The Complete Counting series by Kelly Jensen Blog tour with Author Guest post & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @kmkjensen @TTCBooksandmore

Henry Auttenberg and Marc Winnamore have an interesting approach to dating. Bare acquaintanceship gives way to a mutual attraction as Marc confesses he’s not exactly straight—while they’re trapped in a rental car on the side of the road during a Christmas Eve blizzard. Back in Boston, they try an actual date, only to spend New Year’s Eve locked in a basement, exploring every avenue of escape… and the deepening attraction between them.

Then, after two months apart, their fledgling relationship held together by flying visits, phone calls, and text messages, a joint assignment in Washington DC serves up more togetherness than Henry and Marc might be able to handle. But the real test isn’t the assignment. When Marc finally lays his heart on the line, can he count on Henry to be there for him, in every way that matters? And can he do the same for Henry when Henry needs him the most?

Follow Henry and Marc’s journey from work colleagues to lovers, from roadside disaster to locked basements, to a final ultimatum in the three novellas of the Counting series: Counting Fence Posts, Counting Down, Counting on You

Amazon | Dreamspinner Press

Author Guest post...

Read Between the Stories 

The Counting Series has been collected into a single volume called The Complete Counting Series and it’s available in print! Now you can follow Henry and Marc from beginning to end—almost. I have actually written three other stories for these two that aren’t included in the print anthology (I wish they were!).

“Counting Stars” is a short, fluffy piece I wrote to strengthen the ending of Counting Fence Posts. I felt I’d given the guys a good start, but I wanted to follow up on Henry’s invitation to Marc—for Marc to spend Christmas with Henry’s family.

The story begins on the drive home from Albany, with Marc watching his exit pass by on the highway. They’re on their way to Henry’s folks’ house and he’s… anxious. This was my first peek inside Marc’s head and his feelings regarding Henry and family and the holidays were fascinating. I already knew I wanted to write an entire novella for him (Counting Down), but loved getting to know him a bit first.

For Henry, “Counting Stars” is another chance for him to overthink everything, but also to continue appreciating the fact Marc isn’t exactly who Henry thought he was. He discovers that Marc is actually kind of sweet. At the end, Marc invites Henry out to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and as we all know, they get locked in the basement of a building in downtown Boston.

Way to go, guys.

The events Counting Fence Posts and Counting Down occur only one week apart and the events of each novella take place over a handful of hours. Essentially, they’re two dates. Two not very good dates. When plotting Counting on You, I wanted to skip forward more than a week and I wanted to write a story that would see these two bonding more intimately than they could on yet another disastrous date. So I decided to write “Counting the Days,” which is an exchange of text messages covering the two months between the second and third novellas. In “Counting the Days,” Henry and Marc’s relationship deepens. They become friends as well as tentative lovers.

Their trip to DC (Counting on You) is the test of whether they’re in this for the long haul. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that they pass. This is romance, after all. But it’s a tough test.

To celebrate the release of The Complete Counting Series, I decided to write one last story for Henry and Marc called “Counting Out.” It’s actually one of the longest stories I’ve written, and I’m not going to say it’s the last—they’re too much fun. But this is it for now, and so I wrote something that would deliver on the promise of every story thus far. And, because this is Henry and Marc, they’re going to get lost. Then found. But there are some sweet and sexy moments in between, and the ending we’ve all been waiting for.

To read all of the extra stories I’ve written for Henry and Marc, visit the Counting Series page on my website.

Thanks for following the tour for The Complete Counting Series! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address). Every comment throughout the tour counts as an entry in my giveaway. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store. Giveaway open internationally.

Q. If I did write another story for Henry and Marc, where should they go or what should they do?

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of eight novels, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke, and several novellas and short stories. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/czGhYz

Thanks for following the tour for The Complete Counting Series! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address). Every comment throughout the tour counts as an entry in my giveaway. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store. Giveaway open internationally.

Follow the Tour!

9/20     Joyfully Jay “A Story in Three Parts”

9/20     Love Bytes “The Future is Happy and Shiny”

9/21     The Novel Approach   “Exclusive Excerpt from Counting Out”

9/21     The Dreamspinner Press Blog “The Counting Series Playlist”

9/21     TTC Books and More “Read Between the Stories”