My guest today is Elizah J. Davis, whose novel Making Nice releases today from Dreamspinner Press. 🙂
The Eagle and the Archer
Thank you to Shae for hosting me!
One of the first things I do when I’m sitting down to write a new story is figure out what the characters’ sun signs are. Whether or not you believe in astrology, it is a fantastic way to fill out a character’s positive and negative personality traits, as well as the relationship dynamics of the couple.
With Making Nice, Blake and Ryan’s dynamic worked itself out pretty quickly once I figured out where they fell in the zodiac. Initially, Blake was a little harder to get a read on. I knew he was fiercely loyal to his loved ones, but guarded and prickly at first, and eventually pegged him as a Scorpio. Ryan, on the other hand, was always unquestionably a Sagittarius – tactless, but charming and kind-hearted enough that he’s usually forgiven for it.
As it notes in Linda Goodman’s Love Signs (one of my favorite astrology resources), these two have a lot of potential if the Sagittarius can learn to think before he speaks, and thus avoid stepping in it all the time. Unfortunately, Ryan has some trouble with that, leaving Blake unconvinced of his charm.
Excerpt:
“Hey, man, how much do I owe you?” Ryan stopped short, nearly hitting himself in the face with the door when he actually looked at the guy standing there. Definitely not the pizza boy, and easily the most gorgeous guy Ryan had seen in a good long while. He looked like some sort of haughty underwear model or high-class prostitute. He was put together like he was on his way to a GQ photoshoot in a gray wool coat with a red scarf wrapped artfully around his neck. His jeans looked faux-worn, cuffed and draped too precisely over his boots to be casual. Was he there as some sort of practical joke? Had Matt hired some dude to pretend he had sophisticated friends?
The guy gave him a practiced, flirty smile. “Depends on what you’re paying me for, I suppose.” The statement hung somewhere between sarcastic and suggestive.
Ryan turned his head and shouted, “Did you guys order me a hooker?” He turned back to the hooker/underwear model and grinned. “It’s not even my birthday.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, the term is escort, right?”
“What are you—Jesus, Ryan,” Matt said, coming up behind him. “This is Bianca’s brother.” The why are we friends, I’m going to kill you was very clear in his tone.
“You’re Blake?” Ryan asked, ignoring Matt’s death glare. “Man, now I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or disappointed.”
“You’re such an ass.” Matt turned to Blake. “Feel free to ignore him. The rest of us do. Please come in.” He led the way to the living room without giving Ryan a second glance.
Ryan gestured for Blake to enter, and grinned when Blake whispered, “You should be both, but if you have to pick one? It should definitely be disappointment. Scout’s honor.”
Twins Blake and Bianca Dunlap have always been there for each other, ready to lend support and make sacrifices. Blake can’t imagine a bigger sacrifice than getting along with Bianca’s fiancé, Matt. However, Matt turns out to be more than the meathead Blake had dismissed him as, but Matt’s best friend, Ryan Everett, is a different story. Ryan seems intent on being an insufferable jerk as often as possible. The fact that Blake is undeniably attracted to Ryan only makes the whole situation more annoying.
Since they’ll all be stuck together for the long haul, Blake is determined to make nice. Unfortunately he overshoots, and he and Ryan end up on much friendlier terms than Blake intended. While he and Ryan agree there’s no harm in having a strings-free fling, that changes when Matt and Bianca find out about it. As more complications arise, Blake and Ryan become more determined to do what it takes to avoid letting them down. But the only way to ensure getting through a joyous wedding and avoid the questions neither of them want to answer is to convince everyone it’s something more.
Buy Links: Dreamspinner Amazon ARe
Elizah J. Davis has lived in various parts of the United States, but currently resides in the Pacific Northwest, enjoying the abundance of coffee readily available there. Once upon a time she had journalistic ambitions, but switched to creative writing after she realized journalism involved too many facts and not enough unicorns. She loves stories of all kinds, but has a particular fondness for romance and fantastical adventures. When she isn’t busy making things up, Elizah enjoys reading, laughing at cats on the internet, buying girly shoes, and trying to come up with world domination plans that don’t require the donning of pants (her endeavors towards which have thus far been unsuccessful).
Website: http://elizahdavis.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElizahDavis
Tumblr: http://elizahdavis.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.elizah.davis
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