Dawn reviews Business or Pleasure by Ashley Ladd. (The book was published by Totally Bound on August 22nd, 2014 and is 142 pages long).
This book was provided free of charge for an honest review by the author.
Why I read this book: I read the blurb, and thought this was a book that would show what happens if you are not honest. I also wanted to see how the author dealt with dementia, as this is something that I have not come across in books very often.
Tommy Boudreaux is extremely attracted to Guy Rogers even though he’s a passionate vegetarian and animal rights activist and Tommy’s family owns the most popular barbecue joint in town.
Guy Rogers is extremely attracted to his new realtor, Tom Boudreaux. As a passionate vegetarian and animal activist, he’s ecstatic that Tom is a kindred soul. He could never be with a carnivore. Unfortunately, Tommy isn’t really a vegetarian or an animal activist. He never said he was, either, he just didn’t eat meat when he was with Guy. And maybe he emptied his house of all meat and dairy products before inviting Guy over. In fact, Tommy’s family owns the most popular barbecue restaurant in town and, if his family has their way, he’ll manage the new location.
When Guy finds out that Tommy eats meat and his family owns a restaurant that’s a monument to eating meat, he’s livid and doesn’t know if he wants anything else to do with Tommy.
But then Guy’s life gets crazy—his dad’s paranoia blossoms into violent dementia, he gets arrested for picketing a doggy mill, then he winds up in even more legal trouble. When Tommy sticks by him through all his trouble and does everything he can to help him, Guy wonders if he’s been too militant and narrow-minded. Perhaps he can learn to live with people who have opposite views.
*****
Cover: I love the cover, it totally matches the characters in the book.
Story:
This book had two grown men who were attracted to each other, but who had fathers that continually told them that they were sinning. I have to admit this made me angry that their own family could treat them like this.
Tommy and Guy meet when Guy is looking for a house, and the sparks fly from when they first meet. It isn’t long before they become a couple, until Guy finds out that Tommy has lied to him, and that he is not a vegetarian. This then leads to a big argument, and that seems to be the end of their relationship….. or is it??
Guy has also been caring for his father, who has dementia, The author has written this so well, you can feel how frustrating, upsetting and demoralizing Guy finds the situation. He just doesn’t know what to do with father, and in the beginning does not realize how much his father has changed. It takes a very bad and dangerous situation with his father for Guy to realize how much he has deteriorated. This is when Guy realizes that the one person who has stuck with him through things, was Tommy.
Tommy deeply regrets that he wasn’t honest with Guy in the first place, but he found once he started saying and doing certain things, he was digging himself into a big hole, and he had no idea how to put things right. However, no matter what Guy said to him, he still cared deeply for him, and stuck by him with all the legal messes, that just seemed to follow Guy.
Once Guy realizes that Tommy is not going anywhere, he starts to think about things more clearly, and then begins to wonder if they have a chance together after all… However, only time will tell if that was the last obstacle in the way of their happy ending or if other storms will throw their relationship in pieces again!
BUY THE BOOK @ Amazon.com, Kobo, Amazon UK, Totally Bound
*****
Thank you Ashley Ladd for answering my questions,
From looking online, I see that you have been writing books for over 10 years, do you still enjoy writing now as much as your first book?
I’ve been writing since I was six years old but I’ve been published since 2000 when New Concepts Publishing released ‘Tigers Play’. Yes yes yes! I still love to write.
What part of a new story comes to you first? Characters? Plot? A scene? A theme? Or does it vary from book to book?
It’s different with every book. I’m working on an mmf called “Gaycation” now and the characters came first. But my paranormal erotic mf romance “Spooky Sojourn” was the result of a theme when my publisher Totally Bound put out a call for hotel themed stories.
What made you decide to write a character in Business or Pleasure that had dementia? It was essential to the story, but I have never read a book with someone with dementia previously, and I must admit it gave an insight into what it can be like to live with someone who has dementia.
I’ve been dealing with my father’s dementia and it was weighing heavily on my mind and my heart as I wrote ‘Business or Pleasure’. I’m at the age where several of my friends have aging parents, aunts, and uncles with dementia and other age-related problems and unfortunately, it’s often a topic around the break table at work as it’s a big part of our lives.
What made you decide to write M/M stories and what do you think is the most rewarding thing about it?
One of my best friends is gay in a real life M/M relationship. Also my oldest child is transgender female who is still married to her wife, so she’s also in an F/F. Their relationships with their partners are two of the strongest, loveliest relationships I know. Aside from my aunt and uncle who have been married 60 plus years, they have much better relationships than the other M/F partnerships I know. I think love in all its forms and couplings should be celebrated.
I see that you have also written M/F books. Have people that have read your M/F, also read your M/M?
I honestly don’t know. I hope so. Love is love. My daughter-in-law loved my oldest child when she was a man and she loves her still as a woman. I know it’s been hard on them, at least at first, but they realized that they loved one another regardless of gender.
Is there a genre (like fantasy or BDSM) that you haven’t written but would like to?
Actually, my newest erotic romance ‘Her Men’ has light BDSM. So does my March 2015 M/F romance “Pretend Lover”. I’d like to write a historical romance. I haven’t written an F/F either. Both are possibilities.
Do you read your reviews, and if so do they influence the way you write the next book at all?
Absolutely. I’m usually working on several books down the road already before my current release, and thus its reviews, come out. Thus readers may not see a change in my very next story or two. For instance, I’d already written and contracted ‘Her Men’, ‘Spooky Sojourn’, and ‘Pretend Lover’ before ‘Business or Pleasure’ released so reviews for BorP wouldn’t have any effect on those books.
I also take the reviews as a whole into consideration. If several reviewers point out the same strength or weakness, I’ll take them into account. If only one review out of several points out something, I may or may not take head. I’ll use my judgment.
What part of writing a book comes the hardest for you?
Description. I love to write dialogue and I could write a book full of dialogue in a snap. I have to go back and fill in descriptions of everything.
Do you ever abandon a draft partly written and just move on? Do you keep a file of plot ideas?
Usually not, but there have been a couple that I didn’t get far into. They’re still in my hard drive to work on later if the muse leads me there. I really hate to waste time and effort. But if a story is turning out to be lame, I don’t want to expend too much work on it either.
If you could choose one of your books to be made into a film, which one would you choose and why??
‘Purrfect Justice’ published by Ellora’s Cave would make a great movie. It’s very visual and a lot of fun – sort of a female Clark Kent/hero scenario. Haley wanted to be a cop but was rejected due to physical disabilities. So she went to work in the police headquarters as an admin assistant instead. The daughter and sister of several cops, she stays in touch and listens to police scanners for fun on her off duty hours. On her way home from a Halloween party dressed as Cat Woman she hears that the police officer she’s in love with is in trouble so she rides to his rescue and saves him. Then it becomes a habit. When the police set a trap for her, she gets out of it by riding her motorcycle over the top of the police cars and escapes.
I also think ‘Spooky Sojourn’ which just pre-released September 26th at Totally Bound would be a fun movie too. It’s a ghostly paranormal where a hotel is suspected of being haunted. Deanna, the new hotel manager, is trying to prove the hotel isn’t haunted amidst inexplicable flying knives, bowling pins, and a murder attempt on her life. When she hires a sexy paranormal investigator to disprove the ghost theory she thinks is hokum and find the real culprits, sparks start to fly between them too.
Do you take a break from a first draft to get distance from it, or dive right into editing, or edit heavily as you write?
I used to write my stories straight through and then edit. Recently, however, I’ve been getting stuck. So I go back and edit to get myself moving again.
I know Business and Pleasure was released last month, but do you have any other books or projects in the pipeline for the not too distant future?
Absolutely I do! ‘Her Men’ an erotic MFM romance just released September 26th at Totally Bound. Funnily, on the same day, ‘Spooky Sojourn’ became available for early download also at Totally Bound. Finally ‘Pretend Lover’ a BDSM erotic MF contemporary romance will release March 2015 by Totally Bound. It’s been a whirlwind of writing and promotion at my place. ‘Cooking Up A Storm’ (also an erotic MM contemporary romance) released the month before ‘Business or Pleasure’ so I’ve had book tours back to back to back this summer and fall.
*****
Ashley Ladd lives in South Florida with her husband, five children, and beloved pets. She loves the water, animals (especially cats), and playing on the computer.
She’s been told she has a wicked sense of humour and often incorporates humour and adventure into her books. She also adores very spicy romance, which she weaves into her stories.
CONTACT THE AUTHOR:
Rainbow Gold Reviews 