the river leith

9/10 pots of gold to The River Leith | Rainbow Gold Reviews #gay #mmromance

June 17, 2014 by Leta

“I love Leta Blake’s writing. It’s so smooth and flowing. The River Leith is told from Leith’s POV, but the reader is able to take an agonising peak in Zach’s mind when he makes these vlog entries. Let me tell you – those are heartbreaking!

The River Leith is a very real book. Don’t expect any magical solutions or convenient plot turns. This is the story of two people who manage to find their way back to each other despite all odds being stacked against them.

I highly recommend this book! Give it a try, and check Leta’s other amazing stand-alone Training Season. You will not be disappointed!”

via Teodora gives 9/10 pots of gold to The River Leith by Leta Blake | Rainbow Gold Reviews.

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer. — Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

60% Off The River Leith by Leta Blake! Gone Fishin’ Sale! #ebook #discount #sale

June 14, 2014 by Leta

I’m headed off for a week long writing vacation! Just me, myself, and my files in a lonely hotel room in an area of the country that provides zero temptations or distraction! In celebration, for the entire week I’m away, I’m offering my latest book The River Leith up for 60% off (aka $1.60!) at Smashwords with the following coupon.

COUPON CODE: FJ73R

(Coupon expires 6/22/14)

Direct link to the book on Smashwords: THE RIVER LEITH

In addition, let me give a heads up that I’m not sure what the cell phone reception will be like or the internet availability, so if I don’t respond to emails, messages, etc, right away that’s probably the reason. I’ve got blog posts scheduled to go up and hopefully I’ll still have some access to the interwebs. We’ll see how it goes. Otherwise….

GONE FISHIN’, Y’ALL!

Dang, Demanding Characters With Musical Opinions! Music from The River Leith #music #playlist #extras

June 10, 2014 by Leta

Now, some people might call me crazy, and that’s okay, but my characters have their own opinions about music. I almost always have a book-specific playlist for any novel I’m working on, and the songs are picked by the characters themselves. The following is a link to Leith’s playlist. He chose the songs. He was absolutely fixated on The Vitamin String Quartet covers, but was also mad about The Gaslight Anthem’s acoustic stuff, Snow Patrol, and Billy Bragg. He also had a hard-on for a few Ed Sheeran songs, amongst a select few others.

So, for those interested, press play and see what Leith insisted I listen to as I wrote his book.

[spotify id=”spotify:user:12122330928:playlist:3FpF7QdsRE7oTI4JhCfbfu” width=”300″ height=”380″ /]

***

Hooray! 5 Stars for The River Leith! From Kristen Addicted to M/M Romance

June 8, 2014 by Leta

“Bottom line? I loved this story. I related to both MCs so much. I understood both of their POVs and thought their feelings were valid and very honest. Wonderful love story about overcoming loss and rebuilding a relationship.”

via Goodreads | Kristen Addicted to M/M Romance’s review of The River Leith.

Eep! Reminder! Five Copies of The River Leith #giveaway #free #ebook

June 4, 2014 by Leta

CLICK HERE to participate in the contest to win a copy! Five copies to give away!

Last day to enter is June 09, 2014!

The River Leith – Typos CORRECTED! New Files Uploaded!

June 3, 2014 by Leta

Embarrassingly, it came to my attention that there were eighteen typos in the final files in The River Leith that went up for sale two weeks ago. One of those typos came in the middle of a very important conversation between the characters and was quite cringeworthy.

I’d like to apologize to the readers that these errors made it through. It’s kind of amazing given the attention to detail and number of eyes that were on this book, and yet it happened as it did. Regardless, it’s important to me that readers have the best book available in their hands, so I’ve taken the steps and paid to have the files re-formatted and as of two days ago, I’ve officially uploaded new files to all vendors.

Hopefully we have caught all of the typos in the book now and going forward there will be no problem. If you’ve already purchased the book, you can go to the vendor to see about updating the file for your reading.

At Amazon in particular, I know there is an option for updating your file to the corrected version. Here are the directions on how to do that from their page:

Customers can choose to receive the updated files through their Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.com. If you’d like to receive updates to your Kindle books that we have confirmed improvements were made in automatically, you can turn on automatic updates for your books from the Manage Your Content and Devices page.

Before you enable the Automatic Book Update feature, make sure to turn on the Annotations Backup for your Kindle device or Kindle reading app to sync your notes, highlights, bookmarks, and furthest page read. The following devices automatically enable the Annotations Backup: Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX, Kindle for Android, Kindle for Windows 8, and Kindle for BlackBerry 10. As a result, you cannot turn off the Annotations Backup.

Follow these steps to enable the Automatic Book Update:

1. Visit the Manage Your Content and Devices page
2. Select “Automatic Book Update” from the left navigation bar.
3. Click Turn On.

Yay! River Leith Listed In Booyah #eBooks For May : Mary Calmes Book Blog

May 29, 2014 by Leta

“I absolutely love how Leith’s discovery of his feelings for Zach is handled. His brain “itching” at certain smells, looks, feelings. His gradual realization that the relationship is much more, at least for him, than friendship. And, the scene in the hospital garden…THE scene – when you read the book, you’ll know the one I mean – could not have been more perfect. Their connection and chemistry are amazing, and I’ll tell you what… Leta Blake writes some beautifully steamy sex scenes.Honestly, the writing style overall just really spoke to me. I could say so much more about how much I loved this book, but I’ll let you all, discover it for yourselves. I will say, though, that I’ve been looking for a long time for a book to recommend as a first time M/M read to one of my best friends, and I think I might have finally found it. I highly recommend this book, folks. And, I plan to rush out and get Leta’s other stories!!” — Jules, The Novel Approach

via Mary Calmes Book Blog: Our Booyah Books For The Month Of May.

Mmm, The Scent, The Feel of PAPER! The River Leith Now In Paperback! #mmromance #gay

May 27, 2014 by Leta

Yep, that’s right! The paperback version of The River Leith is now available on CreateSpace and Amazon!

I’ve held it in my own hands and it’s gorgeous! *swoon* See the pic below!

(Click the pic to go to Amazon to purchase!)

Five Free Copies of The River Leith at The Romance Reviews! #mmromance #gay #ebook

May 26, 2014 by Leta

Head on over to The Romance Reviews and participate in the contest for five free copies of The River Leith!

A sample of what some readers are saying about The River Leith:

“The River Leith is a delight: devastating, hopeful, sexy, romantic, and true.” — I’m With Geek Reviews

“I love Leta Blake’s writing. It’s so smooth and flowing. The River Leith is a very real book. Don’t expect any magical solutions or convenient plot turns. This is the story of two people who manage to find their way back to each other despite all odds being stacked against them. I highly recommend this book! ” – Rainbow Gold Reviews

“Elegant story-telling. I couldn’t put this one down. As would be expected with a story about a man with amnesia, there’s a lot of introspection and revisits to the past, yet it never once felt like the story had stagnated. In fact, the pace was so right, measured. Loved every word.” — Lane Swift, Goodreads

CLICK HERE to participate in the contest to win a copy! Five copies to give away!

Last day to enter is June 09, 2014!

Yes, I’m Insane! That’s How I Do It! – My Writing Process Blog Hop by Leta Blake #amwriting

May 25, 2014 by Leta

I was tagged by Rory for this Blog Hop!

1) What am I working on?

Currently I’m working on another contemporary m/m romance titled Smoky Mountain Dreams. I started this one about four years ago and when I needed to take (yet another) break from the four book series I’ve been working on for nearly ten years (omg it will never end! probably because I keep taking breaks from it!), I planned to finish up the prequel to Stalking Dreams, but when I opened that file none of the characters felt like talking to me.

Around that same time, a friend said, “Hey, whatever happened to that book you were writing about the theme park performer and the jeweler with the angsty past? I’ve never read another m/m book like that one and I’ve always wanted you to finish it.” Assuming, as I always do, that the unfinished book was crap, I opened it up to see just why my friend thought it was special, and lo and behold…well, IT DID NOT SUCKETH.

(Confession: I have a problem with thinking everything I’ve left unfinished actually sucks. Luckily, my friends tend to remind me that I should look at those books again just to make sure. Then I realized I might be wrong after all. Training Season and The River Leith were both books with this unfinished-so-must-suck history.)

So! I had the epiphany that if I managed to get Smoky Mountain Dreams done by July and hold it to release in November, then I will have almost a full year before I’d need to put out the first book in the four book series. Then, since I’m (hopefully) 2/3 done with Book 3 of that series, I’d have nearly a year and a half to have Book 4 finished, and hooray! The twice yearly timeline works out for me! Though I plan to put the series out one book every two or three months, so it will be more than twice annually in that year.

Holy crap, no one wanted to know that! This must be the most boring blog post I’ve ever written so far!

To sum up: I’m working on a book about a theme park employee and his jeweler love interest and it’s a lot more complicated than that makes it sound.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hmm. You know, the only way I can answer this is to say, simply, they are written by me and I don’t think anyone else writes just exactly the same way that I do? There’s no value on this reality, just that I’m pretty sure I have a voice that is my own. I will say that I think I’m unapologetic. I write what the characters want and that’s that. If that makes someone unhappy then I can’t really be sorry about that because characters are who they are and I don’t always approve of their behavior either.

3) Why do I write what I do?

This is a big topic. I write romance because I have always loved the joy of them, the happy endings, the trials on the way to them. They’ve always made my heart beat faster. I write m/m romance for a ton of reasons, one of the biggest being that if I ever write a m/f book, then I want to make sure I’ve broken my mind free enough of the traps society has instilled in my mind about women, heroines, and what that looks like. Quite frankly, writing m/m helps with that. What is that saying? You can’t imagine freedom if you don’t know what it looks like? Well, m/m helps me imagine a m/f reality that doesn’t fall back on the rules and regulations that society has drilled into me.

4) How does your writing process work?

It’s a process made up of three prongs:

1) Inspiration

First, I need to be inspired. Where that inspiration comes from is always a mystery and it can hit at any time. Music, poetry, taking a walk in the park, getting dinner in a restaurant, a random comment from a friend. Boom! Characters show up in my head and start talking to me and I’m all, “Wait, wait, let me get this down. Hold up!” (Or sometimes I say, “Wait, wait, I can’t with you right now. I’m swamped with another book, you see. Come back later.”) I can never tell what’s going to inspire me, but there’s no doubt that inspiration is required and part of the process.

2) Work

Second, I put in the time. I make the time. I have to make time because there are only so many hours in a day, a week, a year. And writing’s in my blood. It makes me go. I have to do it and I have to work at it. So, I am a writer. What am I not? Let’s make a list:

a) I’m not the perfect mom! Why? Because, oh, sometimes I tell my kid to make her own dinner (PB&J and some applesauce) because Mommy is writing. Or I hire a babysitter so I can write. Or I set her up on her iPad and say, “Play on this and when you’re bored watch tv or read a book, but don’t come talk to me because I’m writing.” Now, am I a good mom? Hell yeah. I’m a damn good mom. I’m at the important things and by writing I teach her that moms have reasons to be on this earth that don’t consist of “being focused on the kid 100% of the time”.

b) I am NOT a good housekeeper. In fact, my house is a disaster. I should take pics. Okay, fine, I actually will! Here is what my sink looks like RIGHT THIS SECOND. This is reality. I work a job, do a ton for my kid, spend time with my husband and write books. Something’s gotta give.

Yep! That’s what being a writing mom looks like! Aren’t you glad you don’t write? Yep, yep.

3) Dogged Determination

My process involves ignoring new inspiration in the interest of finishing an older work that is no longer making my blood pump with joy. My process involves ignoring the very loud chorus of voices in my head saying, “You can’t do this. This books can’t be finished. It’s stupid. Everyone will hate it. You’re going to make an ass of yourself. Who do you think you are writing this book???”

Luckily for me, I’m a bit of a contrarian. If you tell me I can’t do something? God, that just makes me want to do it so much more. Even if it’s me telling myself that. Sure, I’ll whine about it–(sorry friends who have had to endure a lot of this!)–and take to my bed for a day or so and feel like I suck and want to give up. BUT I DON’T. I eventually say, “Can’t do it, huh? SHUT UP. WE’RE DOING THIS.” And I do it.

So, the last part of my process is simply NOT STOPPING.

Are You Even In A Relationship If The Person Can’t Remember Who You Are? #amnesia #morality

May 24, 2014 by Leta

I am finding myself absolutely fascinated by the reaction some readers have to certain things in The River Leith. I decided I’d blog about it, but I wanted to state upfront that I’m not arguing that these readers are wrong or that they shouldn’t feel as they do, I’m just explaining my own thinking and my own surprise.

BEYOND THIS POINT ARE SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!! Read only if you are okay with being SPOILED!!

A
H

Deleted Scene: The River Leith’s Alternate Ending #spoilers #extras

May 23, 2014 by Leta

So, when I wrote The River Leith, it originally had an epilogue after the last vlog post, but my editor said, “Nope. Nope, nope, nope. It ends nicely with the vlog. No need to clutter the book up with what amounts to two endings!” So, with a heavy heart, I deleted the scene.

But! That gives me an opportunity to share it with you now! Let me say in advance IT HAS MASSIVE, MASSIVE, MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE BOOK!!!! If you have not read the book, then you may want to take a pass on reading beyond the cut.

If you have read the book, then you know what happens, so let’s just cut to the chase! Click on through to see the deleted epilogue to The River Leith. There’s more texting, more Thakur, more Zach, and more Leith! *twirls and throws confetti*

Author Spotlight – Leta Blake | Queer Town Abbey #free #ebook #mmromance

May 22, 2014 by Leta

Today I’m over at Queer Town Abbey helping them celebrate their birthday! In addition to an interview, there’s an opportunity to win The River Leith via Rafflecopter!

A taste of the interview is below:

What does your writing process look like?

My writing process is made up of three prongs: inspiration, work, and dogged determination. It all starts with inspiration, but work is what gets 90% of the book done, and dogged determination is the last 10% needed to keep from throwing myself down in a heap and giving up.

What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?

The part about 2/3 of the way through when I become convinced that this book is not possible, that it will never be done, that I’ve wasted so much time and effort on something that just can’t even possibly ever be finished. That part sucks.

Whoot! Free Copy of The River Leith at Stumbling Over Chaos! #free #ebook #mmromance

May 20, 2014 by Leta

Just click on over using THIS LINK to comment for a free copy of The River Leith!

Editing Woes: Leith & Zach’s Deleted Texts #mmromance #extras

May 18, 2014 by Leta

Whenever I pay to have something edited, the rule I set for myself is to always take the editor’s advice on what to cut, even if it makes me sad. In The River Leith there were a few lines that got cut that I liked a lot, and an entire scene that I’ll post at another date, but there was a specific text interaction that I’d really loved and it was especially hard to cut that one.

It was short. It was sweet. And it probably only makes sense in the context of the book. But here it is. The first text is from Leith, the second from Zach.

***

Today, my psychiatrist compared my mind to a map of the universe.
The reply from Zach took only a few moments.
My God! It’s full of stars!!!!

***

Yep, that took me about thirty minutes of fretting to finally cut. It was the right choice, though. That’s what we pay editors for, my friends!

Yessss! The River Leith Now Available on Barnes & Noble! #mmromance #gay #amnesia

May 16, 2014 by Leta

Initial reviews for The River Leith are looking pretty good!

“I cannot even begin to express just how much I loved The River Leith. I tore through the book in a few hours because it captured me from the first page and did not let me go.” – Erika, Goodreads

And now it’s available for purchase at Barnes & Noble as well!

Also available at:

Amazon

Smashwords

All Romance Ebooks

and Barnes & Noble!

Early Release Day! The River Leith Available Now! #mmromance #gay #ebook

May 15, 2014 by Leta

The River Leith is now available!

Amazon

Smashwords

All Romance Ebooks

and Barnes & Noble!

What is the reason for this early release? Well, see, I’d originally planned to release the book on the 18th, my husband’s birthday, as a sort of, “Hey, happy birthday, babe! In your honor I released a book!” But, uh, apparently he’d rather I spent his special day actually, you know, paying attention to him and not messing around with getting files loaded, dealing with glitches, messing with blog posts and announcements, and all that jazz. Can you believe that? I mean, so demanding, right? 😉 Seriously, though, obviously that release-day/birthday thing wasn’t the best plan in the world. Luckily, I resolved that and now…*drumroll*…the book is available several days early! Hooray! Go forth and buy! *bounces* *bites nails* Hope you enjoy!

“Leta Blake knocks it out of the park with delicious angst and drama.” | Keira Andrews’s review of The River Leith #mmromance

May 14, 2014 by Leta

“Amnesia is one of my very favourite tropes, and Leta Blake knocks it out of the park here with delicious angst and drama. Leith and Zach’s struggle to come to terms with the new reality where Leith can’t remember knowing Zach at all — let alone being madly in love with him — is gripping. My heart broke for both the characters and I rooted hard for their happy ending.

The book is told from Leith’s POV, but Blake uses vlog transcripts as a clever device to give us insight into Zach’s perspective as well. His anger, confusion and hurt comes across vividly. I loved that Zach and Leith are flawed people who make mistakes, and that there are no easy solutions to their predicament. I also loved that the slow burn of UST isn’t rushed. If you’re looking for mindless sex from the get-go, this isn’t the book for you. But when the sex does happen after a long buildup, it’s so much more meaningful — and smokin’ hot!

The supporting characters, especially Arthur and Dr. Thakur, are quirky and well drawn. Also, the author includes a note at the end of the book saying that she downplayed the medical realities of head injuries and amnesia for the sake of having fun with a time-honoured romance trope. I certainly have no problem with that, and was able to settle in for the ride with no concerns about the realism of head injuries (which, let’s face it — don’t make for very good escapism!).

Full disclosure: I worked as the editor on this book. The first time I read it, I’d opened the file to just take a glance. I ended up spending the new few hours gobbling up the story in one gulp! It was completely captivating. Two thumbs up!”

via Goodreads | Keira Andrews (Toronto, ON, Canada)’s review of The River Leith.

Lethe, Leith, Same Difference…Only NOT! #edinburgh #dunedin #underworld

May 7, 2014 by Leta

The River Lethe (pronounced Lee-thee) was a river in the Greek Underworld which the souls of the soon-to-be-reincarnated dead drank from in order to have their memories of their prior lives wiped so that they could go forward into their new lives unburdened by the information from their old ones. When looking for a name for my amnesiac character, I liked the idea of playing with the Greek’s river of forgetfulness, and so I chose a man’s name that was similar: Leith.

As it turns out, there are actually several Rivers Leith. Check it out:
1)

The Water of Leith, aka the River Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland, complete with a naked man sculpture by a famous artist named Antony Gormley (any relation to Amelia?). This river does not appear at all in the book. Not even a little.

The River Leith in Dunedin, New Zealand. This river is part of some bike course and they ride their bikes through part of it and then carry the bikes over other parts. This river does not appear in the book at all, either. Not a mention!

This River Leith is in Cumbria which is part of England and I don’t think it has to do with the other River Leith in Scotland, but I might be wrong. Sometimes I am. It happens. And, yep, this one isn’t mentioned in the book either.

The only rivers mentioned in the book are monsoon-swollen rivers in India and the River Lethe. So, folks out there looking for books about any of these gorgeous rivers? This probably isn’t the book for you, unless you like boxers with amnesia and enjoy a bit of the gay romance from time to time. And if you do enjoy that, really, who can blame you?

The-River-Leith-web-copy — Hey, readers, I’ll be out May 18th. In the meantime, I’ll be right here, looking like this, and you can visit anytime.

On May 18th, He Won’t Remember to Forget Him. #mmromance #gay

May 3, 2014 by Leta

Coming May 18th!

Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.