Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Grayality by Carey P.W.

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Grayality by Carey P.W. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a yummy excerpt from the author. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $50 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: Grayality

Author: Carey P.W.

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Publication Date: July 12th 2022

Print Length: 322 pages

Genre: LGBTQ+ Contemporary Romance

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Love knows no gender.

Pate Boone, a twenty-six-year-old transgender man, embarks on a new adventure when his childhood best friend, and yes, ex-lover, Oakley Ogden, convinces him to escape their hometown in hopes for something new.

They land in Cloverleaf, a tiny rural town in Montana, so that Oakley can care for his granny who is battling breast cancer. She pressures the two young men to enroll in a nearby college. Pate immediately becomes enthralled with Maybelle, a young, vivacious freshman to whom he fears revealing his transgender identity. Still, he finds it impossible to resist Maybelle, even after he meets her ex, Bullet, a large, violent man determined to keep Pate away from “his girl.”

But there are others who accept Pate immediately, like Stormy. An outdoorsy, rugged freshman, Stormy warns Pate away from Maybelle and Bullet, but Pate’s too infatuated to heed these warnings.

Oakley tries to support his friend’s new love but finds himself entangled in his own emotional calamity when he unintentionally falls for Jody, a gay and ostentatiously confident drag queen. This new relationship awakens deep internal conflicts in Oakley as he struggles to accept his bisexuality, lashing out at Pate and causing friction between him and Jody.

Oakley must decide if he can overcome his insecurities so he doesn’t lose the love of his life. And Pate must discover if the love between him and Maybelle is strong enough for her to accept him as a transgender man, or if she will break his heart.

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EXCERPT:

“Do you not realize that all these things you do hurt me?” he asked.

“I apologized for that. I thought we were over that,” I pleaded.

“Then you call me your boyfriend, but you don’t tell your parents,” he continued. “And you know that people around here already know about us, yet you won’t hold my hand at lunch. Not to mention that you still won’t touch me.”

I looked down in shame. “I told you it’s hard for me.”

“So when does it get hard for me, Oakley? How long am I supposed to date someone who seems repulsed by me?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say. You know I’m straight.”

Jody wiped some tears from his eyes. “Maybe that’s the problem. I shouldn’t be wasting my time on a straight guy, or at least a guy who keeps insisting that he is straight. I told you upfront that we could be friends and that if you wanted to pursue this, then you needed to be ready to actually do it.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” I asked desperately. Jody finally made eye contact.

“No, not yet anyway. But I’m not waiting for you, Oakley. You need to figure this out because my heart isn’t a tool for you to figure out your sexual orientation.”

“I promise. I’ll try harder. Don’t give up on us yet.” I grabbed his hands.

Jody smiled and went to touch my cheek with his hand, but I pulled away. He shook his head in disappointment.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carey PW (he/they) is a debut author, college instructor, and mental health counselor. Carey is currently completing his next manuscript, Acing the Game.

Carey lives in Montana, and identifies as nonbinary, transmasculine (AFAB) and panromantic asexual. Due to the lack of resources in rural communities, Carey has discovered that writing about his lived experiences is a therapeutic outlet for him and hopes that his readers relate to his own personal struggles and triumphs shared through his characters’ narratives. Carey is particularly interested in exploring relationship conflicts around sexuality and gender differences. He has also worked as a high school writing instructor and college writing instructor, earning a B.A. in English Literature, a M.Ed. in English Education, and Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education all from the University of Georgia. In 2020, Carey earned his second M.Ed. in Counselor Education and works as a licensed clinical professional counselor, LCPC. He has a strong passion for working with the unique mental health issues of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Readers can learn more about Carey from his blog. When he is not writing, Carey is busy training for marathons, parenting his six cats, sharing his culinary talents on social media, serving on the board for the nonprofit Center for Studies of the Person (CSP) and learning photography.

Carey PW loves to hear from readers.

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GUEST POST:

My Top Ten Favorite Pizzas & Pizza-Like Dishes
by Carey P.W.

Anyone who knows me or follows me on social media knows that I love cooking, especially baking. And who doesn’t love pizza? For this post, I decided to share my top ten savory bready dishes for those looking for something different than just pepperoni and cheese.

1. Caramelized onion and bacon focaccia

If you haven’t tried focaccia, I highly recommend it for all pizza lovers. Focaccia is a dimpled flat bread that is nice and airy. To keep the dimples, it is stretched instead of flattened with a rolling pin. To add extra flavor, I always add herbs like a few teaspoons of Italian seasoning to the dough that also adds a wonderful aroma. And who can go wrong with bacon, right? I like topping most of my dishes with fresh parsley.

2. Wheat pizza with caramelized onions, dried figs, arugula and goat cheese

If you haven’t noticed already, I love caramelized onions! They add a nice, sweet touch to many dishes. I got the idea for this pizza from an issue of Runners World. The sweetness from the onions and figs is offset by the wheat crust. It’s good after a long run.

3. Leek and potato focaccia with fresh rosemary

Here we have another focaccia, but what makes this one really pop is the fresh rosemary in the crust. The recipe may have suggested only a teaspoon or two, but I cut up two packages, and it was worth it! The savory aroma is enticing alone, and it gives it a strong sense of freshness. Simple but highly flavorful.

4. Potato and gorgonzola galette

Here’s a different kind of dough. Galettes produce a flakier, pastry type texture while still very bready. The cheese is baked into the crust with this one creating a very tasty dish. The blandness of the potatoes keeps the dish balanced.

5. Socca with figs, arugula, and goat cheese

I also recommend giving socca a try. Socca is a super easy bread made with chickpea flour, water, and salt. To get the right texture, a cast iron should be heated in the oven at 400 for at least thirty minutes. This will ensure that the bottom gets nice and crispy. Toppings can vary, but I prefer to keep mine simple.

6. Socca with roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, and sharp cheddar

Another one of my favorite socca dishes. I absolutely love butternut squash, and I like to roast it at 400 for nearly an hour until it caramelizes. It fits nicely with the onions, and the sharp cheddar offers a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the squash and onions. It is a rich and delicious dish.

7. Sourdough pizza with arugula, apples, red onions, and feta

I love the thin, crispy crust with this one. Like my other dishes, I always add Italian seasoning to my crust. The apples give the dish a slight sweetness but the onions and feta balance it out.

8. Sourdough pizza with shrimp, carrots, onions, lemon zest, parmesan, and parsley

The lemon zest gives this pizza a pop of freshness. It is also a very light dish. I take turns adding either butter or olive oil when cooking the shrimp and vegetables to give it a shrimp scampi flavor. It’s definitely one of my favorites from this list.

9. Sweet potato, onion, mozzarella, and goat cheese on a spelt flour crust

This was my first time putting sweet potatoes, one of my favorite veggies, on a pizza, and it worked! I roasted the potatoes until they caramelized, giving them a wonderful sweetness. If you haven’t worked with spelt flour, it produces a very soft crust that is light and less filling.

10. White pizza with ricotta, asiago, mozzarella, arugula, and toasted pine nuts

I’ve always been interested in white pizzas, so I gave this one a go. I love pine nuts, so I was excited to add some crunchy texture to the pizza. Another bonus is that fresh mozzarella has to be one of my favorite cheeses. The crust is wheat with herbs baked in it. It’s on the cheesier side for any cheese lovers out there.

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GIVEAWAY:

Carey P.W. will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to one randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway