Author’s Note
This book delves into subjects some people may find disturbing. There are elements of the main characters’ pasts that include paedophilia, the dark side of religion, and the horrors of war. Aspects of the story include self-harm, depression, and suicide, and the book is set in a circus where clowns are featured.

None of these elements are gratuitous, but instead are included because they are part of the human condition, and are essential to our main characters’ journeys. I hope you join Cary and Rhys as they navigate their way to love.
*****
For aerialist, Cary Stilwell, aside from performing forty feet in the air, life holds little comfort until he meets Rhys McIntyre, who punctures all of Cary’s defenses.

PIERCING THE NIGHT
Cary Stilwell has been existing since he was ten years old, and each year it gets harder to find meaning in his bleak life. The only exception – his work. As a top-billed aerialist in a popular travelling circus, he enjoys accolades and applause, but little else. When notable photographer, Rhys McIntyre, joins the circus to catalogue its inner workings, Cary fights the attraction that hits him from the moment they meet. But a kind soul wrapped in a beautiful body has a way of battering all the walls Cary has built around his cold, dark heart.

WITH LIGHT
Rhys McIntyre is on his third iteration of reinventing himself. Once a hotdog financier, he embraced his passion for photography and became an eminent war photo journalist. Until one too many bullets lodged in his body, and he gave up the front lines for the softer side of chronicling life. When he accepts the assignment to record life in a circus, the last thing he expects is to find the man crush of his dreams. Except Cary Stilwell is a cold, tortured man who seems incapable of any warm emotion, never mind love. But Rhys is known for his persistence, and this time the pay-off might be more than he could have ever imagined.

I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Chris Talbot. He’s got a PhD in Marine Biology, and is the Blue Phoenix of Blue Phoenix Pole & Fitness. He’s been 2014 Mr Pole Dance Australia, and 2014 INBA Melbourne Male Fitness Model Champion. He’s Brand Ambassador for Pole Physics, Bling it Heels, and Physio Supplies Australia. Chris is passionate about pole and fitness as a dance performer/instructor/competitor, fitness model and body transformation specialist.

Why am I telling you all this you ask? Chris inspired the character of my tortured and damaged Cary Stillwell in my new release, Living on Air, which is due out on 22nd February.  He’s also graciously given me some lovely images of himself to use as teasers.  We tried to get a photo of him to work for the cover, and I was gutted when we couldn’t make it work because it wasn’t high res enough. But he’ll be appearing on the back of the book cover, don’t worry.

Stay tuned, because you’ll be hearing quite a bit about him (and Cary) in the run up to the release.

Image credit : David Bonnell- https://www.instagram.com/david_bonnell/