Hello everyone! We are super excited to welcome Aiden Maar, part-time art thief, bartender, hobby photographer (and protagonist on Taylor Brooke’s Fortitude Smashed) to From Top to Bottom Reviews today! If you follow us on here you might have read Annie’s review or you might have seen us gushing about this book on twitter and facebook! Because we love it so much we asked Taylor if Aiden and Shannon would agree to an interview. 😉 Luckily they did! Part One – the interview with Shannon was posted on Monday. You can catch up >here< if you missed it!

We had a lot of fun planning this and coming up with questions, though the most fun was reading their answers! (Also a massive thank you to Taylor who agreed to do this!) We hope you enjoy!

After scientists stumbled across an anomalous human hormone present during moments of emotional intimacy, further research created the ability to harness the direction of living energy and pinpoint when two lines will merge. Personalized chips are now implanted beneath the thumbnails of every infant, where glowing numbers count down to the moment they will meet their soul mate. 

Fate is now a calculation.

But loving someone isn’t.

When Shannon Wurther, the youngest detective in Southern California, finds himself face-to-face with Aiden Maar, the reckless art thief Shannon’s precinct has been chasing for months, they are both stunned. Their Camellia Clocks have timed out, and the men are left with a choice—love one another or defy fate.

Goodreads | Interlude Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

And without further ado: here’s the interview!

Hi Aiden! Welcome to From Top to Bottom Reviews!

Art is something you both have in common, so of course we have got to ask about your favorite artist or paintings/sculptures you particularly like. And would you consider yourself to be artistic?

I’m artistic, I guess. Photography counts, right? I’m not artistic like Daisy, but I don’t know anyone who is. She’s amazing. But I think I can take some good pictures sometimes. I don’t know what it is, but I love contemporary and modern art. Weird stuff. Salvador Dali, Max Thompson, Giger, Cai. I like mixed media, too. Texture and emotion are big deals for me when it comes to art.

What is something about Shannon, or a thing he does, that makes you weak every time?

He’s constantly touching me. Okay, not like touching me touching me, but like always making sure that I know he’s there. He’ll hook his finger in my belt loop while we’re standing together or slip his hand up the back of my shirt if we’re watching a movie. Stuff like that. Sometimes he just brushes past me and makes sure to touch my shoulder or hand. I love it.

Tying in to the last question, what does he do that annoys you a bit? (You know, like leaving the cap off the toothpaste, leaving dirty dishes around the house etc) And what is something he would be embarrassed if the world knew? (You can tell, it’s just us – totally confidential :P)

Okay, this might be TMI, but he rubs his goddamn stubble on my thighs. Like, for no good fucking reason. It’ll be great and sexy and everything will be going perfectly fucking fine, and then he’ll rub his prickly ass cheek on my leg. I hate it and he knows I hate it, and he laughs about it. Asshole. Anyway, yeah, that. And he also doesn’t like sriracha, which is a sin.

You wanna know what’s infuriating? He’s not easy to embarrass. I guess New Years, maybe? When we were at Chelsea’s party? We got a little loud. People probably heard us. Otherwise, maybe being around Loraine enough. Yeah, being around his mom would definitely lead to embarrassing stories. He’d blush and whine, and it would be incredible. I should call her.

What’s the most unexpectedly sexy thing about your partner?

That fucking accent of his. He hid it for a while in the beginning, but it slipped through. Now he doesn’t care – uses ridiculous pet names like sugar and honey. Stupid. He complains that we’re always late places, but it’s his fault. Calls me shit like darlin’ and then we don’t leave the house for another hour.

This might be a bit personal, but whatever I figured we’re here to get a bit personal. 😉 Before you timed out, what did you think would your Rose Road be like? What were you afraid of?

I honestly didn’t think I had one. Morbid, I know. But it’s the truth. When I met Shannon things just kinda… collided. We collided. He was everything I never thought I needed.

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years? (Is there a wedding in your future? Kids?)

Me? Kids? Yeah, no. Cats, yes. Shannon wants a dog, too. But no kids for a while. I guess I see us traveling. Going places together. I see myself taking lots of pictures, Shannon being in most of those pictures, maybe moving in together, but that’s up to him. I dunno. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he’s still… here. And wants to be here. With me. And marriage? God, fuck, I don’t know. Would Shannon even want to marry me? Who the fuck would ball and chain themselves like that. Especially to a ball and chain like me. Who knows.

How would you complete this sentence. “Shannon is a natural born ___.”

Shannon is a natural born lover.

Aiden, you love photography, if you could go to any place to take photos, where would that be?

I’ve always wanted to take some photos in Italy. The architecture there is incredible. Probably China too, maybe some shots of Tokyo’s nightlife. Greece. Everywhere.

And because there can’t be an interview without asking about Mercy: Tell us how you got her! 🙂

Our parents brought Mercy home when she was tiny. Just a little squishy puffball with a ridiculous smashed face and beady eyes. She was as ugly as she was cute, I swear. Anyway. The Mission Viejo shelter had a litter of kittens that they needed to adopt out and Mercy was the last one without a home. She was the smallest and quietest. My parents originally went to get a puppy, but they saw her and couldn’t leave her there. Apparently, she was their cat, but me and Marcus stole her. She’s been my ride or die ever since.

Quick questions, between you and Shannon…:

• Who’s the cuddler?
  We both are.
• Who’s the big spoon?
  Depends. We switch it up a lot.
• Who has the bigger sweet tooth?
  Shannon, for sure. I like sweets and I’ll never pass up on dessert, but he’s definitely a dessert first kinda guy. Which, I mean, I’m not complaining.
• Who comes home drunk at 3am?
  Not… me…? That’s a fucking joke. Obviously, me.
• Who kills the spider?
  Neither of us. It’s not the spiders fault they were born with eight legs. We try to put them back outside if we can.
• Who falls asleep first?
  Shannon.
• Who is the biggest baby when they’re sick?
  Shannon will tell you it’s me, but it’s him.
• Who steals the blanket in the night?
  I do.
• Who cooks better?
  Neither one of us are exceptional cooks, but I can get around a kitchen just fine.
• Who dances better?
  We’re both pretty good dancers, not gonna lie.
• Who is more likely to surprise the other with a home cooked dinner?
  Me. I like cooking sometimes, but Shannon hates it.
• Who holds their liquor better?
  I’m guessing that would be me, since, you know, I’m the king of drunken mistakes and bad behavior.

And that’s it! Thank you, we loved having you on the blog!

Curved Horizon, the second book in the Camellia Clock Cycle, which will feature Chelsea Cavanaugh and Daisy Yuen, will be out March 2018! You can add it on Goodreads.

In the sequel to Fortitude Smashed, navigating the ins and outs of love is hard enough as strangers, but now Daisy and Chelsea must find a way to transform their friendship into something more. Meanwhile, Shannon and Aiden’s year-long relationship is put to the test when a horrific accident puts Shannon’s life at risk.

After fleshing out a multitude of fantastical creatures as a special effects makeup professional, Taylor turned her imagination back to her true love—books. When she’s not nestled in a blanket typing away on her laptop, she can be found haunting the local bookstore with a cup of tea, planning her next adventure, and fawning over baby animals.

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Genre: Contemporary Genre: Sci-Fi Orientation: Bisexual Orientation: Pansexual Pairing: M/M Publisher: Interlude Press Tag: Interview Tag: Part of a series Tag: Soulmates Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault Camellia Clock Cycle Fortitude Smashed Taylor Brooke