Many of you will know that Nic is one of my closest friends and I wanted to tell you about her first novel. Most of you will recognize her name and I can hear at least one of you say, “but she’s written other stuff.” Yes, she has, but they’ve all been novellas.
Charlie’s Hero is a full length novel, so that means paperback! Yay! Check it out below.
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: 17th June 2015
Cover Artist: Bree Archer
The Blurb…
Schoolteacher Charlie Matthews returns to his hometown, looking to regain a sense of community, reconnect with friends, and settle down. It looks like his dreams have come true when paramedic Josh Campbell attends an accident at the school. It’s love at first sight, and a romance begins.
But Josh’s reluctance to come out to the brother who raised him, puts pressure on their fledgling relationship. While Charlie understands Josh’s concerns, he can’t help growing impatient. After all, Charlie came out years ago.
It’s not until Charlie confronts his own parents and realizes he hasn’t come to terms with their rejection that he fully understands what Josh has to lose. But Josh is Charlie’s hero, and Josh will do anything to prove to Charlie that he doesn’t need his parents to be part of a family.
Sounds good right? It is. I mean, who can resist a school teacher and a paramedic? I loved Josh. He’s a dedicated paramedic, loves his job and his brother, Andrew. Josh is sort of closeted, but only when it comes to Drew. Charlie still loves his family even though they stopped loving him when he opened the closet door. I feel for Charlie, he’s such a sweet character. He moved back to his hometown because he wants roots and a stable life. This is such a sweet story that comes with a little angst, some hot, smexy scenes and a glorious HEA.
The best part about this story though, isn’t the story. It’s the journey the author has been on. I’ve read everything Nic has written, mostly as one of her beta’s but I’ve always read the final story as well. It’s such a joy to see Nic’s writing mature and improve with every release. I can count on Nic to give me a sweet story with little conflict. Dark and emotional is not her style. I can count on her to deliver a feel-good, pick-me-up read. Now Nic will be the first to tell you her first attempt at writing didn’t go so well. But trust me on this. If you enjoy Andrew Grey’s writing style, give this one a go. You’ll love it. Oh and if you’re one of those weird people that don’t like hot paramedics, wait till Andrew’s Promise comes out. When I read that I fangirled all over my laptop!
Now you’re probably wondering why I titled this post “the one that made me cry.” I told you earlier that Nic is my bestie. I asked her to send me an excerpt and anything else she wanted me to put on my blog so I could help promote her lovely book. That was last week and because RL got in the way I’ve only just seen what she sent me now. (She’ll kill me if I don’t include it, and maim me if I cut bits out.)
Here goes. *grabs tissues before I read it again*
A Message To A Friend
RJ asked me to visit her blog. She wanted to do a post about my latest book. She wanted to help celebrate the release of Charlie’s Hero. She asked for an excerpt or anything else I wanted to provide for a Guest Post.
I’ve just written ten guest posts for my blog tour so was temporarily out of ideas, but then thought… Why not just write from the heart?
So here is the post I’ve written specifically for RJ Jones. And yes, RJ, you must publish this as-is.
Dear RJ,
You have been on this writing journey with me since the very beginning. You are a key part of the journey, and I have no doubt I couldn’t have done this without you.
You were part of my life before my writing ever started. We chatted about m/m romance, discussed books and authors, and you joined me on my blog to share our love of the genre. You became a ‘real life’ person for me to interact with. We moved beyond Facebook, sharing photos, and personal stories. We still use Messenger to chat throughout the day, but now hardly a day goes by where we don’t share a phone call – sorry about the phone bill. J
Our friendship has evolved over the last eighteen months. You travelled across the country to stay for a weekend. I dragged my family across to Perth where we holidayed together. We met up again in Melbourne for Queermance – apologies for the snoring *wink*.
You have become a key part of my life. A true friend.
And part of that friendship has involved you holding my virtual hand as I continued writing. You knew of the doubts I had about my ability and offered nothing but encouragement and support. You picked me up and dusted me off, when some rough reviews of my first story knocked me to the ground, at the same time I was going through some tough times personally. You have listened to me bitch and moan (I know I’m usually a lovely person but editing can be tough J), and you have provided advice when needed. You make a great sounding board. You have read my stories, giving me praise to make me smile, but also giving me the not-so-pleasant opinions. You are invaluable.
I’m excited for the months ahead, to see the release of both Charlie’s Hero and its sequel, Andrew’s Promise, but also to share your publishing journey. This is the part where I do a plug for Black & Bluhe – such a joy to watch this story come to life and I know it’s going to be a huge success. Plus we have our big trip to San Diego and GRL to look forward to in October. I couldn’t think of a better person to be going on this adventure with.
I am grateful to have you in my life and am thankful for our friendship *big squishy hugs*
Nic
*sniff* SEE! That’s why I cried! (and she’s not online at the moment so I can’t tell her off!)
I love you too, Nic. Very much <3
Keep scrolling to get to the buy links for Charlie’s Hero. You know you want to.
Dreamspinner Press eBook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6466
Dreamspinner Press Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6467
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Charlies-Hero-Heroes-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00ZM6GLRS
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlies-Hero-Heroes-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00ZM6GLRS
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Charlies-Hero-Heroes-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00ZM6GLRS
All Romance EBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-charlie039shero-1817878-149.html
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122122798?ean=2940151624435
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/charlie-s-hero
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Nic_Starr_Charlie_s_Hero?id=HWvgCQAAQBAJ
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25541291-charlie-s-hero
About the Author
Nic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!
When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family-an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters-and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.
You can find Nic on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She’d love it if you stopped by to say hi.
Website & Blog: http://www.nicstarr.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Nic-Starr/e/B00MAWRRQG/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicki.nicstar
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NicStarrAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicstar000
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nicstar000/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8139967.Nic_Starr
