Rhys Ford Talks Grand Adventures, Love and Friendship

So in the middle of promo and blogging and releases, I literally shamed myself beyond redemption. You see, I somehow missed writing a post. For THIS blog. And honestly, I am about ready to fall on a sharpened Bic pen to make up for the shame I have brought on my family.

And see, I’m kinda not joking.

Nina is all—no worries, we can do whatever whenever and I’m rather of the opinion; are you kidding?

Obligation! Duty! Responsibility!

Because we are all of this community—readers, writers, reviewers and everything else. There is an obligation to deliver what is promised. To support one another is so key in this tiny goldfish bowl we are in. Okay so it’s a fairly middling to large goldfish bowl but damn it, we’re all swimming in the same water and keeping one another warm and going forward.

I have reached out to others a few pixels away from me when times have gotten rough. When I’ve choked on being fed a low review or when it hurts to think because there’s a voice chanting failure or hack behind me, there have been others around to say… pull up your socks, drink your coffee and get your damned hands on the keyboard.

When one of our own—really when two of our own stumbled, we all stumbled with them. I can tell you about TJ Klune and Eric Arvin but if you are in our community, their story is well known. I won’t hash out everything all over again but what I will comment on is the strength of their character.

The hardest thing to do sometimes is simply to take a step forward.

Many of us struggle in the day to day stepping forward. And here are these two men who are not just struggling to go forward but fighting to regain lost ground—all the time wondering where their path is now going to lead them.

But see, they never lost sight of one another. So even if the dark loomed before them, they were connected and stood firm against what storm lay ahead.

This is why we write. This is why I write. I want to write of a love like theirs. I want to show the world the possibilities of their connection—their wonder—their laughter. There is a magic in the meeting of two souls, regardless of what gender their bodies wear—it is that connective thread binding their hearts together that makes this world come alive under the moon and the stars.

We are organisms. The biometrics of our species is vast and some say not quantifiable because truly the mind’s possibilities are something that cannot be measured. It is too big of a something to be defined—like space, the mind is an endless black containing everything.

I say also so is the heart.

Many of you know a call went out to lend our voices to a project for TJ and Eric. With the challenges facing them, there is a need for support—emotional as well as financial. To this end, we gathered under the Dreamspinner masthead and held up our words to be included in an anthology in the hopes it would garner attention and help ease some of their burden.

This assembly of stories is called Grand Adventures and it was done because the boys and their love and their laughter are a part of us—of our community—and we should always help our own.

Because our hearts can be vast. I know. They’ve shown us how generous a heart can be and how deep a love can go.

I’ve read a few of the stories in Grand Adventures. And I will continue to go through them as the days go by. It’s three-hundred and twenty pages of romance, hope and dreams and it was a delight to be a part of the effort. I am honoured to be included. And I am hopeful the boys know they are treasured.

Give it a go and find in those stories something to delight you and to keep you company. Laugh with us. Maybe cry a little bit. Sniffle and chuckle. Have a love affair with words written not just for the reader but also for a pair of men we adore and cherish.

But most of all, be generous with your own love. Because you will be loved in return.

Purchase Grand Adventures at Dreamspinner Press

On September 1, 2011, TJ Klune wrote, “…it’s not about the ending, it’s about the journey…” in a review of Eric Arvin’s Woke Up in a Strange Place. With those words, two men began a journey of love and invited us to ride along. TJ and Eric have shared so much with us: their wonderful books, their smiles, their humor, their lives, and their inspiring devotion to each other. In December of 2013, their journey took a detour when Eric was taken to the emergency room. He survived the surgery to remove a cavernous hemangioma from his brain stem, but the challenges TJ and Eric face are far from over.

The authors in this anthology donated their talent as a way to support Eric’s continued recovery, to help bring strength to TJ, and to show both of them just how much love surrounds them. Grand Adventures is a diverse range of stories about the journey of love. We’re going on some grand adventures for a great cause. Thank you for joining us.

One hundred percent of the income from this volume goes directly to TJ and Eric.

Foreword by S.A. McAuley

An Unexpected Thing by John Amory

The Twinkie Ignition by J.E. Birk

When Friendship Becomes More by Sophie Bonaste

Isle of Waiting by Sue Brown

The Jogger by KC Burn

Holding Court by Cardeno C.

For Dear Life by Mary Calmes

Under the Full Moon by Ellis Carrington

Stripped by Shae Connor (2nd Edition)

That Place Across the Hall by C.C. Dado

Mistaken MD by Phoenix Emrys

Cops and Comix by Rhys Ford

Last First Kiss by LE Franks

Tomorrow by John Goode

From Fantasy to Friends by CR Guiliano

Witness Protected by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

Water Under the Bridge by Mia Kerick

A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness by Amy Lane

Air (Roads #1.75 million) by Garrett Leigh

An Atheist and a Yoga Instructor Walk into a Bar by Rowan McAllister

Stalking 101 by Moria McCain

Simple Desires by Tempeste O’Riley

Object of Care by Zahra Owens

Kid Confusion by Madison Parker

Fall Train by Jaime Samms

The Exhibition by Andrea Speed

What You Will by Tinnean

Prologue by Brandon Witt

Cover Art by Paul Richmond

About Rhys Ford

Rhys admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur, a black Pomeranian puffball and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and a purple Bella coffee maker.

Rhys Ford’s Dirty Deeds may be purchased at Dreamspinner Press

I can be found at:

My Blog , Facebook , Twitter

And at the Starbucks down the street. No really, they’re 24/7. And a drive-thru. It’s like heaven.