Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: GRAYALITY by Carey PW

Grayality

By Carey PW

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GENRE: LGBTQIA Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

Love knows no gender.

Pate Boone, a twenty-six-year-old transgender man, embarks on a new adventure when his childhood best friend, and yes, ex-lover, Oakley Ogden, convinces him to escape their hometown in hopes for something new.

They land in Cloverleaf, a tiny rural town in Montana, so that Oakley can care for his granny who is battling breast cancer. She pressures the two young men to enroll in a nearby college. Pate immediately becomes enthralled with Maybelle, a young, vivacious freshman to whom he fears revealing his transgender identity. Still, he finds it impossible to resist Maybelle, even after he meets her ex, Bullet, a large, violent man determined to keep Pate away from “his girl.”

But there are others who accept Pate immediately, like Stormy. An outdoorsy, rugged freshman, Stormy warns Pate away from Maybelle and Bullet, but Pate’s too infatuated to heed these warnings.

Oakley tries to support his friend’s new love but finds himself entangled in his own emotional calamity when he unintentionally falls for Jody, a gay and ostentatiously confident drag queen. This new relationship awakens deep internal conflicts in Oakley as he struggles to accept his bisexuality, lashing out at Pate and causing friction between him and Jody.

Oakley must decide if he can overcome his insecurities so he doesn’t lose the love of his life. And Pate must discover if the love between him and Maybelle is strong enough for her to accept him as a transgender man, or if she will break his heart.

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Excerpt One:

Pate held up his hand to stop me. “You didn’t pull away when he held your hand. Even he noticed that. You didn’t pull away from his kiss. You think he’s never hit on straight guys before? I think he’d know by now that straight guys pull away—”

“And gay guys don’t?” I asked.

“They don’t if they are interested. Oakley, sexuality is not either/or. Maybe you have some attraction to him. Maybe not toward just any man, but toward him.”

I had been so busy trying to analyze my repulsion toward guys that it had never dawned on me to consider what made Jody attractive to me. His emerald-green eyes alone were enough to mesmerize anyone. His skin was silky and soft like a woman. His frame was small and delicate. But thinking on it, it wasn’t so much those physical traits as it was his confidence and free spirit. I had never seen a girl perform and light up a room as if she owned it the way Jody had dominated the club in Billings. When he realized that I thought he was a girl when I made the date, his response was calm. He didn’t get offended or even embarrassed. Jody was going to keep being Jody. I hadn’t found that certainty for myself yet.

“It wouldn’t mean anything different than me preferring to stay a feminine guy,” Pate replied, shrugging his shoulder. “It’s not about girl or boy. It’s about the feminine and the masculine that’s in all of us.”

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INTERVIEW

What are four things you can’t live without?

I can’t live without Clorox or any disinfectant product. I subscribe to wipes on Amazon, and during the pandemic when all the stores were out, I never ran out. I’m pretty particular about germs and keeping my things clean. It’s part of my OCD. I couldn’t live without running shoes. A month ago, I traveled to Whitefish for a marathon and forgot my shoes at home. Determined to still run my race, I ran in my regular sneakers. It wasn’t fun. I had horrific blisters all over my feet when I finished.

I can’t live without water. I know that no one can, but I literally have a water addiction. It has to be around me at all times, and I consume about five liters a day. Ironically, I’m not diabetic, either. Lastly, I can’t live without my music. It takes me to my happy place even when it makes me sad. I love the way music opens up my emotions. It’s a great escape.

What is your favorite television show?

It’s hard to choose one as my favorite. Some of my favorites include 90 Day Finance, Sex and the City, MTV’s The Challenge, The Amazing Race, Survivor, and My 600 Pound Life. I’m a reality T.V. junkie. It’s something easy to just turn on and watch for hours.

If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?

I can’t say that I fantasize about being other people, including characters. The only one that comes to mind is perhaps Odysseus. He got to travel all around and have interesting adventures for twenty years. I guess Penelope loved him considering she waited for him all that time, so having a partner that devoted would be cool.

What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?

I submitted my next book called Acing the Game in May. It’s a story about two married men and is also set in the fictional town of Cloverleaf, Montana. Shep is a chef (trans and ace) who married Elmer, a shy, reserved high school principal (cis and allo). Elmer struggles to understand Shep’s asexuality and longs for more sexual discovery. Through a surprising dive into polyamory, they explore every side of their compatibility, and they just might learn how strong their romantic bond can be.

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

As an English major during my bachelor’s degree, I mostly read classics, so I am heavily influenced by literary fiction. I like novels that focus more on characters and internal conflicts over plot. Ones that resonated with me were Black Boy, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, today, I try to read a mixture of traditional and self-published authors, and I would also say that they inspire me. I enjoy other people’s characters and feel as if I am getting to know them through their characters. Plus, if they are writing, then I can write. It’s all about community.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Carey PW (he/they) is a debut author, college instructor, and mental health counselor. Carey is currently completing his next manuscript, Acing the Game.

Carey lives in Montana, and identifies as nonbinary, transmasculine (AFAB) and panromantic asexual. Due to the lack of resources in rural communities, Carey has discovered that writing about his lived experiences is a therapeutic outlet for him and hopes that his readers relate to his own personal struggles and triumphs shared through his characters’ narratives. Carey is particularly interested in exploring relationship conflicts around sexuality and gender differences. He has also worked as a high school writing instructor and college writing instructor, earning a B.A. in English Literature, a M.Ed. in English Education, and Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education all from the University of Georgia. In 2020, Carey earned his second M.Ed. in Counselor Education and works as a licensed clinical professional counselor, LCPC. He has a strong passion for working with the unique mental health issues of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Readers can learn more about Carey from his blog, www.careypw.com. When he is not writing, Carey is busy training for marathons, parenting his six cats, sharing his culinary talents on social media, serving on the board for the nonprofit Center for Studies of the Person (CSP) and learning photography.

Carey PW loves to hear from readers. You can find his contact information, website and author biography at http://www.pride-publishing.com.