Review of Love’s Magic by ‘Kimmers Erotic Book Banter’

There are some review which capture the heart and soul of a book much more so than any other. This review from Kimmer’s Erotic Book Banter did just that.  It didn’t simply talk about what I wrote… it saw beneath the surface to the true reasons why Love’s Magic exists.

Especially now, in an age when a man nominated to the Supreme Court is accused of sexual assault by more than one woman, Love’s Magic speaks with a resounding voice about these issues that affected so many of us… including me…. and that will CONTINUE to affect us, particularly in the age of Trump.

It is my privilege to share this review  with you.

REVIEW: 

Janice Jarrell’s Love’s Magic reads matter-of-factly, even as deep emotions whiz by. A similar paradox occurs as Jarrell pairs a double-romance with a dreadful theme, that of campus sexual assaults. However, her distance works, creating suspense in the context of charmingly thick-headed couples.

The first pair consists of David, an older, well-loved, tenured professor, and his lover, Nate, a newly-minted professor. In fact, to get Nate hired, David had to battle homophobic Professor Fox, Nate’s Department Chair. David is understandably overprotective of Nate. But this rankles Nate, who is trying to make his own reputation on campus.

One night, Nate successfully prevents an attempted rape, not knowing the target is Professor Fox’s niece. When Nate is stabbed in the rescue, Dr. Fox takes an about-face in their relationship. He asks Nate to stand with him in organizing a campus protest, requesting their university do more to prevent campus assaults.

This puts David in an awkward position, as his friend, the Chancellor, doesn’t want negative publicity for the university. Nate’s tenure could be on the line if he participates in the rally.

Will two relationships, one established, one just blooming, be swept aside by the violence and turmoil of sexual assault, with its sometimes deadly consequences?

The second couple includes Colin, who is campus police. He might be a boisterous, carefree, larger-than-life Irish bachelor in private, but he’s a methodical champion of his student victims. Normally, the university’s Title IX campus liaison has been a thorn in Colin’s side. That person’s job is to neutrally assess both sides of an episode, supposed victim and assailant. Then Collin meets the new liaison; quiet, compassionate, steady Joshua, who challenges Colin to acknowledge his own dark past, and the lack of intimacy it has generated.

Will two relationships, one established, one just blooming, be swept aside by the violence and turmoil of sexual assault, with its sometimes deadly consequences?

I certainly learned a great deal about the issue of campus assault from ‘Love’s Magic’. For example, since universities must treat every student equally, they may have a very nuanced view of accuser and accused. This means their Title IX liaison might perceive an assault differently than campus police, with their tendency to label crimes as perpetrator versus victim.

Likewise, those directly and indirectly affected by crimes can have conflicting needs. One may want justice and the other security.

And assault, which is especially prevalent for the LGBTQ community, often creates long-term difficulties for unprepared families and communities. Their recovery needs are each unique.

Rather than read about the effects of this very important topic in a theoretical manner, Jarrell shows readers, as we follow the lives of four men in these two matches. And she permits us a glimpse into the differences between personality types as well.

In so doing, Jarrell examines the core of love, itself. What are over-dependence, independence and interdependence? How can an individual perceive one behavior as kindness while another experiences it as rejection? Why do those undergoing similar traumas recover with very different reactions and styles? 

Rather than read about the effects of this very important topic in a theoretical manner, Jarrell shows readers, as we follow the lives of four men in these two matches. And she permits us a glimpse into the differences between personality types as well.

For all this, the book remains a romance whose couples are often surprised by the strengths and fragility of love. Jarrell creates great tension against which acts of sweetness are starkly satisfying. She takes care to follow her men past where some romances end, so we may understand the lasting implications of crimes and those affected.

Sensitive readers will especially appreciate Love’s Magic. Despite its thoroughness and suspense, the novel is never gruesome. Ms. Jarrell earns my respect and gratitude for her willingness to explore a very complex, critical topic in a detailed, yet entertaining fashion, to bring us decent, interesting men, who struggle to develop delightfully realistic relationships. As it is the first in her Revolutionary Hearts series, we can surely expect an intense follow-up!

Love’s Magic Available now on Amazon!


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Love’s Magic Available now on Amazon for $1.99!

Love’s Trials Pre-Order now on Amazon!

Love’s Trials – Charlottesville

As the video trailer for Love’s Trials suggests, the ‘Unite the Right’ protests in Charlottesville is an important part of Colin and Joshua’s unfolding story. 

August 12, 2017 was a momentous day in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was the day that the ‘Unite the Right’ protestors marched their way into history. It was also a day that left most of American feeling disgusted, repulsed and angry.

But for the characters in ‘Love’s Trials’ the ‘Unite the Right’ protest was even more. They weren’t spectators as the terrible events of that day unfolded, they were participants. It was a moment in their lives when they were forced to face some of their most deeply felt enmities. Enmities rooted in racial memories too profound to ignore. It was a day when they feared for the safety of the ones they love most. And it was also a day of responsibility, duty, and trial.

Love’s Magic is set in Charlottesville. Much of the storyline revolves around the University of Virginia and the politics which are a fundamental part any organization that large and unwieldy. Love’s Trials features the same characters and when the ‘Unite the Right’ protests happened in Charlottesville it was simply impossible for me to ignore an occurrence that fundamentally important to our nation’s history. It had to be part of the storyline.

Colin, as a Sergeant with the University of Virginia campus police force, would be involved in this conflict from start to finish. Joshua, the Jewish man who loved him, would experience this incident on an intensely personal level, both because the involvement of the neo-Nazi’s awakens deeply felt historical and family memories and because the man he loves is involved in every aspect of this conflict which places him in constant danger.

Knowing Colin as well as I do, I knew that he would not only take great offense at hearing the anti-Semitic rhetoric the Nazi’s were spewing on that day, he would also be frothing at the mouth with anger. One of the things he loves most about Joshua is his Jewish heritage. He believes that the deep reservoir of inner strength which he has always loved and counted on within Joshua flows from that genetic, spiritual source. Hearing the Nazi’s hate-filled, anti-Semitic chants would have set his Irish heart on fire with rage.

At the same time, I knew Colin would have to stay in control of his emotions. Certainly, he would have longed to batter the Nazi protestors to a pulp. But it’s not Colin’s way to use physical force no matter how angry he might be. He is experienced enough at his job to know that such a reaction would solve nothing. Further, responding with undue force could easily have provoked a response from the supremacists in which innocent citizens could be hurt. He had to try to stay calm. He had to try to react in a professional manner. He didn’t always succeed.

In Love’s Trials you’ll hear Colin talk about that day. He’ll discuss what he saw and heard. He’ll discuss about how he responded. He’ll discuss how he felt. And he’ll discuss his thoughts on how well he feels the police force, whose job it is to protect Charlottesville citizens, responded on that dramatic day. He was in the thick of every event that took place in Charlottesville on August 12th, 2017, but those events were also very much out of his control. His point of view with regard to this emotionally charged day in his professional life is both personal and deeply felt. He would certainly never claim that they were unbiased. Colin is at heart a deeply honest man. And as such he would be the first to admit that no one who was present at the “Unite the Right” riots that day could have been less biased than he.

Joshua’s point of view regarding that terrible day was also deeply personal. As a Jewish man who lost many family members in the Holocaust, he possessed a unique perspective regarding the ‘Unite the Right’ march in Charlottesville. He was filled with disgust and anger that the neo-Nazis had been allowed to march in his city in the first place, and his first instinct was to join the counter protestors and face down the white-supremacists. At the same time, he knew that his presence at the event would make it impossible for Colin to concentrate on his job. Colin’s concern for Joshua’s safety would have been a distraction which could easily have gotten him seriously injured or even killed.

It was a dangerous situation for everyone involved and Joshua had to make a hard decision. Would he join the counter protestors? Or would he stay home in safety? His desire to be part of what happened that day was fueled by his genetic revulsion for anything connected with the Nazis. The grandfather who nearly raised him had been imprisoned in the camps. Both great grandparents had been Holocaust victims along with many, many other family members. And yet his presence at the event would have placed the man he loved in danger, and Colin made it clear he was vehemently opposed to Joshua being anywhere near the protests. Any decision Joshua made meant facing a trial that could possibly change their lives forever.

They both made decisions on that fateful day that altered their feelings about their relationship and about themselves. Colin had been a police officer for a decade but he had never before faced a situation where he was confronted with hatred and bigotry this vicious which also posed a very real threat to the one he loved. Joshua had never before faced a situation which forced him to appreciate and accept how deeply connected he was with his Jewish heritage.

In the end, they both made decisions that would affect they way the lived their lives from that point forward. I won’t share all the details either of that day or of what came after for Colin and Joshua. I don’t want to ‘spoil’ you for the dramatic events that take place in Love’s Trials. But I can say this: This incident doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what they’re forced to face in this book. But it does lay a foundation of love and faith in each other that they will certainly need in the days ahead. And it is a profound chapter in what I hope you’ll feel is a profound story.

Love’s Trials will be released on October 12th, 2018 on Amazon. It is available for pre-order now so run and grab your copy. Colin and Joshua face many trials in the course of this book, the ‘Unite the Right’ protest being only one. And when the trial is deadly enough, love can lose its way.

 


Want sneak peeks at new Janice Jarrell projects? How about deleted scenes, alternate endings, early drafts, book release details, and exclusive giveaways?
Join our VIP group, RED HOT Gay Romance, for a behind the scenes look at all of this and more!


Website and Blog

Social Links: jjarrell@lovestrials.com
Facebook: Facebook Page
Goodreads Author Profile Page
Follow me on Twitter @Revolut35174972
Follow me on Pinterest!!
My YouTube Channel


Love’s Magic Available now on Amazon!

Love’s Trials Available now on Amazon!

LOVE’S TRIALS COVER REVEAL!


LOVE’S TRIALS COVER REVEAL!


COMING ON OCTOBER 12TH
PRE-ORDER NOW!


Want sneak peeks at new Janice Jarrell projects? How about deleted scenes, alternate endings, early drafts, book release details, and exclusive giveaways?
Join our VIP group, Jan’s Jazzy Jammers, for a behind the scenes look at all of this and more!


Social Links: jjarrell@lovestrials.com
Facebook: Facebook Page
Goodreads Author Profile Page
Follow me on Twitter @Revolut35174972
Follow me on Pinterest!!
My YouTube Channel


Love’s Magic Available now on Amazon!

Love’s Trials Pre-Order now on Amazon!

Interview with Author Dara Nelson!!

Joining us now is author Dara Nelson to talk about her upcoming release, Better Latte Than Never!

And here’s a blurb to whet your appetite!

Opposites attract. Yeah…we’ve all heard that saying.
But maybe the differences are just on the surface and if you take the time to dig deep enough, you’ll find kindred spirits buried beneath. On the surface Remy D’Angelo – shy, socially awkward, innocent, creative and sweet – and Jett Wilson – gorgeous, outgoing, a player, never had a relationship, never been in love – were complete opposites.But when Remy gets a job as a barista and coffee artist at Jett’s café – the sparks don’t necessarily fly but flicker steadily until the grow into something that neither of them have ever experienced before.

Will their fears and anxieties drive them away?  Or will the flighty Jett finally find the one thing that will ground him?
Will the two of them realize that experiencing love is what they’ve both been looking for?  It’s always worth it to experience love – Better Latte than Never. 

_________________________________________________

Now let’s meet Dara!!

First off: Tell us about your books, both back catalog and what’s coming up!!

I have 2 series’ that I write under my pen name Kendel Duncan – Black Ops Heroes (the next book in that series is coming in December) & Doyle Global Securities (next book for that released July 25).  Under my name I have the Healing Hearts series right now and I’m currently writing six (Yes 6!) books.

What are common traps for aspiring writers?
First of all – don’t force it.  I always have 4 or 5 books started at once (currently it’s 6). If one stalls or isn’t flowing, I’ll work one of the others.  If one grabs onto me and flows like crazy, I’ll stick with that one until it’s done.  But I never get discouraged if one just isn’t working.  I can always come back to it later.  The second thing is – don’t be sucked into the ‘you have to spend xxxx amount of dollars on a good editor, cover designer, formatter, etc.’  Pardon my language but that’s bullshit.  If you’re good at spelling/language/grammar – edit your own damn book (I did and still do). Create an author group page on FB and ask for beta readers (they are the best).  Connect with other authors in the same genre and reach out to them to see if they have time to read/comment (I do this for several other authors now).  Third – don’t go into this for the money.  Write because it’s what your heart needs you to do, write because there’s a story in your soul that needs to come out.  

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
When I first started writing, I never intended to write a series, let alone 4 or 5 of them.  But then I had secondary characters in the first story that ended up being so much more and I had to tell their story – so I did.  And then it happened again in the next book and so on and so on.  I’ve also had readers reach out to me to ask if I was going to write ‘so & so’s’ story, which told me how much that character resonated with them, so a standalone ended up becoming the first in a series.  Writing that character’s story had never occurred to me at the time.  I want people to be able to read any one of my books as a standalone, so they are written that way, but they all have references to other characters/circumstances so new readers might be inspired to read other book in the series.  If you’re going to do that, though, keep spreadsheets.  Detailed spreadsheets – with each character’s age, eye color, hair color, height, age, build, dick size (yep, really), piercings, tattoos, background, family history, etc.  If you don’t – readers WILL point that shit out if you get it wrong….LOL.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
My spirit animal is an otter – forever young and playful, curious, selfless and wanting to help others.  And can’t stay away from water – that would definitely be me.  I actually had one swim past me at the lake I was vacationing at a few weeks ago.

As a newbie author, this question interests me: What’s the best way to market your books?
Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.  There are hundreds of FB reader/book groups.  Join any/all that are within your genre or that are groups for all genres.  I belong to well over 200.  I keep notes on my phone with ‘ad’ verbiage and I copy/paste, add the book cover or a teaser and voila – marketing done.  It takes me about 15 minutes to post in all of them.

How much and how often do you use social media? And do you believe it has a valuable place in your marketing strategy?
Everyday and yes it’s very valuable but it can also be a distraction from my writing.  If I’m writing, I’m not logged into FB, that way I won’t get notifications of postings or anything. If I take a break from writing or get stuck on a story and need to take a breath, I’ll log in for five or ten minutes.  I never spend more than thirty minutes at a time on social media.  

Do you have a mental image of a particular person when you develop and write characters? For instance, my Colin is most definitely half Jamie Dornan and half Dean Winchester! What are yours?
Not necessarily a specific person but definitely a specific body type/look. I find names distracting, so I like to look at hot guys whose names I don’t know.  When I picture my characters in my head, their faces are mostly blurry (it’s like my brain knows that will distract me) but I can always see their hair, muscles, tattoos, sculpted abs, piercings, etc.  

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I don’t spend much time reading reviews.  Bad ones used to bother me but they don’t anymore.  Some people just aren’t going to like your work, it’s inevitable.  You can’t please everyone.  What I pay attention to a lot more is feedback – comments/emails from readers about how my work touched them, affected them.  And when another author let’s me know that they read my work and loved it?  That just blows me away and I love it.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Be patient.  I always wanted to be a writer.  I’ve been writing poetry since I was in the fifth grade but didn’t come up with the idea for my first novel until I was in my thirties.  By then I had pretty much given up the idea of writing novels and didn’t think it would ever happen, but then the story idea just came to me and I started writing….and writing….and writing.  8 months later I had 3 books written and it hasn’t stopped since.
And don’t be afraid.  
Write what’s in your heart.  Write what you want to write.

Where can people go to contact you and to find your work?
I do have a website (www.daranelson.com) and you can contact me there, but the best place is Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kendelduncanauthor)
Or (https://www.facebook.com/DaraNelsonauthor)

What’s next? Is there already a WIP? Where will your next writing journey take you? 

What isn’t next….LOL.  I have 6 WIPs at the moment, 1 in each of my current series and 3 brand new books that may or may not be part of some new series’,  I also have my book review blog (http://loveunchainedreviews.com) and I’m also doing some cover designs and editing for other authors.  Life is busy, life is good and love is love.

A final thought:
Be kind to others. Good things can happen if you do.  Writing is my life, but I also love reading too.  And when I read, I take the time to leave a review.  I write those reviews the moment I finish a book, when my emotions are fresh and raw.  Do I love everything I read?  Absolutely not.  For those stories that don’t resonate with me, I only leave stars and I never write a review saying I didn’t like a book. 2 stars is enough for someone to know that their book didn’t resonate with me.  That happens.  My book review blog came about because – Those books that I loved, I took the time to write a review, a heartfelt review.  It didn’t take long, maybe only a minute or two for each one.  But those reviews got noticed.  I got comments from authors about how wonderful my reviews were.  That got me thinking, so I started a book review blog.  I didn’t really think much would happen with it, but low and behold, I have tons of followers and I’m at the point now where I have to pick and choose what books I want to read (for free) because my review calendar is too full to read them all.  Think about that.  I already read books all the time but because I took a few minutes to write reviews, I now get to read books many of my favorites for free.  I didn’t do it for that, I did it because I care.  I care about my fellow indie authors.  I care about this wonderful MM community.  And I care about love.

 

Love’s Legacy now available for FREE! Read David and Nate’s story!

One of the most consistent comments I’ve received about Love’s Magic is that David and Nate’s story needed to be expanded. People wanted to know how this dynamic couple came to be. I  will now begin to answer those questions.

Truth is, David and Nate’s story was my first novel. But it remained unpublished, primarily because I didn’t feel the writing was up to par. But because so many of you wanted to hear about how David and Nate got together, I’ve been re-working it a bit and I now want to present it to you for FREE as an online novel.

You’ll get the full story of how they met and how their relationship developed up to the point where Love’s Magic begins. Their story is called Love’s Legacy and Chapter One is up NOW! I’ll be adding new chapters once a week or so.

Love’s Legacy – Janice Jarrell in MOBI format.

Loves-Legacy-Janice-Jarrell in EPUB format.