Sometimes Beauty Is A Curse: Why Aaron Seavers Would Rather Be a Wallflower
by Heidi Cullinan
On September 17th at The Novel Approach, I celebrated Giles Mulder as a non-hunky romantic lead. Now it’s time for Aaron Seavers to tell you why honestly, he’s a little jealous of his boyfriend’s quirky looks.
I never set out to write about looks in Fever Pitch—it somehow just happened, and it began when I found their stock photographs. I looked at Giles and knew all about how he was irritated at being judged a geek when he knew damn well he was sexy, and I looked at pretty-boy Aaron and knew he really didn’t understand what the fuss was about. In fact, the more I sat with Aaron, the more he had anxiety about how people perceived him.
Yes, he fit the profile of handsome guy, but the baggage that came with that freaked him out. He doesn’t have a ton of self-esteem, and he’s decidedly not suave about anything. Plus, like me, Aaron suffers from Chronic Resting Bitch Face, so people think he’s being aloof or arrogant when he’s mostly trying not to throw up or look stupid.
I decidedly don’t have the too pretty for you thing going on, and never have, but Aaron made a compelling argument for the trials that can come from everyone authoring your life for you just because they believe they can read it in your face. Giles got short-shifted, but Aaron was given the wrong script too. I think part of the reason they fit together so well is they each have what the other envied. Aaron wanted a good family and anonymity, no more pressure to be perfect, and Giles wanted a spotlight. They don’t exactly pull a Freaky Friday on each other, but I like to think they give each other backup to claim the space they truly want.
Writing this pair really made me examine what we decide, as society, people should have based on how they look. Even when picking stock photos for collages or book covers, pretty gets first pick. Our magazines and movies are populated exclusively by pretty people. Yet if we look around our everyday lives, there are very few of these perfectly sculpted people around. Even those poster-people are often horribly photo-shopped, sometimes even in their casual Instagram pictures.
How pretty you are shouldn’t be a prerequisite for getting a happily ever after. And Aaron Seavers would like to add, it doesn’t mean you’re put together and interested in being plastered on the cover of anything, either.
Giles says he’s more than willing to do that in Aaron’s stead.
Follow the rest of the blog tour for more guest posts, excerpts, and chances to win a copy of the novel.
About Fever Pitch
Sometimes you have to play love by ear.
Aaron Seavers is a pathetic mess, and he knows it. He lives in terror of incurring his father’s wrath and disappointing his mother, and he can’t stop dithering about where to go to college—with fall term only weeks away. Ditched by a friend at a miserable summer farewell party, all he can do is get drunk in the laundry room and regret he was ever born. Until a geeky-cute classmate lifts his spirits, leaving him confident of two things: his sexual orientation, and where he’s headed to school.
Giles Mulder can’t wait to get the hell out of Oak Grove, Minnesota, and off to college, where he plans to play his violin and figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. But when Aaron appears on campus, memories of hometown hazing threaten what he’d hoped would be his haven. As the semester wears on, their attraction crescendos from double-cautious to a rich, swelling chord. But if more than one set of controlling parents have their way, the music of their love could come to a shattering end.
Warning: Contains showmances, bad parenting, Walter Lucas, and a cappella.
Buy links: Samhain, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, iTunes
About Heidi Cullinan
Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren’t enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and is proud to be from the first Midwestern state with full marriage equality. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, at www.heidicullinan.com.
There’s TWO chances to win on this tour spot! First, Heidi is giving away an eBook copy of Fever Pitch to one luck winner! The giveaway starts now and ends October 12, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. To enter, just click the link below!
Rafflecopter Giveaway
Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.
Secondly, Heidi is giving away a GRAND PRIZE. What prizes are available for the Grand Prize Raffle? THREE, for three different winners.
First winner will get:
- An electronic copy of Fever Pitch for you, or for a friend
- Receive by mail a signed paperback of book one in the series, Love Lessons
- Choose between a $10 iTunes gift card or one month of premium Spotify membership to enjoy the a cappella music you read about in Fever Pitch
- Select an item of your choice from the Heidi Cullinan Saint Timothy Swag Store (Items still building, especially quote mugs)
Second winner will get:
- Win an electronic copy of Love Lessons and Fever Pitch for you or for a friend
- Pick or design a Love Lessons series quote mug from the Saint Timothy store (if the quote you love isn’t there, tell Heidi and she’ll design a mug just for you!)
- Pick another established item from the Saint Timothy store, anything goes! (More products added all the time.)
And, third winner will get:
- Win an electron copy of Fever Pitch (for you or for a friend
- Tell Heidi who your favorite character from the Love Lessons series is, and they’ll write a public blog post personalized to you!
To enter, just click the link below!
Rafflecopter Giveaway
This contest starts Monday, September 15 at midnight CST and ends October 13 at 10AM CST.
Don’t forget to check out Nikyta’s review of Fever Pitch to see what she thought of it!
Good luck!
Title: Fever Pitch
Title: Old Loyalty, New Love
Bike rides, days at the pool, karate class…the more some things stay the same, the more they also change. Now, there’s boys. My best friend Amy pointed out that everyone but us has a boyfriend and, sure enough, even my awkward older brother has someone he’s crushing on. There is suddenly more to going to the pool, to dances and parties, and even just hanging out. We try to impress each other and maybe find our match. I capture all our moments with my camera, always observing and documenting it all for posterity. Will Amy find some fashion sense? Will I find someone who will want to be mine? And my brother, Aeric, who just came out as gay, will he be okay? Life suddenly seems so complicated. But changes, well, some of them aren’t so bad.
Lillian McKinnon is the pen name for a rather sassy 13 year old home educated girl who lives and plays in the Northwest region of England. She doesn’t like being told she can’t do things because she’s a kid, and woe betide you if it’s because she’s a girl. She’s active in Scouts and is avid about karate. She also enjoys long bike rides, photography, kayaking, abseiling, canoeing, swimming, and is somewhat of an artist. She probably reads far too much, with bookcases full of novels and manga, a Kindle with an ever growing library, and online serials she avidly follows. She also has a fondness for vintage American sitcoms and modern sci fi and fantasy TV shows. When not reading, doing her educational assignments, writing, or indulging in her other hobbies, she spend time gaming with her younger brother, as long as he’s not annoyed her too much that day. Skill she would most like to learn next: surfing.
Title: Blame it on the Mistletoe
Title: Bloodline
Title: In the Raw
Title: For a Reason
The Blogger Girls 