SERIES TOUR: The Christopher Books by Stephen G. Hardy (Excerpt + Q&A with Author)

SERIES TOUR 

THE CHRISTOPHER BOOKS

by

Stephen G Hardy

Follow Christopher as he explores various types of relationships and the impact he has on the lives of others.

The books need to be read in order.

Overall Heat Rating for the series: 1 flame

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK 1

Book Title:  Search for Complete

Cover Artist: Ryan Mulford

Length: 80 127 words /335 pages

Release Date: June 4, 2023

Genres:  Contemporary LGBTQ+ Fiction with speculative elements.

Tropes: Friends to Platonic lovers

Themes:  Interpersonal relationships, Conversations as Catalyst for Change

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

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |  Amazon UK

Blurb

“Why do I get the feeling that Christopher is the type of man that would make the perfect husband for any woman and, at the same time, the perfect wife for any man?” Laura says shortly after Christopher begins his new job at the TV station. Laura’s statement would turn out to hold more truth than she could imagine. No one who meets Christopher, especially not Laura, as well as David, a gay man he meets at a party, understands what it is about him that draws them to him. They also don’t realize that Christopher is searching for something, a search complicated by their desires for him.

BOOK 2

Book Title: The Price of Happiness

Length:  84 447words/330 pages

Release Date: November 24, 2023

Genres: LGBTQ+ Contemporary Literary Fiction

Tropes: Love and loss

Themes: Parenthood, interpersonal relationships, finding oneself.

It is not a standalone story and end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |  Amazon UK

Blurb

As Search for Complete left off, the birth of his twins had just completed Christopher. However, though he has what he had searched so long for, he now must deal with the associated costs, namely the unraveling of his relationship with Laura, the mother of his twins. The birth of the twins should have brought Laura joy, yet, instead, she finds herself on an intense emotional rollercoaster. Laura resents Christopher’s happiness—resents that he is a better mother than she is. But most of all, Laura resents that the twins are Christopher’s spitting image—nowhere does she see herself in them. Christopher fears his happiness in becoming a father has become Laura’s undoing. As he tries to help her adjust to the reality of their situation, Laura struggles to find herself in the tangled mess of their relationship.

In The Price of Happiness, Stephen Hardy has created a profound and moving novel on the themes of parenthood, identity, love and loss—and the cost of getting what we want.

BOOK 3

Book Title: When the Sun and Moon Touch

Length:  87 639 words/353 Pages

Release Date: March 29, 2024

Genres: LGBTQ+ Contemporary Literary Fiction

Tropes: M2M relationships

Themes: Finding oneself, forgiveness, love

The stories need to be read in order. This  book does not end on a cliffhanger.

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |  Amazon UK

Blurb

Christopher has settled into life as a single father to his twins, Loren and Christine. Content with his life, he is contemplating the imminent return of their mother Laura, who has been traveling through Europe for nearly a year, when he meets Benjamin, a direct descendant of the sun. Suddenly, his contentment is upended as he tries to understand the reason for their meeting. Despite what Benjamin says, that they are meant to be together, Christopher initially tries to hold

Benjamin at arm’s length, believing that he is only to be for Benjamin what Joseph was to him—a friend and mentor.

Excerpt from Book 1

I began to question accepting Laura’s invitation when I heard the noise coming from the backyard as we approached the house. I disliked crowds, and it sounded like an immense crowd was on the other side of the gate.

People were everywhere—seated on lounge chairs scattered around the patio or at the rectangular dining table or milling about in various groups—talking loudly over the blaring music. Laura’s voice broke through the noise.

“I don’t see Peter anywhere. He might be inside. Shall we find him?”

“By all means. I would feel uncomfortable attending his party without meeting him.”

I followed Laura into the house. As we passed through the living room, my eyes fell on a few framed photos of a handsome couple on the wall.

In the kitchen, a solitary male figure was removing a tray of croissants from the oven.

“Hello, Peter.”

As he turned around, I recognized Peter as one of the men in the photos. Tall and slender, with dark hair and a mustache waxed into handlebars, there was a dapperness to him that I found pleasing.

“Hey, Laura. Lovely to see you!”

After setting the hot tray down, Peter hugged her.

“Peter, I want you to meet Christopher. He just moved here from Seattle and works with me at the station.”

“How do you do, Peter?“

Having grown used to the reaction my presence caused, I smiled patiently as Peter, unable to speak right away, shook my offered hand.

“I hope you do not mind my crashing your party. Laura assured me that you would not object to her bringing me.”

“No, of course, I don’t mind.”

The words tumbled out one on top of the other.

“Is there anything we can do to assist you?”

“No, I have it all under control, thanks. Please help yourself to the food and drinks out on the patio.”

“We will. Thanks,” Laura said, taking my arm and steering me back through the living room.

“Peter is very nice,” I commented as we stepped through the doors and headed towards the drinks table. “Can I make you something?”

“A mimosa, thanks. Yes, Peter’s a sweetie.”

We stood sipping our drinks as I scanned the crowd of mostly men, a mix of young and old, before Laura took me around, introducing me to the people she knew.

I instinctively searched their eyes for the essence of another while ignoring Laura’s scrutinizing gaze.

Laura needed to use the bathroom, so she left me standing under the large Ficus tree where we had sought shade from the sun. Within minutes of her departure, I was surrounded by a large group of people vying for my attention. Carrying on multiple conversations was challenging, but I did my best to make each person feel they had my full attention.

He caught my attention on the periphery of my vision: tall and well-built, resembling the small statue of the god Mars that sat on the table in Joseph’s shop. Our eyes met, and I felt my heart skip a beat, seeing something flash in his eyes. Smiling hopefully, I extended my hand to him.

“Hello, my name is Christopher Dunn.”

As he shook my hand, I took the opportunity to search his golden-brown eyes. My initial hope turned to disappointment, for while something was there, it was not another’s essence. Though disappointed, I was intrigued.

“Davidmartelli.”

He slurred the two names into one in his haste to get the words out.

As I gazed into his eyes, the feeling of a purpose to our meeting appeared—first Laura and now David.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, David Martelli,” I said, saying his name distinctly.

David blushed attractively, causing a twinge in my heart.

“Can I get you a drink?”

He looked so crestfallen when I held up my cup that I was tempted to down my drink and ask him for another.

“Oh, you have one.”

 “I do, but I appreciate you asking.”

I gave him a smile to back up my words. It was apparent that David was struggling to find something to say, the frustration evident in his handsome features. I wanted to get him away from the people surrounding us and talk to him alone, but I did not see how I could do so without offending everyone else.

Conscious of the eyes watching us, David blushed again and backed away.

For some reason, I knew that this behavior was out of character for him. Watching him walk away, I hoped we would meet again as I wanted to discover what I saw in his eyes.

Q&A with Stephen G. Hardy

Tell us a little about yourself and your writing goals.

• My name is Stephen G Hardy and, believe it or not, my goal was to write one novel. Now I’ve written a trilogy, and writing seems to have become a second career for me. My first career was working as a designer in the apparel business, which gave me the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Asia. Travel is still among my favorite pastimes, and I have recently returned from a two-week trip to India.

Congratulations on your new release. Please tell us a little bit about it.

• When the Sun and Moon Touch is the final book in the Christopher series. In this book, my goal was to find closure for my readers for all the characters, and I believe I accomplished this goal. At the end of book two, Laura leaves Christopher to raise their twins on his own while she goes to Europe to ‘find herself’.  Book three opens with Christopher meeting Benjamin, an African American man who, like Christopher, possesses two essences. While Christopher’s essences are male and female, Benjamin’s are both males. The novel follows the two men as they try to figure out the purpose of their meeting, each having a different belief. Christopher believes he is to mentor Benjamin as his friend Joseph had done to him, while Benjamin believes he and Christopher are meant to be together.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

• By nature I am a planner, but for writing, it depends on what I am writing. For the Christopher novels, I was more a pantser than a planner, letting the story unfold before me as I wrote. This became more evident with each book as I had gotten to know the characters so intimately that I knew what they would say or do in any given situation. The books practically wrote themselves.

I am currently working on a completely different style and type of novel, for which I have had to plan out the story as much as possible. Even here, the plan does deviate a bit as I write because I realize the order of events is wrong or that I am missing something that must happen first.

Do deadlines motivate you or block you?

• I don’t work with deadlines as I am self-published, though sometimes I will have a finish date in mind. However, I am generally motivated by deadlines.

Do you schedule a certain amount of time for writing each day/week, or do you just work it in when you can?

• I generally work as time and schedule allow or depending on how inspired I am on a certain day. Generally, I like to make sure that my writing days are as free from possible interruptions as possible. When I really want to do some quality writing, I will arrange for a writing weekend away, renting a place for a few days where I have no interruptions. I especially do this when I am in an editing phase after writing the first draft.

What was the most difficult part of writing this book? Why?

• The most difficult part for me was knowing that I would be saying goodbye to these characters. The story had reached a natural conclusion, so I knew this book had to be the last, but they, especially Christopher, had been a part of my life for over four years. Saying goodbye was very emotional for me.

How do you develop a story idea?

This is a great question. For the first book, I had Christopher in my head and felt the need to write his story. The plot came as I was writing, and as I introduced other characters, the plot developed further. For books two and three, I had an idea of the plot based on how the previous books had ended, and new characters developed as I wrote. However, I did not write an outline for the story for any of the three books.

What are your favorite genres when it comes to your own pleasure reading?

I don’t read a lot of fiction, which may seem surprising for a fiction writer. I am a history buff, so I read a lot of historical biographies or books about historical events or time periods. When I do read fiction, I look for books with interesting characters and plots that seem believable and which will challenge my thinking or perceptions.

• I generally read ebooks, as I do not have a lot of shelf space, though I prefer hard copies for their feel and ease of finding certain passages.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

• It depends on what scene I am writing. If highly emotional, then it can exhaust me. If amusing, or the dialogue is particularly quick or charged, then I become energized and continue writing until the scene has been played out. 

What is your writing Kryptonite?

• Distractions such as chores to be done, or one of my cats wanting a lot of attention, or when my husband works from home. Then writing is almost impossible.

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

• I would tell my younger self, who always loved a great story, that I have a story inside me, waiting for the right moment to be released into the world, and when it is out there, it will speak all your inner truths.

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

• The best money spent was hiring a great cover artist and my editor. My editor helped me hone my skills, and my cover artist wrapped my story in a compelling design that captured the essence of that story to perfection.

What do you find to be the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

• Perhaps it is because I am gay, and most of my friends are women, I find that I have little trouble writing female characters. In truth, I think this is due to my belief that there are no male or female personality traits, only society’s permission to express them by each sex. I write people, more than gender.

What did you edit out of this book?

• For this book, I did not edit anything out. If anything, I kept adding scenes, as I tried to find closure for every character I had introduced in the previous two books.

How do you select the names of your characters?

• I select names based on how I see each character in appearance and behaviors. Certain names, to me, reflect or inspire a character. How often do we think someone looks like their name, and how jarring it is when someone has a name we didn’t expect or came as a complete surprise? My protagonist’s name, from day one, was Christopher because this is the name that came to me when I envisioned him.

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

• My goal for this book was to find closure for my characters, myself, and my readers. I believe I succeeded with the first two, but it remains to be seen if my readers feel the same way.

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

• My thoughts flow rather randomly, and they stop mid-flow only when a certain thought requires my full attention.

What were you like in high school?

• I was an introvert in high school, unless I was around older people when I came out of my shell. I was never comfortable with my peers, perhaps because I was an old soul.

What are the three best things about you?

• I am a loyal friend, I am dependable, and I am empathetic.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

• Mint Chocolate Chip

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

• I would go back to the 1920’s in New York City. I think the energy must have been wild.

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

• Jeff Goldblume

About the Author 

Stephen Hardy was born in the San Francisco Bay Area but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. His career as a fashion designer took him back to San Francisco before he headed to New York City, where he met his husband of twenty years. Tiring of the hectic pace of the fashion industry, Stephen gave up his career to become a stay-at-home dad for his and his husband’s two adopted sons and a quiet life in Connecticut. Now residing in Phoenix, Arizona, and with the kids grown, Stephen returned to university, where he rediscovered his love for writing. His focus is on contemporary fiction, examining social issues regarding gender, sexuality, and relationships. Search for Complete is his first novel.

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