Spotlight & Giveaway: Evergreen by Devin Greenlee

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Devin Greenlee to HJ!

Hi Devin Greenlee and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Evergreen!

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

A queer retelling of Rapunzel meets The Secret Garden. Quill, a seventeen-year-old dryad, locked away to tend to a magical garden for his entire life, finds evidence of a break in. With mysterious things happening to the plants inside, his first suspect is the very cute–and very human–boy next door.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“So you’ll probably need to get up a few hours earlier than normal,” my mom rattles off as her strong hands move mindlessly through the water, suds running off tonight’s dinner dishes. “I left an order sheet on the counter. I had a last-minute call for a wedding before we closed up tonight,
and it needs to be filled by noon.”
I take the pots and plates she hands me one by one, drying them off and trying not to think of another backbreaking day in the garden plots. “Oh good. Another blushing bride.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The magial plants within the garden are based off of mythological flora from around the world.
• Castleview isn’t a real town, but if it were, it would be near the eastern side of the US.
• Pay close attention to the hints along the way… bonus points if you can figure out who the real thief is before things hit the fan.
• The dryads in this book are based off of wood nymphs from Greek mythology. All female, in this world Quill is the first male of his kind.
• Dryads aren’t the only creatures hiding in this world. Magic lurks in every corner of every town if you know where to look.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Quill may not have ever met a human before, and Liam may irritate him beyond all belief at first, but it’s Liam’s patience and sweet side that eventually draws him in.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Sweet, innocent, new, magnetic, and heartwarming.
 

The First Kiss…

Reminds you of all those gooey feelings you had during your first-ever kiss.
 

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

I’m so glad I’m here and that I took the chance to do what I actually want to do, for once in my life. Everything feels so fresh and new, yet relaxing and comfortable at the same time. Like it was meant to be. This whole human world thing? Not so bad, if you ask me. As long as it’s always like this.
The lights dim around us as the gigantic screen lights up.
Liam was right—the world falls away.
I’ve never been so mesmerized by the sights and sounds, and the warmth from his shoulder seeps through his hoodie and into mine. I’ve also never been this close to a human.
My heart is pounding and I’m sweating, but I still wan him to stay where he is and not move away… What is this feeling? Why is he so close? And why is his hand palm up on the armrest?

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

“So we’re here,” he says. “It’s huge and it’s hidden, but I’ve been in caves before. What’s so special about this one?”
“It’s a surprise,” I say with a wink. “Close your eyes and turn off the flashlight.”
He narrows his gaze. “Promise you’re not going to club me to death?’
I let out a single laugh. “Oh come on, that was one time. You’ve gotta let it go.”
He snickers. “I trust you.”
With a light breath, he lets his eyelids fall shut.
I look at him, wanting to reach out and touch the side of his face, but I resist. His finger taps the screen without looking and the white light suddenly disappears. Without his phone, what were thousands of lumpy mushrooms become golden orbs—lighting up the edges of the cavern along the ground like a marquee on Broadway. The Light Caps.
I crouch down to the nearest bunch and pluck a single mushroom. A steady glow flows from it, illuminating my hands.
I stand up, place it in my palm, and flick it into the air with a finger.
A stream of bright yellow and orange sparks explodes around me. They hang in the air, steadily expanding to the edges of the room. I’m standing in the middle of a galaxy,
wishing stars surrounding me. The breath in my chest catches as I marvel at the beauty around us. This is what I remembered.
“Open your eyes,” I whisper to Liam. As he does, he gasps.
“Oh my God, Quill.” He stumbles around and stares at every ball of light near and far. The stone that was once the color of doves is replaced with that of a sunflower, mellow and inviting. “This is so… I just…” He turns back to me and smiles. “How are you doing this?”
I put my hands in my pockets, rocking back and forth on my heels. “Magic,” I say with faux sarcasm. “Duh.”

Readers should read this book …

Because it’s all about first love and the thrills that come along with it. It may be a queer love story, but that isn’t the focus–the characters being gay is just part of it. This story, at its core, is all about the connection that comes when you first fall for someone and take chances to make it work.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

A few things… A sci-fi Beauty and the Beast retelling, a dark Hansel and Gretel, and maybe even a prequel to Evergreen if people are craving it. Immediately, however, I’m trying my hand at Adult Paranormal Romance. Keep an eye on Entangled Publishing for more info!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A $10 gift card from Entangled Publishing!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What is your favorite fairy tale that you would love to see spun into a modern world?

 
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Excerpt from Evergreen:

“Listen to me,” I say through gritted teeth, pointing at him and walking toward him. “I’ve had it. I’m done with all of it.” He’s taking steps backward on the creaking walkway, but I’m cornering him. “Take a fucking hint. Stay. Out. Of. My. House.”
He stops in his tracks and his face twists in confusion. “What are you talking about? I’ve never been inside your house.”
“Bullshit.” I’m so angry that my limbs are shaking. It’s almost hard to keep my balance, but my vision is zeroed on to him. “I know you crawled through my window the other night and you tried to do it again now.”
“Wait, you think I broke in?”
“Yeah, and you make a really shitty thief.” It’s taking all of my self-control to not scream at him.
He holds up his hands. “Quill, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not a criminal and your house reeks of flowers. I’m allergic. Honestly, I was closing your window because the smell keeps getting into mine. Except I didn’t want to be rude the first time I met you.”
I stop moving and narrow my eyes as my thoughts freeze. That’s one thing I never expected. “You’re allergic to flowers?”
“Horribly. My eyes were burning out of my skull. You would’ve heard me coughing and sneezing way before I could make it out of your room.”
I pause. It doesn’t make sense. The tension in my chest relaxes. “But if it wasn’t you, who was—”
Suddenly the fire escape jolts, and my hands clutch the railing as it breaks off of the brick wall. An instantaneous jolt of panic rushes through my body as I grip the bar, holding on for dear life. Holy fuck, this cannot be happening right now. My feet slip from beneath me, falling to one knee as the metal digs into my leg. Pain shoots through my shin.
After all these years of wear and tear, this much weight finally made it give way. The whole walkway swings to the side, throwing me to my knees. I scramble to get my balance, but my fear is making me flail.
I roll and slide to the edge where I climbed out of my room, holding onto anything I can get my hands on. I’m thinking as fast as I can for a way to save myself, but I can’t process fast enough to make a plan. I’m just reacting as quickly as I can, breath catching in my throat. I get my grip on the metal right as I’m about to fall off the second story. The scaffolding halts, leaving me dangling above the ground.
“Quill! Are you okay?” Liam shouts. I can’t see him, but I hear his footsteps edging toward me.
“I’m gonna fall!” My breath is rasping and I’m desperately looking for some way, any way, to get back up. Please dear nature, this can’t be how it ends. I’m twenty feet off the ground with nothing but hard concrete below me. Holy shit, I’m gonna fall and break my neck.
He appears above me and reaches down. “Grab my hand!”
My sweaty hands are slipping. If I let go right now, I don’t know if I can hang on. I don’t even know if he’s strong enough to pull me back up. My pulse is racing and my muscles are losing strength more and more by the second. I will fall if I don’t at least try to reach for him. As soon as I let go to take hold of him, the bar holding me up breaks. He manages to catch my arm just in time.
“Hold on to me!” Liam says, gripping my hand as tight as he can.
My skin is stretching as it presses against his. His muscles feel like they’re doing everything they can to pull me up, but he’s shaking. I don’t think he can do it. He’s trying to save me, and it’s gonna end up pulling us both over the edge.
I’m not worried for myself anymore—I’m worried for him. It doesn’t last long, though. More screeching and cracking metal rings through the night. The railing he’s clinging to comes unhinged, and we go flying toward the pavement, panels of steel tumbling after.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

The Secret Garden is gorgeously reimagined in this deliciously dreamy urban fairytale about a dryad who risks immortality for love, from debut author Devin Greenlee

All seventeen-year-old Quill wants is a break from the family business. Flowers, plants, the generations-old garden. What he wouldn’t give for a taste of the outside world. Normalcy. But his mom won’t let him out of the house, telling him he’s just not ready…

All because he’s a dryad. Well, not just any dryad, but a male dryad—the first ever. And unlike everyone else in his family, he hasn’t a lick of magic. Just a shock of green hair, matching green eyes, and a growing frustration that there’s an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. Until the night when the outside world—specifically his new neighbor—discovers him.

Liam Watson lives in a culture filled with electronics, mobile devices, and social media—where there is no magic or even the belief in it. And as much as Quill finds Liam irritating (he’s so cute it’s annoying), he can’t help himself.

Now Quill’s getting a taste of the outside world and of Liam…and he wants more. But all is not well in this magical, urban garden, and someone—or something—is changing the very essence of it.

And wherever Quill goes, the danger grows…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Devin grew up in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. He fell in love with books at a young age, even “writing” his first one in grade school (seriously, his mom still pulls it out at parties). He continued that passion throughout college and would love nothing more than to create the LGBTQ+ novels he wished he had growing up. He currently teaches high schoolers everything they need to know about performance and sharp wit. On any given night, you can find him bingeing on video games or snoring so loud it wakes the neighbors.

Devin is represented by Ramona Pina at Bookends Literary Agency.
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