Staged (A Belonging 'Verse novel) by @kfieldingwrites Virtual Tour | Spotlight, Excerpt & #giveaway #mmromance @RiptideBooks

Hi, I'm Kim Fielding and I'm thrilled to introduce you to Sky Blue, the hero of my newest novel, Staged. In this book, I got the chance to write in an alternate universe very similar to our own--but where slavery is legal.

Once the second-prize winner on My Slave’s Got Talent, Sky Blue has spent the past few years singing at a failing New York nightclub. While Sky has never had control over his fate, his life seems to take a turn for the worse when he’s torn from the familiar comfort of performing and sold to a rich and enigmatic man.

Morgan Wallace takes his newly purchased slave to San Francisco, his intentions unclear. On the one hand, he treats Sky with more kindness than Sky has ever known—treats him like a real person. On the other hand, he shares Sky at parties hosted by his sadistic new friends.

A confused slave is an endangered slave, and Sky isn’t even sure of his master’s real name. Is he Morgan Wallace, wealthy and cruel, or Mackenzie Webster, caring and compassionate? Caught between hope, fear, and an undeniably growing attachment, Sky struggles to untangle which parts are real and which are merely a performance. His future, his heart, and even his life may depend on it.

Buy links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Excerpt from Staged... 

 As the clapping ended, Sky smiled at the meager audience and tried to ignore the stone-faced man at the table in front of the stage. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We’re going to take a quick break, and then we’ll be back with more.” Sky turned and ducked behind the curtains to join the members of the band, who were already sprawled in the ratty backstage chairs, scarfing leftovers from the kitchen.

“Here,” said his handler, putting a towel in one hand and a mug in the other.

Sky blotted his face—careful not to smear his makeup—and gave the towel back, then sniffed the steaming mug. “Thanks, Bill.” It was a special concoction Bill brewed just for him: hot tea with lemon, honey, and ginger. It wouldn’t heal the damage inflicted by too many hours of singing, but it would help soothe Sky’s sore vocal cords.

He took a careful sip, then turned to the guitar player, who was sitting close to him. “That was a good set,” Sky said.

The guitarist shrugged and stuffed half a dinner roll into his mouth.

Sky didn’t know the band well. The club manager had leased them only a week earlier in what Sky assumed was an attempt to save money. This group was less skilled than the last band, and smaller—just a guitar player, a keyboardist, and a drummer. But Sky preferred to get on their good side, because if they wanted to, a band could make the singer look really bad. These guys weren’t easily warming up to him, though.

“Is there anything you’d really like to play?” Sky asked. “Something different from what we did last night, maybe?”

The guitarist shook his head. “We’ll do whatever we’re supposed to.”

Sky wanted to say that their musicianship would never progress beyond mediocre if they didn’t find some passion in their work, but what was the point? They were slaves, just like him. They played whatever their owners told them to. This particular gig had benefits, though—decent food, a reasonably comfortable dorm, and a handler who was willing to learn his charges’ needs and cater to them as much as possible. Sky hoped those advantages would encourage this band to at least try to perform decently.

“Five more minutes,” Bill said. The band mumbled, “Thank you, five,” as Sky drained the mug. Bill took it from him, then ran a hand through his thinning hair and grimaced, looking as unhappy as he had all evening. “Ms. Avery wants you to report to her office after this set.”

Dread weighted Sky’s stomach, making him glad he’d eaten a light dinner. “I’m doing my best. If I could sing one fewer set each day—maybe for just a week—my voice would recover, and—”

“I don’t think she intends to punish you.”

That assurance should have calmed Sky, but Bill’s frown made him feel ill. “Then what does she want?”

Bill just shook his head before walking over to say something to the drummer.

Sky took a few deep breaths and tried another smile at the guitarist. “If you could do a couple long solos, I’d really appreciate it.” He tapped his throat. “Give me a little break?”

The guitarist seemed to consider this for a moment, then gave a curt nod.

For more information on this book or the Author, please visit Riptide Publishing. 

Kim Fielding picked up a pencil when she was three years old and never put it down. She always dreamed of becoming an author, but took a roundabout way of getting there, first spending an inordinate amount of time as a student and ending up with a law degree and a PhD in psychology. She wrote plenty of academic articles and even a few books, but fiction continued to call to her. One day, she finally put that pencil to its intended use again and began to write novels.

Today, Kim is the best-selling, award-winning author of numerous gay romance and fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning multiple -genres. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in fifteenth-century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, slaves, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

Kim writes authentic voices and unexpected heroes.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there among the cows and almond trees with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Contact Kim:

Website: kfieldingwrites.com

Twittter : @kfieldingwrites

Facebook: facebook.com/kfieldingwrites

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To celebrate the release of Staged, one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide gift certificate and a copy of Treasure by Kim Fielding in audiobook. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 23, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!