More Than Meets the Eye

By Sage Marlowe (Guest Blogger)

Hello and welcome to the latest stop of my First Anniversary Blog Tour and Giveaway. Thank you for hosting me today, Lisabet!

One year has passed since my successful debut novel, Sub-Mission, was released on May 14, 2012, and a lot has happened during those twelve months. I’m taking the chance to look back and tell you a bit about the background of the books I’ve published, but also about things that happened in my life or that are on my mind. There’s one stop for every book, and of course, there are prizes waiting for you, because as always, good things for me mean good things for you, my dear friends and readers. Please read the “Giveaway” section below for details.

Today I’d like to talk to you about preconceptions and labels because, let’s face it, our society likes its labels. A lot. Whoever we are, whatever we do, we come with labels and people are quick to build their opinion based on a few descriptive terms they’ve been given about us.

But hang on a moment, what is a label? Merriam-Webster defines it as “a descriptive or identifying epithet”. In other words, a label is a word or phrase that tells everyone exactly who we are even though they have never even spoken to us. Interesting concept, isn’t it?

Labels can be good. They give us an idea what to expect. Labels can also be bad because they are limiting and may lead to false assumptions. I had some difficulty coming up with a good example for labels, so I asked my SO what he thought about the topic. His reply didn’t give me the kind of “labels” I was looking for, but went more in the direction of preconceptions. What he said was basically, look at a banker in a suit and a heavily tattooed biker dude. Most people are likely to think of the banker as a trustworthy, successful and honourable person while many would be inclined to regard our tattooed biker dude as a somewhat dubious member of society. Does he even have a job? Perhaps he’s a criminal? He must have a poor social background because hey, he’s even got his neck and knuckles tattooed.

My apologies if all this sounds stereotypical and prejudiced, but that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make. Isn’t a banker perhaps more likely to abuse a client’s trust by telling them to make an investment they know isn’t the best for them? Does having tattoos automatically mean that the person who has them can’t hold down a decent job? Incidentally, I have a couple of tattoos, including one on my neck. I’ve never been out of a job since I started to work for a living. In my opinion, what tattoos really show is that the wearer is ready for lifelong commitment.

We all come across dozens of preconceptions and prejudices every day of our lives, whether it is what we think of others or what our fellow human beings think of us. I’m certainly not an exception to that, but what I’m really trying to say is that we shouldn’t allow those preconceptions to determine what we think of a person. It’s only a small part of who they are and if we really want to know someone, we have to talk to them, not about them.

I’m playing with labels and preconceptions in Re-Submission, the second book in the Sub-Series and nominee for best BDSM Book 2012 in the LR Cafe’s poll. Those of you who are familiar with BDSM terminology know what to expect of Doms and subs, Tops and bottoms, switches and all the rest—but what if the people concerned are not that easy to label? What if there’s more to them than meets the eye at first? What if the preconceptions aren’t true even though, in a way, they are? As always, it’s best to make up your own mind, so here’s the story:

Re-Submission

Rubbing a toppy sub, a submissive Top and a Dom with attitude together is guaranteed to send sparks flying — but what will they ignite?

Meet Tyler Kane. Ballsy and headstrong, he’s far from being the submissive type. Francis Hollister, Dom and proud owner of a BDSM club, couldn’t agree more - and yet, as Tyler carelessly suggests a bet, Francis sees an opportunity arise and decides to take him up on it.

Soon Tyler finds himself in Francis’ club and about to be trained as a sub. When Shae, the gorgeous Top Francis has assigned to teach him, doesn’t appear to be quite as dominant as his role would lead to believe and Francis turns out to be a rather versatile Dom, Tyler sees a perfect match just waiting to be made happen. Too bad though that he’s the only one who sees it. Or maybe he isn’t?

Curious to find out what happens when you rub a submissive Top, a toppy sub and a Dom with attitude together and what exactly the sparks from that explosive combination ignite, Tyler enlists the help of Pierce, Francis’ brother, and his partner Noah, and sets out on a mission.

While Tyler’s plan seems to work out astonishingly well, it seems that there’s more than one man in the club who is pursuing a hidden agenda...

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ALZZ6NU

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ALZZ6NU

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00ALZZ6NU

Total-E-Bound: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1887

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/re-submission-sage-marlowe/1113985612?ean=9781781841532

All Romance e-books: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-resubmission-1018063-145.html

Giveaway—Here’s what you can win:

#1 - Sage’s Goodie Package:

Contains a signed copy of Sub-Culture, a set of signed book cover photographs and some surprise goodies to spoil you

#2 - Create a character

Here’s your chance to create your very own fictional character that will be featured in one of my next books. The winner gets to pick the name and distinct features like hair / eye colour, height and a few personality quirks of a hero (male characters only, and please keep it doable…). Depending on the specification, I will either include him in a current WIP or use him as inspiration for a brand new story. The winner will also receive a free e-copy of this story once it’s published.

How to enter:

Leave a comment in the comment section asking to be entered in the giveaway. The winner will be picked at random and announced on my blog on May 20th. Multiple entries are allowed and will increase your chances to win. For additional terms and conditions, please go to http://www.sage-marlowe.com/p/contests.html

You can find the full tour schedule here: http://www.sage-marlowe.com/p/blog-tour-may-2013.html

About Sage Marlowe

Sage is a multi-published author of gay erotic romance novels and novellas and loves exploring the flavours of gay erotic fiction.

A willing slave to all the fascinating guys who keep queuing up and want their stories told, Sage can almost always be found cooking up the next hot story or daydreaming about new ways of rubbing sexy male bodies together to make the sparks fly.

Contact and buy links

Sage’s website & blog: www.sage-marlowe.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sage.marlowe0

e-mail: marlowe.sage@yahoo.co.uk

Twitter: @SageMarlowe

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SageMarlowe

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/sagemarlowe

For all books published with Total-E-Bound, go to: http://www.total-e-bound.com/authordetail.asp?A_ID=224

For all books published with Siren-BookStrand, go to: www.bookstrand.com/sage-marlowe