Welcome Birthday Guest N.R. Walker!

 

My name is N.R. Walker, and today I’m interviewing two new characters of mine. The book in question isn’t released yet, and I’m super excited for you to meet them! So, without further ado, I would like to say hello to Harrison and Levi from Exchange of Hearts.

Harrison:  Hello.

Levi:  Hi!

NR: We’re supposed to be talking about birthdays! But my readers haven’t met you yet. Is there anything you’d like to share? Anything about Exchange of Hearts they should know?

Levi: We have a lot of sex.

Harrison: *blushes*

Levi: *laughs*

Harrison: Eighteen is legal. Just so you know.

Levi: *laughs* There really is a lot to be said about the libido of gay teenagers.

NR: Guys…

Harrison: *clears throat* Well, I’ll start. My name is Harrison Haddon. I’m Australian, born and bred.

Levi:  And I’m Levi Aston, proud Londoner. I came to Sydney as part of a student exchange programme and that’s where I met Harrison.

Harrison: We met at school. It’s a boarding school for the rich and shameless, and we end up sharing a room.

Levi: Hence the lots of sex comment.

Harrison: He took advantage of me.

Levi:  *scoffs* I did not. You just needed some persuasion.

Harrison: *rolls eyes* I’m totally not complaining, by the way.

Levi: *smug* No, you certainly don’t.

NR: *clears throat* Okay guys, if we could focus for a minute? Maybe you could give your readers a little background information about yourselves?

Harrison: Sure. Well, I’m eighteen, I play the piano and I have issues.

Levi: *looks narrowly at Harrison* You can’t just come out and say it like that.

Harrison: Why not? It’s the truth.

Levi: *concedes* True, but still. You could have lead in a little more gently.

Harrison: Okay, well, I’ve spent the last eighteen years having my dreams squashed by my overbearing, yet detached, parents.

Levi: *snorts* Well, that’s not exactly any better…

Harrison: *shrugs*

Levi: <takes charge> Harrison was quite content to be miserable his whole life, being forced into a career he didn’t want. Harrison’s father insisted he become a doctor and wouldn’t hear of any reason or excuse to the contrary.

Harrison: I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.

Levi: *purses lips and raises his eyebrow.*

NR: [Levi has well-defined eyebrows. They almost look drawn on, but they’re not. And he can give a whole new level of definition to bitch-brow when he raises one.]

Levi: *looks at NR* Are you okay?

NR: You have great eyebrows.

Levi: *grins* Thanks.

Harrison: *jealous scowl* Are you finished?

NR:  Nope. Levi, you said Harrison was content to be miserable. What happened to change that?

Levi: I heard him play the piano, and I just knew he had to follow his heart.

Harrison: Levi helped me stand up for what I wanted. He changed my life.

Levi: It wasn’t my doing. *looks at Harrison* You changed your life, all on your own. I wasn’t even in the country when you had it out with your father.

Harrison: *looks to argue*

NR: *interrupts* So, you spend some time apart…

Levi: Yes. Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler. *laughs* Our story is split into two countries: Australia and England.

NR: So it’s a bit like the Ashes?

Harrison: Yes, but in our story, England actually wins.

Levi: *jaw drop*

Harrison: *laughs* It is true though. And it’s no great spoiler, but we do end up living in London.

NR:  So, Exchange of Hearts is a story about Harrison’s dreams of becoming a pianist.

Levi: I think it started out that way, but in the end it was more about family.

NR: *looks at Levi* So, Harrison can really play the piano, huh?

Levi: *face lights up as he smiles* Oh, you should hear him play. It’s breathtaking.

Harrison: *blushes* I’m right here, you know.

Levi: *pats Harrison’s thigh* We know, babe. Hey, aren’t we supposed to be talking about birthdays? What’s that about?

NR: Amber Kell does a Birthday Bash Blog Hop for November. Harrison, can you tell me anything about your favourite birthday memory?

Harrison: *sighs* Well, there was that time we were supposed to have a family dinner for my ninth birthday, but my dad never came home. He had to do some all-night emergency quadruple bypass operation or something. And he missed my tenth birthday. Oh wait, and my eleventh as well. I went to boarding school after that so there was less disappointment. Well, except for that awesome birthday, when I turned sixteen, and they sent me a card. That was it. No visit, no phone call. They only live fifteen minutes down the road. I got a thousand dollars put in my bank account and I assume it was from them, though we never talked about it…

NR: *stares*

Levi: *stares* Jesus, I really hate your parents sometimes.

Harrison: *shrugs*

Levi: How about next birthday we do something really special?

Harrison: *smiles* Like what?

Levi: I don’t know yet. A night at some posh hotel, the London Eye, or maybe a concert. I’ll make sure you never have a disappointing birthday again.

Harrison: *teary smile* Thank you.

NR: *melts* You’re both so sweet. So, there’s definitely a HEA?

Harrison: *takes Levi’s hand* It is possible to find your soulmate at eighteen.

Levi: *beams* Yes it is.

NR: I’m looking forward to the rest of the world meeting you two.

Levi: Release day is November 13^th. Available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Smashwords, B&N and Apple thereafter.

Harrison: Friday the 13^th. *plays imaginary piano and makes dun-dun-dunnnn sound*

Levi: You’re such a dork.

Harrison: And you love me.

Levi: *leans over for a kiss* Yes. Yes I do.
 

EXCHANGE OF HEARTS BLURB:

 

Eighteen-year-old Harrison Haddon has grown up alone. Surrounded by wealth, nannies, and material things, all he craves is the approval of his father. Sent away to the boarding school his father and grandfather attended, it’s assumed he will follow in their footsteps from Sydney’s prestigious Ivy League school straight into medical school.

But Harrison doesn’t want to be a doctor.

He dreams of music and classical piano. His only true happiness, his escape from the world expected of him, is dismissed by his intolerant and emotionally detached parents.

Levi Aston arrives from London for a three-month student exchange program. Free-spirited and confident in who he is and what he wants to do with his life, Levi convinces Harrison not give up on his dreams.

But convincing Harrison not to give up on his family might not be so easy.