author. human. working hard to become stellar at life.
Some reviews make me laugh! 😀 And, boy, can I relate to this one!
“Be still my heart. More Matty and Rob!!! I loved every second of this book. Even when I wanted to punch Matty in the face. o_O
Thank you Leta Blake for yet another amazing read!!!”
via Goodreads | Amanda Barnes’s review of Training Complex.
Almost a year ago, Matty Marcus showed up in my head again looking pretty and saying, “Hey, I have a really fun idea for a novella! Wanna write it for me? It’ll be easy, fast, hilarious and you’ll have no regrets! I promise!”
Matty Marcus? He’s a little bit of a liar, guys.
The book turned out to be pretty intense and it required a lot of work. Not to mention it’s 121,000 words long! Far from a novella! More like a longish novel! But the good news is that I persevered and I’m pleased to report that Matty Marcus got his book! Yep! It’s officially released into the world!
It’s a little big thing called TRAINING COMPLEX and you can buy it now!
Coming soon to iTunes and other outlets.
“Leta Blake has given us a compelling love story that carries the reader through both rural Montana and New York City. (I had to remind myself that I was really here in St. Petersburg.) It is beautifully written and it portrays the harsh demands of top level figure skating. Another great feature of the novel was the absence of any villainous or homophobic characters. Training Season is a fairly long novel and this reader shed tears on a number of occasions. It you’re interested in a love story that enwraps you in the worlds of both Matty and Rob this is a sure bet.”
Amazon.com: Geoffrey Segebarth “Geoff Segebarth”‘s review of Training Season.
“This book was filled with so much detail and emotion! I love this, the author, and the story. You should definitely read this.”
via Amazon.com: Robbi Kay’s review of Training Season.
Jenni Lea’s breathless review of Training Season will never not make me happy! 🙂
“After reading everyone else’s reviews I know there is no way I can put it as eloquently and intelligently as those so I’ve decided to just tell you how this book made me feel. Filters off, this is gonna be real and raw.
Ready?
Ahem.
*deep breath*
OH MY GAWD YOU GUYS THIS BOOK IS SO AWESOME I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT TO READ SUCH AN AMAZING STORY I LAUGHED AND CRIED AND LAUGHED SOME MORE I LOVE MATTY I LOVE ROB I LOVE BEN I LOVE MATTY’S MOM I WANT HER TO BE MY MOM TOO SO I CAN CALL HER DONNA I WANT TO MARRY ROB AND HAVE HIS BABIES HE’S SO HOT I WANT TO LICK HIM ALL OVER I WANT TO FEED MATTY AND MAYBE TRY HOT WATER WITH BITTERS EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDS AWFUL I’M SAD ABOUT THEIR STORY BUT HAPPY TOO I HATED THE PAIN THEY WENT THROUGH IT TORE MY HEART RIGHT OUTTA MY CHEST AND STOMPED ON IT AND CAN I PLEASE HAVE THEIR BABIES I WANT THEM TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND BE A PART OF THEIR LIFE I WANT TO BE A GAY BOY FIGURE SKATER TOO AND FALL IN LOVE WITH A SEXY RANCHER MOUNTAIN MAN AND CAN THIS PLEASE BE A REAL THING I WANT TO MOVE TO MONTANA AND ICE SKATE ON A FROZEN LAKE I WANT A RUSSIAN SKATING COACH AND TO DO A TRIPLE AXEL I WANT TO HAVE SEX LIKE THEY DO OK MAYBE NOT SOME OF IT BUT I WANT TO FEEL WHAT THEY FELT AND CAN I PLEASE HAVE A FEW DAYS OFF FROM WORK SO I CAN DEVOUR THIS BOOK AGAIN I NEED FOR LETA BLAKE TO WRITE MORE STORIES HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF LETA BLAKE BEFORE THIS IS GOING ON MY BEST OF THE FREAKIN BEST SHELF CAN I PLEASE HAVE MORE LIKE YESTERDAY I WANT TO FEEL THIS KIND OF LOVE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
Whew!
Got it? Good.”
via Goodreads | Jenni Lea (Alpharetta, GA)’s review of Training Season.
“If you read only one M/M Romance this spring, Training Season would be an excellent choice.
If Training Season author, Leta Blake, is predisposed to a swollen head, then I am about to add to her cranial inflation by awarding Training Season five stars. Quite simply, Blake’s complex, compelling saga of an emotionally and physically injured ice skating star seeking redemption and Olympic Gold, is a completely realized and entertaining work.”
via Training Season By Leta Blake | Queer Town Abbey.
“My perceptions were completely altered [by this book] & that’s pretty powerful.”
“Matty forced me out of my comfort zone with respect to m/m romances. He’s effeminate, dresses outrageously and wears makeup, leaving no question as to his sexual orientation. I was unsure if I could connect with him and here was the power of the story.”
“I’m thrilled that the author created Matty and wrapped this wonderful story around him.”
Read more of Jonette’s wonderful review here: Review: Training Season by Leta Blake | The Book Nympho.
“It seemed every new chapter exposed the reader to new facets of their lives and every one of them was interesting!”
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone loving m/m romance with one hot alpha male and his sexy princess figure skater!”
“4.5 Amazing Stars!”
Goodreads | Ann’s review of Training Season.
“For a reader who is not really into BDSM I loved this book, in fact I know I will re-read this book”
“For me what makes a good romance into a great romance is the characters connection to each other. Rob and Matty’s was off the charts amazing. I felt it, it was real. And their whole relationship with the BDSM actually made sense to me for once, and did not just feel like glamorised porn.”
Goodreads | CJ (Victoria, Australia)’s review of Training Season.
“I don’t write many reviews but this one for me deserved a shout-out. The characters were fun to get to know and the HEA was a good ending.”
Read more of Brad’s 5 star review here: Amazon.com: Brad’s 5 star review of Training Season.
No foolin’ this time! It’s the real deal!
TRAINING SEASON IS AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!!
I got that whole back cover thing fixed right up, so go forth and pick up your copy!
(Though, hey, nothing’s perfect, and apparently it might take a few days for the change to reflect on the Amazon site itself, but any books sold will have the correct blurb!)
AND I’m giving away two signed copies to two folks who comment here on my blog. I’ll use the random number generator thingy from the interwebs to choose from the comments and contact you. Oh, and the end date for signing up for this little drawing will be on February 3rd!
If you’d like to be considered for this giveaway, please leave a comment below!
Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and loved on Training Season! You guys, I never imagined this book would be so well loved! THANK YOU! And thank you again! And again! AND AGAIN!
Scott at Gay Guy Reading Review (GGR-Review) has the following to say about Training Season:
“It is truly a story you won’t want to put down.”
and
“I should receive a quick kick to the arse for not reading this [book] earlier.”
and
“I can only recommend that you follow what I did (only don’t wait as long as I did to read it). Just open it up and start reading.”
***
Read the rest of his enthusiastic review here: Training Season | GGR-Review.
In my little series of music posts about my soundtrack while writing Training Season, here are two more of Rob’s songs. Both of them are very much how he thinks about Matty, the situation, and all of his hopes, dreams and fears. “Nights Like These” is the most despairing of the two and the reference to the only boy who ever broke your heart is a Figure Skating reference, but of course. “Maybe” by Ingrid Michaelson is a bit more upbeat, though I think hopeful resignation is the name of the game with that song.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/_r4Ymyeuw_E]
[youtube=http://youtu.be/FKU3UuJhIxU]
“Does Training Season by Leta Blake live up to all it’s crazy hype? IT SO DOES!”
— Breann, at Boy Meets Boy Reviews
Read more of her glowing review at: Boy Meets Boy Reviews: Review: Training Season by Leta Blake.
As you might have guessed, I don’t own a small cattle ranch in Northwestern Montana. So, when it came down to making Rob’s rancherly duties more realistic, I needed to do some research. Luckily, as usual, the internet doth provide! All praise the internet!
I’m not sure if you guys know about WikiHow, but it is a really awesome and fascinating website that has pages on how to do just about anything in the world. How to tie your shoelaces. How to castrate bulls. How to open a bakery.
And…dun, dun, dun…how to run a cattle ranch!
Reading over that page gave me some general ideas about what activities Rob and his ranch hands would be getting into on the ranch, and gave me a few talking points, too. Such as, did you know:
Be aware that for most North American (especially those in Canada and northern USA) and European ranches winter feeding is the biggest source of financial loss in a ranch operation. It is often what makes or breaks the ranch as a business, so requires very careful management with an eye to absolutely no waste
This is especially true in Northwestern Montana where the winters can be brutal and a small cattle ranch is tough to keep up. There was another site that was helpful to me, also, when developing ideas on what Rob might do with his day on a ranch, how he would talk about his activities, what terms he’d use, etc. I’ll post about that on another day.
In the meantime, if you want to know about how to run a cattle ranch, click on the above link!
“I am stunned. I am shocked. I am bewildered, beholden and breathless at what I have just read. What did I just read? A wonderful story? The most complete love story that I have come across? A gorgeous tale of love, hope, loss, acceptance, forgiveness and just a stunning tale…all of the above? You bet your sweet ass.”
— A Review of Training Season by Leta Blake, by The Risque Redhead Reviews.
Another really touching and amazing review of my book, Training Season. I’m so amazed! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much!
“I have leather horse whips, actually,” Rob said.
“You do?” Matty sat up, nearly smacking his forehead against Rob’s chin.
“Of course. Have you seen my ranch?”
“Oh my God, go get them!”
Rob laughed and stood up slowly, stretching. “Actually, I was thinking we should head into Missoula to do some shopping.”
“You’re passing up whips for shopping?”
“You’re bitching about shopping?”
“I feel so torn!” Matty pulled at his hair. “Oh my God. You suck.”
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