Tal Bauer Guest Post

Enemies of the State in now available at Amazon.com

Gay Book Reviews is thrilled to welcome guest author Tal Bauer, whose new book Enemies of the State is released today. 5 stars from Gigi and 5+ stars from Vallie. Highly recommended read!

Take it away Tal!

Good morning everyone! Happy Day-After-Valentine’s Day! Happy Half-Off-Chocolate Day!

And, happy release day to me! Enemies of the State, my debut novel, releases today from NineStar Press. Gigi and her amazing team at Gay Book Reviews kindly agreed to read and review an ARC of the novel. I was blown away with their support and their feedback! And they offered me a guest blog post for release day! It just can’t get better!

The Whole Truth

I (Gigi) loved the book so much she pretty much begged Tal to write a guest post. True story.

So, without further ado, I thought I would share with you…

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Tal Bauer & Enemies of the State

5. I exist.

I think we can start with the basics. Hello, world! My name is Tal Bauer and I am a writer. This is my debut novel, and I am wildly excited at how well it is being received. I have written for a while now—personally, as a hobby and an enjoyable pursuit, and professionally, writing reports, briefs, analyses & assessments, and theses. I was asked to sign with NineStar Press last year after my editor saw a sample of my writing, and I can’t be more delighted with the partnership!

4. I work in the humanitarian field… now.

Currently, I work as a humanitarian, specifically working with refugee resettlement in the United States. I provide medical and psychological care to refugees at a specialized refugee resettlement center, along with education courses and vocational and college prep skills/classes. I teach pre-med. Most of my refugee students and patients come from…well everywhere! My classes are a mixture of Nepali, Kirati/Khaskura, Bhutanese, Somali, Congolese, Burundian, Nigerian, Syrian, Afghani, Iraqi, Libyan, Thai, and Burmese peoples. Whew!

This means I teach certain concepts and phrases in each of their native languages, as well. I am definitely not fluent in all of those languages, but I have learned medical phraseology in many of them. For instance, when I taught my students about the heart and our circulatory system, I was teaching “heart” in Hindi Hindi (दिल “diel”), Somali (“wadnaha”), Nepali (मुटु) “mutuu”), and Burmese (နှလုံး “nahlone”), to name a few!

I haven’t always done this. I’ve done a bit of everything in my life. I like to say I’ve lived ying and yang. I’ve swung from “warrior” to “healer”. Both sides of me come together to make the whole.

3. I have been to (nearly) all of the locations featured in Enemies of the State.

Jack and Ethan find together a love that cannot be quelled, that cannot be contained.Tal Bauer

Yep, even the ones overseas. Ethiopia, yes. Eritrea, yes. Saudi Arabia, oh yes. Dubai? Yep yep. Prague? Oh heck yes! (That jazz bar really exists, by the way, and is amazing!)
Washington DC and the White House? Yes! The Oval Office, the White House basement, “Horsepower”, and many of the other meeting rooms. I have not, in fact, been to the White House Residence, though.

2. Jack and Ethan’s love is based on my and my husband’s love.

Jack and Ethan find together a love that cannot be quelled, that cannot be contained. Jack, a straight man, journeys to this love through a path of self-discovery, and with an open, wondrous heart. Ethan, devout playboy, consummate bachelor, slips into loving the love of his life without his heart’s permission. Both men find themselves in uncharted territory, their hearts at odds with their lives, and facing choices that can either divide them…or unite them forever.

My husband and I share a similar story. (Minus the international intrigue and the political machinations!)

I don’t lead an easy life. Humanitarian work is difficult. You’re often gone, working in rough, inhospitable conditions, and giving everything of yourself in order to save everyone else. I’ve been in more hospitals than I can count (first and third world), puking or coughing up blood, and just hoping that I can make it to the flight back home. Back to the arms of my love. And before, in my former life, when I was a warrior, I was motivated by my intense, burning desire to make it home, back to my love, and to keep our love song going for as long as possible.

Jack and Ethan share the same kind of love song, and love story. Both choose, over and over, for each other and for their love. Ethan states that he will tear apart the world for Jack. Jack chooses to let himself fall in love with Ethan, despite what that might mean for his presidency—and the world—because he can feel the power of their connection. He even offers to give up his presidency and not seek a second term, all for Ethan and his relationship. Ethan, likewise, gives everything of himself to Jack, again and again.

Enemies of the State is the first in a series planned for Jack and Ethan.Tal Bauer

And…. #1!

We haven’t heard the end of President Jack Spiers and Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach!

Enemies of the State is the first in a series planned for Jack and Ethan. Both main characters will feature as the stars and main couple in at least two more novels. There is so much more planned for these two!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to chat with you all today. Please drop by my and friend me! I have a lot of fun on my FB page, and I share little tidbits from my work with my refugees and students, too.

Please drop by Goodreads and feel free to ask me questions anytime!

Enemies of the State Trailer

Publisher Buy Link Amazon Buy Link Author Link  GoodReads More Author Reviews

Gigi’s Review Vallie’s Review