Virtual Book Tour [Excerpt & Guest Post] Other Options by Pembroke Sinclair

Other Options

by Pembroke Sinclair

Genre:  romance

Publisher:  Musa Publishing

Date of Publication:   August 9, 2012

Cover Artist:  Kelly Shorten

Amazon  Musa Publishing

Book Description:  

Eddie lost his love, but life is always full of other options.

Eddie has a great life with a loving wife and fabulous job. His work keeps him away from home for long stretches of time, but he counts down the moments until he gets to be back in his wife’s arms. He would do anything for her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same way, and plans on leaving Eddie for another man. 

Feeling crushed and betrayed, Eddie has a hard time trusting women. He knows it’s unfair; he knows not every woman is as evil as his ex-wife, but he can’t deny his feelings. As an ice miner, he’s expected to spend months at a time on his ship. Much to his chagrin, he is forced to spend it with Rie. Will being trapped on a ship with a woman help Eddie get over his fear and hatred of women and move on with his life? Are there any other options?

Eddie stood at his locker, staring at the manila folder. He opened it for half a second before slamming it shut and heading for the command offices. He threw it onto Assignment Officer Diaz’s desk, who looked up at him from his paperwork, expressionless.

Eddie placed his fists on the desk and leaned forward. “I want Shaun Harris.”

Diaz grabbed the folder and flipped it back at him. “Harris is out on another mission. This is the best I could do.”

“I can’t do it.” Eddie pushed himself away from the desk and paced the room. “I can’t go out with a woman.”

Diaz leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. “Rie Danalgo is highly capable.”

“I’m sure she’s more than capable, but that doesn’t change that she is a she,” Eddie spoke between gritted teeth and chopped his hand through the air to emphasize his point. “Do you know what I just went through? What I will be going through? I can’t trust ‘em. I can’t handle being around them. I might lose it. I might say something rude, and then I’m stuck with her for months. I filed the paperwork asking for Shaun, just like you asked me to.”

Diaz threw his hands out to his sides. “What do you want me to do? We’re short on personnel right now. Petroid’s expansion is growing exponentially faster than the manpower I have to oversee it. I read your request and did the best I could. This is the only assignment I have open right now. If I had any say in the matter, you wouldn't go out at all. You would stay landed until you got your crap together.”

Eddie stopped pacing in front of the desk. “What about a rookie expedition? Isn’t there one of those going out?”

Diaz leaned forward and punched a few keys on his keyboard. “Sorry. Everything’s booked.” He leaned back in his chair. “It’s only three months.”

Eddie snatched the folder off the desk and headed for the door.

“Hey,” Diaz stopped him before he walked out. 

Eddie glanced at him over his shoulder.

“You have your medication? The shrink’s number?”

Eddie sighed and nodded curtly.

“Use them both. Everything will be fine. I know how hard this is for you. But, you know what? You’re not the first person to go through a divorce. It will be all right.” Diaz smiled, attempting to lighten the mood.

Eddie clenched his jaw and stepped out of the office, refraining from slamming the door behind him. Diaz was trying to be nice, to help him out during a difficult time, but the only thing that was truly going to help was a different shipmate.

In 2009, eTreasures Publishing published my first novel, a sci fi adventure story.  Since then, they have published my two YA zombie novels, my religious zombie novella, two children’s picture books, and two novellas with romantic elements.  I have an urban fantasy novel about dragons and a vampire novelette that was published by MuseItUp Publishing.  Musa Publishing has published my novelette with romantic elements and a collection of short stories.  I have a middle grade urban fantasy novel that was published by Little Devil Books.  My nonfiction book about slasher films was published by Scarecrow Press.

Writing is my passion.  I enjoy creating fantastic worlds and memorable characters.  I’m an active promoter of my works and love to talk to readers at book signings and readings.  Doing giveaways on Goodreads has been an exciting experience, and having contests for readers has been fun.  I actively promote various authors on my blog and participate in blog tours to promote my own work.

I write under several different pen names.  For my children’s titles, I write under J.D. Pooker, and for my YA and adult novels, I write under Pembroke Sinclair.  My nonfiction work is done under my real name.

I am a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and am on a committee to create membership criteria for iPAL, which is a sister group to the Published Authors Liaison group and focuses on independent and self-published authors.  I am also a member of the ALA and really enjoy doing library visits.

For Other Options

Guys Have Feelings Too

I don’t normally write Romance, and when I do, it’s certainly not stories that fall into the category with a capital “R.”  This genre has certain conventions and expectations that readers want.  I don’t read it, so I’m not exactly sure what those conventions are.  Still, I’m not going to shy away from a story just because it might not fit into the genre-specific definition.

When writing Other Options, I always knew I wanted to tell it from the guy’s perspective.  I wanted to show Eddie being vulnerable and upset.  I wanted to explore what it would take for someone who has been hurt to find love again.  Do I think that’s how a guy would really respond?  It’s hard to say.  Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to heartache.  This story is Eddie’s, so it shows his unique reaction.

My point was that a guy would react to the situation.  They aren’t made of stone, they have feelings too.  It was fun to explore how those feelings of hurt would manifest themselves and his reaction to them.  I enjoy looking at things from other perspectives and exploring a character’s reactions to difficult situations.

Eddie surprised me throughout the story.  He was a much bigger romantic than I envisioned him to be.  It’s really fun when the characters take over and tell the story they need to tell.  And it makes me happy that things worked out the way they were supposed to for Eddie!