Book Tour: Into the Blue by Pene Henson

Author: Pene Henson

Title: Into the Blue

Release Date: July 7, 2016

Length: 236 pages, 72,600 words

Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28764284-into-the-blue

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Colleen M. Good

Tai Talagi and Ollie Birkstrom have been inseparable since they met as kids surfing the North Shore. Now they live with their best friends in a pulled-together family, sharing life and the saltwater in their veins. Tai’s spent years setting aside his feelings for Ollie, but when Ollie’s pro surfing aspirations come to fruition, their steady world shifts. Is the relationship worth risking everything for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?

Interlude Press Web Store: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/into-the-blue-by-pene-henson

Amazon: http://amzn.to/29gJvfv

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-the-blue-pene-henson/1123818321?ean=9781941530849

Apple iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-blue/id1114833401?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/637136

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-intotheblue-2058731-149.html?referrer=55feb862851f8

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Into-the-Blue/9781941530849/?a_aid=InterludePress

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530849?aff=Interludepress

Across from them, one of the Brazilians plays guitar. Ollie doesn’t recognize the song even when a couple of others sing along. The beach is wider and the sand finer than on the North Shore, but every beach is a little like home. Ollie misses the Blue House; he misses the surf and the palms and the shoreline he knows so well. He misses Jaime and Sunny and Hannah. Still, though he’s as far from home as he’s ever been, Ollie’s comfortable. These are his people, too. He leans back on his arms and looks up into the dark.

He’s watched the night sky since he was a little kid, but down here in the Southern Hemisphere he doesn’t recognize the hundreds upon hundreds of stars. The Southern Cross is up there. Ollie tries to orient himself.

Tai shifts toward him, then looks up and follows Ollie’s gaze. The warmth of Tai’s body settles into Ollie’s heart, grounds him. Ollie leans into him a little, and their arms brush to the elbow. The contact simmers in the air between them.

Unexpectedly, Ollie knows what he wants. “Come back to the hotel,” he says quietly to Tai. He pitches his voice low. It hums across the tiny space between them. No one else can hear him over the pounding surf and the sound of the music. It’s easy to be bold in the dark of a beach where Ollie’s never been before. He’s shocked by that same boldness.

Pene Henson has gone from British boarding schools to New York City law firms. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where she is an intellectual property lawyer and published poet who is deeply immersed in the city’s LGBTQIA community. She spends her spare time enjoying the outdoors and gazing at the ocean with her gorgeous wife and two unexpectedly exceptional sons. Into the Blue is her first novel.

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/penewrites/?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/penehenson

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14918436.Pene_Henson

Blog: www.PeneHenson.com

Today I’m chatting with Pene Henson about writing, life, and their current project.

Welcome! Let’s talk a little about INTO THE BLUE.

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted a book about sunshine and the ocean and bare feet and best friends in love. But also a real book where things are sometimes ordinary and people aren’t perfect and you have to build a household because you don’t always have anywhere to go. I’m sure there are other books out there but I haven’t found one so I had to write my own.

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

I feel enormously connected to Tai. He might be a young surfer and shaper and way more skilled with his hands than I but I feel his awareness of others and his way of looking at the world as though it’s all good. I also understand his need to step in and fix things and make things work for other people, rather than letting them get things wrong themselves. Of course there are other ways he’s different to me. The boy is way more physical than I am.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

For me the hardest part was simply lacking time. I was tired a lot because I was trying to squeeze writing into short short hours. There’s a benefit to that. It’s hard to feel blocked when you only have an hour to write in.

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

Ollie lets himself be hustled and high-fived back into the house.

I love that it’s lighthearted but there’s a lot of soft feeling in it. Ollie’s not particularly articulate or self aware so he sees most things through the actions that surround them. This line shows Ollie’s social discomfort and his sweet love of this ramshackle family. And it shows how they all support one another and look after one another.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I just finished my second novel which is a romance between two women set on the east coast of Australia. I intentionally set it in places and with people I know, among indie musicians and along my coast, because I’ve heard second novels are tough. It was still tough but also a great joy. I love these women and their dreams and connection and their friends.

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

When I start writing I am writing for myself, writing the book I want to read, though I am aware that two of my dear friends and fierce editors will read too. Once I’m in the middle I find I’m writing for the characters, because I love them and want them to be so happy. And then I give the book away and it’s for people who like things to be beautiful and real at once, for people who want to read something that’s simple and still has depth. It’s also for queer folk like me who want a happy story not just a happy ending.

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

Hmm. I feel like all the things I want them to know are there in the books. I wish people could really go to all the places in my books.

Are there any common themes you see in your work?

There are a couple. One theme is the ways which people are changed by setting, how we become willing to take risks when we are out of our comfort zones. Another is the families we build around us. And lastly that even happy situations sometimes need breaking down and rebuilding.

Word Sprints!

1. Coffee or tea? Tea. Black tea no milk. I’m new to it and slightly obsessed.
2. Musical theater or rock concert? Rock concert every time.
3. What’s a charity/cause you support? Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and opportunity
4. Do you enjoy watching or playing any sports? I watch a lot of football (soccer) and cricket. Honestly I’d watch anyone play almost any sport.
5. What’s the best part of the day? Dawn, when everything is pale gold and blue and there’s the hush of things that will happen later.

7-Jul: Havan Fellows, Louise Lyons, Hearts on Fire

8-Jul: Outrageous Heroes, Unquietly Me, Dawn’s Reading Nook

11-Jul: Love Bytes, Kirsty Loves Books, Bayou Book Junkie

12-Jul: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Butterfly-O-Meter

13-Jul: Oh My Shelves, Boys on the Brink Reviews

14-Jul: Molly Lolly, Happily Ever Chapter

15-Jul: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Prism Book Alliance

18-Jul: MM Book Escape, Making It Happen, Velvet Panic, BFD Book Blog

19-Jul: Book Lovers 4Ever, My Fiction Nook, V’s Reads

20-Jul: A.M. Leibowitz, Alpha Book Club

Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, Five first prizes of an e-copy of ‘Into the Blue’ by Pene Henson

a Rafflecopter giveaway