Scrap (The Bristol Collection #3) by Josephine Myles Blog Tour & Giveaway!

Want to know what one of our favorite authors has to say about redeeming a bad boy?

Want to have a chance to win a copy of Scrap?

Yes, yes you want BOTH of those things!

Josephine Myles has stopped by to school us on the ways of redeeming the bad boy we all love and a chance to win a copy of Scrap! WOOOOP!

Redeeming a Bad Boy by Josephine Myles

Bad Boys are a staple of romantic fiction. The traditional romantic hero was often a dastardly so-and-so—the kind of overbearing, amoral, hypermasculine rakes who had to be tamed by the plucky heroine. These days your bad boy hero could be anything from a member of a motorcycle gang to an international art thief. I’ll tell you one thing, though: there aren’t all that many who starred as the villain in a previous book.

However, after writing Stuff I became utterly intrigued by the character of Grant: the closeted family man who was cheating on his wife with Mas. He’d originally been conceived as an utter bastard and most definitely the villain of the book, but when I finally wrote the scene he appears in, I realised he was monumentally screwed up and in a considerable amount of pain. Denial will do that to a man. And he really was in love with Mas, so he wasn’t all bad.

I told myself I shouldn’t make him the hero of the next book. I told myself readers would hate him, and I couldn’t imagine what kind of man it would take to redeem him. Then I realised I’d already written him as a minor character: Dare.

They had virtually nothing in common apart from their toppish and arrogant attitude. Grant was superficial and obsessed with his career, whereas Dare was a down to earth punk. I love opposites-attract stories, so how could I possibly resist?

I knew that Grant had a huge amount of character growth to go through before he could redeem himself, so I factored a decent timescale into the novel. The opening scene is the night of the Cabbages and Kinks launch party featured in Stuff, but then there’s a break of almost a year before the narrative picks up again. During this time Grant has confessed to his wife and they have separated. He’s now taking his first steps towards living as an out gay man.

I know there are probably readers out there who are unable to forgive any characters who cheat, but I hope I’ve made Grant’s situation sympathetic enough. I’ve met several older gay men who started out in denial, getting married and sometimes starting a family before their suppressed desires began to surface in ways they couldn’t ignore. We live in a world that doesn’t always make it easy for men to admit they’re gay, although things are certainly more open today than they used to be.

So I’ve taken a risk with this book, but sometimes that’s what my muse needs. Playing it safe with cute and likeable characters would be easy, but I do need challenges to get me motivated to write. Redeeming Grant was perhaps my toughest challenge to date, but I’m proud of the results. I hope you all enjoy watching him grow into a better person—especially when it involves him grovelling to get back into Mas’s good graces!

Author bio: English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

Jo publishes regularly with Samhain, and her latest novel is the contemporary gay erotic romance, Scrap. She loves to be busy, and is currently having fun trying to work out how she is going to fit in her love of writing, dressmaking and attending cabaret shows in fabulous clothing around the demands of a new baby.

Website and blog: http://josephinemyles.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josephine.myles.author

Twitter: @JosephineMyles

Jo will be giving away a choice of two titles from her backlist to one commentator on each blog tour stop. Just leave a comment and please include your email address so you can be contacted should you be chosen.

List of Blog Tour Stops for Scrap by Josephine Myles

10th March ~ Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance

12th March ~ Boy Meets Boy Reviews

14th March ~ Love Bytes Reviews

16th March ~ Boys in our Books

18th March ~ Rainbow Gold Reviews

20th March ~ Prism Book Alliance

GRAND PRIZE

In addition to the above Jo will be giving away a Camper Van USB Drive with all her books on it to one lucky winner chosen at random from all tour stops. Just enter the Rafflecopter draw below for your chance to win this great prize. Good Luck!

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