Welcome, Kerry!

Hello my dearies!

Today, I have a special treat for you... an interview with fellow Book Bunny and published author...(insert drumroll, please)...

KERRY FREEMAN!!

Here's what Kerry says about herself... 

The Short Version
Author. Southerner. Geek. Writer of romance, believer in HEA. Positive there's nothing better than shrimp & grits and red velvet cake.

*At this point I absolutely have to add: I love Red Velvet Cake...*

The Longer Version
Kerry was born and raised in Alabama, and she grew up swearing she was going to get the hell out of Dodge the instant she could. Turns out Dodge ain’t so bad, and she never left. Alabama’s version of a city girl, she married a country boy, and the adorkable couple lives in a small town with their two socially awkward dogs.
Kerry loves to write about love, and it turns out most of the voices in her head are men. She also loves to write about the South, so most of her stories end up there, one way or another.
A tomboy and a geek from way back, Kerry has a day job but dreams she will one day write full time. She has a weakness for yaoi, Japanese stationery, YA, and ginger-haired singers from Britain. She owns an impressive t-shirt collection. Nowaki & Hiroki are her homeboys.

In short, Kerry writes romance of the m/m kind, fell-good stories at the rainbow end of the spectrum, and her newest work of genius, 

Pine Tar and Sweet Tea

has just been published by Loose Id. To celebrate, she's off on a blog tour and today I get to welcome her here, on Tessa's Blurb. 

First, let me tell you a little something about her book, and then I'll be asking Kerry five questions for your amusement and enlightenment ; P

So without further ado, here's the Blurb for Pine Tar and Sweet Tea:

After playing eleven years in the Minor Leagues, Coach Matt Hawley has returned to his tiny Alabama hometown to lead his old high school baseball team to their first state championship. At the other end of the state, René Días, who left the Major League after one season, is getting his team ready to defend their state title for the second straight year. One is in the closet. The other is between relationships. Neither has any intention of hooking up at the state tournament. 

Then they see each other. 

Pre-game lust turns into an intense one-night stand neither man can forget, and when their best friends embark on a romance, Matt and René are thrown together again. This time they decide it won't be for just a single night. But the fear of disappointing his minister father and shaming his family forces Matt to keep one foot in the closet, even as he and René find their lust is maybe something more. He's going to have to make a choice between between his family and his freedom.

Sounds good, no? I'm lucky enough to have read it already and I can attest to its awesomeness. Romance comes in all colours and flavours and this story celebrates love. Right in time for Thursday's Coming Out Day, too! Did you celebrate? I hope you did, our world can do with more tolerance. 

Speaking of colourful (and what a great lead is that, huh? Huh?), here comes Kerry! 

Hello Kerry, welcome to my blog. Let me get right in there with my five questions...here comes number one....

I love the title of the new book - bur as someone from the other side of the great pond, can you tell me what exactly it means and what kind of picture you want to invoke for your reader? 

Ah, yes, the title. Pine tar is a sticky substance that is used for a number of purposes but most notably by baseball players. They put it on the handle on the bat to help keep the bat in their hands when they swing hard. Pitchers sometimes use it, but if they put it directly on the ball, they get suspended. 

Sweet tea is the quintessential Southern drink. You can order it anywhere. If I go to a restaurant that only has unsweet tea, I know it's run by a yankee ;) 

So basically I'm hoping the title will invoke images of baseball and the South (US).

Are you a baseball fan or did you need to do research? Does your family fall ona particular side of the baseball-football divide or do you like/play both?

I LOVE baseball! I used to watch it all the time until I got married. My husband thinks baseball is boring to watch on TV. He will go to games with me, though, and we have a great time. Our favorite team is the Atlanta Braves... who totally got robbed in the playoffs last week *booooo* *hissssss*

My husband's side of the family are all huge football fans, and they've got me hooked on it too. Especially college football. Our favorite team is the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, which were the national champions last year.

I never played sports. I'm too clumsy :)

*grins* I'm not particularly sporty, either. Unless keyboard surfing counts....

As a writer, I know from experience that stories are born in many, many different ways. Did this one start with an idea or with a character? 

This story was inspired by two friends from high school who both came out in college. One went on to be a teacher. She came home for a visit with a girlfriend, and we all went to the only gay bar in town. She wouldn't go to one where she lived in fear it would get back to her school and she'd lose her job. My other friend went through a religious process to make her "not gay," and we didn't see her again. I often wonder where she is now and how she's lived her life. I only hope she's happy.

It's really sad that people are still so ignorant and intolerant. I sincerely hope we're on our way to a better society than that. I hope your friend is ok, wherever she is. 

Now a really, really important question...how do you take your tea?

Asked like someone who ain't from around here ;) In the South, we drink our tea over ice, and you can only get it one of two ways: sweet (with sugar) or unsweet.

I take my tea straight up unsweet. Some people add artificial sweeteners, but since the tea’s already cold, the sweetener doesn’t dissolve completely. I’d rather drink it plain than have a mouth full of gritty powder.

Heh. As a person who lived in the UK for a long time, I take my tea in a mug, with a spot of milk and a lump or two... not the done thing in the South, I guess! ; ) 

Now, I don't know if you read that post, but I've recently talked about the wonderful(ly difficult) thing that is dialogue... heaven or hell for a writer, and oh so important to get your story across. Do you have a favourite line of dialogue from your new book that you'd like to share? Or maybe there's a particular scene you like best? 

My favorite passage is René talking about what his devout grandmother told him when he came out to her. 

“My grandmother was devout. Rosary, hair covering, the whole thing. When I told her I was gay, she sat me down and told me to remember one thing: God is love. He wants me to love and be loved in return. She didn’t believe that he would put me on earth only able to feel true love for a man if he didn’t mean for me to love that way.”

You're right, that's a powerful bit of dialogue you have there, and the sentiment is one I think everyone should take to heart. Thank you for joining me today, and I wish you all the best for your new book!!! 

If you like the sound of Kerry's story, go check it out on Loose Id or on Amazon, and do pop in on her website and say hi! You can also find her here:

Blog: http://blog.kerryfreeman.com/

Monthly Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/pkZ95

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kfwritesbooks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorkerryfreeman

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4759363.Kerry_Freeman