Lovesick Gods
Lovesick Series
Part One
Amanda Meuwissen
Genre: - Superhero/Gay Romance
Date of Publication: October 2, 2017
ISBN: 1-943619-33-6
ASIN:
Number of pages: 312
Word Count: 106,903
Cover Artist: Veronika Dolnikova
Tagline: Heroes aren’t meant to act like their villains—or fall in love with them.
Book Description:
The elements touch everyone on Earth—Fire, Water, even Light—but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero—Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant.
It’s been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty—he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression.
Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day—including Danny’s mother.
Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he’ll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he’ll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him. Danny doesn’t expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can’t predict the much darker threat on the horizon.
Excerpt:
The long game,
Danny thought as he accepted the hand Cho held out to help him from the sofa.
Cho couldn’t have any fun with a blubbering mess, so of course he’d want to
cheer Danny up. It didn’t mean anything. It just felt nice that Cho didn’t pry
the way the others did. He’d never look down on Danny. He was a liar, a
criminal, a scoundrel—he was the reason Danny had been forced into that
position with Thanatos to begin with—but while the rest of his life felt like
an open wound, somehow Cho was a balm.
Danny made a
show of changing out of Cho’s clothes and into his Zeus costume right there in
the living room. Leaving the sleep pants and T-shirt folded on the sofa, he started
to put on his boots at the door.
“Interesting
choice of work clothes.” Cho crossed his arms with an amused eyebrow raise.
“I’ll change
when I get to the precinct. And next time I’ll call. Or text. Promise. Thanks
for breakfast.” Danny made to walk toward Cho off the rug, then gave an
abortive gesture like oops, stuck now with my boots on.
Cho rolled his
eyes, but he still moved closer to accept the kiss Danny pulled him into. And
let linger. And linger... Maybe a little longer than necessary.
“Have a nice day
at work, dear,” Cho said, sickly sweet in his familiar drawl.
Danny found himself
smiling—and meaning it.
Cho was a bad
man. He was. He…he was. But he made things lighter. And easier. And even though
Danny knew that soon he’d have to end this or risk getting in too deep, for now
he could enjoy the lie for just a little longer.
About the Author:
Amanda Meuwissen has been writing and posting online for many years, including maintaining the website and blog for the software company Outsell. She is an avid writer and consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games, and is the author of the paranormal romance trilogy The Incubus Saga and young adult novel Life as a Teenage Vampire. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their two cats.
Interview with Amanda Meuwissen
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
I tend to get the best ideas from both the books I’m reading and TV shows or movies I’m watching combined with discussion and prompts from my readers. Lovesick Gods for example was influenced by my love of comic book heroes, specifically The Flash and Captain Cold, but it was a fan of my writing who requested I write a story with the premise of a hero character pursuing their villain sexually as a means to eventually hurt them for some sort of revenge, but in the process of winning them over, they come to genuinely care about their nemesis and fall in love. What I didn’t expect was how much my own personal demons and struggles with bipolar depression would come out through writing this story, because I had to imagine what sort of place a hero would be in to plan something so despicable, but still show that they were a redeemable hero. I have a deep fondness for heroic characters being knocked from their pedestals and proven to be corruptible and human, as well as the reverse where villains prove capable of change. The Lovesick Series explores both in a way that comes together very emotionally and satisfying, with the addition of comic book lore.
How did you do research for your book?
There is a lot of myself in my work, personal experiences or things I know intimately because good friends and family have gone through them—at least on the emotional side. For more practically things, most of my research is done online, like when looking into the inner working of Internal Affairs for a police department, or how a power plant works and what might make it unstable and in danger of exploding. In the past, my research was more mythologically based, so this new book was a fun departure.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I do. Currently, I am the Marketing Operations Manager for a Minnesota-based marketing automation company with a focus on automotive dealerships. It means I spend a lot of time writing non-fiction, which proves to spur me on to write more fiction when the work-day is over. It’s a good balance for me, especially as someone who prefers to be busy.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
First of all, I would want my time ship nearby so I could enjoy modern amenities whenever I choose, but if that wasn’t a concern, I’ve always been fascinated by the Golden Age of both Roman and Greek cultures. Just to see it all firsthand would be amazing.
What is your next project?
A romance novel called A Model Escort, which I hope to finish during NaNoWriMo this year.
Protagonist 1 just got out of a long-term relationship he wants to forget. Lucky for him, his new career in a new city allows him to start over hundreds of miles from his ex. The only problem is...he's lonely and terrible at starting new relationships. He just wishes that part of his life could be easier.
Protagonist 2 is an escort for Nick of Time Escort Service. He is especially picky about the clients he takes on, but lately, he's felt like something is missing from his life. He doesn't usually take on regulars looking for companionship more than sex, but the right client might be able to change his mind.
It’s shorter than what I usually write, a more contained story, and all about the romance instead of some larger plotline about saving a city or the world. There is still some very heavy emotional challenges with this one as it explores the fallout of an emotionally abusive relationship, so while it’s unique compared to my previous titles, I am especially proud of this one and the difficult topics it covers.
