Special Guest: Edmond Manning

My introduction to Edmond was reading the first chapters of his book in a critique group. I had no idea who the guy was, but his story captured me like a Venus Flytrap. King Perry is a unique, unusual story. It's romantic, but not a romance, it doesn't have a HEA or even a HFN, yet it'll make you happy and uplift you. Edmond calls it a modern fairy tail, and the description fits. Naturally, I became curious how this story came about. But let's let him talk:

Why did you write this Book?

Since my novel, King Perry, came out through Dreamspinner Press, I've been interviewed a few times and really enjoyed each experience. But until Lou, nobody has asked me the question:  why did you write this book?

It's a tough question for me to answer because while I've been writing fiction for a long time, nothing I wrote prior has burst out of my imagination so powerfully as King Perry. A voice from deep inside me said 'You must finish this. Explore this. Get it out there.' I needed to write this.

Why?

I wanted readers to experience their kingship or queenship. (I love the word queenship. We don't use it often enough.) I do believe that we are all amazing, gifted, unique. It's a notion that's hardly original:  Oprah has been spouting that message for decades as well as self-help and spiritual gurus. But what if it was more than "we are each unique?" What if each of us – every damn one of us – was essential to the success of the world? What if each of us possessed a power so magical, so overwhelming that every single one of us might be considered "the one true queen" or "the one true king?" Impossible, right?

Maybe not.

In the story, readers go on the exact same path as the main character, knowing as little as Perry does, being as bewildered as he is by the narrator's odd choices throughout the book. Why have breakfast at a homeless shelter? Why steal a baby duck? The readers get answers, but only when the controlling narrator is ready to answer them. And as Perry draws closer to his own kingship, readers draw closer to theirs. I've been delighted that several readers, after finishing, have emailed me their King and Queen names. I love it!

Why did I write this book? I think that our world is in trouble right now. To change that, each of us has to step up as the king or queen of our own lives, embrace that royalty in order to save our planet, to save ourselves. It's not too late. But it requires the power of a queen. The power of a king.

Blurb

In a trendy San Francisco art gallery, out-of-towner Vin Vanbly witnesses an act of compassion that compels him to make investment banker Perry Mangin a mysterious offer: in exchange for a weekend of complete submission, Vin will restore Perry’s “kingship” and transform him into the man he was always meant to be.

Despite intense reservations, Perry agrees, setting in motion a chain of events that will test the limits of his body, seduce his senses, and fray his every nerve, (perhaps occasionally breaking the law) while Vin guides him toward his destiny as 'the one true king.' 

 
Even as Perry rediscovers old grief and new joys within himself, Vin and his shadowy motivations remain enigmas: who is this off-beat stranger guiding them from danger to hilarity to danger? To emerge triumphant, Perry must overcome the greatest challenge alone: embracing his devastating past. But can he succeed by Sunday's sunrise deadline? How can he possibly evolve from an ordinary man into King Perry?

Links to buy

Kindle

Paperback

There is now a chance to win a print copy of King Perry through Goodreads. Enter to win HERE.