BLOG TOUR: Sins Of Our Sons by Kristian Daniels (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with Author)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Sins of our Sons

Author: Kristian Daniels

Publisher: Extasy Books

Release Date: May 28, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Forbidden love, murder, conversion therapy

Themes: Coming out, forgiveness, hate crime, love

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 94 000 words/ 333 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Extasy Books

Contemporary MM Romance, murder, conversion therapy

Blurb 

Young lovers Greg and Tyler secretly meet to spend time together, until a moment of passion by the moonlight throws their lives into chaos. When their parents learn about their little escapade, it opens a Pandora’s box that spreads family discord, resentment, and heartaches. When someone adds fuel to an already fragile situation, things get out of hand quickly. Will these two young lovers stay safe? How much can they endure before they break?

Excerpt 

Nestled in southwest Alberta’s rolling foothills lies the quaint little town of Cardston—the Miller and Bradshaw families’ hometown. Cardston straddled the Lee Creek valley and served as a shopping and tourist hub for southwest Alberta, and was the unrivalled centre of Mormon life in Canada. Three-quarters of the town’s residents belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while the other quarter was Catholic and Baptist. The town’s social life revolved around family life, team sports and religion.

Greg Miller was the captain of the town football team, the Cardston Cougars, and the proud son of John and Teresa Miller. Greg’s parents owned the only shoe store in town, where Greg helped on weekends and summer holidays.

Greg and his teammates had been busy preparing for their next big game against the Calgary Golden Bears; it was the Cougars’ opportunity to bring back home the trophy they lost to the Bears three years ago. Unfortunately, John and Teresa couldn’t be there to cheer on their son—John had his business to run, and since Greg would be in Calgary, his mother would have to be at the store instead. Sales had been down, and closing for even one day could cause the family hardship in the coming months. Tyler had attended Greg’s practices ever since they met. You could tell in Tyler’s eyes how proud he was of his boyfriend―his secret boyfriend. Unfortunately, Greg and Tyler needed to be discreet and hide when they wanted to meet, a drawback of living in a small religious town.

It was Greg’s last year of high school, and if his team won the game, it could mean a scholarship for him at the University of Alberta and a golden chance to play for the Golden Bears. Over dinner, Greg asked his parents once more if they were sure they couldn’t make the game.

His father looked at him and said, “Sorry, Greg. I wish we could go, but we can’t close the business. You know how important November is to us.”

“Can’t you ask Steve to cover for you?”

“No. Steve has decided to move on, and even if he was still with us, I don’t have the money to pay for him to replace me. I’m sorry, son, you’ll have to do this one on your own.”

“You don’t need us there,” his mother said. “You’ll do just fine.”

“I know. It would have been nice to have you guys there, that’s all. But I understand,” Greg said.

“Besides,” his mother said, “if we went, we’d need a hotel room and Calgary’s expensive.”

Greg nodded and lowered his head. He quietly finished his meal, took his empty plate to the dishwasher, and went to his room. He turned on his computer and browsed the internet for anything and nothing, then went and laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Bummer. I’ll probably be the only guy whose parents won’t be there.

He texted Tyler about meeting up. Thirty minutes later, Greg stopped by the living room and told his parents he was going out. He hopped on his bike and met his boyfriend, Tyler, at Lee Creek Park.

Unlike Greg, who was a Catholic, Tyler was Baptist. Tyler thought being Baptist was very similar to other denominations, but their parents thought differently. A typical week for Tyler was packed with religion, beginning with a seminar at six in the morning, youth group on Wednesdays, and bible school on Sunday. In high school, Tyler was referred to as the boy who didn’t drink, smoke, or hook up with girls. There was nothing he’d like more than to be like the other guys his age, but his religion forbade it, as did his parents.

Tyler was already at the park when Greg arrived, sitting near the creek, leaning against a tree and lost in his thoughts. Greg quietly approached him from behind the tree and grabbed one of his arms.

“What the…” Tyler jerked his arm away, and Greg burst out laughing.

“You scared me,” Tyler said.

“How’s it going, dude?”

“Okay. And you? Ready for the big game?”

“I think so, but it’s a bummer my folks can’t come.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

“Yeah, but what can you do?” Greg said with a shrug.

“Would you like me to be there? I can be your cheering section in the audience,” Tyler said with a smile.

“You would do that?”

“Of course.”

“That would be so cool. We could rent a room for after the game.”

“Won’t you have one already?”

“Yeah, but we’re four of us in there, and I don’t think the coach would let you crash. Besides,” Greg said, leaning forward towards Tyler, “we wouldn’t be able to do this.” The two of them kissed.

“You have a point there,” Tyler said. “I’ll ask my parents to reserve a room for me. You need to keep your cash for university.”

“Will they let you go?” Greg asked, excited at the prospect of being with his boyfriend alone where no one knew them.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be there to support you,” Tyler said with confidence.

“I can’t wait for us to be at university so we can be together. I’m tired of hiding,” Greg said, looking at Tyler.

“Me too. You’ll have to wait, though, because you’re a school year ahead of me.” Tyler grinned.

“Right.” Greg made a sad face. “But you can join me the year after,” he said with a smile.

“Think of what would happen if our parents found out about us,” Tyler said, lost in his thoughts.

“That’s a scary thought. Come here.” Greg placed his hands on Tyler’s shoulder and lowered him on his lap.

Tyler rested his head on Greg’s lap, and Greg bent over and placed his lips on Tyler’s.

Q & A With Kristian Daniels

Tell us a little about yourself and your writing goals.

Hello, I’m Kristian Daniels my first novel Stolen Heart was published a little more than one year ago. I retired from my day-to-day job four years ago to dedicate my time to my story telling. I am passionate about writing, taking the readers into the world of my characters. I write fiction and coming–of-age stories, I write about romance, family and social conflict, integrity, and perseverance.

Congratulations on your new release. Please tell us a little bit about it. What’s your favorite aspect or part of the story? Do you have a favorite character? Who/Why?

Thank you and I’m grateful for this interview. Sins of our Sons tells the story of four young men from different background and living in different cities who are faced with choosing between family or be who they are. Greg and Tyler, eighteen, attending the same school with Greg off to university next year, leaving behind Tyler, fall in love, abandon themselves to a moment of passion on a lakeshore, that will shatter their lives.

Neil and Trevor are coworkers meet secretly occasionally until Neil’s girlfriend find out that his extra work some nights are not as he said they were. Neil is subjected to the wrath of his parents and his inheritance is on the line.

Are you a planner or a pantser? How much do you know about your story before you start writing? How often does your plan change? Why does this work best for you?

I’m a planner. I have a story development template that I use. First, I jot down ideas on what I would like to write about. Who’s story I want to tell. Let’s take the book I’m currently writing for instance, I started with an idea of writing about an infatuation a teenage guy developed for one of his teachers. From there I jot down a concept, the story’s foundation, the incident that would lead to a conflict and why. Who are the main characters in the story and their involvement? Then I develop the main characters and secondary one, I have a bio against each of the names, where they work, how long they have been living in the town, their skills, lifestyle if they are friends with the other characters in the story or if they hate each other, why. Following all this, I’ll do research on subjects/incidents that will be in the story and need more information about it. The I start writing and a lot of the time the research continues as I’m writing so that what I’m writing about is accurate.

My plan rarely changes, it evolves as I’m writing the story. I tried writing a story from an idea without developing anything and I found it took me twice as long to write it and I had to shuffle some of the scenes around for the story to be coherent.

Do you schedule a certain amount of time for writing each day/week, or do you just work it in when you can? Would you like to change this, or does your current method work well for you?

I write each day except for Thursday and Friday which I work part-time for my last employer as a favor to help my replacement. During the day, it’s quiet at home so I tend to write then. I don’t schedule a certain amount of time, my goal each day is to write two to three scenes which is around twenty pages. If the scenes are not completed, then I will write in the evening for a couple of hours.

This method works best for me, because I need a quiet surrounding to write and sometimes evenings my husband has the television going or music and this is a distraction.

What are your favorite genres when it comes to your own pleasure reading? Do you prefer to read ebooks or print?

I like all romance stories, and M/M romance of course, mysteries, Investigation stories with lots of twists and turns in the plot. My preferred medium to read a book is primarily ebooks but certain books I will purchase printed copies because of the subject and who wrote it, for example I have printed copies of Shirley MacLaine’s spiritual adventures, I like her and respect her as an artist and bought hard copies of her books for safekeeping.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

I love writing. I write everyday for at least one hour or two. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about the scene I am writing or the next one I’m about to write. Writing energizes me, I find it hard to fall asleep if I go to bed after writing a scene or two.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

The internet. I sit with the intention of writing then I am on Amazon looking at things. From there I go to Facebook and spend some time there as well and an hour or two has gone by and I haven’t written a word. I’m thankful though it doesn’t happen often.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

The best advice I’ve received from other writers and publishers was “Show don’t Tell”. Another advice is don’t give up, tell your story. We all have stories to tell inside of us.

What is the best money you ever spent as an author?

The best money any author can ever spend is having their book professionally edited.

How do you select the names of your characters?

As I develop my story concept, I also write a bio of each character, role in the story, its emotional state, their age, what he or she does for a living, it’s at this stage that my character is named. The name I come up for each of them are based on who they are, ie: Tyler is an eighteen-year-old student and that name resonated well with me for a student.

What were your goals for this book? Did you achieve them?

I wanted to write an emotional story about the struggles of gay men in this case in defending who they are and justifying their life choice which they weren’t obliged to do but were pressure to do.

I believe I achieved my goal with this book.

What do you think about when you’re alone in your car?

I sing when I’m alone in the car. I usually think about where I’m going and if I’m going to buy something, I thinks of what else I need.

What were you like in high school?

I was shy, introverted, I was bullied, laughed at and good in school.

What are the three best things about you?

I’m caring, I care a lot for others; I’m sensitive, I cry at sad movies; and always willing to help.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Pistachio.

If you could time-travel, where would you go and when?

I would go back to my teenage years. I missed out on a lot of opportunity because I was shy, in the closet and didn’t want to displease anyone. I sacrificed who I was and woke up much later in life with regrets.

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

Jim Parson.

About the Author 

Kristian Daniels is a published author. His first novel Stolen Heart was published a little more than one year ago. An Information Technologist by profession, he retired a few years ago to dedicate his time to his storytelling. Kristian is passionate about writing. Fiction and coming–of-age stories are what he likes to write about.  Kristian lives and works out of his home in Canada and spends his summers traveling and enjoying a drink a good book and the sun by his pool.

Author Links

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Giveaway

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