Book Spotlight: Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton

Winter Oranges
by Marie Sexton
Release Date: November 30, 2015
Riptide Publishing

About Winter Oranges
Jason Walker is a child star turned teen heartthrob turned reluctant B-movie regular who’s sick of his failing career. So he gives up Hollywood for northern Idaho, far away from the press, the drama of LA, and the best friend he’s secretly been in love with for years.

There’s only one problem with his new life: a strange young man only he can see is haunting his guesthouse. Except Benjamin Ward isn’t a ghost. He’s a man caught out of time, trapped since the Civil War in a magical prison where he can only watch the lives of those around him. He’s also sweet, funny, and cute as hell, with an affinity for cheesy ’80s TV shows. And he’s thrilled to finally have someone to talk to.

But Jason quickly discovers that spending all his time with a man nobody else can see or hear isn’t without its problems—especially when the tabloids find him again and make him front-page news. The local sheriff thinks he’s on drugs, and his best friend thinks he’s crazy. But Jason knows he hasn’t lost his mind. Too bad he can’t say the same thing about his heart.


Read my five-plus-starred review of Winter Oranges.

Add Winter Oranges on Goodreads.

Purchase Links
Amazon | B&N | iTunes


About Riptide's 2015 Holiday Anthology

Purchase Link

Winter Oranges is one of Riptide's 2015 charity titles.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from this title will be donated to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) National Help Center.

Founded in 1996, the GLBT National Help Center is a non-profit organization that provides vital peer-support, community connections and resource information to people with questions regarding sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Utilizing a diverse group of GLBT volunteers, they operate two national hotlines, the GLBT National Hotline and the GLBT National Youth Talkline, as well as private, volunteer one-to-one online chat, that help both youth and adults with coming-out issues, safer-sex information, school bullying, family concerns, relationship problems and a lot more.

To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit their website: http://www.glbthotline.org/.


A Note from Marie Sexton
Hello, everybody. I'm Marie Sexton, and I'm here today to talk about my newest release, Winter Oranges. Winter Oranges is about Jason, a child star turned teen heartthrob turned B-movie regular who's struggling with his failing career. In many ways, Jason longs to leave Hollywood behind and start over as a regular guy. But acting is the only thing he's ever known, and so even though he sometimes hates it, he has no idea what else to do with himself. 

Honestly, Jason's love/hate relationship with his career is something I can identify with. Although it's something we authors are never supposed to talk about, the truth is, I haven't always loved being an author. On one hand, I get to make my own hours and take vacations whenever I want. On the other hand, I never anticipated how draining this job would be. When I nervously submitted my first novel to a publisher, I had this crazy idea that getting a contract would somehow change my life. That I'd suddenly feel like a success and everything would be easy. 

Well, it may be that way for some authors, but it certainly hasn't been for me. The truth is, my life has changed, but it doesn't always feel like it's for the best. I spend more hours each day doubting myself than I ever did at my old day job. I spend days questioning my motivation, contemplating my inadequacy, mulling over my failures, wondering if there's any point whatsoever in writing another story. But like my protagonist Jason, who finds himself returning to Hollywood over and over again, taking parts in subpar movies because it's the only life he knows, I find myself returning to the keyboard, thinking maybe this time it'll be different. 

But it never is, and so I ask myself over and over again why I bother. 

But again, authors aren't ever supposed to admit to this stuff. Every time I talk about it, I know people are rolling their eyes, thinking I'm living the dream and just too dumb to appreciate it. "Yeah, yeah, Marie," somebody is undoubtedly saying. "So quit already." 

And like my protagonist, I do. I quit about three times per year. But also like Jason, I can't ever quite commit to quitting, because I have no idea what else to do with myself. And then that magical thing happens – I get an email. I never know when they'll come, or who they'll be from, but I'll get that message that says, "I love your books." Or the message that says, "Oh my god, that one really hit home." Or I get the message that says, "Your book changed my life." 

And I say to myself, "This is why I do it." 


About Marie Sexton
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along.

Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Connect with Marie


Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Winter Oranges, Marie Sexton is giving away two titles from her backlist and a $50 Amazon gift card! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 5, 2015. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win!

Follow the Winter Oranges blog tour.


Comments

  1. Woo! A new Marie Sexton book is always cause for celebration! ��

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  2. Not only do I love your books, I own most of them in paper, a high honor indeed!

    skadlec1@yahoo.com

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  3. I cannot wait to read this book. =)
    serena91291@gmail.com

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  4. Congrats on release day!
    Already have it ready on my Kindle, will start reading as soon as the Mad Cyber Monday bugs flew past. :D

    menik16 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  5. Thanks very much to Bookaholics for having me here today, and thank you to everybody who's stopped by so far. :-)

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome! It was my honor to read and review Winter Oranges and to be part of the blog tour. Thank YOU for writing such a beautiful story about Jason and Ben.

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  6. I love your books! I hope you never quit writing! I am so looking forward to reading this book! Thank you!

    ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  7. I've picked up the bundle & am looking forward to reading it. I love Marie's books! legacylandlisa (at) gmail (dot) com

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  8. Happy book release! Love your books <3

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  9. Forgot email :)
    Jupiterspot22@outlook.com

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  10. I think this post is really important for people to read, both authors and readers. I'm sure many authors feel this way, and I know many readers may not always appreciate what it takes to bring the stories we love to life. I know authors are always saying they love to hear from readers, but I never thought of it in this way before. Thanks, Marie!

    Carolyn
    caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for this review too! I've been following the tour and just eating all of them up!

    genbez1@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete

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