Book Tour & Review: The Better to Kiss You With by Michelle Osgood

Author: Michelle Osgood

Title: The Better To Kiss You With

Release Date: April 21, 2016

Pages or Words: 182 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Lesbian Romance, Paranromal

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28490267-the-better-to-kiss-you-with

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Monika Gross

Deanna, the moderator for Wolf’s Run, an online werewolf role-playing game, wanders the local forest with her dog Arthur and daydreams about Jaime, the attractive, enigmatic woman who lives upstairs. When threats from an antagonistic player escalate, Deanna wonders if her job could be riskier than she’d ever imagined—and if her new girlfriend knows more about this community than she had realized.

The premise of this book intrigued me. I love stories about geek culture, and online role-playing is a great premise for a story. It fit really well here, and it didn’t feel to me like too much or too little of the plot was spent on it. I suppose I might have liked just a bit more, but overall, it was a good balance between the love story and the gaming parts.

As much as I adored Deanna, I thought Jamie was absolutely terrific. I’m on the fence as to whether or not her big secret was too obvious. I had it almost right away, but I assumed it from the beginning, so maybe I simply wasn’t surprised to have my suspicions confirmed. I’m not sure how realistic it is that Deanna accepted everything so easily, but on the other hand, I’m tired of reading stories where the Big Reveal is the major plot point. This aspect too had a nice balance to it.

Badwolf was a great nemesis. The connection to certain facets of online geek/gaming culture wasn’t lost on me, and I think this was a really effective way to weave it into a story.

The only thing which held me back a bit was that I had some trouble getting into the story at the beginning. I don’t believe this is a flaw with the style or storytelling, both of which are excellent. I thought a little less time could have been spent on the romance at the beginning—maybe putting more at the end instead. However, I recognize that as being personal preference, and I suspect most readers would disagree with me.

For a sweet and sexy romance, a fun new take on a classic tale, and a healthy jab at a big social justice issue, this gets 8/10 fountain pens.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Better-Kiss-You-Michelle-Osgood/dp/1941530745/

Barnes&Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-christine-osgood/1122958914

Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-pre-order-bundle-1/products/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-ebook-package

Interlude Press (Paperback): http://store.interludepress.com/collections/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-pre-order-bundle-1/products/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-print-edition

Apple iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-better-to-kiss-you-with/id1059532443?mt=11

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thebettertokissyouwith-2016083-182.html?referrer=55feb862851f8

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/593334

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Better-to-Kiss-You-with/9781941530740?a_aid=interludepress

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530740?aff=interludepress

“I think I know blood when I see it,” Deanna pointed out. “It was definitely blood.”

Beside her on the floor, Nathan leaned his head back against the couch and, behind the black frames of his glasses, rolled his bright blue eyes. “I’m not saying it wasn’t blood. But just, like, blood happens.”

“‘Blood happens.’ You sound like a tampon commercial.”

“Not true.” Nathan snickered over the top of his glass. “They never use the word ‘blood.’”

Deanna choked on a mouthful of wine.

“Anyway,” Nathan continued, “it was probably just a dead animal. Dogs love that stuff.”

“He wasn’t happy, though. He was scared. Something scared him. And Arthur’s brave. He doesn’t scare easily.” Deanna wiped the Pinot Gris from her chin and they both leaned forward to look at Arthur, who was sprawled artlessly on top of his dog bed and snoring loudly. Deanna smothered a giggle with the back of her hand and grabbed the bottle of wine.

“Just don’t confuse fantasy with reality. I think your job is messing you up.”

Deanna snorted. “Wolf’s Run is a just game, Nathan. I haven’t forgotten that.”

“Really? Because you’re talking about mysterious bodies torn up in the woods, and if that doesn’t sound like werewolves…”

Deanna gave Nathan a shove. “Ha, ha, very funny. I’m not like that weirdo who thinks that werewolves actually exist. It’s role-playing. Playing being the key word.”

For the most part, the players of Wolf’s Run were a good crowd—with the exception of one user who seemed to think that he actually was a werewolf. Apparently, he took offense to the game’s depictions of “his species,” considering them inaccurate and insulting. The rants had been going on for months, and the situation would have been laughable, except that in the last few weeks his posts had taken on a more threatening tone. Every time Deanna deleted his posts and blocked his username he simply created another account. The Wolf’s Run team didn’t want to block his IP address because IP addresses could be shared by a large number of people, and doing so might block legitimate players from the game. Besides, it was child’s play to circumvent a block by logging in from a third-party app or web service, or just logging in from a different location. Deanna could only shut him down and hope that this time he finally gave up.

“Well, then just accept that Arthur found a bunny rabbit or something and decided it would be a good idea to roll around in its mangled corpse.”

Deanna shook her head. “You didn’t see him. It was a lot of blood.” It had taken two desperately unpleasant baths and an entire bottle of shampoo to get Arthur clean. Deanna had had to scrub her bathtub three times before she’d felt comfortable using it again.

Nathan grabbed her hand with his long, thin fingers. “Listen, you’re my best friend, and I love you, and I’m sure that it was really terrifying, but I’m also one hundred percent sure that you are blowing this way out of proportion. No more fantasy werewolf role playing nonsense for you.”

“Until my shift starts in…” Deanna tapped the screen of her phone. “Ten hours.”

“Until then,” Nathan agreed and clinked their glasses. “Now, tell me more about your hot neighbor.”

Deanna buried her head in her hands and groaned. “It’s awful. She’s gorgeous. And I can’t think around her. Or speak. I turn into a spluttering sixth grader with her first crush.”

“That’s disgusting and adorable. Tell me more. What’s her name?”

Michelle Osgood lives in Vancouver, BC, with her partner Elizabeth and their two cats. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and has been reading, writing and blogging in online communities for five years. She likes to read romance novels, speculative fiction and feminist pop culture critique.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/osgoodmichelle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OsgoodMichelle

Homepage: www.michelleosgood.com

Today I’m welcoming Michelle Osgood to chat about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about The Better to Kiss You With.

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted to write a story that focused on a positive, fun romantic and sexual relationship between two women. Queer women and their relationships are vastly underrepresented in popular culture—and when we do get stories, too often they end in tragedy. It was really important to me to write a story where the F/F romance wasn’t the source of conflict—so I needed to find an external source. With GamerGate in full-swing as I was starting to write The Better to Kiss You With, it wasn’t too difficult to find inspiration for my bad guy.

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

I feel a strong connection to all three main characters, as they all contain pieces of me and my life. With Deanna it’s her openness—she loves people and can’t imagine anyone not wanting to be friends with her. With Nathan it’s his good humour; he doesn’t take anything too seriously. And Jamie has a solid streak of loyalty, so once she decides to trust you, you’re in.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

Honestly, believing that I could write it! I’ve written novel-length fanfic before, but this was my first serious attempt at an original novel. I nearly quit three times as I wasn’t sure if I could make the submission deadline, or if my story would be anything worth submitting. Luckily, my partner Elizabeth is my biggest champion and she helped me push through the doubt.

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

Giving herself a critical once-over in the mirror, Deanna decided she looked gorgeous.

One of my favourite things about Deanna is her confidence. Writing a female character who feels comfortable and happy in her body was important to me.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I’m working on a sequel to The Better to Kiss You With right now! I can’t say too much about it, but it involves a character that we meet at the end of The Better to Kiss You With…

Who do you write for (your audience or who you hope to reach)?

Women, no matter what I’m writing, it’s for women. This particular book I hope appeals to young, queer women in their twenties. I think we have a certain understanding of what Deanna goes through with the harassment she experiences with my bad guy, crywolf.

What do you wish people knew about your books or characters?

That writing these books is something I have a lot of fun with—and that I hope they’re equally as fun to read! I love the romance genre, I love SFF, and getting to write my own queer, paranormal romance was amazing. I think we could use more fun queer stories in the world, and I’m hoping to contribute to that.

Are there any common themes you see in your work?

I like to write about confident women, about women who question norms, who are different in ways that I think a lot of us feel different. I want my characters to be comfortable in their differences, in their bodies, and to live full, happy lives.

Word Sprints!

What was the last thing you read? Welcome to Night Vale – a novel
Do you have any body art? Lightning bolt tattoo
Do you have any pets? Two black cats
What’s on your playlist? Taylor Swift, Chvrches, Halsey, Tegan & Sara, Lights, Ria Mae
What’s on tap? Bubbly!