Blame
Sometimes, everybody is wrong.
by Cam Carson
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jun 03 2016 | Archive Date Dec 30 2016
Description
Two years after the tragedy that took her girlfriend's life, Tatyana has recovered enough to live, work, and be social again. She cannot imagine falling for someone else anytime soon, though.
That changes when a spunky new player joins Tatyana's volleyball team. Tatyana becomes captivated by her new friend's bubbly, bold personality.
As the two become close, though, Tatyana starts to notice Kris torturing herself with brutal, self-deprecating thoughts. Kris's anxieties about her inadequacy threaten to drive a wedge between the two of them.
Tatyana wants desperately to help. But how do you help someone whose aggressor comes from within? Plus, as Tatyana attempts to address the issue, she begins to realize how much she herself has done the exact same thing.
Before either of them can heal, Tatyana will have to face someone who she has pushed out of her mind for two long years. And maybe Kris, of all people, can finally convince her to do it.
A Note from the Author:
Hi! I'm Cam Carson. I started writing Blame after I came out to my family as queer. I noticed that my life, and the relationships I had, were completely different from the representation of queer people and queer relationships that I saw in popular fiction. I saw queer characters treated as one-dimensional token characters, and I saw queer relationships represented as these perfect utopias.
I didn't just want to see token queer characters. I wanted to see developed characters who happened to be in queer relationships. I wanted to see whole people with personalities and flaws, who grew throughout the course of the story. That's what Blame attempts to do, and I think it accomplishes that more and more over the course of the story (which currently spans two books, of which this is the first.There is also a third one in progress).
The story is intended to feel fun, light, and sexy. But underneath that, the narrator of the story, Tatya, is one of the most introspective women I have ever written. She struggles with insecurities and events from her past, like we all do. Tatya's counterpart, Kris, has a bubbly personality, but she often feels anxiety about not being better, smarter, or more accomplished than she already is. She places lots of pressure on herself to achieve—sometimes far too much. Nevertheless, her skill at empathy continues to surprise Tatya throughout the book.
A lot of queer fiction covers the lead-in to a romance, and it ends pretty shortly after that romance materializes. Tatya and Kris's romance materializes about halfway through this first book. I wanted to explore whether a story could intensify, could become more interesting, rather than less interesting, after a romantic relationship forms. I think that the interplay of two (hopefully) realistic, human personalities keeps the story going even after the tension of wondering 'Will they get together?' is gone. I am interested to know if you feel the same way.
I am also open to feedback. So, for anyone who reviews this first book, I would love to provide you with a free copy of the second book as well.
Advance Praise
Tatya Zaslavskaya - lanky, blonde. and attractive - is a sports massage therapist and one of the top players on her women's beach volleyball team in Miami, Florida. She's also secretly smitten with her new teammate - tall, pretty, red-haired Kris Jayson, a former college rower who recently joined the volleyball squad.
Still, when Coach Lake asks Tatya who should be her partner at the upcoming volleyball tournament in San Diego, Tatya wants to be fair. Should she suggest Lucy - a long-time teammate and solid player, or Kris - a talented novice who's hungry for success. In the end Tatya cedes the choice to Coach Lake, who picks Kris.
When Kris injures her hamstring a couple of weeks before the tournament, Tatya is determined to help her heal. To aide Kris's recovery Tatya offers homemade meals and massage therapy. These somewhat sensual interactions are thrilling for Tatya, though Kris - who's only dated boys in the past - seems to regard them solely as friendly overtures.
Tatya and Kris make it to San Diego, where they meet other attractive volleyball players - and nature takes it course. Meanwhile, all the women's teams are preparing for the tournament. The descriptions of the practices and games are exciting: serve, dip, bump, spike, occasionally fumble ....lose a point, score a point, etc. I was eager to see who would eventually win the championship.
In her zeal to win an important game Tatya does something she fears might alienate Kris. After overcoming this rough spot in their friendship Tatya confesses her attraction to her friend, which eventually brings the women closer. In time, personal conversations lead to an exchange of confidences during which Kris discloses deep feelings of insecurity about her talent, abilities, and worth, and Tatya reveals profound grief over a former girlfriend. Can Tatya and Kris help each other heal and go forward?
An array of additional characters add interest to the story including several members of the Miami volleyball team,Tatya's roommate Brett, Kris's cat Itchy, and Las Vegas volleyballer Dre - who engages in smoking sex with Tatya. In fact there's plenty of red-hot sex in the story, which will appeal to fans of romance and erotica.
I enjoyed the scenes where Tatya prepared delicious dishes like ajiaco and yucca fries; couscous with vegetables; jambalaya; crab cakes; chocolate mousse; ice cream topped with cinnamon and figs, and more. They made me wish I had a generous friend who was a good chef. :)
This is an engaging story about two women searching for happiness and fulfillment. I look forward to the second book in the series.
T.Terry:
Oh lordy! Was I supposed to read this without getting emotionally involved? Because if I was...I failed miserably.
As a woman's counselor I worried that the protagonist, Tatya, would have poorly written dialog that presented her as flat. But I was so intrigued by both the title and the cover that I thought I'd at least read the first few pages of it...then toss it in a corner the moment I got disgusted with it.
So I was definitely surprised when I fell totally in love with the story. Reading Tatya's words immediately surprised me, because what she was saying, and the emotions she was expressing, were the exact same dialog I hear in my practice every day. It was so frighteningly real! And I'd never seen anyone write for a woman as realistically as this.
Within a few pages I was no longer reading the story...I was literally in Tatya's head with her, feeling what she was feeling. And by the second chapter I was Tatya. And even now, many months later, my world still spins when I remember my experiences in Miami, as Tatya.
I haven't had that exciting feeling of being in a protagonist's body since finishing the last of my beloved Steinbeck books. But it turns out Cam Carson is one of the most compelling story-tellers I've ever come across, and she's right up there next to Steinbeck. This is a stunningly immersive story! I really do hope Carson writes more about Tatya for us - I desperately want to go back to Miami with her.
Marketing Plan
Additionally, the book is currently in the hands of several bloggers to read and review. Mostly these bloggers write specifically for their local LGBT communities. I think that this group has the right audience for reading the book and recommending it to others.
I also intend to market the book through a personal email list of about 150 friends, family, and acquaintances.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781517028657 |
| PRICE | $0.00 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 343453
I wasn't sure what to expect when I got this book from NetGalley but I enjoyed it.
The writing is good, though the texting language was a bit jarring. I loved the sports parts much more than the romance (but, then, I'm not a fan of romance novels).
I also liked the twist in the end. I thought it would be more predictable than it turned out to be, which is good.
A good book and easy read.
Sabine C, Reviewer
I enjoyed the style of this book: not my usual kind of read but it was very well written with intimate details and descriptions that I was not at all expecting, yet felt very genuine and deeply erotic! A very enjoyable read all in all.
Jenna b, Reviewer
This was a good read. I am a big fan of sports themed lesfic and this one doesn't disappoint. Beneath all of the volleyball stuff is a slow building and sweet romance. I am always hesitant with books where one of the main characters has never been with a woman, but this was an enjoyable read. It progressed nicely and I was highly engaged throughout. Well done!!
Nadine B, Librarian
A little simplistic plot but nice to see athletes as characters
Reviewer 328937
Tatya and Kris, two attractive professional women working in Miami, are teammates on a beach volleyball squad. A warm friendship develops between them but Tatya would like their relationship to be more romantic. Thus she makes it her business to spend time with Kris and share some of the scrumptious food she prepares. (We should all have a friend like that!)
Tatya and Kris are chosen to represent their team at a beach volleyball tournament in San Diego, where they face some excellent opponents. I liked the descriptions of the vollyeyball games, which were action-packed and exciting. Things also warm up on a personal level in San Diego, but in ways that weren't quite anticipated. This leads to some drama and uncertainty, which adds suspense to the story.
In time mutual feelings develop between Kris and Tatya and they're able to talk about difficult thoughts and troubling memories. This might just be therapeutic for them both.
I liked the setting of the story, in warm sunny Miami, and was entertained by some of the additional characters in the book, especially fellow volleyball players and a cute pet cat.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of lesbian erotica.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
