Book Tour: Three to Get Ready by Sean Michael

Author Name: Sean Michael

Book Name: Three To Get Ready

Series: Mannies Incorporated

Book: Four

This book can be read as a standalone

Release Date: December 18, 2015

Pages or Words: 64,000 words/190 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/452671.Sean_Michael

Publisher: Sean Michael

Cover Artist: Kris Norris

Single father Jack Jones is in dire need of a new nanny. His five year old son Nathan is legally blind, he has twin baby girls arriving in less than two months and the girl currently working for him is leaving at Thanksgiving to go home and continue her higher education. If Mannies Incorporated doesn’t come up with a viable candidate soon, he’s not sure what he’s going to do.

Dan Miller is on the hunt for a new job. He’s had some great placements with Mannies Incorporated, many as Manny to multiple birth families to get them over the hump. He even has experience with special needs children, so the job he’s interviewing for looks like it’s right up his alley.

When Dan arrives at Jack’s house, he discovers that this Jack Jones is his Jack Jones, the man he was in love with during college, and who broke up with Dan because Dan wanted children. Will Dan and Jack be able to put the past behind them and work together, or will their past keep them from having a future together?

I picked this up because, I’ll be honest, I’m a complete sucker for a story with kids. And let’s be real, if there are sexy dads involved, well, that’s icing.

I’ve read other books by Sean Michael (and I love the way he writes families), but I’d never read the other Mannies stories (something which I will now have to rectify). What a treasure! This read to me like Babysitters Club only gayer and a lot more adult. I loved all the tiny details about day-to-day life with sweet little boy Nathan and Jack’s gentle parenting. Enter Dan, who swooped in and pretty much stole everyone’s hearts, throw in two feisty newborns, and you’ve got a recipe for a delightful afternoon read.

What really sold me on this was that it was such a cozy slice-of-life tale. Sure, there were some extra-sexy times between Jack and Dan, but those were not the focus.I found Nathan’s visual impairment to be well-written, and I loved the balance both Jack and Dan struck between knowing what he could do and encouraging him to try new things. I’ll admit I don’t always like reading about newborns because I’m long past that stage of parenting, but I liked the twins, too, and I loved how they already had such strong personalities. (Though I did cringe at the line about the surrogate mother “popping [babies] out like grapes” because…no. Just, no. Not how it works, dude, not even after 6 of ’em.)

They say that having a child is like having your heart walk around outside your body, and I think this book is that proverb in story form. There wasn’t any real heavy drama or serious tension, just a warm, Christmasy glow. Do I like my guys with a bit of angst? Sure, but it’s equally good to take a break, slow down, and enjoy something a little more fluffy and sweet. Watching the relationships gradually blossom is every bit as rewarding.

This gets a solid 8 fountain pens for cute kids, loving daddies (of the actual parent variety), and a happy-every-after tied with a big, red Christmas bow.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Three-Get-Ready-Mannies-Incorporated-ebook/dp/B019D7KH4E/

All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-threetogetreadyamanniesincorporatednovel-1950219-149.html

Dan Miller followed the instructions on his GPS to one Jack Jones’ house for his interview. He was trying to decide if it was a good or bad omen that he’d dated a Jack Jones. It had ended, so maybe bad. On the other hand, they’d ended because Jack didn’t want kids and he did, which was better to learn early on, before they’d invested a lot of time in each other, right? So good sign.

Chuckling at himself, he went over what Drake at Mannies Inc had told him about the family.

Single gay dad, one special needs son – the boy was nearly six and clinically blind. Apparently he could see general shapes if they were high contrast and he could see lights and light contrast. There were twin girls on their way. In a few weeks in fact.

Newborns were Dan’s favorite. He loved that new baby smell. He loved their chubby little cheeks and limbs, their fat bellies and how quickly they changed.

After reading the file, he’d had to agree with Drake that he seemed like a really good fit for the family.

The position was live-in, so he paid close attention as the condo came into view. Not far from the beach, it was a decent size, not too big, but not tiny. The front was neat and he could see the backyard was fenced in.

Pulling into the drive, he turned off the engine and took a deep breath. Okay. Interview time. He climbed out of the car, with his best ‘I’m the perfect man to look after your kids’ face on.

He knocked on the front door.

“Daddy! Maddie, someone is here!”

“I’ll get it, man. Hopefully this one will work for your daddy, Mr. Picky. I have to leave the week of Thanksgiving. I have to.”

The door opened and a lovely dark-skinned young woman stood there with a skinny little boy in thick glasses. “Hey there. Can I help you?”

“Hi, Dan Miller. I’m here to see Mr. Jones?”

“Sure. Come on in. I’m Maddie, Nathan’s personal assistant.” She winked at him.

“Very nice to meet you.” He shook her hand.

Then he turned his attention to the little boy. “Hey there, You must be Nathan.”

“Uh-huh. Nathan James Jones.” One hand was held out. “Pleased meeting you.”

Dan took Nathan’s hand and shook it solemnly. “Pleased to meet you, too.”

“Hey there. Sorry, man. I was paying some bills. Crazy life.”

Dan looked up at the familiar voice and blinked. Strong jaw, blond curls, and the bluest eyes in the history of the earth — that was Jack. His Jack.

Dan felt like he’d been poleaxed.

His Jack who didn’t want kids, no way no how was he fucking crazy for even suggesting it.

“Jack?” Oh, smooth, Dan. Clearly it was Jack. Hell, even if he couldn’t believe his eyes, the folder he’d gotten from Drake had said the guy’s name was Jack.

“Dan? Danny? Oh, my God!” Jack’s eyes went wide. “Look at you. You look amazing.”

He kind of hated the way Jack’s words made him stand a little taller, a little straighter. “So do you. The years have been good to you.” Twelve years. Shit, things had changed in that time, that much was obvious, but not how just a glance from those devastating eyes could make his cock perk up. That hadn’t changed a damn bit.

Often referred to as “Space Cowboy” and “Gangsta of Love” while still striving for the moniker of “Maurice,” Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and pursuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to “Chicago.”

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He’ll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004713810507

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites/

Twitter: seanmichael09

Website: www.seanmichaelwrites.com

Blog: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.com/

Today I’m welcoming Sean Michael to chat about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about Three to Get Ready, a Mannies Incorporated novel.

What inspired you to write this story?

It has become a tradition that I do a novel in the Mannies Incorporated series every December, so I knew I wanted to write another in the series. Jack and Nathan showed up in my head first, bringing Dan with them.

Is there a character you feel especially connected to? Why?

I figure I put some of myself into all my characters, and as they all live in my head, they feel like a part of me, so on that front, I feel connected to all of them.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

Probably remembering that Nathan was blind, so that had to be taken into account whenever he was in the scene. Obviously he’s not going to be able to see a nod or things like that.

Choose a favorite line or short passage. What do you like about it?

My favorite parts are always the smutty parts. I love the way the characters can communicate without words, the way making love brings them together.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I always have a bunch of documents open, and try to work on all of them every day. Among the things I’m currently working on are the next Fairytale Shifter book – this one will be a little longer than the first two and will be a kinky romp riffing off of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I’m also working on the next (number 4!) Iron Eagle Gym story, another Shifter Rescue story, and a novel about a billionaire dragon and his new personal assistant.

Are there any types of scene you find hard to write (action, love, death, etc.)?

I find the parts where the characters are hurt, either physically or mentally, are the hardest to write. I hate it when they’re hurting. Ironically, these are also the parts that go the fastest because I will push through it as quickly as possible so I can get them to a happy place.

What do you do when you feel stuck (writer’s block)?

This is where working on a lot of stories at the same time comes in handy. If I’m feeling stuck on one story, I can move on to another. While I try to write the same amount on each story every day, there’s always one or two that are ‘running hot’ and I get a lot done on them, while others might be dragging a little. If it’s a story that has an upcoming deadline, though, I might just have to push through it. I think the writing is better if it’s flowing, but sometimes you just don’t have a choice.

How do you handle a story that doesn’t go as you planned?

This happens to me all the time because the characters are the ones running the show. Sometimes it’s a problem, sometimes it isn’t.

If the story is for a specific call and it either goes too short or too long, or the plot takes it too far away from the call, I have to put the story aside and start on a new one that will fit in with the call. Then I can go back to the original story and finish it without the constraints of the call I’d originally been writing it for.

If the story isn’t for a specific call, then it isn’t a problem when it takes off in an entirely different direction than I’d planned because it doesn’t have any constraints on it. It can be a bit of a pain if I have to go back and fix stuff at the beginning to match the new direction the book has taken, but on the whole, it’s a minor issue.

Word Sprints!

Plotter or pantser? – pantser all the way
Coffee or tea? – tea
Reusable or disposable grocery bags? – reusable
What’s your favorite food? – bacon!
What’s your favorite ice cream? – butter pecan (and usually not easy to find)

Thank you so much for having me today.

-Sean

Smut fixes everything