The Opposites Series Blog Tour
TM Smith
Book 1 - The Opposites
In the year 2081 our planet survived global warming of an apocalyptic scale. When the dust settled and the water receded Dr. Anthony Smith, one of only a few hundred survivors of GWI, started society anew. Having come to the conclusion that injudicious breeding played a huge role in the destruction of Earth as we knew it in the twenty first century, he worked closely with other survivors to isolate the Dionysus gene. This gene has the ability to manipulate human DNA to ensure that all male children be born gay, and all female children be born lesbians. A new society is born.
In the year 2300 Dr. Smith’s descendants are ushering in the twenty fourth century having maintained control of the government that still rules society. Twins Aiya and Aiyan are preparing to meet their matches and take control of House Gaeland, the current ruling House. But not everything is as it seems.
Love is Love.. it knows no gender and doesn’t conform to restrictions and boundaries. Aiyan has found his soul mate in Kaden, the prince of House Devi that he is matched with and eventually marries. But when the person Aiya falls in love with tests the boundaries put in place after GWI, all hell breaks loose. And in the midst of one secret unraveling, another will emerge. There is a growing anomaly that threatens to destroy over two hundred years of progression. This anomaly is known as Opposites.
*WARNING* Opposites is a majorly M/M New Adult novel that contains explicit sexual content and relationships between gay, lesbian and straight couples
Book 2 (Novella) – The Library
The Library, an Opposites Novella, by TM Smith
Three gay couples run amuck in this short story where clothing, beds, even four walls are all optional!
Want to know what happened that night in the library?
Cirian and Rian had a fight in the library and Rian ends up naked on the desk, on his back, at Cirian's mercy.
Want to know how far things went with ice cream?
A romantic evening by the fire feeding his husband ice cream leads to a lot more than heavy petting for Aiyan and Kaden.
Want to know what was going on when those birds fled?
Travelling hundreds of miles, battling the rebels and then travelling back to House Gaeland will take it out of you. But when Tanis wants something, he takes it. Raven is about to be bent over a tree!
A Note from the Author:
I've taken three scenes from Opposites that were cut short and elaborated on the shenanigans that ensued. I also focused more in the beginning on the relationship between Cirian and Rian, to give readers a chance to know them and their inner workings better.
**Warning, The Library is a novella set in the same world as Opposites. It's an adult dystopian M/M novella that includes consenting and explicit sexual relationships between gay couples**
The Opposites
The Library
Excerpts for Opposites {warning, Opposites is an Adult Dystopian majorly M/M series, this sneak peak may contain content not suitable for those under the age of 18, viewer discretion is advised}
Meanwhile in the forest, Aiyan stood in the shadow of the tree. His bow was cocked and ready as the deer trotted into view close to the stream. Kaden stood to his left directly behind the tree, watching the intensity in his features as he stalked his prey. His jaw was set and his brown eyes sparkled, the muscles in his arm were tensed and solid as he held his bow in place, taking aim at the deer. His mouth was just slightly upturned on one side forming that devilish, crooked grin Kaden had come to love more than anything.
Kaden thought back to the first time they kissed and that first night alone with Aiyan in his room, his body held firmly between Aiyan’s and the wall as he ran his hands down Kaden’s body and nipped at his ear. Instinctively he reached out and ran his thumb along Aiyan’s jaw line just as he released the arrow. The sound of metal hitting flesh as the arrow penetrated the deer’s soft skin could just be heard, and then the unmistakable thud as the now lifeless animal hit the ground.
Aiyan stepped to the side and pinned Kaden against the tree, cupping his crotch in his hand tightly and crashing their mouths together. Again, instinctively, Kaden moved into his touch and his lips, moaning softly. Aiyan smiled into the kiss and whispered, "Kaden, love, you’re killing me."
Kaden pulled back and laughed. "Me?!" I think you need to look again my prince, I’m the one pinned to this tree while you…." he moaned again and
closed his eyes, leaning back into the tree as Aiyan squeezed gently. He leaned in and kissed his neck then sucked at the sensitive flesh there.
"Soon, M’anam. The Mehndi ceremony is tomorrow, and then the wedding, and then…" He let the sentence linger in the air as he ran his nose across Kaden’s cheek, bringing their lips together for another kiss. They settled into a more appropriate, affectionate stance just before Rian cleared his throat from behind them. Kaden flushed slightly and Aiyan turned to see his father smiling at them. He jerked his head back toward the palace motioning for them to follow, and they did, reluctantly.
Music is a huge part of my writing process, and there are songs that take me where I need to be to write... and then there are songs specific to certain characters or chapters in the book. Early on there is a scene when Maeve, Tanis and Kaden are en route to the palace and Maeve is taking in her surroundings.
Every time I hear Celtic Dream I think about this particular chapter. Very whimsical, fresh and new. Both Aiyan and Raven play the violin, and Aiya plays the piano, so there is a lot of instrumental music I listen to when I’m writing around them. Rain on the Pond is a song that is mentioned twice in the book,
Lament has its own chapter, and Sirtaki is the dance they do at Aiya and Maeve’s wedding. Every song on this playlist is directly related to something in the book, in some fashion.
Playlist for Opposites
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkehmrHrmCeM4a1IpZWLk6p8-GODvnw5s
Celtic Dream | Ronan Hardiman
Lament | Ronan Hardiman
Kashmir | David Garrett
Csardas | David Garrett
Rain on the Pond | Relaxation music
Shadow of the Moon | Blackmore’s Night
Where are We Going From Here | Blackmores’ Night
Bound To You | Christina Aguilera
Jai Ho | Slumdog Millionaire
Love Aaj Kal | ye Dooriyan
Drowning Pool | Bodies
Enya | Watermark
Come On Get Higher | Matt Nathanson
Between The Raindrops | Lifehouse w/Natasha Bedingfield
Ice Cream | Sarah McLachlan
Sirtaki (Zorba’s Dance) | David Garrett
We Belong | Pat Benatar
A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. She now calls Texas home from her small town on the outskirts of the DFW Metroplex. Most days you can find her curled up with her kindle and a good book alongside a glass of something aged and red or a steaming cup of coffee!
At 42 years young, she's decided to enter the next phase of her life by adding the title of "author" to her list of accomplishments that includes single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Smith is and outspoken advocate for Autism and equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
Her Opposites series is based outside the normal parameters of social acceptability, examining a 'what if'... What If to be gay or lesbian were the norm? What if to be straight labeled you as an Opposite and made YOU the Outkast?
Author Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/T.M.-Smith/e/B00D8N818Ehttp://www.amazon.com/T.M.-Smith/e/B00D8N818E
Author website: www.ttcbooksandmore.com
Author Twitter - https://twitter.com/TTCBooksandmore
GoodReads book: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17619257-opposites
GoodReads author: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6997897.T_M_Smith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTMSmith
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ttcbooksandmore/
Today, I’m going to fill you all in on ‘The Houses’ of Opposites. I’m long winded and it’s a long explanation so, grab a bottle, hunker down and pray for daylight!
Opposites was over a year in the making, and I did a lot of research along the way to set the backdrop for my world. The core of my research was setting up the different Houses that you’ll read about throughout the series.
The concept of having “Houses” was three fold. First, why Houses? Well, I’m a huge dystopian and sci-fi fan so it is a given that one of my favorite books/movies is Dune. I always liked that people were referred to by their house. Also, with so many different characters in my book there is bound to be confusion already, so last names weren’t something I wanted to add to the mix. Therefore all my characters have a first name and a house.
Second, why seven houses. Stay with me here, this one gets a little scattered. In Numerology, the essence of the 7 symbolizes our struggle, as humans, to know and understand. There is also a religious aspect being ‘God created the earth in six days, on the seventh, He rested.’ There are seven Archangels. Lucky number seven.
Third, names and locations of houses. Nearly three hundred years in the future our planet has evolved. After GWI (Global Warming Ignition) over ninety percent of the planet is now covered in water, so my objective was to seek out and find the highest points of elevation around the globe. I concentrated on the seven different locations, spread out, and came up with the Colorado mountains, the Himalayas (using the Asian and Indian points), Mount Olympus in Greece, Australia, Scotland and Brazil.
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House Gaeland
United States (location - Colorado Mountains)
Cultural makeup: USA, Canada, Alaska and surrounding areas
Of course we would survive! We have some vast mountain ranges in the US but I’ve always been fascinated with the ones in Colorado. It’s at an extremely high elevation as well so it was perfect. The name of our house in the US was really just a play on words. Since the society Dr. Smith created after GWI is an entirely gay/lesbian society I came up with Gaeland, but it flows as one word. So you don’t say gay land, you say Gaeland. Everyone needs a little humor, right?
House Devi
India (location: Himalayan Mountains' point in India)
Cultural makeup: Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Africa and surrounding areas
specific location: HM/India 3rd highest elevation, Mount Devi
The core of my story is the twins, Aiya and Aiyan, and their loves. I knew I wanted either a native American, Egyptian or Asian person to be matched with Aiyan from the start. Searching for this person brought me to actor/model Imran Abbas and he was everything I wanted for Kaden. Imran is a Pakistan born actor so therefore, India, we have house number two! Again it came back to elevation and I landed on Mount Devi so I decided this would be House Devi.
House 人之初 Ren Zhi Chu
China (location: Himalayan Mountains point in Asia)
Cultural makeup: China, Japan, Tibet, Russia, Thailand and surrounding areas
specific location: HM/Tibet highest elevation on the planet. Rén Zhī Chū is translated as “New Beginnings”
Yeah, you know that China is too damn mean to be wiped out. And, since the highest point of elevation on planet Earth is in the Himalayas, specifically Tibet, that sealed the deal for China being a house. Deciding to do something a little different I looked up the meaning of words in Asian and came up with Ren Zhi Chu which means ‘ New Beginnings’ and named this house.
House Orion
Greece (location: Mount Olympus)
Cultural makeup: Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain and surrounding areas
Who doesn't want Greek gods in their book?! I wish I could say I put more thought into this house, but that’s the jest of it. Of course it would be Mount Olympus and when thinking of Greek culture, the first symbol I thought of was Orion.
House Gilley
Scotland (location: Ben Nevis)
Cultural makeup: Scotland, Ireland, Finland, France, UK and surrounding areas
Even though my ruling house is House Gaeland I am fascinated with Irish, Scottish, Gaelic cultures. You will see a lot of these cultural references in the book. Cirian is Scottish and since he’s one of the twin’s fathers, he brings that aspect to Gaeland. My grandmother was half Irish and her maiden name was Gilley, so I named this house after her.
House Uluru
Australia (location: Mount Kosciuszko)
Cultural makeup: Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Indonesia and surrounding areas
I don’t know what they feed the men in Australia, but goddamn! Since I was writing a majorly M/M book it was only fitting that said hot men be included. Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain range in Australia, and Uluru more commonly known as Ayer’s Rock, is a national landmark.
House Brasilia
Brazil (location: Pico da Neblina)
Cultural makeup: Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chili, Columbia and the surrounding areas
specific location: highest mountain range in the Amazon
I couldn’t destroy the Amazon! Pico da Neblina is the highest mountain range in Brazil, and Brasilia is the capital of Brazil.
I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into the world of Opposites. Go grab your copy today!
Oh, and follow me on Pinterest for the added visual. There are some pics of House Gaeland, House Devi, House Orion and Aiyan’s beloved garden there.
Great post, thanks for hosting me!
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