elizabethan London, so it’s great to celebrate that here!

I tend to write about a range of historical periods in my MM Romances, so I always enjoy trying to give my readers a flavour of the specific period in which my stories are set. The Tudor period is so colourful and immediate and yet so different from our 21st-century lives in terms of attitude and customs.

This is the second story about my couple, Gregory and Jehan, who got together in last year’s Valentine’s tale, The Spice of Life, set in the early 1570s. For my new story, it’s a year later in their ongoing romance, and they are hoping to live together after some delay to their plans. So I wanted to place them firmly in the streets of Elizabethan London with day-to-day life bustling around them.

Of course, resource books are an invaluable aid in conveying a specific era. As usual for all things Tudor, I snagged my copy of Ruth Goodman’s How To Be A Tudor, which relates everyday life from dawn to dusk.

It was such a great help with the details of Gregory and Jehan’s daily life as they manage the spice shop in a lane off bustling Fleet Street. After some reading, I could also describe street scenes in terms of what people wore, how they acted and what they might say. This is where Ruth Goodman’s book How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain came in handy. I mean, who could resist an entire chapter on insults?

Early in my story, after Gregory visits Jehan in the spice shop, he comes across an altercation about a badly parked cart blocking the street. I simply had to follow the pithy comebacks of the time when the carter runs out of patience and asks the interfering do-gooder to, “Kiss my arse!” Some insults are as effective now as they were then.

In writing gay historical stories, I’m always aware of the punitive laws in past centuries. In 1533 under English law, sex between two men became illegal and punishable by death. Since it was normal for men to share bedrooms and even beds without remark, the law seems at odds with established and accepted customs.

It was fascinating to learn from How to be a Tudor, that much of the population might have been confused or unaware as there was no specific explanation of sodomy in this law. As Ruth Goodman explains, “those who took part in male homosexual behaviour, as well as their friends, colleagues and neighbours, could simply fail to see the connection between that which was condemned and that which formed everyday life.”

In this way, I could imagine Gregory and Jehan peacefully settling into their new domesticity, sharing the business, a home and a bed, at least privately, like any young couple starting out together, with little fear of outside interference to their future happiness.

Touch of Spice Promo 1

Excerpt:

Mistress Cecily looked up from her stitching with a smile as Gregory entered her sewing room. Gregory felt a sting of nostalgia, that increasing sensation of being caught between two worlds. The safe patterns of boyhood grated against the exciting challenges of impending adult independence as he passed the age of a serving lad, only tied to this place by family loyalty.

As a courtesy, Gregory reported the purchase of the nutmeg and delivered his lady’s remaining money. Mistress Cecily nodded her head absently without bothering to count the change.

“And how is young Master Zanini today?” Mistress Cecily inquired.

“Both he and his trade are doing well, and he sends his compliments,” Gregory replied, the courtesy causing Mistress Cecily to smile more widely.

The Master and Mistress, Gregory’s de facto parents, had been delighted when he broached the notion of entering into merchandising. Jehan’s skill and knowledge of the goods he sold were never in question but Master Crossley had previously dealt with the business side of running the shop where Jehan was apprenticed. So the newly established merchant had scant experience of running a business and little certainty in his ability to notate letters and numbers.

Here, Gregory held the advantage. Growing up in a considerable household and being involved in its daily management proved invaluable, and Master Robert had guided him through the rest, poring for hours over the business ledgers and discussing how best to invest Jehan’s store of sovereigns.

If Master Robert had gladly imparted his knowledge of bookkeeping, Mistress Cecily had immediately bestowed her patronage on the Ludgate shop. Gregory reckoned that Master Crossley would not be dismayed at losing such a prestigious customer since he owned both premises, but Mistress Cecily’s friendly support to Jehan was a boon, as well as her recommendation of his services.

A few months after Jehan started trading from the narrow shop, Gregory was set to join him, openly as a partner in the business and privately, to conduct their burgeoning love affair. In overcrowded London, it was usual for men to share a room or even a bed without inciting gossip or moral outrage. Additionally, there was a small upstairs front room in direct proportion to the shop below, ideal for keeping the shop’s records. This chamber had a decent-sized window overlooking the street, garnering enough natural daylight for scribing.

Gregory had been preparing to decamp to Ludgate permanently in the depths of winter, when Master Robert’s elderly father had fallen down from the icy front steps of the Bishopsgate house. The doctor declared that Master Edward was lucky to get away with shock and bruising and a clean break of the bone in one arm. Gregory was a particular favourite of the old gentleman and had attended him in recent years more from fondness than duty. After the accident, not only did Master Edward require more practical assistance until his limb was mended, but the shock of the injury suddenly aged and confused him. For some months, it seemed that only Gregory’s presence could restore his good humour.

Neither Master Robert nor Mistress Cecily expected Gregory to remain to tend to their kinsman, but he could not bear to leave under the circumstances. After all, he reasoned, they had unhesitatingly opened their home and hearts to an orphaned boy. It would be unthinkable to repay those long years of kindness with desertion, especially when the old master needed him.

When he tried to explain his decision to Jehan, he feared outright rejection, even the end of their dreams of forging a life together, but although Jehan’s expressive face was sombre at the disappointing tidings, his dark eyes were full of compassion. “Family comes first,” He said. “You can’t desert Master Edward now. I sympathise, and I would expect no less of you. After all, if you hadn’t stuck by me when I was in trouble, where would I be now? You’re not the kind of man to abandon loved ones to follow your own desires, and I cherish you all the more for that quality. Never fear, I can wait a while longer.”

A Touch of Spice

atouchofspiceIn the spring of 1573, twenty-one-year-old Gregory Fletcher is a happy man, set to move into the spice shop on London’s Ludgate Hill with his true love Jehan Zanini, who he spared from being condemned as a thief the year before.

But Gregory’s kind inclinations to help others in need tend to thwart the couple from fulfilling their dreams as Gregory delays living with Jehan to assist his adoptive family in a crisis.

Then William Anstell, their friend and the cause and saviour of Jehan’s previous problems, gets amorously involved with an unscrupulous tavern server and relies on Gregory and Jehan to resolve his embarrassing mess.

Can the lovers finally put aside distractions and other people’s problems to find lasting happiness?

Book links:

JMS Books :: Amazon :: Books2Read :: Goodreads :: Bookbub

About Ellie Thomas

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Website: https://elliethomasromance.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliethomasauthor/

Twitter: @e_thomas_author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19835510.Ellie_Thomas

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ellie-thomas