{"id":1652,"date":"2015-03-31T20:49:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T04:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sacollins.com\/blog\/?p=1652"},"modified":"2015-04-03T18:49:53","modified_gmt":"2015-04-04T02:49:53","slug":"angels-of-mercy-volume-one-elliot-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1652","title":{"rendered":"Angels of Mercy – Volume One: Elliot RELEASED!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s official<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Angels of Mercy \u2013 Volume One: Elliot
\n(His Summer of Love)<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

is NOW available!<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Already labelled a BEST-SELLER in pre-sales!)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Cover<\/a>

The cover artwork for Angels of Mercy – Volume One: Elliot<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

My first serious work that began over a year ago and I can’t believe it’s release is finally here!<\/em><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can find it at the following locations for purchase:<\/span><\/h2>\n

AMAZON<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Barnes and Noble<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

AllRomance\/OmniLit<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 (Best Seller Status)<\/p>\n

Smashwords\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Scribd<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From the cover of the book –<\/h2>\n

On the cusp of his senior year at Mercy High, Elliot Donahey, an out but terminally shy gay young man who keeps to the shadows \u2013 never wanting to be seen or noticed \u2013 suddenly finds himself in the arms of the highest profile jock on campus, local star quarterback, Marco Sforza. Their lives, and those closest to them will never be the same.<\/p>\n

Set against the backdrop of competitive sports, this character study work deep dives into the lives of these young men who each must “play the game” so Marco can continue to play the game he loves. They are just trying to find some small slice of happiness to call their own amidst their hellish final year of high school.<\/p>\n

Author’s Note<\/strong>: Angels of Mercy is first and foremost, a character study. A great deal of it is inner-monologue. Elliot will pause the action, will break momentum as he grapples with his world \u2013 all the while flipping a finger to the fourth wall. He knows you’re there. It was far more important to me as its author (and a gay man) that the reader come away with the whys of Elliot\u2019s choices in how he navigates his often tumultuous world. The same can be said of Marco (his jock boyfriend) who will pick up the tale with Volume Two (due summer of 2015).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve read much queer literature and what I find rather interesting is that for the majority of it, very little is written about the character\u2019s headspace. When you live in a world where you constantly have to be vigilant as you navigate through, it can make for some very powerful storytelling. That is my goal in writing these boys\u2019 lives. I want the reader who may not be queer themselves to come away with what it might be like to be in a gayboy\u2019s shoes \u2013 constantly polling and pulse-checking your world because your very survival depends upon it. All of that while you hope, you secretly pray, that you\u2019ll find someone who will see you too and find they can\u2019t live without you in their world. A small slice of happiness to call your own. And though you do everything to keep to yourself, you may still run into those who find your very existence threatens who they are and how they think the world should run. I pull no punches with this work. They are hormonally charged eighteen year old young men who are sexually active. While the sex is present in the work it is not gratuitous in that the main character does evolve from his physical intimacy with his high-profile boyfriend. It is not a genre romance read either, though it has a very strong romance threaded in the work. These elements bring a light to their world that attracts all the wrong attention.<\/p>\n

In a time where more queer youth are coming out to their teammates and their loved ones, I find that work of this nature is both timely and necessary to tell. I hope you’ll find it as interesting and provocative a read as I believe it is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A BIG THANK YOU to Jay Brannan<\/a><\/strong> who was my musical muse for the project. Rob Me Blind<\/em> is such a truly brilliant album and I couldn’t have my boys as deeply and emotively rooted were it not for this musical inspiration that came from the brilliant and talented bard of Jay Brannan. Please do search him out on the web and on iTunes. You will NOT be sorry you did!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jay_Brannan_Rob_Me_Blind_Cover_Art\"<\/a>

The album that inspired me to write Angels of Mercy.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s official   Angels of Mercy \u2013 Volume One: Elliot (His Summer of Love)   is NOW available!   (Already labelled a BEST-SELLER in pre-sales!)   My first serious work that began over a year ago and I can’t believe it’s release is finally here!   You can find it at the following locations for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[377,552,551,598,580,525,216,234,43,5,4,199,198,22,476,3,32,550,169,396,145,18,325],"tags":[68,532,364,614,67,530,652,318,27,66,651,266,654,133,141,653],"class_list":["post-1652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors-voices","category-book-promotion","category-book-release","category-cover-artwork","category-gays-in-sports","category-graphic-design","category-journey","category-language","category-life-inserts-itself","category-mm-lovefest","category-homoerotica","category-male-feelings","category-men","category-music-that-inspires","category-musical-muses","category-novel-writing","category-pathos","category-sex-positive","category-social-issues","category-the-craft","category-words-have-power","category-writing","category-young-adult-realities","tag-angels-of-mercy","tag-avenging-angels","tag-book-release","tag-competitive-sports","tag-elliot-donahey","tag-football","tag-gay-love","tag-homophobia","tag-jay-brannan","tag-marco-sforza","tag-mercy","tag-pietro-sforza","tag-promotional","tag-rob-me-blind","tag-romance","tag-same-love"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75tPU-qE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1820,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1820","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":0},"title":"Five Star Review – and GIVEAWAY for Angels of Mercy Vol 2!","author":"S A Collins","date":"December 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"FIVE STAR review of ANGELS OF MERCY - VOLUME 2: MARCO. \u00a0 \u00a0 Thanks to Paul Gay Berry from GayMediaReviews for the lovely words and the opportunity to share it with the readership out there! #Humbled #DoingTheHappyDance !! BIG GIVEAWAY WITH THIS ONE - There's an opportunity to win the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Print cover reveal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/AoM_V2_Marco_CVR_Print2x3blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1443,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1443","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":1},"title":"Angels of Mercy – The Print Edition Cover Reveal","author":"S A Collins","date":"March 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Angels of Mercy - The Print Edition Cover Reveal \u00a0 I've waffled enough on this. To release it or not. Look for a lit agent or not. Traditional pub or not. I went back and forth so many times I started to see myself coming. I've tugged on my beta\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover artwork for Angels of Mercy - Volume One: Elliot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/AoMPrintCoverMaster-1024x705.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1813,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1813","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":2},"title":"BOOK RELEASE – Angels of Mercy – Volume Two: Marco (The Fall of the Sforzas)","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"BOOK RELEASE - Angels of Mercy - Volume Two: Marco (The Fall of the Sforzas) Hey all! I know it's been a helluva long time since I've posted. It hasn't been for not wanting to. I've had LOTS to say on stuff. Some of which I did on other blogs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Angels of Mercy - Volume Two: Marco AVAILABLE NOW!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AoMv2Cvr_Marco_Comp_blogsize500.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1860,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1860","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":3},"title":"Embracing the Improbable","author":"S A Collins","date":"February 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Embracing the Improbable It shouldn't exist. I never intended it to exist, yet, there it is. \u00a0 \u00a0 What am I babbling about now? My next release - Angels of Mercy \u2013 Phoenix in the Fire\u00a0(due March 2016). The book ostensibly is a work of fiction in and of itself.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/els01_500px.jpg?fit=378%2C500&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1163,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1163","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":4},"title":"Designing My Angels of Mercy","author":"S A Collins","date":"December 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Designing My Angels of Mercy \u00a0 \u00a0 Sidebar: S.O. to author pal, Kris Ripper who liked the first one I did of these, that I'd thought I shoot her another. Hope you all enjoy it too! \u00a0 So let's talk book covers, shall we? \u00a0I mean, I did it before.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"The FINAL - FINAL version of the book cover for \"Angels of Mercy - Volume One: Elliot\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/AoM1_sacollins-100dpi_RGBMaster2x3-200x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1228,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1228","url_meta":{"origin":1652,"position":5},"title":"Quick! The Stork Done Took My Baby!","author":"S A Collins","date":"January 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Quick! The Stork Done Took My Baby! \u00a0 Okay, not really freaking out too much here. I mean, there was no stork, even if there was a baby (of sorts). What happened was, I bit the bullet. I grinned and bear(ed) it. I took a leap of faith... I published\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"The book is out in the world now. Hall-le-fucking-lu-jah!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/homo_coverMast_300w-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1652"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1663,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions\/1663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}