Friday, June 8, 2018

Blog Tour: Under Five by Michael War

Title: Under Five
Author: Michael War
Genre: M/M Romance, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 30, 2018
Cover Design: Aisha Akeju
Summary:
Mike is good looking, charming, and has no trouble attracting men—as long as his clothes stay on. But the moment they come off, something always seems to go terribly wrong. When his sister takes him to a faith healer to fix the problem, he is provided with a spell—and left with a lot of doubts.

But after meeting Kevin, Mike decides to give the spell a try...


This was the first time anyone asked for the lights to be completely out. I mean, there are some guys who like the dark, but they always want some sort of light coming in. It could be a candle, night light, or just a crack from the closet, just something to keep things from being completely black. But not this time. Carlo wanted the lights completely off. I wasn't sure whether to be offended, or to simply just go with the flow.

But it did kind of bother me, even while we were kissing and rubbing each other all over the place. I tried to forget about the fact that we messed around the last time with all the lights on, but it was still nagging me a bit.

"Everything okay, Mike?" Carlo asked. While I couldn't see them, I knew his emerald green eyes were pointed directly at me. They were fake, but man, did they compliment him so much.

"Nah, I'm good, just come over here," I cooed, pulling him up closer to me. We still had our clothes on, so it was easy to grab his shirt and bring him in closer. I wanted to feel his hot breath against my neck, followed by his gentle kisses. The two times we hooked up before, we only kissed, and both times we only had our shirts off. But this time around, I wanted more. I wanted him to take me, to ravage me. To fill me up and not stop until we were both on the verge of exploding.

I could tell that Carlo was a bit surprised, even though I still hadn't completely adjusted to the dark, but he seemed into it and let me drag his mouth closer to mine. He took his hands and gently placed them on the back of my head, pulling a little on my hair but not enough to cause me pain.  "Don't stop, keep going," I moaned. Carlo intensified his kisses and started moving down towards my neck, then pulled back and little and began to pull my shirt off. I started on his before my shirt even hit the floor, and now for the first time tonight, we were both finally showing some skin towards each other.  After a bit of kissing and exploring, I forgot about the light situation. Thanks to the moon beaming through my curtains and right toward my bed I was able to make out where I wanted my hands to go. Carlo had the body type I loved; bearish, with broad shoulders and big, strong arms. But what got me was his chest. In the moonlight and without a shirt, Carlo was simply beautiful. Even though I wasn't a bear myself, I could appreciate the slight hairy trail he had going from his chest down to his stomach. I could see that the trail went even further, and I wanted him to reveal more.

Carlo continued to kiss me down my body, but I stopped him right before he got to my stomach.  "Let me take off your pants," I ordered. I was hoping he would be turned on by the dominance in voice and simply obey. "No, you first. I want to show you everything I have to offer you," Carlo responded, his hands rubbing the top of my shorts, fingers slightly pushing under the elastic. He let it snap a few times before slightly licking his lips.  I arched up a bit to help him out, and he obliged by grabbing my shorts at both ends and pulled them off along with my underwear. He placed his hand on my now erect cock, then stopped for an awkward minute.

"Something wrong?" I asked.  "No, um, just thought of something," he replied, giggling a bit before continuing. "Now get ready to have the best sex that you…."  He didn't finish. How could he now that he was giggling like crazy? I wanted to jump out of the bed right then and there, but he still had my dick in his hand, and even though it was getting flaccid, I didn't want to make any sudden moves and damage myself.  "Would you mind letting go? I would like to get dressed." He did, even though he was still laughing like a lunatic. I picked up my clothes and put my underwear on, then went for the lamp by my bed. Carlo was sprawled out across my bed. While his laughing had stifled a bit, his red face showed that something had amused him to no end.

I slipped my shorts back on and began to gather up his things.  "Oh come on, don't be that way. I'm sorry. We can still mess around. I just need a minute." The moment he finished his sentence, Carlo began laughing again. He put his hand over his mouth so it wouldn't be so loud, but it was no use.

"What the hell is so funny? I was good enough for you before. What changed now?" I stared him down hard; so hard that I was able to break his laughing fit up once and for all.

"I don't want to offend you. You're a nice guy. I was just taken by surprise. You know how it is with these things," Carlo stated as he got up from the bed and walked over towards me.  "No, I don't know. I don't have a clue about what is going on."

Carlo took my hand and looked me straight in the eyes with his emerald greens. For a second, I almost melted. But then the laughing started going on in my head again, and my fury came back full force.  Looking at Carlo's face, I could tell he had something he wanted to say, but just couldn't. He kept biting his lip, and you could tell he was thinking very carefully before he spoke again. The anticipation wasn't helping my tolerance, so I knew that I had to speed things up a bit.

"Just spit it out." Carlo looked at the floor one more time, then right back at me.  "It's just….well….I…..I didn't expect it to be so small." I really don't remember what happened after that, but I do recall that I was rushing him out in just his underwear, not giving him anytime to put his other clothes back on. He pleaded with me a bit, asking to stay and make it up to me. And I almost did --- until he mentioned that his was just used to bigger.


What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I think what really drove me to the gay romance/mm romance genres is the way many of these stories expertly balance angst, excitement, thrills, and anything else you can imagine along with a strong sense of sensuality. It was also great to see LGBT characters in roles I would have never imagined placing them in. I wanted to be a part of that and hoped that I would do it justice the way some of the best in the genre have.

When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)? 
My favorite part is the moment an idea springs into my head, which forces me to pull out my phone and jot it down before I forget it. It’s a thrilling moment, one that still gives me goosebumps when it happens.

When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
Lately I have found myself drawn to multiple POV thrillers, such as Gone Girl and Girl on a Train. I’ve taken a break from it after reading an interesting book that was recommended to me by Amazon called The Game You Played, which I really enjoyed. I think there is only so much twist and turns I can take at a time.

I’ve also been trying to get into some horror by easing into a couple of Stephen King’s shorter stories. This came after watching the show 11/22/62, which was based on a novel of the same name. I was sitting there enjoying the show when it hit me that I haven’t fully read a Stephen King novel in my life. I figured that needed to change ASAP. I plan to get to Salem’s Lot as soon as I have some free time.

If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
One of the works that really peaked my interest in writing was the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I read it in the 11th grade and was immediately taken in by the situation presented. I immediately followed that up with some of his other plays, such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Summer and Smoke and of course A Streetcar Named Desire. Something in them struck a chord within me. Perhaps it was the tragic nature or that as a young teen gay teen trying to come to terms with his sexuality, it was helpful to see an openly gay man from his generation held in high regard. So if I had to pick someone, living or dead to collaborate with, it would be Tennessee Williams. Now this question makes me regret that I haven’t read more of his works and that perhaps I should also check out some of his other plays, novels, and short stories.

Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I think I’ve always had a need for a creative outlet. I was shy as a child, and writing was one way that I could express my thoughts clearly. Writing also gave me a safe space to put all my thoughts done without fear of ridicule, basically because I hardly let anyone read them at first.  I wrote a few short stories on my own throughout high school, then started focusing on screenwriting when I went to college. After that didn’t pan out I gave up for a long time, thinking I was just some dreamer who needed to get real. But the itch never went away, which is why I am giving it another go. 

Author Bio:
Michael War is a writer whose real life tends to be on the boring side, which is why his imagination seems to float towards gay romance. Aside from writing about beautiful gay men of all types (bears, jocks, twinks) getting it on, he also enjoys writing poetry and screenplays. War holds an MFA in Creative Writing and plans to write more romance themed books in the near future. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook  for updates on upcoming stories or with any questions or comments. Or, you can read his blog for some mindless ramblings.


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