Starstuck Tour Stop!

 Hollywood is full of dirty secrets, but Carter refuses to be Levi’s.

Retired action star Levi Pritchard has made a quiet life for himself in the sleepy logging town of Bluewater Bay, Washington. But then Hollywood comes to film the wildly popular television series Wolf’s Landing, and Bluewater Bay isn’t so sleepy anymore. His retirement doesn’t stick, either, because he’s offered a part on the show—exactly the kind of complex role he’d always wanted, one that would prove him more than a glorified stuntman. The only catch? He has to stay in the closet—no matter how attractive he finds his co-star.

Carter Samuels is the critically-acclaimed male lead on Wolf’s Landing. And now, the man who inspired him to take up acting—and made him realize he’s gay—is joining the cast, and sparks fly between them instantly. But Carter is out and proud and determined to stay true to himself.

Remaining just friends is the only thing to do, as both the studio and Levi’s disapproving, dysfunctional family keep reminding them. Except their friendship deepens by the day, tempting them with what they can’t have but both desperately need.

When the review opportunity came up for this book, I almost passed on it. Romances about two successful Hollywood stars rarely interest me because too often I find the character annoying and/or over-entitled. But with this being an M/M romance, I decided to take a chance on it and I am so glad that I did because there is just so much to love in Starstruck.

Levi had my sympathy right off the bat in this book. Not even two minutes into his meeting with Finn and I was ready to throttle the man; it made it easy to understand why Levi would leave Hollywood and acting behind when he had to deal with “that” on a regular basis. Anna’s arrival at the meeting was a breath of fresh air and I got a kick out of the way she proceeded to manipulate Levi – but in a good way. So I really felt bad for him when he was offered the part of a lifetime but warned that his sexuality could NOT come into question – talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

Of course Carter was just as endearing to me. I thought his reaction to the possibility of meeting Levi was adorable. We have a tendency to forget that even stars have idols and Carter was giddy at the idea that he might get to meet his. But what was really cute was that Levi was just as starstruck over Carter. That they were attracted to one another – even if they couldn’t acknowledge it – just made the whole situation that much interesting, especially when things heated up (yummy!). I really enjoyed that they decided to build a friendship rather than avoiding one another OR jumping straight into bed. Of course, it made a bad situation that much more emotionally painful later in the book, but it gave the guys a chance to really get to know one another and realize what was really important.

Ms. Witt has done an excellent job in kicking off the Bluewater Bay series with her contribution of Starstruck. She has quite successfully sucked me into Bluewater Bay, Wolf’s Landing, and the characters involved. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series as well as checking out the author’s work. 

What's it like writing a series with different authors but in the same world?

It’s a lot of fun! It’s not quite the same as co-writing, since everyone writes their own thing, but you have a lot of characters crossing paths, settings showing up in multiple books, etc.

As with any collaborative project, it has its challenges, and the more people involved, the more those challenges can be magnified. Making sure everyone is being consistent about the setting as well as characters, checking in with each other about things, etc. But really, as long as you’re working with a professional, respectful group, it works very well, and the Bluewater Bay group is awesome. We’ve got a “bible” that lists people and places, summarizes everyone’s stories, and helps us all keep our facts straight.

Sometimes an author will e-mail someone and say “Hey, can I use your character for this scene?” or “I needed your character for this—could you check and make sure his/her voice sounds right?”  That’s where it gets really fun. You get to see what other authors—authors you admire!—do with your characters. When I was working on Tucker Springs, Marie Sexton wrote a scene involving one of my characters, and it actually fleshed him out even more than I already had. I ended up running with what she had come up with when it came time to write his story. The same thing happens with Bluewater Bay.

Other crazy things happen too. At one point, Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau came to me to add a character to the bible, but the name was too close to someone who already existed. I offered an alternative name, and then BAM! I had the love interest for one of my not-yet-written books in the series.

All in all, projects like this are a blast. That’s why I was eager to start a new one after Tucker Springs ended—I love the fun and creativity of working with multiple authors, seeing what different people do with the same place, etc.  I’m really excited to see the next few stories in Bluewater Bay, and I can’t wait until we can share them with readers!

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.

L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

Amazon US || Barnes & Noble || ARe || Riptide

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (excluding Starstruck) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 9^th, and winners will be announced on November 10^th.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.