Author Name: Mia Kerick
Book Name: A Hard Day’s Night
Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Louis C. Harris
Release
Date: September 1, 2015
Blurb:
High school senior Kalin (Lennon) Macready knows
several facts for certain: John Lennon is his hero. Beaumont Finley Danforth II
(Fin) is his best friend. And—this is the complicated one—he feels more for Fin
than mere friendship.
For weeks, Lennon pesters Fin, who like Lennon
admits to questioning his sexual orientation, for a commitment to spend
twenty-four hours together exploring “the gay side of life.” Fin reluctantly
agrees. Each boy will seek to answer the daunting question, Am I gay? Lennon
pre-plans the day, filling the hours with what he assumes “gay life” is all
about: shopping for fashionable clothing, indulging in lavish dessert crepes,
boogying to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”, and yes, listening to show tunes.
However, Lennon quickly realizes that in creating
his plan he has succumbed to the most common and distorted of gay stereotypes.
Can he be gay and not fit them? And more importantly, is it possible that
spending one very hard day and night together will help Fin accept that he’s
gay, too? If so, maybe Lennon has a shot at winning the heart of the boy of his
dreams.
“A Hard Day’s Night” is an amusing young adult
contemporary romance about two boys who seek to discover if they must fulfill
stereotypes to be together.
In the end, maybe all you need is love.
Pages or Words: 21,500 words
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance
Excerpt:
“Fin and I
have managed to get locked into what I will refer to as a repetitive pattern of affable behavior, and, in my opinion, it’s
working out splendidly. We are the dearest of friends.”
Scratch that. Starting over.
And since I
know it’s well past time for some brutally honest self-talk, I sit up in my
bed, and by the warm glow of my Yellow Submarine nightlight, study my frayed
picture of John Lennon. To complete the visual, it’s the photo from Mom’s retro
record set, The White Album, that I
pinned to the wall beside my bed and have worshipped regularly since I was in
the seventh grade. Behind those round wire glasses, the man’s piercing eyes
don’t lie—John was a brutally honest sort,
often to his detriment. After all, back in 1966 didn’t he assert that The
Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ? Now, that is certainly calling it exactly as he sees it.
Not that I
necessarily agree with the sentiment, I respect that kind of direct- ness in a
person.
I owe him this
much.
Out of respect
for John, I revise and reissue my previous assertion.
“The Finster
and I are stuck in a rut of pleasant compatibility... an unusually
deep rut, at that.”
This attempt
at telling-it-like-it-is is definitely an improvement, but it’s still
not right on the money, and I’m nothing, if
not specific.
I prop up my
pillow and lean hard against the creaky antique headboard (call it like you see it, Lennon—the headboard is just plain old),
with the certain knowledge that I’ve completely outgrown this flimsy, twin size
bed of my childhood.
So maybe it’s more like this....
“Fin and I
each have one leg semi-submerged in a muddy ditch, and we’re in it well past
our knees. This is the kind of murky and dark, seemingly bottomless, pit that
will suck the rubber boot right off your foot with a single, hollow, slurping
sound, and then belch with satisfaction.” For the third time I speak aloud in
an effort to make my declaration official. “It appears that the two of us are
gonna be stuck here in this mucky BFF-swampland for the long haul— bootless and
slowly sinking into the sludge—unless, of course, I act decisively and with
haste. And with great vigor—because,
to accomplish the task I have in mind, I’m most likely going to have to shift
into full-hyper-dunk-mode, possibly
coupled with the drama-queen-approach.
Neither of which poses a problem for me, other than that they require an
excessive expenditure of energy.”
That was most
definitely a mouthful, but an accurate mouthful.
And all I need
is one day. Just one gay day.
Thankfully,
ever proud of the open-mindedness he hides so well from his ultra-conservative
family, Fin has granted me my greatest wish. On Saturday, March 21st, Beaumont
Finley Danforth II (IMHO this BFD is
a Big Fucking Deal) is mine for the day to do with as I please. I sincerely
hope that a single day is sufficient to help Fin figure out what I already
know.
Um, Lennon...maybe now is not the right time
to start suffering with a debilitating bout of self-doubt.
Confidence is
of key importance in this endeavor.
No, I do not have any worries, and yes, I do have twenty-four feminine-side-ex-
ploring, team-switching, relationship-igniting hours to make my homeboy see the
rainbow-hued light. Starting bright and early tomorrow morning.
On that note,
I’ll get started with my beauty sleep. I sure hope I’m gonna need it.
I wiggle down
so I’m flat on my back with my feet sticking six inches over the end of the
bed, pull the covers up to my chin, and listen to my mental arrangement of
“Imagine” until I fall asleep.
Buy the book:
About the
author:
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional
children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the
next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two
years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia
about that, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of
troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical
intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as
a love story.
As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of
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, Harmony Ink Press, and CreateSpace for
providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.
Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and
every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality.
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.
Where to find the author:
Tour Dates & Stops:
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Prize: $15 Amazon gift card
Love the excerpt!
ReplyDelete--Trix, vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you Trix for the comment! and thank you Wicked Faeries for welcoming me to your blog to spotlight my new release "A Hard Day's Night"!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post and the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome!
Delete