Book Tour: No Secrets Needed by Ann Anderson

Author: Ann Anderson

Title: No Secrets Needed

Series: New Beginnings

Book: Two (Should be read in order for maximum enjoyment)

Release Date: May 11, 2016

Length: 67,000 words

Categories: Fantasy, Gay Fiction, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550681.Ann_Anderson

Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Cover Artist: London Calling

After bidding farewell to his family and Trint, the man he’s come to care for, Rafe heads out to sea, free to be himself for the first time in his life—free to learn himself, away from the constraints and trials of his mother, away from the terrible person he believed himself to be while forced to live with her.

When Rafe returns home his family is waiting for him—but there’s no sign of Trint. With a little push from his ward, Rafe decides to be bold and go after what he wants, though he fears in the end that all his efforts might still not be good enough to overcome the past and the secrets that have controlled so much of his life.

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Rafe rose and stood beside his bed, the dagger clutched tight as he waited for some indication that they were searching his ship. Who they might be, he wasn’t sure. They shouldn’t have been too far into unclaimed water, and as far as he knew, no pirate or enemy to their kingdom would attack so close to claimed water, but he could be wrong. There was always a chance for some war to crop up, even in these peaceful times.

The fighting sounded to have stopped not long after he woke, but Rafe waited until there was a knock at his door, and Captain Manis poked his head into the room, before moving, following him onto the deck to take stock of the damage.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” one of the men whispered as he hefted a body and placed it into a pile near the bow of the boat.

Rafe didn’t say anything as he cast a glance at Captain Manis. His mouth was pinched, eyes hard as he led Rafe to a group of men, no older than boys, and stopped, arms crossed as he scowled at the defiant figures. Rafe waited, but when Captain Manis didn’t say anything, he stepped forward.

“Why have you attacked our ship?” His gaze skimmed the group before him, taking in the trembling forms. After a quick perusal, he settled on one of the men whose eyes darted from side to side. Rafe knelt before the man, clasping his jaw in a firm hand. “Why have you attacked our ship?”

The man glanced from side to side again, but none of his fellows would look at him or speak up. With a deep breath, the man spoke in a small, childlike voice. “It’s our right.”

Rafe lifted an eyebrow. He must not have heard correctly. “Excuse me?”

Ann Anderson enjoys long walks through wooded areas, hunting zombies, and stealing treasure from space pirates. Only the first happens in real life. Besides allowing her imagination to run rampant, Ann loves editing and is glad she’s been able to make a small career of it while following through with her other passion of writing. Her cats can attest to both passions as they enjoy knocking the laptop from her lap and claiming the space as their own whenever Illinois weather drops to a reasonable degree.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008249014563

Ann enjoys hearing from people and can be contacted at author_ann_anderson@yahoo.com

Today I’m welcoming Ann Anderson to chat about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about No Secrets Needed, New Beginnings #2.

What inspired you to write this story?

I wrote the first book in the series and realized there had to be a second. And I wrote the first because I really wanted to try my hand at re-working a fairytale.

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

I tend to feel connected with all my characters because I put a bit of myself in each one, but for this story I’m rather connected to the main character, Rafe, since he’s a lot like me in some ways and both of us are rather awkward and roundabout in the way we fall in love.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

There was this one scene that I knew was needed, but I couldn’t, for some reason, write it. I had my beta reader look it over, but they had no suggestions and I cursed and swore and cried before finally caving and sending it off to my editor without the scene I knew was needed. My editor pointed out that the scene was needed and I swore and cursed and tried not to cry then talked with my cat (they’re very good for talking at when you don’t want a response) and I slowly figured it out. It ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but it was needed and the hardest part just because it took so long to work out.

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

Soon, his future would be before him, and he intended to take it.

This line happens about halfway through the story, at the end of a chapter, and I think it’s one of my favorites because while Rafe worries about his future, and the futures of those around him, he still has conviction, this underlying steel that refuses to bend or break because of his past or his present.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I have the third book in the series written and am working through some heavy edits since a certain plot I thought worked turned out not to and there are little things that need to be changed throughout. I have three short stories out for submission, am working on another short story for a call with Less Than Three Press, and have a few rough ideas for two other novels I want to have written by the end of the year.

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

More often than not it’s love scenes. I think it’s because love is such a personal thing, with so many different emotions attached to it that I want to keep true to my characters even more than if I were writing an action scene.

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

I do a lot of things. One is to switch up the music I’m listening to, another is to set it aside for a bit and read or write something else, and other times I talk either with my younger sister or at one of my cats, because thinking out loud, for whatever reason, makes it a lot harder to push what I’m focused on away or let other thoughts overpower it.

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

I learned long ago that my stories go better if I don’t really plan them (this is why I’m more of a pantser than a plotter) and kind of trust in my characters. Usually my characters take me on a nice little journey and while I might not have planned it, or I didn’t plan for what occurred to happen until much later, I let them go where they will and usually everything circles back and I find the story back on the vague plan I’d thought of in the beginning. If nothing else, I tell myself that editing is where I’m in control and can change what went awry.

Word Sprints!