This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. William Quincy Belle will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Science Fiction with (gasp) sex!
Alan Maitland is a successful businessman on his way up the corporate ladder. Life is good, but life is also full of the unexpected. A scientific experiment goes awry, and Alan’s mind is transferred to the body of Hana Toussaint, a high-class escort. Suddenly, he must not only contend with a new identity, but with the eye-opening experience of living as a female: how to walk in high heels without falling; how to put on a bra without dislocating a shoulder; how to deal with makeup without poking out an eye; and how to get along in a society which in many ways is still male-dominated.
When Alan discovers that Hana has taken over his body, the two of them must work together to find the scientist who can reverse the experiment and give them back their respective lives. Along the way, they must cope with living as each other and learn what it's like to be a member of the opposite sex. And as their adventure goes on, Alan the woman must figure out his growing feelings for Hana the man.
Alan faces the biggest challenge of his life which Hana sums up with one decisive question:
“Are you man enough to be a woman?”
Enjoy an Excerpt
After their small breakfast, Alan and Hana set about getting ready, selecting clothes for one another.
“I start with moisturizer,” he said examining the various items laid out on the bathroom counter.
She stood behind him, looking at herself in the mirror and adjusting her collar. “That’s right.”
He picked up the bottle of moisturizer and unscrewed the top. “This hadn’t been on my list of required life skills, but I’ll be able to say I’m a truly well-rounded man.”
“Well-rounded? You missed me having my period last week!”
He stopped and wrinkled his brow.
She half smiled. “Are you man enough to be a woman?”
He gave his head a shake then continued his morning ritual.
Hana pulled the looped tie over her head and mimicked Alan’s earlier movements by tightening the loop and getting the tie in place. “I’m getting the hang of this.” She pulled her collar down and raised her chin to give the knot a final adjustment. “All set.”
She watched him go through the steps of getting ready for another day as a woman. “You’re doing fine.”
Before going out the door, Alan paused in front of a mirror. He smoothed out his skirt and leaned closer to check his makeup. He looked himself in the eye. What am I doing? Am I getting womanlier?
Hana held open the door, and the two of them left to meet their fate.
About the Author:
Web site: http://www.williamquincybelle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamQuincyBelle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wqbelle
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/William-Quincy-Belle/e/B01M1IQ69G
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYWXM4E
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ReplyDeleteHow long did it take you to write your book?
ReplyDeleteThis book was originally my 2013 NaNoWriMo project, completed in eleven days. However, it took the next 2.9 years to get to publication. Having never written a book before, I worked with a number of people to not just perfect manuscript, but to learn about the craft of writing. From the acknowledgements of the book:
DeleteI thank NaNoWriMo. They inspired me to find the self-discipline to sit at my desk day after day doing something other than looking at cat videos. However, it took a number of people to help me unravel the disjointed, illogical, non sequitur, stream of consciousness crammed full of so many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, anyone would think I had failed English and failed it miserably. What did I know about writing? The first time somebody told me I had a dangling participle, I checked to see if my fly was open.
Editors, beta readers, and copyediting people have corrected me, counseled me, and sometimes told me no in the hope I would end up stringing two words together to make a coherent sentence — or go away. They get the credit for their patience, kindness, and experienced assistance. I get the blame for the results.
Beta readers: they are too numerous to mention, but I sincerely thank each and every one of them. They pointed out things I didn’t see or couldn’t see. I wear glasses, however it turns out I’m myopic literally and literarily.
Thank you for participating in this book tour. Being an indie author is an uphill struggle.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, there are 2.2 million new books published each year, 300,000 in the U.S., 150,000 in the United Kingdom, 20,000 in Canada. The book review section of The Washington Post states they get 150 new titles each day. Each day! What are the chances of anyone getting noticed? Even if somebody has written the next classic, there’s the harsh reality of statistics. Having the public choose any particular book out of the annual American field of 300,000 strikes me as being the equivalent of winning the literary lottery. Congratulations, E. L. James: over 70 million copies of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy sold.
By the way, the above is about new books published each year. According to Google, there are over 150 million books in existence! Literary lottery, indeed!
There's a lot of junk out there, which means the public is leery of investing their time in anything unknown. Who wants the literary equivalent of bad movie? "I want two hours of my life back." Cheers to the risk-takers who brought E. L. James to the forefront.
I appreciate you taking the risk.
All the best to you in your world. :-)
Sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, thanks for sharing the great post!
ReplyDeleteSounds hilarious! In reality, I think everyone wishes they were the opposite sex..
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday! Just for fun... speaking of recreational drinking, if you could spend the evening at a drinking establishment from one of your favorite sci-fi franchise worlds, would you choose Chalmun's Cantina, Quark's Bar or just go all out and spend the weekend on Risa?
ReplyDeleteMy kingdom for a horga'hn!
DeleteI am laughing out loud! And picturing Picard telling Vash that all he wants is to be left alone with his book (not a direct quote) Lol
DeleteOf Sound Mind and Someone Else’s Body
ReplyDeleteCurrently 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon
Interested, but not yet committed to reading the book? Visit my web site for a longer excerpt. (Warning: This may be a tad explicit. Of course, now that I’ve said that, it’s even more tempting to go look, right?)
Still wondering? Here’s what reviewers are saying.
5 Star Review: One would like to believe this
"That two sane rational people would react in a sane rational way to finding themselves in another body especially one of the opposite sex. Much of the genre that involves body/mind swaps is strictly erotic in nature as if every person swapped can't wait to have sex. Mr. Belle's work is far from that even though one of the protagonists is a professional escort. Sex plays a role in this decently plotted story but only as a sideline to some interesting philosophical questions. Questions that are approached with both humor and an open-minded desire to question societies hangups. Food for thought in a book about a bodyswap. Who would have thought? Then again in the end this is a thought piece wrapped in a sci-fi story that is just plausible enough to be believable. An entertaining and enlightening read."
5 star review: The mind switch trope but with nuanced exploration of the sexes
"When I first started this book, I expected it to be just another mind switch story so common in sci-fi. But the author has carefully chosen his switchees - Alan, a rather self absorbed rich guy, and Hana, a high class escort. Alan goes to bed, and is suddenly wakened in a position he finds repulsive. He panics, grabs his purse and runs home. He makes his way back to his condo, and meets with Hana,, now in his body. Over the next few days they experience life in different socioeconomic conditions than their wont. Even more significant, they experience being "the opposite sex". They both need to readjust their pre-conceived notions. Hana opens Alan's mind to looking at the world differently, and they both learn that some of their assumptions about men and women may have been mis-founded. For Alan, it's eye opening being looked at like a piece of meat. And Hana learns some painful physical lessons.
I was very pleasantly surprised at the way the author turned a rather trite science fiction cliché into an entertaining novel."