Cock and Bull Blog Hop Stop -- Freddy MacKay

The Cock & Bull Blog Hop is in full swing, and today, the hop stops here!

Before I turn it over to today's guest, just a quick note to let everyone know the authors participating in the blog hop will be chatting today at the Love Romances Cafe Yahoo Loop from noon until 5:00 eastern time. C'mon over and hang out!

And without further ado, Freddy MacKay is taking over my blog, so Freddy, take it away:
Hello all, this is Freddy MacKay. If you’re wondering, LA Witt has been nice enough to let me be a guest blogger today to help celebrate my new release Finding Peace 1: Beginning Again on January 21st.

*Smiles*

So, how is everyone doing on this wonderful day? I hope it is for you anyway. We’re still dreaming of a White ‘Something’ around my parts. We even have the sleds and toboggan down just in case the weather decides to listen to our heartfelt pleas.

We want this.

And basically have this.

And no we don’t want the warm weather - we’re not fans of insects.

What about you? 2012 has just started and already we’re on a wild ride for the Cock and Bull Blog Tour, any big plans already? Wishing for snow like us?

For me, I have the release coming up - the whole reason I’m hanging on for my dear life on this blog hop - and I have my volunteer work.

My family has always been involved in a lot of different organizations, some more than others, but we’ve been raised to always give back.

Now you may be wondering why I’m talking about any of this...it’s understandable, but there is a reason.

Volunteering actually ties back to my December ‘11 release, Sheltered 1: Tears for Christmas and my new release this January.

My main characters Gabe and Danny, volunteer at the OCVAC shelter in that series and one of the side characters, Bobby Daniels, becomes a main character in my new series, Finding Peace. In both series, there are characters that are need a reminder of what it means to be loved or have people care about them and know that it’s okay. And each series, the characters go about it in their own ways.

Now I know, since we’re in the ‘Dark Ages of Misinformation and Technology’ (my own view *shrugs*), people think volunteering can take up a lot of time.

Time they don’t have, but it doesn’t have to and even a little bit of kindness can change a person’s life.

For instance, one of the things my family does every Christmas is ‘The Giving Tree’ that our local high school hosts.

You go, pick a name, and the person in need has a ‘wish list’ attached to it. Then you can go buy as many or little Christmas gifts you want and return with them to the school. The school then has the students help deliver the presents to the children or adults.

We try to pick someone older - 70s or 80s - or a young kid - around 9 or 10 - to help because these gifts may be the only ones they get.

It’s a nice thing to do and doesn’t require a ton of time on our part. Thinking back on how the economy is, there are many people who could use a reminder that they matter, and could use a little TLC. So take some time, look around and there may be something small or big you can do for someone today.

Thanks to LA Witt for letting me blog today and thank you for taking the time to stop by, you can find an excerpt, from Finding Peace 1: Beginning Again, for your viewing pleasure. And don’t forget to stop by my blog (address below) tomorrow to read my interview with Marie Sexton tomorrow!

Excerpt - Prologue

Junnosuke Ito stared at the young man sitting in front of him, asking to work in his Biochemistry lab at the university, dumbfounded and confused but would never admit to such a thing. If it wasn’t for the fact Jun’s drivers license stated he was fifty-two, and that his friend Abby would be the same age, he would swear up and down that his interviewee, David McCourt, was Absalom. The bright blue eyes. David’s thick, and wavy, dirty blond hair. The lithe build, his average height – all of it, a perfect carbon copy of the friend Jun lost so many years before.

His heart ached and his fingers twitched, he wanted to call Henry and tell him about the young man in front of him. But he couldn’t not before David left. Only Henry would understand. Henry, Jun’s best friend and confidante since Abby’s disappearance, the only other person who went through the same loss and pain he did, would understand. Jun’s friend carried the same gnarled wound that dug into Jun’s chest, the one that flared incessantly as a reminder of his mistakes as he looked at David sitting across from him. They were so similar Jun almost caught himself calling the young student Abby.

The professor listened as David talked about his research and why he wanted to be in Jun’s lab, nodding at all the right intervals, but he struggled underneath his cool façade. Flashes of Abby slammed into him, making Jun think about how he didn’t do as much as he could of when his best friend’s relationship status was repeatedly rejected by Neil. And how his blond friend went from the smiling and loving, and slightly clumsy when they were undergraduates, to the quiet and reserved young man in graduate school. All of it, the whole transformation, just so Abby could hang onto Neil.

But their friend Neil, now the university’s president, never acknowledged Abby as the love of his life. Henry and Jun blindly believed that things would change. And they did, Abby and Neil’s relationship got to the point where Abby just up and disappeared one day. Not long after an incident at some nightclub, an event that left Abby with broken ribs and a black eye.

Henry and Jun’s friendship with Neil splintered after their friend disappeared. Henry and Jun went their separate ways from Neil, promising to never speak with the man again, only to be thrust back together with him when he took the head position at CRU. A hiring choice Jun fought against, but lost. He did not want his one time friend coming back to his beloved campus. Reconciling with Neil would never happen. When Abby left, Jun, Henry and Neil’s friendship fragmented, permanently and irrevocably.

And now with David talking enthusiastically to Jun about his research, the past came up and hit him in the stomach, kicking him in the ass when he went down, laughing and taunting him as a world of renewed regret piled back onto him. Jun lost himself in his thoughts until the young man cleared his throat and looked meaningfully at him. Concern and resignation marred the young man’s clear blue eyes. Jun returned his steady gaze to David, attempting to clear his thoughts of a friend lost but never forgotten.

“I’m sorry, you said you’re a transfer?”

“Yes, I’m starting here as a sophomore after getting accepted from a community college in Flagstead.”

Jun looked down at the resume and transcripts David brought with him and nodded, hearing the young man but still struggling with containing his emotions. “So why did you pick CRU?”

A weak smile crossed David’s face, one Jun had seen on Abby many times, and Jun’s breathing nearly stopped. The slight curve on David’s lips weren’t ones of happiness, but of loss and misery. Even though the young man grinned, it never managed to reach his eyes. Blue eyes that desperately tried to keep up appearances and not let any emotion through them. But David wasn’t quick enough for Jun not to notice. He had first-hand experience with those kinds of feelings and the fact that they came from someone so similar to his missing best friend did a number on Jun.

“I’m not trying to pry, I was just wondering why our science program stood out to you over the other universities,” he said softly and pointed at the transcripts. “Your grades are excellent.”

David shrugged, wariness filling his face. “I like the Biology program here and the research the university is doing. The college in Flagstead is more of a liberal arts school that’s easy going and open-minded but I’m a science major, not an art major. Besides that, it was an economical decision. Paying in-state is a lot cheaper than going out of state.”

Jun had to agree. “Yes it is, but CRU isn’t exactly an open-minded school.”

“No, no it’s not,” replied David, a look of irritation crossing his face. “But this one was close to home and it has the specific program I wanted.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, you said that,” said Jun as he racked his brain, the shock of seeing an Abby-clone affecting him to his very core. Did he even make any sense at all at this point? “CRU is a wonderful school and I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time here.”

“I hope so.” A pained expression flittered across David’s face. “My family was really excited when I got the acceptance letter.”

“Then you’ll have to make them proud won’t you?”

David visibly paled and pulled a tight grimace that was probably supposed to be a smile. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

“So, would you like to see the lab?” Asked Jun as he pushed back from his desk. Jun knew he should think the offer through a little more but couldn’t stop himself. He needed David close by, to be able to keep an eye on the kid, to make sure nothing bad happened to him, maybe then he could atone for the mistakes he made with Abby.

Shock filled David’s eyes before he stammered out an answer. “You mean I have the job?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Uh, thanks!”

A grin tugged in the corner of Jun’s lips. He knew his reputation, what the kids said, about how hard it was to get accepted into his lab. Obviously David had heard the rumors too. The look of disbelief spoke volumes. David had not been expecting to get the lab assistant job offered to him on the spot or the job at all.

“No problem, I think I’ve seen enough to know a good thing when I’ve found it,” said Jun as he opened his office door and waved for David to follow him.

A faint tint of red appeared on the young man’s cheeks, making David feel like an even bigger remind of Abby to Jun. A sharp tug pulled in Jun’s chest. He very much missed his old friend, and with David around, a constant reminder would be walking around Jun’s lab daily. He shook his head, the minute that the boy walked through his door Jun knew he wouldn’t be able to let go. Abby was gone and this boy was so very much like his long lost friend.

Jun took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, knowing he needed to call Henry once he showed David the lab. How was he going to explain Abby’s ghost showed up on his doorstep?

Excerpt End

As an FYI, my Sheltered Series is a M/M series while the Finding Peace Series has all relationship types.

For more information you can stop by:

freddysstereograph.weebly.com
or
freddymackay.blogspot.com

NEXT STOP on the Cock & Bull Blog Hop
Freddy Interviews Marie Sexton, January 5!