NBtM Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway - Just Outside of Hope: Sequel to Road Without End by Ron Kearse

Welcome to my stop on the NBtM virtual book tour for Just Outside of Hope by Ron Kearse. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt for you as well as a great guest post. There's also a tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: Just Outside of Hope: Sequel to Road Without End
Author: Ron Kearse
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Publication Date: August 27th 2019
Print Length: 252 pages
Genre: LGBT Fiction

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Just Outside of Hope, the sequel to Road Without End, moves through the early years of the 1980s. It takes us from the Canadian Prairies to the pubs, bath houses and nude beaches of Vancouver, British Columbia.

It is now September 1980 and ex-Lieutenant Jim Whitelaw is dealing with the guilt he feels from the fall out of a military tribunal, and lingering family issues which make things worse. But just as he feels he's getting his life together, cracks appear once more and he has to make some serious decisions.

Meanwhile, in a matter of a moment, Jim's friend and sometimes lover Bert Gilhuis, finds himself trapped in a serious situation that eventually sees him set off on new adventures in Vancouver.

These are two more stories in the continuing series of the lives of gay men who lived through the most exhilarating and terrifying of times.

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Book Depository * Books-A-Million * IndieBound *

Indigo * Kobo * Smashwords

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EXCERPT:

Bert stares silently down at the table. This moment of silence seems like forever.

“I’m going to miss the hell out of you, Jim. It’s too bad you’re leaving. We could have had something really good together.”

Then he takes a deep breath. “What does it matter though? I’m probably going off to jail for the next little while, and even if you stayed here, I probably wouldn’t be seeing much of you for God-knows-how-long anyway.”

We’re silent again.

“I think it’s good that you’re going back to help your family in their time of need,” he says. “I really hope your father will be okay, somehow, and I really hope that someday you can come back to

Calgary.”

I smile at him and nod.

One of the guards knocks then opens the door. “Five minutes to count Gilhuis!” Then he shuts the door and goes back behind the counter.

“Count?” I ask, “What’s that?”

Bert looks at me sadly. “That means I have to go. They stick us back in our cells just to make sure we’re all still here,” he says with a sigh. “They do this to us about three or four times a day.”

We’re momentarily silent again.

“Bert, I won’t forget you.”

“Jim, I sure as hell will never forget you. Promise that you’ll write to me?”

I smile sadly and tell him I will. I slowly get up from the table. I look into Bert’s eyes wanting to say something, anything that won’t sound trite or superficial. But what do I say at a moment like this? I want to kiss him, to hug him, but I don’t dare, not in here.

It’s as Bert is reading my thoughts. “You don’t have to say anything, Jim. Just go. You have a life to live.”

I bow my head and leave the room. I open the door I look back to Bert. He has a sad but stoic look in his eyes.

“Goodbye, Jim.”

My voice cracks as I say, “Goodbye, Bert.”

I turn and walk through the door.

I feel overwhelming sadness. It’s strange where time brings everybody. I think of my life and twists and turns it’s taken over this past year and a half. I think of Bert, my father, Glenn, Bryn and Marcel, the military and the tribunal. I think of Cliff who has made a special trip out from Manitoba and is at my place packing some boxes for me. I think of how every change in my life seems to be more dramatic and comes at me more quickly. Somehow though, I seem to muddle through those changes and manage to carry on. I don’t know what these next years are going to bring, but I can tell you this much, I’ll conquer every single one of them. This I promise myself.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ron Kearse lists travelling, photography, art, reading and history as his main sources of inspiration.

An artist, broadcaster, actor and writer, Ron has a colourful and varied work resumé.

Having lived a nomadic life, Ron has finally settled in Victoria, BC where he lives with his partner James Howard.

Just Outside of Hope is the second installment in the Road Without End Trilogy, he has also published a photo book of Vancouver Street Art in the mid-1980s called Lost History.

Website * Email * Facebook * Goodreads

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GUEST POST:

- If I Could Go Back in Time, What Era Would I Like to Visit and Why?

This is a good question because, as far as I’m concerned, there have been so many interesting historical eras to visit; many eras of great change and great creativity, that it’s difficult for me to choose only one.

For example, I think of the medieval monks at Lindisfarne Abbey in Scotland who illustrated The Lindisfarne Gospels in Holy resplendence. Then later, the monks in Kells, Ireland who wrote and illustrated the world-famous Book of Kells…what might it have been like to be part of that? Who were those monks who created these beautiful Gospels? What were all of those mysterious symbols they illustrated into the texts telling us?

Or, I think of the city of Florence and how it was a hotbed of creativity during the renaissance. To witness first-hand, artists such as Leonardo di Vinci and Michelangelo, scientists like Galileo, and poets like Dante would have been awesome! To visit that highly creative era that produced incredible art which, to this day, continues to blow us all away, would have been fascinating!

To be in ancient Greece would have been an interesting era to visit. The birthplace of Democracy, graceful architecture, incredible art and stunningly handsome statuary, ancient Greece would have been a sight to behold.

Speaking of Ancient Greece, what would it have been like to be part of The Sacred Band of Thebes, or more famously, The Army of Lovers. This was an army of three hundred pairs of male/male soldiers, who were lovers. They were sent into battle together and won many of them. The idea was that because they were lovers, they would fight more ferociously for each other and more closely protect each other.

But of all the eras there ever were, I’m convinced that this era, beginning with 2020, will prove to be one of the most game-changing and life-altering eras in the modern history of the world. This is the era where a huge cosmic hand has hit a pause switch, making way for massive change to develop throughout the world. This is promoting a lot of healing and general introspection in the population that changes, not only individuals, but society-at-large. And it’s that prospect that makes me happy to be living here and now, just where I am.

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GIVEAWAY:

Ron Kearse will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter after the tour. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway