jana_denardo

Aaron and Rhys meet at a steampunk party. Rhys is a noob but Aaron is pretty well into it, along with his friend, Corinne and her boyfriend. He finds the cosplay anxiety-relieving. His self image has been in the dumps since he was injured in Afghanistan but when he gets dressed up in his steam punk garb he feels a little better about himself.

I picture his outfit a little like this something along these lines though the jacket is probably less tails and more more like this Edwardian one

A little excerpt from the beginning to illustrate my point.

Easing his topcoat over his prosthetic arm, decked out to look like it ran on steam and gears, Aaron glanced into his mirror and felt handsome again. Ever since the war had taken his arm, he felt ugly until he got into character. He went to his favorite club, where they had monthly steampunk events. In his steampunk garb, he was like a wildly colored creature emerging from its chrysalis.

Even the miasma of fog rolling off the river didn’t dampen Aaron’s spirits as he went into Steel Spirits, a club that hosted a steampunk evening once a week. It was a step back into a time that had never existed. Scanning the bar with its low light levels, Aaron spotted men in topcoats and Victorian adventuring gear. Women swept by in bustles and ruffles, hats decorated with flowers, birds and gears perched merrily on their curls.

Aaron checked his pocket watch and sighed when he realized he was early. It would be a while before his friends arrived. By some karmic synchronicity, Aaron spotted one of the hottest men he’d seen in, well, ever. Shoulder-length honey-gold hair framed his pale face. The graceful bow of his lips drew Aaron’s gaze. The man’s costume was simple: some sort of mad scientist. The stranger might not be gay. That didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. For that matter, there hadn’t been any lovers since he returned to the States. He barely had any friends left in his life. Either they had moved since college, or they didn’t know how to handle everything he’d had to deal with since the war.

And I always love sharing the music for my books and while music plays a bit of a lesser role in Kept Tears it is in the first scene, especially Abney Park so here are a few of my favorites

This is the one I imagine for the opening scene. Airship Pirates

I am Stretched on Your Grave is poignant

She Last Exile is interesting and I can see Aaron enjoying it.

And Lacuna Coil was being played as Aaron enters the club. This one works on several levels, Trip the Darknes

find the ebook here

In many ways, Kept Tears is the most date-filled story I’ve written, and apparently, for me, dates revolve around something historical or geeky to do then food. Lots of fun food, and Pittsburgh is turning into something of a foodie’s city. I could have filled the novel with some of the most adventuresome places, but that wouldn’t have been true to Aaron’s character. As a struggling grad student, he’s more reserved with his food budget.

That said, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have fun with it. In many ways, he’s leading the food parade, since Rhys is a newcomer to the city. Personally, I grew up within twenty-five miles of downtown Pittsburgh, and in spite of all my traveling, the city is a place I love returning to. There was one thing I didn’t want to do with Kept Tears; I didn’t want to invent places to eat or visit as part of these dates. I wanted to let the local culture shine. Yes, there are a couple of made up places, but most are real and waiting for your visit.

In my first post about Aaron and Rhys’s time together, I mentioned The Church Brew Works, which I’d love to see continue to thrive and grow. This time, I want to talk about another destination that really needs no help from me to promote itself. Every time I’ve used The Primanti Brothers in a story, complete strangers have popped in to give it a shout out. It’s iconic in Pittsburgh (and beyond), and for good reason: good food and good prices.

There is one in Oakland, making it very convenient for Aaron as a Pitt student. More importantly, this would have been the type of thing he would have dreamed about during the war, just one more time of getting that taste of home. Aaron gladly introduced Rhys to the Primanti Bros. Who could resist a sandwich stacked high with goodies, then topped with coleslaw and fries? It’s often imitated, but whenever I see it, it’s always a shadow of Primanti’s fare. Go ahead and click that above link and check out the sandwiches.

Aaron loves the Pitts-Burgher and the kielbasa and cheese. (Personally I go for the sirloin tip, turkey, or pastrami). Rhys was no doubt overwhelmed at first, but couldn’t resist the Smallman Street fries (nothing like a heart attack in a dish).

As this will also be at Rick Reed’s Dinner at Home, he had suggested perhaps a food/wine pairing. However, Aaron is far more a beer man, so it would hardly surprise people if I said, this food all goes well with Iron City. Here’s the catch (and I might have to turn in my Pittsburgher pin), I don’t actually like Iron City. I am a fan of another Pittsburgh Brewery (other than the aforementioned Church Works, which makes a nice local craft beer). Aaron would recommend Penn’s Dark from Penn’s Brewery. While the Penn brewery didn’t make it into this novel (alas, maybe next time), it would be the perfect pairing for a take-home sandwich from Primanti’s.

A quick excerpt of Aaron’s and Rhys’s trip to Primanti’s (they’re working out in the gym before they go). It is short since, unfortunately, this trip also reveals some big secrets that are best not given away here.
I’ve learned to compensate. I’ve had a couple years of practice now. I’m still luckier than some guys. I only lost one arm and the leg is messed up, but not as bad as it could have been. Some came home with no limbs.”
“Or not at all.” Pain flashed across Rhys’s face, and Aaron knew it was mirrored in his own.
“Yeah.”
The conversation died as Aaron worked on his good arm. Afterwards, they hit the shower. It was hard not to watch Rhys as water sluiced down over him. They hadn’t done the shower thing yet. Aaron figured anything more than kissing under the showerhead would be too slick and dangerous for him. However, watching in public was just a bad idea.
“Want to head over to Primanti’s if you have time?” Rhys asked as they were dressing.
“I don’t have class until later. I won’t be able to get their Pitts-Burgher Cheese Steak out of my mind now that you brought it up,” Aaron replied, struggling into his jeans.
“Sandwiches with fries and coleslaw on them it is.”
.


And here are a couple things I could see Aaron making for Rhys (or with Rhys’s help more likely). Aaron is still learning to use his prosthetic arm, and isn’t that comfortable in the kitchen yet. When he is, I could see him making these for him and Rhys. Both recipes are from my Italian grandmothers

( Stracciatella soup )

and

( Bagna Cauda Pasta )

It was a blast getting to talk about the setting of Kept Tears and I hope I intrigued you to see more. Thanks to Rick Reed for sharing this as well. Do check out his cooking blog!


Blurb - Having left most of his arm and his self-confidence behind in the Afghanistan desert, young veteran Aaron Santori has enough on his plate learning to use his prosthetic arm. Attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh makes life both interesting and challenging. Mentally, he's ill prepared for meeting Rhys Edwards, a young-adult novelist from Wales and everything Aaron could want in a man. Between the scars from the explosion and his PTSD, he’s reluctant to date. Ready or not, though, Aaron finds himself jumping into the deep end of the relationship waters.

What Aaron couldn’t possibly know is that Rhys isn’t human at all. As a prince of the Tylwyth Teg, Rhys is fae, with a list of enemies he’s accumulated over the past few centuries—among them a former lover, Morcant, who is back to make Rhys’s life miserable. An unwitting pawn in their Machiavellian fae politics, Aaron only knows he’s falling in love, never suspecting love might be his death sentence.

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