Category: Harmony Ink YA Press

Blog Tour for My Crunchy Life by Mia Kerick (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Title: My Crunchy Life

Author: Mia Kerick

Release Date: 26th June 2018

Genre: LGBT, Young Adult

BLURB

John Lennon fought for world peace, but sixteen-year-old hippie hopeful Kale Oswald’s only made it as far as tie-dying his T-shirts with organic grape juice. Now he’s ready to cement his new hippie identity by joining a local human rights organization, but he doesn’t fit in as well as he’d hoped.

After landing himself in the hospital by washing down a Ziploc bag of pills with a bottle of Gatorade, Julian Mendez came clean to his mother: he is a girl stuck in a boy’s body. Puberty blockers have stopped the maturing of the body he feels has betrayed him. They’re also supposed to give him time to be sure he wants to make a more permanent decision, but he’s already Julia in his heart. What he’s not sure he’s ready to face is the post-transition name-calling and bathroom wars awaiting him at school.

When Kale and Julian come face-to-face at the human rights organization, attraction, teenage awkwardness, and reluctant empathy collide. They are forced to examine who they are and who they want to become. But until Kale can come to terms with his confusion about his own sexuality and Julian can be honest with Kale, they cannot move forward in friendship, or anything more.

Find My Crunchy Life at Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Harmony Ink

 

EXCERPT

Julian, 4: 00 p.m.

On my first day back to school after the incident, Sydney Harper, a junior from the right side of the tracks, cut me off in the hallway by the gym and got up in my face. “You didn’t really wanna die. My mother said it was just some kind of pathetic cry for help.” Having made her point, she spun around on her Ugg-booted nonheel and headed for the girls’ locker room.

Then in precalc, some guy I barely knew poked me hard in the back with a Sharpie marker, and I was the lucky recipient of another dose of compassion. “You just crave attention, don’t you, girly-boy?”

Maybe, on some level, they were both right.

But on that night in October when I decided my best move in life would be to wash down the last of the Extra Strength Tylenol in our medicine cabinet with a bottle of Citrus Cooler Gatorade, I knew I couldn’t lose, however it turned out. The alternative to my clever plan to get some attention, and maybe even a measure of help, was that I’d fall asleep and never wake up— which, in my opinion, served just fine as Plan B.

If nobody heard my “cry for help” and I checked out, we’d probably all be better off. No real harm done… except to Mama. But the freaking UPS man heard my “pathetic cry,” or more accurately saw my apparently lifeless torso hanging from the tree house in the side yard, and saved me.

 

GIVEAWAY: WIN $15 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—a daughter in law school, another in dance school, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son still in high school. She writes LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing English papers. Her husband of twenty-four years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on emotional growth in turbulent relationships. As she has a great affinity for the tortured hero, there is, at minimum, one in each book. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of said tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press and Harmony Ink Press for providing alternate places to stash her stories.

Her books have won a Best YA Lesbian Rainbow Award, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, among other awards.

Mia is a Progressive, a little bit too obsessed by politics, and cheers for each and every victory in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com. Visit her website for updates on what is going on in Mia’s world, rants, music, parties, and pictures, and maybe even a little bit of inspiration.

Links: Facebook | Twitter

 

Release Blitz for My Crunchy Life by Mia Kerick (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: My Crunchy Life

Author: Mia Kerick

Release Date: 26th June 2018

Genre: LGBT, Young Adult

BLURB

John Lennon fought for world peace, but sixteen-year-old hippie hopeful Kale Oswald’s only made it as far as tie-dying his T-shirts with organic grape juice. Now he’s ready to cement his new hippie identity by joining a local human rights organization, but he doesn’t fit in as well as he’d hoped.

After landing himself in the hospital by washing down a Ziploc bag of pills with a bottle of Gatorade, Julian Mendez came clean to his mother: he is a girl stuck in a boy’s body. Puberty blockers have stopped the maturing of the body he feels has betrayed him. They’re also supposed to give him time to be sure he wants to make a more permanent decision, but he’s already Julia in his heart. What he’s not sure he’s ready to face is the post-transition name-calling and bathroom wars awaiting him at school.

When Kale and Julian come face-to-face at the human rights organization, attraction, teenage awkwardness, and reluctant empathy collide. They are forced to examine who they are and who they want to become. But until Kale can come to terms with his confusion about his own sexuality and Julian can be honest with Kale, they cannot move forward in friendship, or anything more.

Find My Crunchy Life at Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Harmony Ink

EXCERPT

“So, Kale, you say you’re a champion of human rights, hmm?” It’s clear to me that Julian detects my discomfort. When he steps up close, his voice emits from directly beneath my left ear. “That means you’re here to protect my human rights, even if it takes you to a place you never figured you’d go— not even in your wildest, but most certainly unoriginal, dreams.”

His breath tickles my neck— or maybe I just imagine it— and I shiver. “Yeah… that’s why I came here tonight.” My urge is to add “dude” to the end of my sentence, but I don’t want to make an assumption.

“Really.” It isn’t a question or a statement. It’s just a word. But the way he says it is sharp enough to cut glass.

I nod for the zillionth time tonight, and about ten thousand prickles of dread pop up in my armpits, which might sound strange, but I hear it’s a common response to stress.

“Really.” He says it again in exactly the same way, then steps in front of me so we’re standing face-to-face. I don’t want to look him in the eye. I’m not sure why I feel this way, because I’ve got balls. So I force myself to be a man and drag my gaze up his body from the badass combat boots, to the tights, to the oversized purple plaid flannel shirt that would make even a lumberjack look like he’s going dancing. And finally I focus on the important stuff: long, dark hair, freshly brushed and falling over his shoulders, even darker eyes that lift a little bit at the corners, and an “I dare you to mess with me” smirk on shiny red lips.

His lips… well, they’re moving again, but I don’t have a clue what he’s saying because I’m too busy staring.

At. His. Lips.

Are hippie dudes supposed to get captivated by other dudes’ lips?

Because this is a first for me, and not just in my brief life as a hippie. I’ve never been one to suffer with debilitating crushes on movie stars or pop singers or the high school’s most popular girls. And here I am totally caught up in the lips of a dude I don’t even know. Weird.

GIVEAWAY: Win $10 Amazon Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—a daughter in law school, another in dance school, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son still in high school. She writes LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing English papers. Her husband of twenty-four years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on emotional growth in turbulent relationships. As she has a great affinity for the tortured hero, there is, at minimum, one in each book. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of said tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press and Harmony Ink Press for providing alternate places to stash her stories.

Her books have won a Best YA Lesbian Rainbow Award, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, among other awards.

Mia is a Progressive, a little bit too obsessed by politics, and cheers for each and every victory in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com. Visit her website for updates on what is going on in Mia’s world, rants, music, parties, and pictures, and maybe even a little bit of inspiration.

Links: Facebook | Twitter

June Continues Romance Month and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

June Continues Romance Month

With a break for Memorial Weekend, we are back at the topic of Romance, Royal Weddings, and stories! Yep, we didn’t forget! Often June is the month that kicks of the rush of wedding season and if its LGBT, it makes no difference, because it’s the weather driving the date as well as the timing.  So it’s back to romance, weddings, and stories!

So first of all  let’s go right to those wonderful recommendations for Royal Wedding Stories.  Here they are:

Royal Wedding Story Recommendations:

From ChaosMoon:

Tere Michaels Faith, Love, and Devotion series and Groomzilla
L.B. Gregg’s How I Met Your Father
E.M. Lynley’s Sex, Lies, and Wedding Bells
Legally Wed by Rick R. Reed
The Best Man by LA Witt
Until You  by T.J. Klune
First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony
Wedlocked by Ella Fank
Wedding Favors by Anne Tenino

Megan Derr A Suitable Replacement
Megan Derr The Stable Boy
Megan Derr The High King’s Golden Tongue
Amber Kell Orlin’s Fall

Josh Lanyon Other People’s Weddings

 

From H.B.:

Hellion Club series by Aiden Bates (Book 2 and 3 come to mind)
Omega Society Auction by Eileen Glass
Dragon’s Hoard by M.A. Church
The Harvest series by M.A. Church
Wed to the Omega by Ashe Moon
The Pretend Husband by Declan Rhodes
Married for a Month by Cate Ashwood
Married for the Millions by Parker Avrile
Marriage of Inconvenience by M.J. O’Shea
A Marriage of Convenience by Devyn Morgan
Red River by Cardeno C.
Signed and Sealed by B.A. Stretke
Groom of Convenience by by Vicktor Alexander
King’s Conquest by by Valentina Heart

From Jeri:

What Binds Us by Larry Benjamin
Kitto (Tyack & Frayne #4) by Harper Fox
Betrothed: A Faery Tale by Therese Woodson
The King’s Courage (North Pole City Tales #6) by Charlie Cochet
Dear Mona Lisa… by Claire Davis & Al Stewart
Wedlocked (Preslocke #3) by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine

 

Right now, I’m feeling gobsmacked as the British would say because I have only listed  half of the recommendations! These are wonderful.  I have so many more to give you, and that will come next week because of the length of the list.  And that we will announce 2 winners.

Winner Announcement!

The first winner?  That would be  ChaosMoon.   Congratulations. Please contact Stella at scatteredthoughtsandroguewords@gmail.com to receive your gift card.  Another winner will be announced next week along with the remainder of your recommendations!

Now about romance stories. I’ve read several this week that I just adored and they are all over the place genre wise.  Several I’m reviewing this week.  One, His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane, is pure romance.  No angst, just lovely sweet road to love and HEA.  It left a happiness in my heart and a perfect way to fall into June.  Another?  A scary, rollercoaster A ride action story and total romance that ends Rhys Ford’s Sinners series, Sin and Tonic.  Angst galore, murder and suspense!  Totally at the other end of the contemporary spectrum.

Coming up I swung from the M/M historical romances straight from the WWI front and pages of Charlie Cochrane’s stories,Pack Up Your Troubles, which broke my heart before putting it back together again to the fantasy of Life Itself by Elizabeth Bones and the magnificent weirdness and horror of Bourbon and Bones by Dorian Graves.  All those are to come.  Be on the look out for them next week and the week after.

Romance across the ages, romance across the genres…even across the species!  Love in every form possible is what we celebrate in our stories we hold close to our hearts.  Vampire or were, WWI soldier or that of a warrior on a world far far away, we are captivated by  love and relationships, personalities and the path to HFN or HEA.

That’s our theme this month.  Chime in, give us more stories, favorite books.  LIstopia!  Here we come!

 

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, June 3:

  • Cover Reveal Magic or Die (Inner Demons, Book One) by JP Jackson
  • June Continues Romance Month
  • This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, June 4:

  • Ashlyn Kane on His Leading Man (Author Guest Blog)
  • Release Blitz – Out, Proud, and Prejudiced – Megan Reddaway
  • In the Spotlight:  Cash Plays by Cordelia Kingsbridge
  • A Lucy Review: Whatever Comes First by MK Lee
  • An Alisa Review: What It Seems by Sydney Blackburn
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Hush by Tal Bauer and Joel Leslie (Narrator)
  • An Ali Audiobook Review: All the Way to Shore (Stories from the Shore #1) by CJane Elliott and Tim McKiernan (Narrator)

Tuesday, June 5:

  • BLOG TOUR  Blood Bathory: Absence Of The Sun by Ari McKay – excerpt and giveaway
  • DSP Promo Charlie David
  • Release Blitz – Made In Portugal by Ana Newfolk
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: BFF by K.C. Wells
  • A Lucy Review: Detour by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane
  • A Stella Review: Out, Proud, and Prejudiced by Megan Reddaway

Wednesday, June 6:

  • Tour: Jaqui the Cat Mysteries by Alexis Duran
  • KICKSTARTER BLOG TOUR for Themensha by MxKnowitall
  • Tour for Mercs by Dorian Dawes
  •  Release Blitz, Tour – Ari McKay – Blood Bathory: Absence of the Sun
  • A Caryn Review:  A Tiny Piece of Something Greater by Jude Sierra
  • A MelanieM Review:  Demon Familiar (Wanted #1) by Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham

Thursday, June 7:

  • BLOG TOUR – Under Five by Michael War
  • JL Merrow on Wight Mischief
  • Series Recap Blitz Marshall Thornton – Boystown Series
  • A Stella Review: Plummet to Soar by  Z.A. Maxfield
  • A VVivacious Review: Military Emancipation, by David O. Sullivan
  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: The Foxling Soldati (Soldati Hearts #2) by Charlie Cochet and Manuel Pombo (Narrator)

Friday, June 8:

  • DSP Publications Promo Alan Chin
  • Release Blitz  – Annabelle Jacobs – Butterfly Assassin
  • Spotlight on Pack Up Your Troubles Series by Charlie Cochrane
  • A Lucy Review: Face the Music (Replay #1) by K.M. Neuhold
  • A Stella Review: His Wildest Dream (Portville Omegaverse #3)  by Xander Collins
  • An Alisa Review: Under Five by Michael War

Saturday, June 9:

  • Release Blitz – Behind The Lights by TL Travis
  • A MelanieM Review:  Sin and Tonic (Sinners #6)  by Rhys Ford

 

 

 

 

Harmony Promo Shirley Anne Edwards on Favorite Stories, Writing, and Rage to Live (Finding the Strength #1) 

Rage to Live (Finding the Strength #1) by Shirley Anne Edwards 

Harmony Ink Press

Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Sales Links:  Harmony Ink Press | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Shirley Ann Edwards here today to talk about her latest story at Harmony Ink Press, Rage to Live.  Welcome, Shirley.

 

♦︎

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview – Shirley Anne Edwards

How much of yourself goes into a character?

Shirley: My characters are not an extension of me, although their experiences during the story are some of mine. An example is in Rage to Live, Charlie’s (my heroine) older cousins are involved in Greek life at the college they attend. When I was in college, I was in a sorority, which was a very positive for me. I wanted to show the positive side to Greek life and not the eyebrow rising stereotypes about sororities and fraternities sometimes portrayal in novels.

Has your choice of childhood or teenage reading genres carried into your own choices for writing?

Shirley: Growing up I was a big fan of the Babysitters Club and Nancy Drew Mysteries series. These series promoted great friendships, which I try to show in any book I write. Even when my main protagonist might have gone through some trauma or drama, they can always count on their group of friends to support them. When I entered high school, I became a big fan of historical fiction and romance, such as Gone with the Wind and the Outlander series. Strong female characters like Scarlett O’Hara and Claire Fraser are my inspirations to write independent and smart heroines.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

Shirley: I’m more of a fan of the HEA than the HFN. An HEA is everything beautiful and wonderful. All the drama and angst is now over, and the main couple can finally find peace within themselves and with one another.

Do you read romances, as a teenager and as an adult?

Shirley: Once I entered high school, all I wanted to do was read romance. I still read romance but I’ve branched out to mysteries and thrillers. I also read young adult because that’s the genre I choose to write.

Who do you think is your major influence as a writer?  Now and growing up?

Shirley: Classic romance authors such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sister influenced me because their writing is so poetic and engaging. Again, they created some of the most beloved heroines in all of literature. I also adore Louisa May Alcott’s adult fiction. Her adult fiction, which is a blend of gothic thrillers and romance was such a departure from her children’s fiction.

I’ve always admired Nora Roberts and Stephen King because of their huge following and work ethic. I’m also a huge fan of young adult/ new adult author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, who amazes me with her output and generous spirit when it comes to writers and authors. She also writes some of the best hunky heroes currently 😊.

How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going?

Shirley: I love ebooks. I read most books on my Kindle or Ebook app on my phone. Prior to working with Harmony Ink Press, I self-published four novels, so ebooks to me are my bread and butter.

What’s next for you as an author?

Shirley: I’m planning on writing another book in the Rage to Live world with a secondary character who I adore. It’s also going to be another LGBTQ young adult, but this time my somewhat traditional thinking male protagonist, who dreams of one day becoming the President of the Unites State falls for a somewhat older guy who loves tattoos and lives each day like it’s his last.

About the Author:

Shirley Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who discovered her love for books when she read Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found her love for writing at a very young age and, since then, has let her imagination run wild by creating quirky characters and vast worlds in her head. Shirley is also a brownie addict who loves to bake when she’s not busy writing. Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in the entertainment industry in New York City.

Shirley loves to hear from readers! You can email her at shirlwriteredwards@gmail.com or tweet her at @shirlawriter.

Website: http://shirlwriteredwards.wordpress.com

Harmony Ink author page: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/authors/shirley-anne-edwards-185

 

Rage to Live blurb:

Can a young woman reveal her traumatic past to the woman who wants her to release the bubbling rage inside… her rage to live?

An act of violence tore Charlie’s existence, and her family, apart. In an effort to reclaim something like the life she enjoyed before, Charlie moves in with relatives in a different state. Charlie might be damaged, but she isn’t going down without a fight. With the help of her cousins, who attend the local college, she steels herself to repeat her final year of high school. On the university campus, she meets Arielle Forest, president of a popular sorority, daughter of the dean, and bisexual. Charlie is drawn to Arielle’s sunny outlook, but she can’t banish her doubts as romance blossoms. Does Arielle know what she’s getting into with Charlie and her unhealed wounds? Will she want to deal with the complications?

When Charlie’s past catches up to her, will she find the strength to keep fighting… or succumb to the call to escape all her pain for good?

A Lucy Pre release Review: My Crunchy Life by Mia Kerick

Rated 5 stars out of 5

This young adult book focuses on Kalin, who goes by Kale, a 16-year-old searching for himself in that angsty adolescent time known as high school.  He’s facing a mother who was downsized from her job and has no pretty much abdicated from her adult responsibilities, a dad who is trying really hard, and a brosin, Hughie, (“…by my definition, a person who is midpoint between an irritating brother and an annoying cousin…”) who is sharing (invading) his room.  Kale is now a hippie, with dreadlocks that fall into his eyes, organically hand tie-dyed t-shirts, a vegan diet and a need to do “hippie things”, meaning he needs to find a social cause to embrace.  He does this by joining REHO, Rights for Every Human Organization.   It is here that Kale meets Julian.  Julian has big time problems at school, mostly in the form of a huge bully named Sydney.  Julian is incredibly smart, wants to be the best at academics so he can get a scholarship to college and be a doctor, attempted suicide and is now seeing a therapist.  Julian is transgender, a female trapped in his male body, and he’s bullied unmercifully for that.  “I have no problem with the world addressing me as Julian.  In fact, I insist upon it, even with those like Dr. E, who know that, inside, I’m actually a girl.  I want to be called Julian until the day I begin to live as one.”    Julian joins clubs to make sure his academic resume is complete and one of those is REHO.

The story is told in alternating first person point of view of Julian and Kale and I truly appreciated that.  I liked getting into the problems that both these teenagers are struggling with and how they are trying to deal with it.  It connected me with these characters so much more.   When Kale goes on socialactivism.com to find a cause I rolled my eyes at him. But it got us to where we wanted to be, REHO.

In addition to the trials of Kale and Julian, there is also the family trouble facing Hughie.   He’s a sweet boy who was living under a bridge until Kale’s dad took him in.  Hughie’s mother, “Serenity”, is a stripper and a truly bad mother.  When Serenity (real name Mary Pat) wants to see Hughie, I felt so bad for him.  “It’s like he can’t bounce back from the idea of coming face-to-face with his own mother.”  Because she isn’t a good mother and poor Hughie doesn’t have that sense of belonging to Kale’s home and family.  He’s like a sort of permanent house guest. He is the one who gave Kale the nickname, Crunchy, because of all the granola he eats in a house of serious meat-eaters.

Hughie, Sydney and Julian are in all classes together and they are all vying for the top spot of valedictorian.  That is one reason that Sydney is such a nightmare – she wants to stress them both away from being able to snag that spot. 

The one thing that saved this story from being an “all women are horrible” type is the volunteer best friends of Julian, Anna and Kandy.  Thank Pete for them, because they supported Julian and they were evidence that not all women are horrible.   Yes, Kale mother is not great, Hughie’s mother is awful, Sydney the bully and her female posse are the worst.   But Anna and Kandy, along with Julian’s mother, are gems.  Mama is so amazing, her support is what every kid should have.

As Kale comes to realize he likes Julian, he is struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.  Is he gay? Is he bi?  He isn’t really sure, he just knows he is coming to like Julian.  He sits by him at REHO, and is stunned to realize Julian goes to the same high school.  It’s funny that even though both Julian and Hughie have much bigger stresses and issues to face, I still was sympathetic to Kale as he tries to navigate what he’s feeling.  Anyone who says the teen years are the best is delusional in  my book. 

Julian is attending REHO as he is facing his body changing even more into something he abhors.  He is also facing the aftermath of trying to kill himself.  “I still have soul-sucking nightmares about the day I tried to die – dreams about the loneliness, the anxiety, and the hopelessness that brought me to the point that I thought it would be better to be gone.”  It’s heart-wrenching to know that there are so many kids who feel that way.  Julian is his true self- Julia – at night and then has to do the difficult task of “…putting the boy back on in the morning after being myself all night.”  He has to “…numb his body and spirit” in order to be what society says he has to be.  But not forever, Julian. 

Julian doesn’t immediately hit it off with Kale.  He believes Kale is cute, but a poser.  When trouble comes for Hughie, and he takes off,  Kale gets some insight into himself and he doesn’t like what he is seeing.  “Like self-absorbed…or insensitive.  Or both.”  And really, he is.  As he comes to realize that “I’m the Walt Disney World Hippie Theme Park of teenage boys in Crestdale” he begins to do what many adults fail to do.  Look at himself and realize he needs to change. “And maybe I have no idea who I really am, other than a guy who professed to be pro-human rights but who looked the other way at the human being in desperate need who lives in my frigging bedroom with me.”  He’s only 16 but he’s going to be an amazing adult. 

Kale and Julian are slowly becoming friends when Kale is hit with a revelation at REHO that he didn’t see coming and he handles it badly, mainly because he sort of makes things all about him.  But it seemed a true reaction from someone who is struggling with their own identity.   Julian has his mama’s support again and I wanted to cheer for her.  “You chose the only path you could follow.  And now, by beautiful, smart, and courageous daughter, I hope you will follow it with pride”.  Jules has the strength because of that support.

The moment when Kale has to decide whether to do what is right, what is best for him, and what is easy was a great moment, even as it was a painful one.  The ending of this was so perfect, sweet and YA and lovely.  This coming of age story isn’t incredibly angsty, despite some very serious themes, but it’s a story of growth and I thought it was just right.

The cover, by Aaron Anderson, is simple and completely captured the feel of Kale.  The tie dye, the mushroom dreads, the sweet face – it all really leant the picture of who Kale was trying to be and I liked it.

Sales Links:  Harmony Ink Press | Amazon – no links yet for Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 180 pages
Expected publication: June 26th 2018 by Harmony Ink Press
ISBN139781640803923
Edition LanguageEnglish

Andrew Demcak on Writing, Influences, and his new release ‘Alpha Wave (The Elusive Spark #2)’ by Andrew Demcak

Alpha Wave (The Elusive Spark #2) by Andrew Demcak
Harmony Ink Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG

Release Date: May 15, 2018

Sales Link:  Harmony Ink Press

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Andrew Demcak here today. Welcome, Andrew, and thank you for answering our author questions!

 

✒︎

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with Andrew Demcak

How much of yourself goes into a character?  65% me, plus 35% filler (sawdust and peanut butter).

Do you feel there’s a tight line between Mary Sue or should I say Gary Stu and using your own experiences to create a character? All the characters I write are me, which is weird because I write about talking rats, aliens, demons, ghosts, bisexual teenage girls – all of which are not the 49-year-old QWM me.

Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write?  Not really in terms of the genre, but I always do some research with everything I write.

Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures? I like doing both. I have a very active imagination, I keep thinking I’ll be attacked by mountain lions on my morning runs, but I love to ground a tale in reality,  and reality needs facts and vocabularies.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why? I love HEA because it doesn’t exist. Every literary HEA is a HFN because the story does end – it must.

Who do you think is your major influence as a writer?  Now and growing up? I love Anne Sexton, William S. Burroughs, and William H. Gass. I also adore Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor. When I was younger it was all about Gertrude Stein’s novels.

How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going? I love eBooks! They exemplify economy of time and money (for the reader.)

How do you choose your covers?  (curious on my part) I’m lucky because Harmony Ink Press (my publisher) has a great art department. I’ve been working with AngstyG for the last couple covers. I always imagine how my covers will look and tell the graphic designers what I want. When I get the first few mock-ups, I start seeing them come to life. For instance, the next novel in my Elusive Spark series, Book 3, Darkfeather, is in the editing phase right now at the publisher. The cover I want would feature the “keyhole” branding of the first two novels, an image of James (the lead character) and the image of a sasquatch walking away, seen over his left shoulder. But who knows what it will really look like. But that’s what I want.

Do you have a favorite among your own stories?  And why? My first true YA/Teen novel, Ghost Songs (Harmony Ink Press.) It’s my thinly veiled 8th grade year, poltergeist and all. I cry every time I read it. It was very tough growing up queer in the 1980s. Very tough.

What’s next for you as an author? I’ve been busy getting my out-of-print books back into print through my own imprint, Big 23 Press, and KDP publishing. I have a New Adult novel out right now, How Do You Deal with a Dead Girl?, which is getting great reviews already. I have a TV pilot I’m writing, and I have a new LGBTQ YA book I’m working on that I’m excited about called Glitter Bear. It’s a romance without any supernatural elements – Erg! Out of my comfort zone!

Have you ever put a story away, thinking it just didn’t work?  Then years/months/whatever later inspiration struck and you loved it?  Is there a title we would recognize if that happened? This sort of happened with a long first chapter I wrote back when I was 19 in the 1980’s. It was for a novel I wanted to write about the Goth music scene in Los Angeles. I had so many friends in bands, The Superheroines, Christian Death, Psi-Com, and I wanted to document that moment in time. I guess I forgot I had started it. Flash forward to 2008. I find this long chapter in a drawer of other writing I’d done. I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. I suddenly knew I had to write this novel. And so I did. It’s called, If There’s a Heaven Above. It went on to be nominated by The American Library Association as an “outstanding” novel for older teens (17+) for its Rainbow Books list. It’s now back in print and available in a 10th anniversary edition.

Blurb

Alpha Wave, The Elusive Spark: Book Two
Keira Fairchild is running for her life, and she won’t make it far without someone watching her back. Her powers helped her elude a slave trader, Holcomb, who planned to sell her to the highest bidder, and the deadly Paragon Academy. But now Keira needs some allies and some answers. Who is the imprisoned alien being who keeps contacting her in her dreams? Keira is aided by a group of teens–James, Lumen, and Paul–with powers like her own, and all of them are ready for a fight. The small group must rescue the captive alien and escape Dr. Albion, who seeks to steal their abilities and eliminate them. Survival will mean a desperate struggle, and none of them can succeed on their own.

About the Author

Andrew Demcak* is an American poet and novelist, the author of four poetry collections and five Young Adult novels. His books have been featured by The American Library Association, Verse Daily, The Lambda Literary Foundation, The Best American Poetry, and Poets and Writers. He was a *FINALIST* for the prestigious Dorset Poetry Prize, the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Poetry Prize, and the Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence in Poetry. 

He recently released two new YA/Teen GLBTQ2-S novels, How Do You Deal with a Dead Girl? (Big 23 Press, 2018), and Alpha Wave, The Elusive Spark series, Book 2, (Harmony Ink Press, 2018) to brisk sales. His newest YA/Teen GLBTQ2-S novel, Darkfeather, The Elusive Spark series, Book 3, (Harmony Ink Press, 2019) will be published next year.  About his Teen GLBTQ Sci-Fi Coming-Out novel, A Little Bit Langston, The Elusive Spark series, Book 1,  Kirkus Reviews raved “This book really … takes its place in the marginalized-will-lead-us genre, as popularized by The Matrix and the X-Men franchises.” His first Young Adult (YA) novel, Ghost Songs, was published March 13, 2014. His first literary novel, If There’s A Heaven Above, was published January 5, 2013 by JMS Books, and was nominated by The American Library Association as an “Outstanding” novel for older Teens (17+). 

Links:
Twitter @andrewdemcak