At the #CMCon16 Beach with Kate McMurray

Kate McMurrayAs one of the #CMCon16 featured bloggers, I get to have a little fun with a few of the fabulous authors who will be hitting the beach for Coastal Magic 2016 by showcasing their many stories. Last year I interviewed four of the the CMC15 authors, but this year I’m changing it up. I came up with this really fun idea to have the authors introduce us to their worlds by sending their characters to the beach.

Quite a few of the authors took me up on it and today Kate McMurray is taking us to the beach with Eddie and Lane, the lovely femme fatale from the third Tidewater novel, Such a Dance, which releases October 27th.

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At the Beach with Eddie and Lane from Such a Dance

KMcMurray-Such A DanceThrough the magic of time travel technology, I’ve gone back to 1928. It’s a hot day, so I’m headed to Coney Island with Eddie and Lane from Such a Dance. The beach is crowded and nearby Astroland is buzzing with activity. We walk along the boardwalk chatting.

“This, uh, ‘bathing costume’ is kind of dowdy, don’t you think?” I ask, looking down at myself. Back in the 21st Century, I own dresses that cover less than this bathing suit does.

Lane looks at me with a blank expression. “I don’t know what you mean. You’re dressed just like all the other women on the beach.”

“Of course,” I say. I look around, a bit hungry. Nathan’s is open. I’m about to open my mouth to suggest we go eat there when Eddie looks off into the distance and sighs.

“What is it, darling?” Lane asks.

“I danced here, after I left home. Just soft-shoed around on the Boardwalk for pocket change, waiting to get discovered. I spent one summer as a sideshow act for the circus.” Eddie hops up on his toes and does a little jig on the hard planks of the boardwalk.

Lane claps and laughs, clearly delighted. Eddie bows and tips his hat.

“Oh,” says Eddie, “we should take a ride on that rollercoaster. The Cyclone!”

Oh, boy. I’m not much of a rollercoaster person, not to mention, in 2015, that thing is terrifying. It’s an old wooden rollercoaster, and the clinking sound the gears make as the cars go up the inclines is the stuff of nightmares. I’ve never actually been on it, but everyone I know who has says it’s terrifying, and not in a good way.

Of course, in 1928, the rollercoaster is only about a year old. I trail Lane and Eddie, still somewhat reluctant. Lane frowns at a sign. “Twenty-five cents seems steep for a ride like this.”

“That’s more than the subway!” Eddie says.

“In my time, it costs, like, twelve bucks to ride the Cyclone, and it’s not nearly so nice.”

The car of riders zooms past us overhead, and everyone in it is screaming their heads off.

Lane and Eddie exchange a look. “Maybe we should just go to the beach. Cool off in the ocean, you know?”

I’m willing to get my feet wet, even if I’m worried that I’ll sink in this voluminous bathing costume. Seriously, how did women of this time swim in these things?

Of course, it becomes clear once we’re on the beach that half the object is to lounge in the sun. My pasty Irish complexion can’t take that, so I walk with Eddie and Lane to the water’s edge.

The Coney Island of 1928 is not as loud as in 2015. The bands playing for pennies on the board walk don’t have amplifiers for one thing. Kids squeal and splash in the shallow water as their mothers call to them to be careful, so at least that much hasn’t changed much.

While I’m preoccupied with not drowning as the kids around me splash water on my bathing suit, I miss Lane and Eddie slyly holding hands for a minute before stepping a part and splashing water at each other. Such children! But I don’t begrudge them their hard-fought-for happiness.

When a vaudeville dancer meets a sexy mobster in a speakeasy for men, the sparks fly, the gin flows, the jazz sizzles—and the heat is on…

New York City, 1927.

Eddie Cotton is a talented song-and-dance man with a sassy sidekick, a crowd-pleasing act, and a promising future on Broadway. What he doesn’t have is someone to love. Being gay in an era of prohibition and police raids, Eddie doesn’t have many opportunities to meet men like himself—until he discovers a hot new jazz club for gentlemen of a certain bent…and sets eyes on the most seductive, and dangerous, man he’s ever seen.

Lane Carillo is a handsome young Sicilian who looks like Valentino—and works for the Mob. He’s never hidden his sexuality from his boss, which is why he was chosen to run a private night club for men. When Lane spots Eddie at the bar, it’s lust at first sight. Soon, the unlikely pair are falling hard and fast—in love. But when their whirlwind romance starts raising eyebrows all across town, Lane and Eddie have to decide if their relationship is doomed…or something special worth fighting for.

Want more? Click here to read the excerpt.

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Meet Kate McMurray!

Kate McMurray has been writing stories since she could hold a pen. She picked up her first romance novel when she was thirteen and has loved the genre ever since. She started writing gay romance after reading a book and thinking there should be more love stories with gay characters. Her first published novel, In Hot Pursuit, came out in February 2010, and she’s been writing feverishly ever since. She likes stories that are brainy, funny, and of course sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities.

When she’s not writing, Kate works a nonfiction editor. She also reads a lot, plays the violin, knits and crochets, and drools over expensive handbags. She’s maybe a tiny bit obsessed with baseball. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a pesky cat.

KMcMurray-10 Days in AugustContact Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | GoodReads | Amazon | Pinterest | Tumblr | YouTube

Want to purchase Kate’s novels?
Rainbow League

  1. The Windup
  2. Thrown a Curve
  3. The Long Slide Home

Such a Dance
Ten Days in August (Mar 29, 2016)
When the Planets Align
The Silence of the Stars
The Stars that Tremble
What There Is
Save the Date
For Love & Liberty: Untold love stories of the American Revolution

CMC16

Don’t miss your chance to meet over 50 fabulous urban fantasy, paranormal, and romance authors at Coastal Magic next February! This super casual book-lover weekend happens on Daytona Beach, and gives everyone the chance to hang out with fellow readers and amazing storytellers.

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About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.