Guest Catherine L Byrne Talks Taking Pole

A few days ago, Taking Pole went live and let me tell you it is an amazing book (and I’m not just saying that as a beta reader for this story). I loved it, and can’t wait to see what everyone else things.

Anyway, blurb is just below so you have a little look before you get into what Catherine has to say, followed by all the info you could need for tomorrows release day!!

So please let’s welcome Catherine …

Two bitter racing rivals have fought since their teenage years to beat each other to the motorcycling championship title. When they are both caught up in a serious accident, however, their plans and conflicts fall apart. Thrown together to make sense of what happened, the aftermath forces them to wonder what they are actually fighting for.

Taking Pole is more of a personal story than any I’ve written before—obviously not because I’m a motorbike racer, but because I absolutely love watching the sport. It’s dear to my heart and I have been a fan for many years, getting to know the riders from a distance if not in person. I know how aggressive and competitive they are on track, how emotional and passionate they get about winning and what they say about each other when an incident happens.

Secondly, I recently read this quote by Canadian speed skater Anastasia Bucsis—‘Sport is the ''final frontier'' of homophobia.’ She summed up my thoughts—I know there are gay sports players and they are finally coming out of the shadows into the public eye e.g. Michael Sam, Tom Daley, Clare Balding, Amelie Mauresmo, Gareth Thomas. But I haven’t heard of any well-known motor racing drivers who are openly gay—personally I think motorsport really IS the final frontier of homophobia in the world of sport. So I thought, as I love bike racing so much, why not write about what could happen if a rider was ‘outed’?

The last reason this book is more personal to me is that a major fact in motor racing—especially motorbikes—is that sometimes competitors die. This actually applies to all sports—even cricket—but for some reason I am drawn to more dangerous sports. I was bereaved early in life and so death has been a reality to me for decades—maybe I am more comfortable with it than most people, or maybe it helps me come to terms with my own experience. But death nearly always plays a part in my stories. It was a shock a few weeks ago when some bike riders actually died on the very track and the very corner where one of my characters dies—a goose walked over my grave that day, I can tell you!

But anyway, there is Drama in Taking Pole—it’s set in such a volatile world where people love and hate, die and survive, show prejudice and understanding. You might need a hanky in some places but you might also have a laugh in others.

Taking Pole by Catherine L Byrnes

Publish 1st of August 2015 by eXtasybooks

Contemporary ‘sport’ Romance

eXtasybooks ǀ Amazon ǀ ARe

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Short and Sexy Excerpt

Glen’s mouth dropped open. “I—I don’t hate you,” he stuttered at last.

They stared at each other, then Javier grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind the jasmine covered trellis, on the path between it and the garden wall where no one could see them. He pushed Glen against the wall, dust and crumbs of cement falling into their hair, and kissed him, his beard scratching Glen’s chin, his tongue sliding between his lips. They trembled against each other, both hot and hard as their tongues fought for control.

At last stopping for breath, Glen gazed into Javier’s deep, dark eyes. “I’m sorry I strangled you.”

“I’m not sorry I squeezed your balls.” He smiled into Glen’s face. “I had to do something.”

Glen wanted to laugh with relief but the sound came out as a whimper of need and he stroked Javier’s hot, damp back underneath his suit jacket.

 “Listen. I’m only going to say this one time. Do you want to come back to my flat?” Javier raised an eyebrow. “We can leave these people and take a taxi.”

Glen’s heart was pounding faster and faster, it must be visible from the outside.

“Yes—I mean, okay, if you—Yes.”

Javier took his phone from his jacket pocket and typed a number, but didn’t move away an inch.