Savior by @Rhys_Ford @dreamspinners #BLOGTOUR

Well, I want to thank everyone for following the blog tour for 415 Ink: Savior! I’m going to use the same intro for every piece in case someone jumps in midway because that way everyone starts off on the same page. So if you’re joining midway, be sure to backtrack and catch the other posts because we’ll be exploring tattoos. Be sure to catch Savior, a second book in the 415 Ink series, on its release date of September 18!

This has been a crazy series to write and as much as I enjoyed it, it’s always a challenge to bring a fully fleshed character with very real problems to the page. I hope that you read Savior you will fall in love with Mace and be with him on his journey as he in turn falls in love with Rob.

Since the tattoo shop, 415 Ink, is such a central heart of the series, I wanted to talk about tattoo symbolism very briefly because there’s a lot of opinions and cultural attachments to certain tattoos. What could be presented on this tour is just a small sampling of what people believe certain images mean and how they connect to the people who choose to wear them on their skin.

I’m going to say that tattoos are not for everyone but I do have a hard-core cultural association with them so I’m very fond of tattoos. I feel it is a very personal thing and should be taken seriously because you are going to wear it for the rest of your life. But, I also do believe even the tiniest flash tattoo means something to someone and everyone getting ink should be respected for their choices. Someone’s little flower on an ankle could mean their experiment into pushing themselves to fearlessness or capture memory of something they shared with someone. Not every tattoo needs to be huge or an artistic rendering of the Sistine Chapel. But they should have meaning.

I believe a tattoo should be a piece of yourself the inker draws out of your soul and embellishes on your skin. It should rise up from some part of you to realize its existence.

Much like love. And very much like falling in love.



So there’s also giveaway! Enter to win a $20 USD gift certificate to an e-tailer of your choice which can include Dreamspinner, Amazon, Starbucks or any place I can send a gift certificate without having to sacrifice a chicken. Just follow the blog’s contest rules to enter! 

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So let’s talk about ink.

Japanese Tattoos – Fish & Flowers

Koi Tattoos

Let’s start with the Koi, which is the Japanese word for carp, but you’re probably more familiar with seeing the brightly painted giant goldfish that fill many ponds in Japanese and Chinese gardens around the world.



Koi are hardy fish that can survive and thrive against some heavy obstacles. They swim up stream and up waterfalls to get where they want. If they reach the Dragon gate, they will transform into dragons and reach the heavens.



The tales of the strength of Koi lead many people, who have also lived through some adversity, to get a Koi tattoo. It is their symbol of power, of perseverance, and determination to reach their goals and thrive.



Or you might just admire the beauty of the Koi.



If the Koi is swimming upstream, you have yet to achieve your goal, but you are going for it. If it’s swimming downstream, head down, you’ve made it through. You’re a winner, a survivor, and you’re ready to enjoy a better life. As with roses, Koi tattoos have different meanings according to the color of the fish.



Red Koi – represent love and passion, the feelings you have for someone you deeply love and want to honor them. It’s a subtle promise to that individual without inking their name on your body.



Black Koi – represent accomplishments against daunting odds. You’ve been hit hard, but you got back up. You didn’t give up. I made it. You’re a success. No one can take that away from you either.



Blue Koi – represents relationships and reproduction. If it’s swimming upward, you’re fighting to keep your relationship or to begin a family. If it’s swimming down, you’ve given up on your partnerships and hope for a family.



Lotus blossoms are frequently included in Koi tattoos just as real lotus flowers are planted in the ponds they live in. The flowers bring beauty to murky waters and can represent the purity of the person wearing the ink.



Yin and Yang is also often part of a Koi design, with either the symbol itself of a pair of fish in contrasting colors representing balance.



Japanese Flowers

Ume – Plum blossoms are the first flower to bloom each year in February when it’s still winter, it’s a symbol of perseverance, strength, and of the arrival of spring. Often pictured as red, though the real flowers range from white to pale rose to a lush pink.



Sakura – March brings cherry blossoms around the world. It represents the coming of spring and the rebirth of the world from the cold of winter. In a tattoo it is a symbol of renewal. The flower is often tattooed being carried along by wind or water to show the change of seasons.



Chrysanthemum – September’s flower, the symbol of the throne of Japan. This flower is said to represent longevity and perfection.



Lotus - The lotus is a mystical and beautiful that is used to represent Buddhism is several different countries. The flowers can be inked in different colors for various reasons. It symbolizes rising toward enlightenment.

Savior by Rhys Ford

Published by Dreamspinner Press. Coming September 18, 2019

A savior lies in the heart of every good man but sometimes only love can awaken the man inside a savior.

The world’s had it out for San Francisco firefighter Mace Crawford from the moment he was born. Rescued from a horrific home life and dragged through an uncaring foster system, he’s dedicated his life to saving people, including the men he calls his brothers. As second-in-command of their knitted-together clan, Mace guides his younger siblings, helps out at 415 Ink, the family tattoo shop, and most of all, makes sure the brothers don’t discover his darkest secrets.

It’s a lonely life with one big problem—he’s sworn off love and Rob Claussen, one of 415 Ink’s tattoo artists, has gotten under his skin in the worst way possible.

Mace’s world is too tight, too controlled to let Rob into his life — much less his heart — but the brash, Filipino inker is there every time Mace turns around. He can’t let Rob in without shaking the foundations of the life he’s built, but when an evil from his past resurfaces, Mace is forced to choose between protecting his lies or saving the man he’s too scared to love.



Dreamspinner Press Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/savior-by-rhys-ford-9856-b

Amazon Global Link: mybook.to/SaviorAmazonLink 

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and is a two-time LAMBDA finalist with her Murder and Mayhem novels. She is also a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Harley, a grey tuxedo with a flower on her face, Badger, a disgruntled alley cat who isn’t sure living inside is a step up the social ladder as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.



Rhys can be found at the following locations:

Email: rhysford AT vitaenoir DOT com

Blog: www.rhysford.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author

Twitter: @Rhys_Ford