‘Flight of the Kiwi: London Calling’ by E.S. Skipper #LGBT #Guestpost #Giveaway

Blog Tour Spotlight on Flight of the Kiwi: London Calling (Flight of the Kiwi 1) by E.S. Skipper. (Published by E.S. Skipper on September 19th, 2014, 200 Pages)

A review of the book will follow in 1-2 days ❤

Tamati Kumeroa is about to embark on his great adventure, his Gap Year, after finishing his arts degree. He’s talked about this with his best friend Steve for so long and now that it’s finally here, he can’t wait to get started. On his last night in New Zealand, the barman he’s lusted after for so long decides to make sure Tamati won’t easily forget him. Talk about bad timing….

His flight to London is certainly memorable, especially when a very rich Arab makes Tamati an offer that he’d be a fool to turn down. And when he accepts it, what he encounters is a very memorable time indeed, spent with a sexy man and a host of new friends.

His trip is off to a very interesting start. One thing Tamati didn’t bargain on was losing his heart…

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BUY @ Amazon UK: eBook, Paperback

While LGBT Fiction celebrates equality in love, authors seem still afraid to write about characters from minorities or races/cultures different from them. Most main protagonists are well-built white guys. Do you think it is important to have diversity in M/M Fiction and did you purposely choose to include diversity in your newly released novel?

I think authors are afraid that their readers may not be attracted to a person of colour so stay away from them to be safe. However, I think authors actually underestimate their readers. I myself know when I read a book I want to know the character personality, not their looks. Yes I do describe them, but not in great detail. I love learning of new cultures, and that is why Flight of the Kiwi was born. It’s in my blood to want to learn. I have met so many different people via social media and have friends from all around the world. Each and every one of them have taught me something.

I found that people are fascinated by my own culture. Not just the native people, but the people in general. The way we talk, the way we act, and our crazy accent and sayings. They are also quickly learning that we are not like Australians. My partner is American and he is always reminding me that a biscuit, to him, is a cookie. And that biscuits over in the States are actually something similar to scones. Well it will always be biscuit to me, and I promised never to ask for one when going to a restaurant because I would be highly disappointed.

Did I pick the characters on purpose? No!! Never crossed my mind, to be honest. They came to me, actually. Well Tamati did, and he is a young, normal, healthy man. To me he is normal. To each person, normal is something different. I sit at my computer and let my characters speak. I have no planning at all. I’m bad at remembering all the people’s names he has met. But never once have I thought, oh, I must put a person of colour or culture in it. They come to me. I had to see Muhammad’s culture and study up on it. His religion was something I didn’t know anything about. But I do now. To me, that is the fun part and hope my readers learn something as well, while reading my stories.

I couldn’t sit down and make my main character a well-built, American man. Why would I? I’m a New Zealander of Maori descent. I am proud of my own culture and want to share it with the world. Maybe it’s time for the readers of m/m to explore the world and see that it’s not just your typical, hot, white guys that are gay. Instead, we come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Social media shows us hot gay men, just like it does women. They say they are looked on like meat. Well let me tell you, I have women drooling over hot men on my pages and have no shame in doing so. Men are more likely to keep it within the privacy of their own computers. We all have our unique fantasies. I never looked at an Arab man before Muhammad came into my head. Will I look at other different men of colour in the rest of my stories? I honestly don’t know what is in store. But if I do, I hope I give him as much justice and respect I gave Muhammad.  

Love is love is love.

Living in a small town in New Zealand E. S. Skipper writes during the quiet of the day, but being the owner of an over excitable puppy, quiet is not always possible. Even though English is the first language of many of his friends, the difference between Kiwi English and American English has produced a lot of  laughter among friends and fans alike.

Living in the Land of the Long White Cloud, Kiwi characters feature strongly in most of E.S’s stories. Writing was a hobby but soon became a way of life. E. S. believes that love is love, no matter who it’s with, and everyone deserves to be with the person of their choice. A true romantic at heart, E. S. Skipper believes everyone will have their happily ever after.

For more information on upcoming projects E. S. can be found on Facebook or on Goodreads.

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Raflecopter Prize : 3 digital copies of Flight of the Kiwi London Calling by E.S Skipper
CLICK HERE TO ENTER —> a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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Tour Schedule :

Sept 22nd: Lisa Harris: http://www.theworldofljharris.blogspot.com.au/

Sept 24rd: The Novel Approach : http://thenovelapproachreviews.com

Sept 26th: Rainbow Gold Reviews: https://rainbowgoldreviews.wordpress.com  <— YOU ARE HERE 😛

Sept 27th: Prism bookalliance: http://www.prismbookalliance.com

Sept 29th: Rhys Ford :http://rhysford.com/

Sept 30th: Parker Williams: http://parkerwilliamsauthor.com/wordpress/category/blog/

Oct   2nd: Kimi-chan Experience : http://www.kimnsarah.co.uk

Oct   4rd: GGR- Review : http://www.ggr-review.com

Oct   5th: Lily G. Blunt: http://lilygblunt.wordpress.com/

Oct   7th: MMgoodbookreviews :http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/

Oct   8th: Bike Book Reviews: http://bikebookreviews.blogspot.com/

Oct   9th: RJ Scott:http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.nl/?zx=ceb4edc8fb973f59

Oct  11th: Love Bytes:  http://lovebytesreviews.com