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Book Title: All the Way Out
Author: Ingrid Sterling
Publisher: Literary Wanderlust
Release Date: April 1, 2021
Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, New Adult
Trope/s: One-night stand turned into true love; Forced proximity; Athlete with musician; closeted sports star
Themes: Self-acceptance, coming out publicly
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 79 000/263 pages
It is a standalone book.
Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited
Literary Wanderlust | Bookshop.org
Blurb
Ever since Zach was 14 years old, he knew two things about himself:
1) He wanted to play football at the highest levels of college and pro ball.
2) He was gay.
Even at that young age Zach knew that those two truths - all-star athlete and homosexual male - could not exist concurrently. So, he’d started dating Rebecca, his devoutly Catholic girlfriend who wants to wait to have sex until she’s married, during his junior year of high school and never looked back.
But on the last night of a team trip to Rome, on the cusp of his senior season at Northwestern University, a Heisman, a number 1 draft pick and a National Championship, Zach seeks out one last anonymous encounter. He opens Grindr and slips out into the Italian summer night to meet Liam - Liam who has a face that looks like it was carved from Carrara marble by one of the ancient greats and whose brazen facade becomes sheepish when he’s asked about his past in Paris. The night is intense, better than Zach could have imagined. But like all one-night stands, it comes to an end by morning’s light.
But what happens to Zach’s carefully manicured plans for a professional football career and a life in the closet when Liam shows up, not only on the Northwestern campus the first day of the fall semester, but in Zach’s upper-level Plato seminar, too?
Excerpt
“What are you doing in my upper level classics seminar?” Liam snapped.
"Um, I’m fulfilling my degree requirements,” Zach snapped back. “What are you doing in my upper level classics seminar? You live in Rome.”
“No, I was regrouping in Rome. I’d been going to school in Paris before that but—Wait, degree requirements? You’re a Classics major? Mr. Hotshot-starting-quarterback is a Classics major?” Liam’s voice came out shriller than he would have liked.
Zach set his hips back against the table, crossing his arms with a sudden smugness. “A Classics major focusing in Pax Romana philosophers with a 3.7 GPA, you mean? Yeah. I am. How do you think I recognized that ridiculous Metamorphoses quote on your Grindr profile?”
“I figured you Googled it like everyone else usually did.”
Zach’s face softened at Liam’s unintentional reveal. “Why didn’t you say anything about coming to school in the States that night?” Zach asked.
Liam leveled him with a look. “I don’t remember us doing an awful lot of talking.”
“We talked enough. You could have mentioned it.”
“I’d only decided to come here a week or so before we met,” Liam explained. “I barely knew anything about Northwestern aside from the fact that it has a pretty well-respected music program. Certainly not enough to know it has some big deal football team. And besides, what were the chances?”
“I’m not a betting man, but I definitely wouldn’t have taken these odds.” Doe-eyed panic lingered on Zach’s face even as he shifted to a more conversational tone. “So, the music school, huh? That’s cool. I remember you had music on your desk. What do you play?”
“Piano mostly, but I’m a composition major. I added a Classics minor ‘cause I can, here. My other school didn’t offer liberal arts courses.” Zach nodded, and Liam realized it was probably his turn to attempt conversation. “A jock with a brain, then. Color me impressed.”
Zach gave a bored lift of his shoulder. “It makes for a great human-interest story. I think every bad pun about Greek gods or Roman gladiators has been made about me at least once. The ESPN announcers think they are so fucking clever.”
Liam stared at him. “You keep saying these things thinking I know what they mean.”
“ESPN.” Zach gave him a patient grin. “It’s a cable sports network that shows games. You know, on the TV.”
“Yeah, alright.” Liam’s pursed lips morphed into an unbidden smile.
It was impossible not to note how the tension in the room had slipped away. The looks that passed between them carried a certain playfulness once they were forced to accept the inconceivable fact that they were both here in the same city, at the same school, and even in the same class. And into that ease slipped the feelings of attraction and memories of the intimacy they’d found on Liam’s mattress by the end of their night together. Liam had sought hidden parts of Zach’s body with his fingers. That small, insinuating touch, burned into his memory, had ignited such terrified want in Zach’s bright blue eyes that Liam had known that he would have been allowed to feel Zach from the inside if only they’d had more time. One more night. One more hour, even. And now here Zach was, standing before him. It was as baffling as it was thrilling. Liam certainly wouldn’t mind if they wound up hooking up again.
“Look,” Zach started, “This is crazy that you’re here, and I hope you love your time at Northwestern as much as I have, but it’s probably for the best if we don’t interact.”
Liam was rendered mute.
“I mean, I know we’re in class together,” Zach continued. “We’ll have to interact, discussion grades and everything, but what I mean is, we shouldn’t be friendly.”
“Why not?” Liam asked after another stunned beat.
“It’s nothing personal. In fact, I think you’re—” Zach stopped. He pressed his eyes closed and shook his head sadly. He took another steadying breath before speaking again. “It would make things really difficult for me. Like I told you in Rome, no one knows about me. About me and…” He spoke the next word at a careful volume. “Men. In fact, you’re the only person on this entire campus who does.”
Zach’s sexuality was a secret that should have bound them. But instead, Zach was using it to put a wedge between them, between even the possibility of them. Liam didn’t think the conversation could get any more ridiculous.
About the Author
I named myself "Ingrid" after a character in a story I started writing and will never finish.
I named myself "Sterling" after my dad's boyhood dreams.
I'm a Yankee who has lived south of the Mason Dixon for a decade and I use 'Y'all' without irony. I dance in my kitchen. I vote. I love all the cats in the world and a good IPA. I will scream over college sports.
I write about love, with love, because #loveislove.
With two degrees in music performance, I strive to make my words sing. The rhythm and pacing of the prose are as important to me as my complicated, imperfect characters and my guaranteed happily-ever-afters.
Author Links
Blog/Website | Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up
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Author Interview
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a Yankee who has lived south of the Mason Dixon for a decade and I use 'Y'all' without irony. I dance in my kitchen. I vote. I love all the cats in the world and a good IPA. I will scream over college sports.
What would people be most surprised to know about you?
Ingrid is most definitely a pseudonym!
Do you have a favorite quote (either from your own books or one’s you’ve read)?
I know it’s super cheesy, but one of my favorite quotes is from Captain Correli’s Mandolin.
Love is a temporary madness.
It erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.
And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness,
It is not excitement,
It is not the promulgation of eternal passion.
That is just being “in love” which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,
And this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground,
And when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches,
They find that they are one tree and not two.
I’m also a super Shakespeare nerd so:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite
How long have you been writing and what made you fall in love with writing?
I’ve always written stories. Even as a little kid I would write little scenes - most often based off whatever my favorite movie was at the time! As I got older, writing really became an escape for me. It gave me the chance to process emotions and relive that thrill of falling in love again and again.
Did you always want to be a writer?
Definitely not! I still can’t quite believe that I am, to be honest. :)
What are your ambitions for your writing career?
Realistically? Write a few novels that people love. In my wildest dreams? Write a novel that gets turns into a movie so I get to go to the Oscars. :)
What’s your favorite part of writing?
I love living in the heads of characters, learning them so I know how they would react or respond to a situation. I really feel like I’m getting to know a character. I also love feeling those highs and lows of emotion along with them, like a friend.
Tell us about your writing style.
With my background in music, I really try to make my words sing. How the words sound is as important to me as what they are saying.
What does your writing process look like?
I am very much a planner. I usually have a huge outline, with scenes mapped out with the dialogue way before I ever write them. I also absolutely write in order - beginning to end!
When/where is your favorite time/place to write?
I’m a night time writer. I love having a mellow album on in the background but otherwise quiet in my house.
Why did you choose to write GLBTQ romance/fiction?
For me, it’s such an exciting genre. We need stories to be told of all sorts in the LGBTQ genre - funny, tender, happy stories.
Do you write any other genre?
I have written het romance and also fanfiction. :)
Describe a scene in your writing that has made you laugh or cry?
The scene at the end of All the Way Out where Zach speaks to the press always makes me so emotional. I’m so proud of Zach in that moment and how far he’s come!
Give the readers a brief summary of your latest book or WIP. What genre does it fall in?
ATWO is a contemporary, NA, LGBTQ romance.
Even at that young age Zach knew that those two truths - all-star athlete and homosexual male - could not exist concurrently. But on the last night of a team trip to Rome, on the cusp of his senior season at Northwestern University, a Heisman, a number 1 draft pick and a National Championship, Zach seeks out one last anonymous encounter. He opens Grindr and slips out into the Italian summer night to meet Liam - Liam who has a face that looks like it was carved from Carrara marble by one of the ancient greats and whose brazen facade becomes sheepish when he’s asked about his past in Paris. The night is intense, better than Zach could have imagined. But like all one-night stands, it comes to an end by morning’s light. But what happens to Zach’s carefully manicured plans for a professional football career and a life in the closet when Liam shows up, not only on the Northwestern campus the first day of the fall semester, but in Zach’s upper-level Plato seminar, too?
Give us a little insight into your main characters. Who are they?
Zach Sugarman is a quarterback getting ready for his senior season at Northwestern University, a Heisman, a number 1 draft pick and a National Championship. He’s a hard working athlete but also an excellent honors student. He’s been dating his high school girl friend since he was 17 to keep up the ruse that he’s straight. He feels guilty every time he cheats, which is why his encounters with men have also come short of ever going “all the way”. That is until he meets Liam.
Liam is a sexually experienced and worldly pianist who is spending the summer in Rome, recovering from some awful experience at his school in Paris the previous year. He’s not looking for romantic attachments or dealing with a guy who got himself firmly attached to the back of the closet. He, along with his brother Eben, find themselves in Chicago, and Liam is forced to navigate an American college career he never thought he’d have to, all the while his older brother Eben is there watching and judging over his shoulder. When his paths cross with Zach again though, all his convictions are put to the test.
Will we be seeing these characters again? Is this book part of a series?
It’s possible! My original draft, which had to be cut down for length, included an epilogue that took the boys several years into the future. I’d love to explore that more
Which actor would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Ronen Rubenstein from 911: Lone Star is 100% Zach! Liam is trickier...
What genre/s do you enjoy reading in your free time?
I do love a good romance novel. I also love historical fiction.
What was the last book you read? What did you like about it?
I have a really hard reading when I’m writing and since I’ve been busy working on Book #2 for the past few months, I haven’t been keeping up! So that last book I read (that wasn’t for work!) was Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinton. What’s not to love??
Have you held any interesting jobs while you worked on your books?
I have an awesome full-time job that I love!
How do you relax?
I love rewatching favorite shows like Community, Schitt’s Creek or The Office. I also am a total introverted extrovert so I love spending time with friends but also love just being alone!
What hobbies do you have outside of writing?
Jigsaw Puzzles! So nerdy, but so relaxing and satisfying when it’s done!
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