<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2025 08:16:53 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>featured author</category><category>interviews</category><category>giveaway</category><category>gay</category><category>reviews</category><category>new releases</category><category>Jeff Erno</category><category>Madison Parker</category><category>Jackie Nacht</category><category>Jay Bell</category><category>Sara Alva</category><category>bullying</category><category>Geoff Laughton</category><category>John H. Ames</category><category>Beau Schemery</category><category>Benjamin Shepherd Quinones</category><category>Bill Konigsberg</category><category>C. Kennedy</category><category>James Erich</category><category>K.Z. Snow</category><category>Ross A. McCoubrey</category><category>guest post</category><category>lesbian</category><category>Adelhardt H.</category><category>Amanda Corlies</category><category>Amy Lane</category><category>Andi Lea</category><category>Annameekee Hesik</category><category>Barry Brennessel</category><category>Brian Katcher</category><category>Cody L. Stanford</category><category>David Colby</category><category>David Levithan</category><category>Eli Easton</category><category>Elizabeth Wheeler</category><category>Eric Arvin</category><category>Gene Gant</category><category>Geoffrey Knight</category><category>Greg Herren</category><category>Hallie Burton</category><category>Hayden Thorne</category><category>Huston Piner</category><category>J. Roman</category><category>J. Tomas</category><category>J.L. Bowen</category><category>Jamie Mayfield</category><category>Jax Cordoba</category><category>Jeff Adams</category><category>Jennifer Lavoie</category><category>Jessica Freely</category><category>Jim Provenzano</category><category>Jo Ramsey</category><category>John Goode</category><category>Juliann Rich</category><category>Kim Flowers</category><category>Kira Harp</category><category>MB Mulhall</category><category>MJ O&#39;Shea</category><category>Michael Griffo</category><category>Michael J. Bowler</category><category>Nora Olsen</category><category>Robbie Michaels</category><category>Russell J. Sanders</category><category>Sam Cameron</category><category>Sam Kadence</category><category>Sophie Bonaste</category><category>Stephani Hecht</category><category>Stephen J. Mulrooney</category><category>TA Chase</category><category>West Thornhill</category><category>Will Parkinson</category><category>Zoe Lynn</category><category>Zoe Lynne</category><category>blog tour</category><category>conferences</category><category>free reads</category><category>holiday</category><category>publishers</category><category>transgender</category><title>True Colorz</title><description>True Colorz is dedicated to promoting Young Adult LGBTQ literature. Our site features new releases, author interviews, an extensive YA reading list, an author and publisher directory, book reviews, resources on bullying, and free reads.</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>129</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-8280904597830992210</guid><pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2014 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-06-09T07:00:08.639-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Skye Allen</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/PrettyPegLG.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; Skye Allen &lt;/b&gt; has had short fiction published in &lt;em&gt;Toasted Cheese Literary Journal&lt;em&gt; and &lt;/em&gt;Of Dragons and Magic: Tales of the Lost Worlds&lt;/em&gt; and poetry in &lt;em&gt;Insomnia and Sinister Wisdom&lt;/em&gt;. She works as a singing teacher and occasionally performs Irish music around the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her wife, two cats, and four chickens. Pretty Peg is her first novel. &lt;br /&gt;
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Connect with Skye Allen on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/eppiemorrie&quot;&gt;@eppiemorrie&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=“http://“allenskye.com&gt;allenskye.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Skye Allen:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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The obvious answer is that the hero is a girl-loving girl! I love all the YA fantasy novels with strong teenage girls in the lead, but most of them are straight. I really wanted to see someone like Josy in the kind of book I love – a fast, emotional adventure where the magical world meets the familiar world.
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Beyond that, though, Pretty Peg goes into some heavy topics. The plot was inspired by a traditional Scottish song called “The Bonnie Banks o’ Fordie,” which is about incest. I’ve always been fascinated by the way the three sisters in the song handle the situation, and how the youngest sister seems fearless and heartbroken at the same time. One thing I love about YA is the freedom to go deep into the gnarliest places in the psyche and to confront some of the biggest horrors we live with -- whether they take the form of vampires or werewolves, or of other humans in a position to do harm. 
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&lt;b&gt; Which of your characters is most like you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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I’m definitely in everyone in the book. I’m just as snarky (and as secretly vulnerable) as Josy, I get just as distracted by a good music practice session as Laura, and I’m just as much of a rule-follower as Neil. But I share the most real-life history and articles of faith with Margaret. I spent a long time believing that working for social change would help me hush the demons in my head – it did, and still does. But I’ve also learned that you still have to take on your demons face-to-face and find a way to coexist, which Margaret never got the chance to do.&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; How do you research for your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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I have a whole shelf of books about the U.S. war with Afghanistan that I collected to help me navigate Margaret’s story. And even though I’ve lived in Oakland, I had to consult my wife (who was born in the East Bay) about some local geography I wanted to keep intact. I did change some parts of the map where the story needed it. I also relied on my brilliant, talented teenage voice students for authentic dialog and fashion!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Do you have a nervous habit when writing?  A guilty pleasure when writing?  &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Caffeine. Definitely caffeine. I wrote the first draft of &lt;em&gt;Pretty Peg&lt;/em&gt; for NaNoWriMo, and it was All! Coffee! All! The! Time! I was working full-time in a stressful admin assistant job and I wrote early every morning and late every night for that one crazy month. Now I try to rely more on green tea for my writing binges. I also have a weird problem where I can’t listen to music with lyrics when I’m writing, not even in a language I don’t speak. I’m a singer, and I get too distracted by vocal music. I have a 3-hour playlist that’s mostly artists like Django Reinhardt, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Yo-Yo Ma – fantastic music that I could never play myself.
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&lt;b&gt; Are there any LGBT charities or resources that are near and dear to you that you would like to give a shout out to?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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I’m really moved by the work of &lt;a href=“http://www.larkinstreetyouth.org/“&gt;Larkin Street Youth Services&lt;/a&gt; in San Francisco. They work with homeless teens, many of whom are LGBTQ+. They’ve offered respect and the beginnings of stability to a lot of kids who had no place else to turn over the years.
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&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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That you are gorgeous exactly the way you are! My main character, Josy, is plus-sized, and one of the lessons she learns is just how desirable she is. I heard Nomy Lamm say at a show once, “Fat and pretty go together like peanut butter and chocolate,” and that’s true!
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Skye Allen:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/PrettyPegLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5069&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Pretty Peg &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
High school senior Josy Grant already had plenty on her plate before she found the magic puppet theater her murdered sister left behind.  Despite Josy’s grief, the responsibility of taking care of her family falls to her, and being queer doesn’t make dealing with school any easier. Things only get worse when sexy new girl Nicky tells Josy her sister died at the hands of a mysterious figure from the Faerie Realm called the Woodcutter, and if they can’t stop him, Josy and her remaining sister will be next.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
They have just days before the Woodcutter strikes again on the autumn equinox, so Josy follows Nicky into the Faerie Realm to hunt him. Along the way, she discovers Fey gifts of her own and answers to the questions that have driven the Grant family apart. Nothing comes for free when dealing with Fey, though, and those gifts and answers might come at a terrible price.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Pretty Peg &lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Skye Allen has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt; Pretty Peg &lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on June 15th.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/06/featured-author-giveaway-skye-allen.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-2267716003409623277</guid><pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-06-02T10:32:57.367-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Amy Dunne</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366073206l/17675422.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;“Amy&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; dunne=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366073206l/17675422.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; Amy Dunne &lt;/b&gt; was raised in Derbyshire, England. She attended Keele University and graduated in 2007 with a BSc in Philosophy and Psychology. After graduating she worked for a while with vulnerable young people. She is currently setting up her own speech writing business and concentrating on her writing. She is married to her beautiful wife, Lou.  They have two gorgeous cats and a mischievous dog.   &lt;br /&gt;
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Connect with Amy Dunne on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/giftofthegaborg&quot;&gt;@giftofthegaborg&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://facebook.com/amy.dunne.165%E2%80%9D&quot;&gt;facebook.com/amy.dunne.165&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Amy Dunne:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Secret Lies is unique in that it doesn’t shy away from the slightly darker issues that some young adults experience. I worked for a number of years with vulnerable young people and it really impacted on my life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Self-harm and abuse both play a pig part of in Jenny and Nicola’s lives. I wanted to raise awareness of these subjects but also give an insight that some people might not otherwise see. It was difficult getting the balance just right. In no way did I want to make either subject gratuitous, but I did also want to do them justice. I hope I’ve gotten the balance just right. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The story also explores how Jenny and Nicola overcome these issues. That’s a really important part of the book. No matter how scary and dark things become, there’s always help and support available. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I should probably point out that the story isn’t all doom and gloom.  Far from it. The experience of first love is a wondrous thing. There’s laughter and drama all thrown in the mix.    &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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“Amy, you’re a lesbian. Surprise!”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Well, maybe I’d not say it in quite that way. Knowing my teenage self as I do, I wouldn’t have listened anyway. In my head I was still thinking about becoming a Catholic nun. My reasoning at the time was as follows: I’d watched Sister Act too many times, I didn’t have to go near guys, and I’d be locked away with a bunch of repressed women.  Thank goodness I finally saw sense. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
What I’d really say to my teenage self is, “Everything’s going to be just fine. You’ve got some amazing things to look forward to and a few difficult times ahead as well. Just keep on being you and follow your heart. It’s worth it in the end.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
What would my teenage self say in return? I imagine it’d be, “Err, okay. Thanks. Do I really put on that much weight?”&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;b&gt; Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Yes, there are a few things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Jenny confesses to watching Sister Act repeatedly as a child. I did that but took in one step further and genuinely considered becoming a nun.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Jenny’s parents are Irish. Both sets of my grandparents are Irish and a lot of the mannerisms are the same. Such as: feeding large portions of home cooked food, the nosiness, the great sense of humor, and the closeness / importance of family.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Home cooked food is important in Jenny’s family home. It was important in my family home too. Perhaps it’s the Irish in us, but we’ve always had lots of mash potato. I drive my wife crazy because it’s still one of my favorite foods and I insist we have it at least twice a week if not more. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nicola is an avid reader, (Like me) and for her coursework she’s reading, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This is one of the books I read and wrote an essay about when I was in college.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nicola isn’t a huge fan of drinking alcohol but in the end she quite likes cider. I drank cider occasionally as a teenager and I still drink it to this day.&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Which of your characters is most like you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Would it be cheating if I said both? Well, I’m going to say it anyway.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Jenny is fiery and has a bit of a temper. She feels like no one really knows her and she’s terrified of being seen as different. Accepting her attraction to Nicola is a huge deal. She’s also incredibly caring and protective beneath the surly exterior. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
My teenage self was pretty much the same with the exception that I totally ignored my feelings for women and buried them deep down inside. I didn’t come to terms with my sexuality until I was in my mid twenties. So, I have huge respect for characters like Jenny and all of the young people who are brave enough to accept who they are at such an early age.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nicola is great at listening and is sensitive to other people’s emotions and feelings. She loves reading and devours one book after another.  When she starts to think she might be gay she buys lots of lesbian themed books and DVDs online. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I did this too. I spent a small fortune one night and then had to hide them all around my room so no one would find them. They opened my eyes to what life as a lesbian was really like and went on to help me accept who I was. I’ve also always been sensitive to other people’s emotions and feelings. My sister and mum are the same. Even today we still have people telling us their deepest darkest secrets. Thankfully, like Nicola, we’re all great at keeping secrets. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Bold Strokes Books has an incredibly talented graphic artist named Sheri. I was curious to see what she’d come up with. A number of varying designs were e-mailed to me and this one stood out among the others. 
It far exceeded my expectations. I love it as much today as I did when I first saw it.
The girl on the front looks like how I described Jenny. The intense expression on her face, the tussled hair, and the interlinked fingers all show that she’s considering something serious. The jagged tear down the front suggests something dark and broken. The red text emphasizes the title and in conjunction with the image sets the mood perfectly for the story. It’s dark and gritty.
Have I mentioned that I love it? Because I really do.&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Firstly, I’d like young readers to enjoy reading my novel. I hope they feel represented in the characters, story, and the emotions that are explored. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When I was a young adult I remember reading everything I could get my hands on just to see if I could relate to the story and characters. More often than not, this wasn’t the case. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This was the driving force behind writing Secret Lies. I wanted to give an honest portrayal of what life can be like for queer youth today without shying away from some of the serious issues. As a result the story is a little gritty and deals with some dark themes such as abuse and self-harm. It also explores the positives that come with experiencing first love, sexuality, and self-acceptance. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I hope readers take solace from Jenny and Nicola’s story. No matter how dark and difficult life can seem, this won’t always be the case. For young people who are experiencing self-harm or abuse don’t be afraid to seek help. There are resources and support available. Never give up on yourself or your dreams. Never apologize for who you are and who you love.  There’s a wealth of support, love, and incredible opportunities in the world, just waiting for you.
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Amy Dunne:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366073206l/17675422.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/9781626390119e.html&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Secret Lies &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love? &lt;br /&gt;
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Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize that she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance. &lt;br /&gt;
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Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and seemingly perfect life. &lt;br /&gt;
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Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened? &lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Secret Lies &lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Amy Dunne has generously donated a free paperback copy of &lt;i&gt; Secret Lies &lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on June 8th.&lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/06/featured-author-giveaway-amy-dunne.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>11</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-2000299217626084855</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2014 13:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-06-01T09:59:08.323-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new releases</category><title>New Releases for June 2014</title><description>&lt;link href=&quot;http://IMAGE_LINK_GOES_HERE.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;

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&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Featured New Releases:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5418547118608639231&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Freak Camp by Jessica V. Barnett&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/freakcamp.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Freak-Camp-Jessica-Barnett-ebook/dp/B00JX4UKJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1401598084&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=freak+camp+by+jessica+v.+barnett&quot;&gt;Freak Camp &lt;/a&gt;by Jessica V. Barnett&lt;/h3&gt;
self-published by author&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thirteen-year-old Celeste Jardine has one priority for the summer: to identify her source — earth, air, water, or fire. Only then can she register for one of the four public source schools and avoid being sent to Fluidity, the local private school for unidentified teens. Things explode the last day of school when Celeste learns that her perfect best friend, May, is going away to earth camp for eight weeks. To add insult to injury, Celeste&#39;s mom has decided to send her to summer camp at the very place she has been trying so hard to avoid ... Fluidity. Celeste resolves to try anything under the sun—or on the Internet—to get into source school in the fall. But, after rekindling a friendship with her estranged neighbor, Rainie, Celeste must confront startling new truths about who she is, who she loves, and where she wants to be when fall classes start..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Home for Wayward Ladies by Jeremy Blaustein&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/homeforwaywardladies.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Home-Wayward-Ladies-Jeremy-Blaustein-ebook/dp/B00KEQKVXQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1401598342&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=home+for+wayward+ladies&quot;&gt;Home for Wayward Ladies &lt;/a&gt;by Jeremy Blaustein&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Dress Circle Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When used correctly, friendship is the most powerful weapon known to man. 

Fresh out of Mackinaw Conservatory’s School of Theater, Eli, Hunter, and Nick have relocated to Manhattan’s Upper-Upper West Side bound by an oath that friendship shall conquer all. Amid bitchy brunches and failed one-night stands, these friends- as promising as they are promiscuous are on a quest to have their voices heard over the roar of the city.When they get a chance to work in summer stock, this “family” is forced to find out the hard way what it takes to become the ultimate anything: a somebody. 

Day jobs pay bills and hand jobs stroke the ego, but handling betrayal with grace is the best way to prove who is a true Lady. 

“The Home for Wayward Ladies made me laugh out loud, but with a lump in my throat for those funny, warm, real and delightful characters. They&#39;re your brother, your son and your friend and it&#39;s a treat to hang out with them and hear their very honest and smart voices. I wanted to adopt them all.” - Iris Rainer Dart (Beaches) 

&quot;The Home for Wayward Ladies isn’t just funny. It’s laugh-out-loud, read-out-loud-to-your-friends, snort-a-cocktail-out-your-nose, lose-bladder-control kind of funny. A gem of a debut in the effervescent tradition of P.G. Wodehouse, Patrick Dennis and Armistead Maupin&quot; - Marc Acito, (How I Paid for College)
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/onemanguy.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/One-Man-Guy-Michael-Barakiva-ebook/dp/B00GVRVBWC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1401630453&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=one+man+guy&quot;&gt;One Man Guy &lt;/a&gt;by Michael Barakiva&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that Armenians never eat out. Why bother, when their home cooking is far superior to anything &quot;these Americans&quot; could come up with? Between bouts of interrogating the waitress and criticizing the menu, Alek’s parents announce that he’ll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades. Alek is sure this experience will be the perfect hellish end to his hellish freshmen year of high school. He never could’ve predicted that he’d meet someone like Ethan.
Ethan is everything Alek wishes he were: confident, free-spirited, and irreverent. When Ethan gets Alek to cut school and go to a Rufus Wainwright concert in New York City’s Central Park, Alek embarks on his first adventure outside the confines of his suburban New Jersey existence. He can’t believe a guy this cool wants to be his friend. And before long, it seems like Ethan wants to be more than friends. Alek has never thought about having a boyfriend—he’s barely ever had a girlfriend—but maybe it’s time to think again. Michael Barakiva&#39;s One Man Guy is a romantic, moving, laugh-out-loud-funny story about what happens when one person cracks open your world and helps you see everything—and, most of all, yourself--like you never have before.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Pretty Peg by Skye Allen&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/prettypeg.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-pretty-peg-by-skye-allen/&quot;&gt;Pretty Peg&lt;/a&gt;by Skye Allen&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
High school senior Josy Grant already had plenty on her plate before she found the magic puppet theater her murdered sister left behind. Despite Josy’s grief, the responsibility of taking care of her family falls to her, and being queer doesn’t make dealing with school any easier. Things only get worse when sexy new girl Nicky tells Josy her sister died at the hands of a mysterious figure from the Faerie Realm called the Woodcutter, and if they can’t stop him, Josy and her remaining sister will be next.

They have just days before the Woodcutter strikes again on the autumn equinox, so Josy follows Nicky into the Faerie Realm to hunt him. Along the way, she discovers Fey gifts of her own and answers to the questions that have driven the Grant family apart. Nothing comes for free when dealing with Fey, though, and those gifts and answers might come at a terrible price.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Shoulder Pads and Flannel by Jo Ramsey&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/shoulderpadsandflannel.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-shoulder-pads-and-flannel-by-jo-ramsey/&quot;&gt;Shoulder Pads and Flannel &lt;/a&gt;by Jo Ramsey&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
High school football star Guillermo Garcia can count himself among the popular kids—for now. Although he secretly dates Evan Granger, who is openly gay and badly bullied for it, Guillermo doesn’t dare let his teammates, classmates, or close-knit family learn about his sexuality.

But Guillermo witnessed an attack on Evan, and now the school bullies plan to out Guillermo in retaliation. In their small town, word spreads rapidly, so Guillermo must make a quick choice—come out now on his own or risk having someone else do it for him.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Sink or Swim by Zoe Lynne&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/sinkorswim.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://zoelynnebooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/free-read.html&quot;&gt;Sink or Swim &lt;/a&gt;by Zoe Lynne&lt;/h3&gt;
Self-published by author; FREE Read&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Jason&#39;s parents decide to the pull the plug on their marriage, Jason&#39;s father forces him to go to a camp that&#39;ll turn his son into a strapping young man and not some fairy like Jason&#39;s theatre camp does. He hates it there, but the cool kids love him.

Thomas Carroll isn&#39;t one of the cool kids, not by any stretch of the imagination. He&#39;s a chunky boy with bright freckles and hair the color of a copper penny, but somehow, he manages to befriend the cute new boy at camp. Only, the cute new boy only acknowledges their friendship in private.

One boy&#39;s fear of drowning and hunger to swim leads to an eye-opening experience, and one boy will admit to having feelings and attractions he never would&#39;ve admitted to otherwise.&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-releases-for-june-2014_1.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-5797768491584710513</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 May 2014 20:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-26T16:57:54.344-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Andrew Demcak</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392572728l/20821631.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“Andrew Demcak” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392572728l/20821631.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Andrew Demcak &lt;/b&gt; is an award-winning poet and novelist whose work has been widely published and anthologized both in print and on-line, and whose books have been featured by The American Library Association, Verse Daily, The Lambda Literary Foundation, The Best American Poetry blog, The Nervous Breakdown, and Poets/Artists. His first Young Adult (YA) novel, GHOST SONGS, was published March 13, 2014 by Harmony Ink Press. His first literary novel, If There&#39;s A Heaven Above, was published January 5, 2013 by JMS Books. His fourth book of poetry, Night Chant, was published by Lethe Press, 2011. His other poetry books are: A Single Hurt Color, GOSS 183::Casa Menendez Press, 2010, Zero Summer, BlazeVOX [Books], NY, 2009 and his first poetry book, Catching Tigers in Red Weather, three candles press, 2007, that was selected by Joan Larkin to win the Three Candles Press Open Book Award. He was a 2010 Finalist for The Crazyhorse Poetry Award. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Lambda Award, Thom Gunn Poetry Award, both the California and Northern California Book Awards, Best of the Web, and others. He has an M. F. A. in English/Creative Writing from St. Mary&#39;s College in Moraga, CA.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Andrew Demcak on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/andrewdemcak&quot;&gt;@andrewdemcak&lt;/a&gt; or visit his website: &lt;a href=“http://www.andrewdemcak.com&quot;&gt;www.andrewdemcak.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Andrew Demcak:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Ghost Songs &lt;/em&gt;is genre bending in two ways: first, it&#39;s a GLBTQ YA novel that’s not a romance.  The lead character, Todd, doesn’t spend all his time pining over some boy or worrying about his sexuality.  It’s a ghost story and not someone’s diary entries.  The second way is: &lt;em&gt;Ghost Songs&lt;/em&gt;, as M/M fiction, has extremely strong female characters.  Todd’s best friend Jennifer, and Todd’s mother, Eddie, are not just decorations in the background – their stories are as important as Todd’s.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; What are your writing goals for the next five years?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’ve got two more unpublished novels finished:  another GLBTQ YA novel, &lt;em&gt;A Little Bit Langston&lt;/em&gt;, which is a speculative fiction coming out story (read: coming out = super powers) and my adult literary fiction, &lt;em&gt;Limboville&lt;/em&gt; (it’s a farce about the most famous pulp fiction romance writer going through a divorce and cancer treatment – I know that doesn’t sound funny.  But it is, as well as being very touching.)  Plus I have two more completed poetry collections, &lt;em&gt;Lazarus &lt;/em&gt;and &lt;em&gt;The Excitable Gift&lt;/em&gt;, both ready to go.  I am currently finishing my new poetry collection, &lt;em&gt;Crytopedia&lt;/em&gt;, which is an encyclopedia of the weird and strange, all the prose poetry cut-up from Wikipedia articles.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Do you believe in ghosts? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes.  I grew up in a haunted house.  The ghost used to jingle keys down the hallways and come and sit on the edge of beds during the night.  Creepy, but totally harmless.  It was like the loop of an old film that kept playing.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahhh, that’s the theme of my new GLBTQ YA novel, A Little Bit Langston.  The lead character James always seems to give off a green spark of electricity when he touches his best friend Paul.  I wonder what that could be all about?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; What other interests do you have outside of writing?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Knitting, collection 20th century American art pottery (Love Grueby, Rookwood, and Rose Cabat’s work), jogging, hiking, camping with my partner Roland (he’s an ex-Marine and is into all that stuff, too)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The takeaway is a real sense that they are Okay as they are, and they do not have to do this alone.  We are a large supportive community.  Also, I like to think my books impart a kind of hope, or at least, a positive outlook, in spite of their heavy-duty subject matter.

&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Andrew Demcak:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392572728l/20821631.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Songs-Andrew-Demcak/dp/1627987959/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397832452&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=9781627987950&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Ghost Songs &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
It’s not easy being Todd Williams, a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old gay musical prodigy. The bullies, Bob and Ari, at his fancy private school make his life a living hell. Todd’s drunken, irresponsible mother, Eddie, constantly embarrasses him and puts his artistic future in jeopardy. And now, his best friend, Jennifer, who plays clarinet with him in the orchestra, isn’t speaking to him. Maybe Leroy, Todd’s friendly poltergeist, knows what’s going on with her. To top it off, he can no longer rely on Jennifer&#39;s help in the race to solve a puzzle that could lead to a buried treasure. Todd must learn to stand alone. He’s finding out that growing up is far scarier than he ever imagined.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354331837l/13658522.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/148112045X?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=148112045X&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; If There’s a Heaven Above (18+)  &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
(Nominated by The American Library Association for its 2014 Rainbow Books List) &quot;If There&#39;s A Heaven Above&quot; takes the reader on a tour of the Southern California demi-monde Goth scene of the mid-1980s, as seen through the eyes of 18 year-old club-kid, Matt. Andrew Demcak combines innocence with experience, sex and drugs, Love and Rockets, with just the right touch of poetry. It is a thrilling ride along the freeways and turntables of that era: when AIDS was new, Reagan was King, and hope was a wounded kitten, cared for by the creatures of the night.
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Ghost Songs &lt;/i&gt; and &lt;em&gt;If There’s a Heaven Above&lt;/em&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Andrew Demcak has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt; Ghost Songs &lt;/i&gt; and &lt;em&gt;If There’s a Heaven Above&lt;/em&gt; for two lucky winners. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on June 1st.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/05/featured-author-giveaway-andrew-demcak.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-7260765978908745578</guid><pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2014 15:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-19T11:31:33.274-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Krissy Bells</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396444312l/21838554.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“Krissy Bells” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396444312l/21838554.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Krissy Bells &lt;/b&gt; was born and raised in the Detroit metro area. A former school secretary, she now spends her days as a stay-at-home mom. She is passionate about her family and friends, her Dachshund named Harry, and anything topped with cheese or chocolate. &lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Krissy Bells:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not to worry so much about what other people think of me and to stand up for myself. I still have to remind myself of those things daily.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Do you have a nervous habit when writing?  A guilty pleasure when writing?  &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Snacks are absolutely involved in all of my writing sessions. I’m a procrastinator for sure and unfortunately chocolate is the perfect stress reliever for me. At least until I realize, I’ve say, emptied an entire bag of Dove chocolates or as I like to affectionately refer to them, Dovies.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Is there one genre of YA that you would love to write but haven’t? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;I totally hope I can write a fantasy novel one day. When books are able to take their reader to an entirely new world, I think it is truly amazing. Getting lost in a place filled with creatures and words and things that you have never even heard of before is a magical experience.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What season do you like to write your stories in most or do you love writing in all of them and why?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;Fall is the perfect time to write. It is my favorite time of the year and always brings me my greatest inspiration.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If there is one message you would like to get out from your book, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I hope that there are several that are present in the story of Aaron Garrett. More than anything I want readers to consider the ways in which their actions may unknowingly or even unintentionally affect others. I was inspired to write this story after the Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty controversy occurred. I was shocked to see the outpouring of social media support for such ludicrous statements. It made me want to put myself in the shoes of someone struggling with their sexuality on the other side, maybe having to see their loved ones post support for the comments. Especially with social media, it has become much easier to hurt others without even having to look at the other person or be accountable. Whether it is memes with racially insensitive jokes or pictures of scantily clad girls being passed around and promoted. I just wanted to remind people that there are individuals that those things affect and hurt. There is a gay teen somewhere that saw that stupid meme you posted with homophobic content or a girl struggling with her body image that is constantly seeing people like and share pictures of women with unattainable physiques. I think social media insensitivity is unfortunately a problem that will continue to impact our future generations.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;That acceptance and love are the most amazing of gifts.

&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Krissy Bells:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396444312l/21838554.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Fag-Krissy-Bells-ebook/dp/B00JXVBTT8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;sr=&amp;qid=&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Fag &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Aaron Garrett is many things in life: he is a son, a friend, a student, and caring boyfriend to his lovely girlfriend Leigh Ann. In these roles, he is kind, hardworking, smart, loving, dedicated, and considerate. At Jefferson High School, he is a leader, a football star, and well-respected by his peers. Aaron’s life is perfectly on track, he is pursuing a college scholarship and hopeful for the future, except for just one thing: Aaron Garrett is gay. When a former child star from Aaron’s small Southern town saturates the national media after making homophobic comments, Aaron’s life is turned upside down as supporters rally around the sentiments. Social media attention begins to swell nationally and locally until it begins to eat away at every part of Aaron’s existence. &lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Fag &lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Krissy Bells has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt; Fag &lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on May 25th.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/05/featured-author-giveaway-krissy-bells.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-6385392452655144675</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2014 16:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-12T12:26:46.881-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Alex Norris</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_alexnorris.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Alex Norris&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_alexnorris.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Alex Norris &lt;/b&gt; is an author and undergraduate at the University of Cambridge. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Alex Norris on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/AlexSNorris&quot;&gt;@AlexSNorris&lt;/a&gt; or visit his website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.AlexNorrisBooks.com&quot;&gt;www.AlexNorrisBooks.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Alex Norris:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I always enjoy writing no matter which part of the book I’m focused on, but there were certainly parts of this story that were harder to write than others. Anyone who has read the novel will know that it contains some fairly gritty scenes and some rather unpleasant events and these were, at times, very hard for me to write about. On one hand, I was keen to portray the events in the book in as realistic a way as possible, but on the other, I was cautious not to stray into giving overly explicit descriptions. There were times when I was unsure of how much sexual detail would be appropriate for certain scenes, but ultimately I think I struck a fairly good balance. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What are your writing goals for the next five years?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ideally, I’d like to release a new book every year. At the moment I’m sticking to that goal and am planning to release my second novel this summer. As I’m currently in my final year at university though, the future is a little uncertain at the moment. I don’t know where I’ll be in a year’s time or what I’ll be doing, but whatever it is, I will certainly make sure I have plenty of time for writing. 
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Which of your characters is most like you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My main character, Lewis, is based very heavily on myself. At first I was cautious of creating a protagonist based on so many aspects of my own personality, mostly because I worried people would take the story as a memoir rather than a work of fiction. However in the end, I decided that the most important thing for me was to include a strong sense of realism. I decided that by drawing from my own emotions and experiences (some of Lewis’ memories are almost indistinguishable from my own), I would be able to create a character that was both convincing and relatable. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I put lots of myself into my writing purely because I want to write realistic fiction that is heavily based on real life. Throughout the entire novel you can find references to popular culture taken straight from real life as well as the odd episode that I have loosely adapted from my own experiences. I find it’s very easy to fall into clichés when writing about certain themes and so I try to depend on my own experiences as much as possible. At one point of the book, Lewis is dogged by memories of a boy he was infatuated with, but who let him down. The whole episode is taken more or less word-for-word from my own experience. It is quite cathartic to talk about such difficult experiences through the prism of fiction – it gives you some distance from the events and lets you assess them objectively. Ultimately though, the aspects of my own life that are in the book are not necessarily specific to me, but are experiences and emotions that most people will have gone through, or will go through, at some point. I hope that people will be able to relate to what I write, and understand that much of it doesn’t come from imagination, but from memory. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;How do you research your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Before I started writing this book I was wary of tackling such difficult issues as homelessness and prostitution. I was therefore very keen to do some good research so I could write about these themes convincingly. I volunteered with a local organisation that feeds people without homes or on low incomes, and it was my experiences there that inspired much of the story. I also talked to shelters about the problems facing homeless people and made sure I did abundant research online.  For the sexual aspect, my inspiration simply came from the slew of messages that I, as well as a lot of gay men with an online presence, receive from people soliciting for sex. I thought it would be interesting to ask what would happen if I was ever to accept such an offer. Although I never went as far as meeting any of these men, I was fortunate enough to talk to people who had met with men in exchange for money. Their experiences helped me get an idea of what it’s like to have sex for money, outside of the clichés we are often subjected to in films and on TV. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would like to change the way all people, regardless of age, view homelessness. So often we encounter homeless people, especially in big cities, but think of them as little more than inconvenient distractions from our own comfortable lives. I would like to think that after reading the book, people will reassess the attitudes they have towards people who have fallen on difficult times.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
In terms of sexuality, I would like young readers to appreciate the fact that in the case of the novel’s protagonist, his being gay is very much a non-issue. Unlike a lot of LGBT literature, this is not a coming out story. This is a story of a young, gay student whose sexuality does not define him or dictate his experiences of university. It does, however, provide him with a unique idea of how his status as a young, gay man might help him raise money for his new homeless friends. 
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Alex Norris:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373477109l/18186145.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOR5N5G/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Angel &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Cambridge University isn&#39;t everything Lewis wanted it to be. Still hung up on a lost love affair from the past and surrounded by friends he loves and loathes in equal measure, Lewis&#39; life takes a dramatic turn after a chance encounter with homeless Rosie. Desperately seeking meaning among the vacuous student lifestyle, Lewis embarks on a quest to help those without homes and without voices.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Through a string of secret and sordid affairs with strange men he meets online, Lewis tries to raise money for his new homeless friends. Along the way he&#39;ll encounter a transvestite with the lips of Brigitte Bardot, a gorgeous French traveler, and a slew of lonely men willing to pay for satisfaction.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But as Lewis delves further into the depraved, secret life of Cambridge&#39;s backstreets, his faith in humanity and hope for his own future decline rapidly. How low is he willing to sink to make some cash?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Angel &lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Alex Norris has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt; Angel &lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on May 19th.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/05/featured-author-giveaway-alex-norris.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>6</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-7005011567441807025</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2014 12:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-10T08:43:50.168-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new releases</category><title>New Releases for May 2014</title><description>&lt;link href=&quot;http://IMAGE_LINK_GOES_HERE.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;

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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Featured New Releases:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Chasing My Dream&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/chasingmydream.jpeg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-My-Dream-Jeff-Erno-ebook/dp/B00K7S9OXE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1399725111&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=chasing+my+dream+by+jeff+erno&quot;&gt;Chasing My Dream &lt;/a&gt;by Jeff Erno&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Top 2 Bottom Bookstore&lt;br /&gt;
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Sixteen year old Nash Adams feels like the token gay guy in his small, northern Michigan high school. When his boyfriend dumps him on the very night they&#39;re supposed to go to the carnival together, Nash wonders if he&#39;ll ever find the guy of his dreams. Later that night, beneath a full moon, Nash gazes into the midnight sky and sees a shooting star. At the urging of his best friend Cala, he halfheartedly makes a wish. A few miles away, Caleb Cummings lies on the beach staring up at the sky when he notices a star that seems to be moving. He makes a wish of his own. When Nash and Caleb fall asleep that night, they wake up together. Though at first confused, it doesn&#39;t take long to figure out what has happened. They&#39;ve entered each other&#39;s dreams. Initially they&#39;re each convinced the other is a figment of their imagination, but when the phenomena continues to occur, night after night, Nash wonders if there might be a way to find Caleb in real life. It shouldn&#39;t be difficult to find someone in this modern, technological age. But as he begins his search, he faces numerous frustrating obstacles. Eventually he has to decide if it is even worth the effort to keep searching for an imaginary friend. Maybe he should give up on his dream guy and look for someone in the real world..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Angles and Curves&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/anglesandcurves.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Angles-Curves-George-Berger/dp/1497478790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1399724435&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=angles+and+curves+by+george+berger&quot;&gt;Angles and Curves&lt;/a&gt;by George Berger&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
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Steve is a student at a rural Montana high school who is taking twelfth grade for the second time. There he meets Heather and Gretchen, two elves in a relationship who are outcasts just like him.

Though elvish kingdoms are formally recognized by the federal government, the Supreme Court doesn’t see elves as human, so they don’t benefit from the same basic rights that others do. Steve is transgendered, and can empathize with the elves’ plight. Friendships are forged between him and the elves when they realize all three have had problems with a bully named Melvin and the jocks at school, who are known to sexually assault elves.

Despite his age, Steve lives alone, and has to produce a “parent” for parent/teacher day. He enlists the help of his elvish friends to hire an adult, but their scheme backfires when they’re caught soliciting an undercover policewoman named Sara Raimi. However, with their newfound connection to Sara, they look to find a way to catch Melvin and his cohorts.

Angles and Curves is a fresh and enticing story about racism, sexism, and sexuality, and what it means to be human after all..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;For a Price&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/foraprice.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-for-a-price-by-hallie-burton/&quot;&gt;For a Price &lt;/a&gt;by Hallie Burton&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At seventeen, Charles “Trey” Maddox Taft III has had better years. His father ran off with a younger woman, and with no alimony or child support, his family has to move from affluent Coconut Grove to a rough neighborhood near Miami’s Little Havana. It’s a completely different world, but Trey is determined to make the best of a bad situation, if only no one finds out he’s gay.

On Trey’s first day in his new territory, he’s saved from being run over by local bad boy Bobby Cruz. Bobby is an unabashedly gay, sexually active high school senior who’s tired of one-night stands. After meeting preppie Trey, Bobby decides to try something new. Things go well at first, but being in a relationship is tricky and might take more work than either wants to do..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Grave&#39;s End&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/gravesend.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=2&amp;amp;products_id=144&quot;&gt;Grave&#39;s End&lt;/a&gt;by Hayden Thorne&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It isn’t business as usual for Maelwine when a new family moves into Grave’s End House. With the old, great house standing untenanted for quite some time, being a house shade attached to it has turned the hours dull for Maelwine. He has no family to entertain him, no variations in his daily duty, which involves the rousing of shadows in every room when the sun goes down.

Things change when the Villar family arrive, however, and Maelwine is finally happily caught up in the comings and goings at Grave’s End. That is, until he notices Royden Villar, a young boy with a secret that depresses his spirits and touches Maelwine in surprising and alarming ways. The more Maelwine studies Royden’s behavior, the more he glimpses the other boy’s heart, and, suddenly, new paths reveal themselves to Maelwine -- paths that are as muddy as they are dangerous.

As a house shade, Maelwine is immortal and enjoys certain benefits that can only come with immortality. Not once has he questioned his situation. It is, after all, as Nature has always intended. But with Royden’s arrival, Maelwine’s forced to face difficult answers to unsettling questions about the nature of his existence.

He’s only a house shade, after all, and nothing more. He doesn’t have a heart, doesn’t feel loneliness in the shadows of his world. Things should be easy, but Royden Villar has set certain wheels in motion, and there’s simply no turning back..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Little Black Dress&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/littleblackdress.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-little-black-dress-by-linda-palund/&quot;&gt;The Little Black Dress&lt;/a&gt;by Linda Palund&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Carmen is the most beautiful and desirable girl Lucy has ever known, and when Carmen is savagely murdered, Lucy’s teenage life crumbles.  She is devastated by the loss of her first love, and when it appears the killers might never be found, she vows to solve the murder herself.

Together with her best friend Seth, who is not only a master computer hacker but also the son of LA’s new Chief of Homicide, they gain access to the gruesome autopsy reports. They learn the true extent of the horror inflicted on Carmen, and Lucy gets closer to understanding the secret behind Carmen’s little black dress.

After another beautiful girl is murdered, they uncover the brutality lurking within the corridors of their privileged Los Angeles high school.  They put their lives on the line to come face to face with the murderer himself..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;This Is Not a Love Story&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/thisisnotalovestory.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-this-is-not-a-love-story-by-suki-fleet/&quot;&gt;This Is Not a Love Story &lt;/a&gt;by Suki Fleet&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When fifteen-year-old Romeo’s mother leaves one day and doesn’t return, he finds himself homeless and trying to survive on the streets. Mute and terrified, his silence makes him vulnerable, and one night he is beaten by a gang of other kids, only to be rescued by a boy who pledges to take care of him.

Julian is barely two years older than Romeo. A runaway from an abusive home, he has had to make some difficult choices and sells himself on the street to survive. Taking care of Romeo changes him, gives him a purpose in life, gives him hope, and he tries to be strong and keep his troubles with drugs behind him. But living as they do is slowly destroying him, and he begins to doubt he can be strong enough.

This is the story of their struggle to find a way off the streets and stay together at all costs. But when events threaten to tear them apart, it is Romeo who must find the strength within himself to help Julian (and not let their love story turn into a Shakespearean tragedy).&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/05/new-releases-for-may-2014.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-6080667014965636007</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2014 14:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-05T10:17:40.837-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author: D.E. Atwood</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=“http://true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_deatwood.jpg” rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“D.E. Atwood” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_deatwood.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
When &lt;b&gt; D.E. Atwood &lt;/b&gt; was in second grade, she finally grew tall enough to see the shelf above the mysteries in the bookmobile. She discovered a rich landscape of alternate worlds, magic, and space and has never looked back from the genres of fantasy and science fiction.

When she was twelve, she declared that she was going to be a writer, and share the stories that she saw happening all around her. She wanted to create characters that others would care about, and that would touch their lives, like the books that she read had touched her own life.

Today she has combined her interests, creating genre stories about the people who live next door, bringing magic into the world around us.

When not writing, D.E. Atwood is a mother (to two children, a cat, a dog), a wife, a reader, a knitter, a systems administrator, almost a black belt in tae kwon do, and a music aficionado. Sleep, she claims, is optional. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with D.E. Atwood on Twitter &lt;a href=“https://twitter.com/DEAtwoodWrites”&gt;@DEAtwoodWrites&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=“http://deatwood.wordpress.com”&gt;http://deatwood.wordpress.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author D.E. Atwood:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Which of your characters is most like you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I feel like the answer &lt;em&gt;should&lt;/em&gt; be Jordan, because so much of him is drawn from within my own mind and heart, but if I&#39;m being dead honest, it&#39;s Maria. Her pushiness, her exuberance, the way she ignores personal space and at the same time, the way she wants to be close. The way she sees the good side and thinks that things are going to work out as long as she believes hard enough. The way she wants to live her life just flat out, and wants to see the best in the people around her. She is what I would be if I had the ability to let go of fear; she is my natural personality turned up to an eleven. And she is very much a character of my heart for all of that. It was an absolute joy to give her the freedom to be herself on the page. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; What other interests do you have outside of writing?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loads! I love music, and my daughter and I like to go to concerts. This year we are hoping to see William Beckett, All Time Low, and go to Warped during the summer. Also on the potential list for summer outdoor shows are Def Leppard, Journey, and Steve Miller Band. My daughter is angling to see Queen&#39;s tour with Adam Lambert, but I&#39;m not sure that one is going to work out, which is a pity because I&#39;d love to see it too. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Then there&#39;s Tae Kwon Do, which I adore, perhaps to the point of obsession. My son started TKD when he was five and having trouble sitting still. Seven years later, he has his second dan and is working his way towards his third dan while he also learns how to coach. I started almost four years ago and am looking ahead to my own black belt test this summer, and my husband started about a year after I did. So it&#39;s a huge family thing that we do, and all three of us are also a part of the tournament team. My daughter doesn&#39;t do TKD, but she does do Combat Hapkido, which is the self-defense specific discipline that our school teaches, along with the rest of us. We spend a lot of time at the dojang, but I think it is worth it, both for the exercise for all of us, and for the confidence and strength that it teaches.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; TKD is a huge thing in my life because it is something I thought I couldn&#39;t do, and that I actually love doing. I&#39;m short (tall is better), overweight, and well, old compared to lots of folks doing it. But I work hard at it, and I&#39;ve actually won against an opponent in a tournament (shocked me! It was awesometastic!), and I&#39;m going to be &lt;em&gt;getting my black belt&lt;/em&gt;. This is huge as far as I&#39;m concerned, because this is something I never saw myself doing. It&#39;s not a sport designed for someone my age, weight, and somewhat broken body. But I do it and I&#39;m halfway decent at it. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; What that says to me is don&#39;t believe the hype. The only thing to believe in is yourself. Don&#39;t let anyone ever tell you that you can&#39;t be successful because you&#39;re not the right &quot;type&quot; somehow.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Er, so yes, tae kwon do. Obsessed. If you ever want to hear more about it, just stop by my blog, because I really do talk about it periodically.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books?  &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In this case, it&#39;s the play that the book revolves around! I fell in love with Shakespeare as a teenager in the 80s. My parents dragged me (yes, at the time I thought I was dragged, and now I look back and treasure the memories) to various plays throughout my young life, and among them were various Shakespearean comedies. I learned to appreciate the humor and commentary that Shakespeare made about human life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;em&gt;A Midsummer Night&#39;s Dream&lt;/em&gt; was one of my favorite shows. My school performed it (I didn&#39;t take part, but my best friends were all in the show, so I was with them through every rehearsal) when I was in high school. I read it so many times, and analyzed it, and fell in love with all the words. Then I read a YA book which had it as a part of the story, and I fell in love with Puck all over again. Somehow &lt;em&gt;Dream&lt;/em&gt; became a part of my high school experience, and a part of my growth, and Puck in particular with his mischief became a synonym for the way my own group of friends came together and changed over those years.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; I&#39;ve wanted to write my own story including &lt;em&gt;Dream&lt;/em&gt; for a long time, and when I sat down to do so, I knew I couldn&#39;t just let it stay with that one part of Shakespeare&#39;s works. I needed to branch out into other shows which had formed a large part of how I looked at life from a young age, like &lt;em&gt;Twelfth Night&lt;/em&gt;, and see if I could let the Bard influence the characters in my story as much as he influenced me. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; How do you research for your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I really try to focus in on the human experience. I&#39;m a character-driven writer, and I want to be able to use everything I learn as filtered through my characters&#39; eyes. So I read everything I can get my hands on, preferring personal memoirs to dry history. I love youtube videos where people tell me things. I love talking to friends who have experience with the topic, finding out what &lt;em&gt;they&lt;/em&gt; recommend and then viewing/reading that.  My research is almost random, with one thing leading me to another, and different facts and experiences setting of plot bunnies in my mind that I have to jot down, and then that sets off another need for research. I end up writing a lot down, and just assimilating other things into the back of my mind so they can be blurted back out later in the form of how a character sees the world.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
For &lt;em&gt;Shadows&lt;/em&gt;, I am exceedingly grateful to my friends for helping with my research and pointing me toward useful resources. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Is there one genre of YA that you would love to write but haven’t? (example: paranormal, contemporary, fantasy)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are two that I want to write desperately, and have stories vaguely plotted, but they aren&#39;t done simmering on the backburner of my brain yet. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; First, I want to write my own dystopia. They are everywhere right now, and the best part about tropes is the idea of turning it on its ear. How can I write a dystopia and have it be unique and different and interesting? This is an idea that&#39;s still forming in my mind, and I have some of the characters and the outline of a vague few plot points so far, but I need to do a ton of research in order to properly build the world. I started just writing (my usual technique) and quickly realized that there is a ton more world-building involved than I can do off the cuff. I need to nail down all the specifics of the world so that they can come out in dialogue and description, without being intrusive. But I&#39;m hoping I&#39;ve got a good idea that will be edgy without being completely out there, and when it&#39;s done simmering, I&#39;ll get that written. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Second, I want to write a superhero novel. I grew up reading about superheroes and fell in love with the idea of how having some incredible power means having to look carefully at how you do things. I read a lot of Marvel comics because they weren&#39;t black and white issues. There were questions of morality and the why and how of decision-making during every storyline. Plus: &lt;em&gt;SUPERHEROES&lt;/em&gt;. Didn&#39;t we all dream of being telepathic or telekinetic or being able to teleport at one time or another? It would be one way to bring those childhood dreams alive.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I want them to know that they are not alone, and that there are other people out there who have similar thoughts, tastes, loves, problems, loves, interests, fears… and that those characters are making their way in the world and finding happiness, and so can every single teen out there. While growing up, I always looked for myself in books and the ones where I found something similar became my favorites. I hope to create adventures and stories which have characters that people can relate to.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from D.E. Atwood:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/IfWeShadowsLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=“http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4784”&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; If We Shadows &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Born female, all Jordan wants is to slip under the radar and live the last year of high school as a boy. His parents and siblings support him, but he’d rather be recognized for his acting and musical talents than his gender issues.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When Shakespeare’s Puck gives him three magical potions—true sight, true seeming, and true love—Jordan discovers being true to himself isn’t as simple as he thought.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Jordan must navigate the confusion of first love, a controversial role in the fall musical, and his transgender identity, while fairy magic creates a net of complications over everything he does. In order to unweave the spells laid over his friends—his supportive older brother, James, his playwright friend, Pepper, and Maria, another transgender student—Jordan needs to understand exactly how far he’ll go to reach his goals of finding true love, true sight, and true seeming.&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/05/featured-author-de-atwood.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-2891535145926945469</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-28T11:08:14.330-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author: J.S. Frankel</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=“https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpvUK8CoXSMxFA5pw3DhwwNaTgEkLK-YmaruITjjJ9O6JSWZ0EVHCdYXRFKDQuGkV3xDL35qCXMG977kQMg5QUWbSPqyZHiIT8cdW9vDm8OujZ-JOFG2hYkFEpOA6y3gRUv3uBOz5hiKy/s320/filmstrip_jsfrankel.jpg” rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“J.S. Frankel” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpvUK8CoXSMxFA5pw3DhwwNaTgEkLK-YmaruITjjJ9O6JSWZ0EVHCdYXRFKDQuGkV3xDL35qCXMG977kQMg5QUWbSPqyZHiIT8cdW9vDm8OujZ-JOFG2hYkFEpOA6y3gRUv3uBOz5hiKy/s320/filmstrip_jsfrankel.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; J.S. Frankel &lt;/b&gt; was born in Toronto a rather long time ago and moved to Japan when he was in his mid-twenties in order to teach English to anyone who would listen to him. In 1997 he married the charming Akiko Koike and they decided to make their home in Japan for good.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Currently, Frankel and his family live in Osaka where he teaches English by day and writes until the wee hours of the morning. His specialty is Young Adult fiction, and Twisted is his first novel—a gender switch—and deals with sexual identity as well as the concept of finding love with that special someone no matter what form they inhabit or what they look like. He is also the author of the upcoming Lindsay Versus the Marauders which will be released in July of this year. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with J.S. Frankel on Twitter @JessSFrankel or visit his website: writerwannabe.weebly.com.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author J.S. Frankel:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In &lt;em&gt;Twisted&lt;/em&gt;, you see the MC of the story, Charlie Matthews, staring into a mirror. This foreshadows the person he will become. (You gotta read the story, though!)  It also shows that what we see in the mirror isn’t necessarily who we are. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think it gives a different ‘twist’ on the old idea of gender switches. Gender switching is not a new genre by any means and goes back to ancient Egypt. In more modern times, you have a number of television shows and movies that have dealt with it. However, they tend to bring a number of stereotypes which I tried to avoid. In large part, I think I’ve succeeded.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; What are your writing goals for the next five years?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’d like to keep writing for not only the gay market, but also for all markets. I really want to improve as an individual who can write from various viewpoints and age groups. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; Which of your characters is most like you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good question! Probably Charlie, the main character in Twisted. He’s the kind of guy who’ll stick up for others even if it’s not the most popular thing to do. But I was always taught that sometimes you will become unpopular because of what you do. I’ve learned to ignore the criticism for it. I want to do my own thing—write about whatever subject matter I like—and if people don’t agree with it, then too bad. I won’t stop.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt; How do you research for your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I do a lot of research online and also consult my sister. For &lt;em&gt;Twisted&lt;/em&gt;, I had to employ some terms used in the Middle Ages, and my sister who is well versed in those matters, helped me immensely. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My takeaway message for anyone is that you should never be ashamed of what you are. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, or creed you are, and it doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is. People are people. You should be proud of the person that you are and no one has the right to tell you any different.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from J.S. Frankel:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDxoQaSjDZwXyyo8th6hq6mOS36P_SydVpHCGdkqnc4haGg4h0GCFBwT7Qx6YBStSRIlYVVhVDWKOq46cOmmNGVPnnByPVREuQncJE6dNNLB-fsbCk9xALDhe5AHivrj2l1HTnzmcOjMX/s320/twisted.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-J-S-Frankel-ebook/dp/B00ISYC33W/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1398696678&amp;sr=8-1-fkmr2&amp;keywords=twisted+j.e.+frankel”&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt; Twisted &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Chivalry isn&#39;t dead. It just wears a skirt. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Highschoolers Charlie Matthews, his adopted brother Martin, and Sharon Collins win a contest to play an interactive medieval game as the avatars of their favorite characters. Their mission: fight off the monsters, storm the castle, and capture the evil king. 

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But things go terribly wrong. Charlie is dismayed to discover he is Angella of Avernon, the lead female character in the game. Fortunately, she&#39;s the most powerful avatar around, but he also finds out that he, Martin, and Sharon have been infected with a virus that will kill them outside the game, so they have to stay inside the scenario. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Trapped and beset on all sides, Charlie has to deal with the sexism of the characters circa 1430, his stepbrother&#39;s distaste for his female form, and his feelings about becoming a woman. In addition to fighting off the various monsters within the scenario, Charlie tries to fight his attraction to Sharon...and then realizes Sharon is attracted to him, which makes it all the more confusing. 

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the deadly opponents in the game get the upper hand, Charlie must summon all of his love and courage to save the day and rescue Sharon. Will he understand that love is where you find it and that the gender of the one you love doesn&#39;t matter at all? 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/04/featured-author-js-frankel.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpvUK8CoXSMxFA5pw3DhwwNaTgEkLK-YmaruITjjJ9O6JSWZ0EVHCdYXRFKDQuGkV3xDL35qCXMG977kQMg5QUWbSPqyZHiIT8cdW9vDm8OujZ-JOFG2hYkFEpOA6y3gRUv3uBOz5hiKy/s72-c/filmstrip_jsfrankel.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-3533049434457595104</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2014 21:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-22T17:21:40.888-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new releases</category><title>New Releases for April, 2014</title><description>&lt;link href=&quot;http://IMAGE_LINK_GOES_HERE.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Featured New Releases:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/becauseofher.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Because-Her-KE-Payne-ebook/dp/B00J1UONGW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398199960&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=because+of+her+by+ke+payne&quot;&gt;Because of Her &lt;/a&gt;by KE Payne&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Bold Strokes&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For seventeen-year-old Tabitha &quot;Tabby&quot; Morton, life sucks. Big time. Forced to move to London thanks to her father&#39;s new job, she has to leave her friends, school, and, most importantly, her girlfriend Amy, far behind. To make matters worse, Tabby&#39;s parents enroll her in the exclusive Queen Victoria Independent School for Girls, hoping that it will finally make a lady of her. 

But Tabby has other ideas. 

Loathing her new school, Tabby fights against everything and everyone, causing relations with her parents to hit rock bottom. But when the beautiful and beguiling Eden Palmer walks into her classroom one day and catches her eye, Tabby begins to wonder if life there might not be so bad after all. 

When Amy drops a bombshell about their relationship following a disastrous visit, Tabby starts to see the need for new direction in her life. Fighting her own personal battles, Eden brings the possibility of change for them both. Gradually, Tabby starts to turn her life around—and it&#39;s all because of her..&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/breakingfree.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Free-Winter-Page-ebook/dp/B00JL4P952/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398200086&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=breaking+free+by+winter+page&quot;&gt;Breaking Free &lt;/a&gt;by Winter Page&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Raimi Carter is finally a girl, just like she always knew she was meant to be. At a new school where nobody knows she’s had gender reassignment surgery, she hopes to finally live the normal life she’s longed for, happy in her own skin. 

Life is great until she discovers a dangerous bully is blackmailing head cheerleader, Clare Strickland, threatening to reveal her secret: she’s gay. As Raimi fights to free Clare from his clutches, the two girls move beyond friendship. But secrets from their pasts and their own fears of coming out tear them apart—maybe forever. Baring their souls to each other could cost them everything. For two girls trapped and desperately in love, only strength, courage, and trust in each other will help them break free and claim their future..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/eaglepeak.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Peak-Elizabeth-Fontaine-ebook/dp/B00ITG2U8W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398200306&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=eagle+peak&quot;&gt;Eagle Peak &lt;/a&gt;by Elizabeth Fontaine&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Torquere Press (Prizm Division)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Eagle Peak, population 596, has two bars, five churches, and a vibe (or lack thereof) that couldn’t be more different than Sean&#39;s native Minneapolis. Moving to rural small town Minnesota, Sean must leave his life of acting classes, going to all-ages shows, and hanging out with friends, to enter into a world of pep rallies, pick-up trucks and country pop. 

Sean’s inclination for heavy eyeliner, black attire, and surly attitude make him an easy target of suspicion, intrigue, and prejudice in the small town of Eagle Peak. But despite Sean’s growing sense of dread and depression, small town Minnesota also offers a lot of firsts: he becomes the love interest of three classmates of which one is a closeted gay boy afraid of his own sexuality, he is surprised to discover and chant with a Buddhist family in town, and he gets in the middle of an abusive father and his town jock son. Sean’s old life of theater, live music, and diverse friends collides with his new life in Eagle Peak, and Sean is left confused about what he thought he knew about small towns, the world he left behind, and himself..&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/hunters.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-hunters-by-a-m-burns/&quot;&gt;Hunters &lt;/a&gt;by A.M. Burns&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bigfoot hunters prowl the forests of Cripple Creek, Colorado. That doesn’t sit well with Thom Woodmen—a Bigfoot—albeit the runt of his family. Being the smallest has advantages; Thom, in disguise, gets to attend high school, and he’s not expected to accomplish much in life. All that changes when he comes across a distressed human in the forest.

Ben Steele is new to Cripple Creek High School, and after a harrowing experience in the woods near his new home, he quickly falls in with Thom Woodmen and his circle of friends. So what if they like to hang out with nature? Ben’s got nothing better to do. Trouble is, Ben can’t seem to stay out of it—trouble, that is.

However, in saving young Ben’s life, Thom inadvertently kick-starts a bonding process that’ll change both their lives forever. With the support of family and friends, Thom learns to accept bonding with the human boy. But with the danger overrunning Cripple Creek lately, Thom may be cut down before he can confess his secret and his love..&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/ifyoureallyloveme.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-if-you-really-love-me-by-gene-gant/&quot;&gt;If You Really Love Me &lt;/a&gt;by Gene Gant&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With time ticking until graduation, Ellis Carter doesn’t have a plan for after high school. Since his best friend Cary dropped out, he has no one to talk to. All he knows is he doesn’t want to continue being a burden to his mother. Adding to his daily torture is the school’s new resident bad boy, Saul Brooks. So to say he’s amazed when the mysterious Saul invites him to the gym for a workout is an understatement. Soon, they go from workout buddies to boyfriends, and Ellis couldn’t be happier. But happiness is fleeting. His mother begins a new relationship he thinks will lead to pain, and Cary makes a decision that could take him out of Ellis’s life for good. Just when he needs to lean on his boyfriend the most, Ellis discovers Saul has a secret that could break them apart..&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/outshinethestars.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=2&amp;amp;products_id=139&quot;&gt;Outshine the Stars &lt;/a&gt;by Nash Summers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Justin is hell on legs. He’s a self-proclaimed brat, a manipulator, and has a bit of a flare for the dramatic. While Justin might look like the picture of innocence, he leaves a path of terror wherever he goes.

His senior year starts off like all the others, him and his best friend sticking their noses up at everyone else while they bask in their own glory. But when a handsome new student catches Justin’s eye, he recruits the likes of a smart-mouthed kid named Connor to help him in his mission to capture the heart of the attractive newcomer. When Justin is finally forced to face himself and the truth behind his self¬-centered universe, it feels like the sky comes crashing down..
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/revoltoftheperfectlyfree.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Perfectly-Free-Kim-Flowers/dp/149613852X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398201147&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=revolt+of+the+perfectly+free&quot;&gt;Revolt of the Perfectly Free &lt;/a&gt;by Kim Flowers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In this steampunk version of American history, slavery was abolished during the American Revolution and Native Americans live in harmony with immigrants of all races. Steam-powered carriages and trains make travel easier, and automaton robots do manual labor such as planting crops. The government uses a mixture of native ways and democracy, with both a chief and a governor ruling over the state of Delaware. Across the ocean in Great Britain, the people live in a near-dystopia, and tyranny and inequality still reign.

Amelia Corn is the daughter of the governor of Delaware, and her best friend Two-Spirit is son of the Lenape chief. When a delegate from Great Britain arrives and threatens war unless the U.S. agrees to serve Queen Victoria under colonial rule again, Amelia and Two-Spirit know they must make sure this never happens. Amelia enlists the aid of Nadine, a beautiful slave of the British delegate, who organizes a revolt while the citizens attack the British ships. Two-Spirit’s boyfriend, the warrior Strong Arrow, completes their team and helps take out any traitors or enemies who get in their way.

Amelia falls in love with Nadine, whose family is an ocean away; Nadine doesn’t know if she has room in her heart for romance. Two-Spirit becomes both shaman and warrior, which makes Strong Arrow insecure; he faces ridicule from his father because of who he loves. And the biggest threat of all is the might of the entire British Imperial Navy, rumored to be headed to Delaware to set up a stronghold for Queen Victoria to rule.

Can Amelia and her friends defeat their enemies or will they be torn apart, victims of a failed attempt at perfect freedom?

The stories in this anthology are available as separate e-books. Contains the following stories: Amelia&#39;s Revolution, Two-Spirit&#39;s Red Road, Nadine&#39;s Voyage, and Strong Arrow&#39;s Warpath.
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/specialeffect.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-special-effect-by-russell-j-sanders/&quot;&gt;Special Effect &lt;/a&gt;by Russell J. Sanders&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Graduating senior, theater lighting wunderkind, and closeted gay, Nick Fortunati volunteers with The Streetwise Players in the dark corners of The Laughton, a creepy old movie palace decorated in Grand Guignol style. But his father wishes Nick would use his intellect and his scholarship to become a biotech engineer and earn a prosperous living for his future family. Nick loves his dad and wants to please him, but he dreams of a career in theater. And he wants a male lover. Unfortunately, his homophobic father won’t approve of either.

When Nick’s at his loneliest, out of the corners of the theater and into his life comes trouble-laden Steve Stripling, a man with little memory of his past other than his name. Meanwhile, Nick’s introduced to the dashing Wash Vitek and is torn between the two men. His situation is further complicated because he doesn’t know if Wash is gay.

Nick resolves to solve the mystery surrounding Steve and help the young man recover his memories, even though by doing so, he risks losing the first love he’s ever found.
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/strangeplaceintime.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Place-Time-Executioner-Returns-ebook/dp/B00IZ0ZEZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398201391&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=a+strange+place+in+time+by+alyx+j.+shaw&quot;&gt;A Strange Place In Time: The Merry Executioner Returns &lt;/a&gt;by Alyx J. Shaw&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Torquere Press (Prizm Division)
&lt;br /&gt;
The battle has begun, and old friends become new enemies, and allies become traitors. The Court of Hercandoloff realises that the only way to avert true disaster is attack the instigators of the rising darkness, and that will take a great deal of secrecy and deception. As Arrowsmith returns to Earth to persuade a friend to come to Dargoth, the Wizard-King Blackbird finds himself facing foes alone in his own palace, as the army rides north to the Kingdom of Kirianna. 

With the Master Thief blinded and missing, Blackbird sick and injured, and only a matter of days before one adversary is brought back form the dead, plans have to be made, and quickly. There is no chance of real victory, only of a stalemate, and that is with every member of the Court present. 

The search for Infamous leads the Court to the dead remains of the holy city of Palaklais, and the Temple of the Creator, but what they find there does not give them hope. The god of madness, SkullDigger, awaits them, as the most powerful of their adversaries, Rhaklan the Damned. The Court is without one of its most important members, and the strongest of their foes have joined forces. The Court has no choice but to fight, after they make plans for their own imminent demise.
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/thebalance.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Balance-Neal-Wooten-ebook/dp/B00JOX4V2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398201518&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=the+balance+by+neal+wootenE&quot;&gt;The Balance &lt;/a&gt;by Neal Wooten&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Bold Strokes Books&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a dystopian future, life hangs in the balance. 

Piri is a nineteen-year-old boy who lives in a technological metropolis that rises above the clouds. But when an accident drops him out of the city, everything changes. At first terrified by the atrocious reality of life on the surface, including surviving gruesome creatures known as Scavs, Piri is soon mesmerized by the bond they have for one another. He also comes to understand his own feelings for Niko, the boy who rescued him. 

In the end, Piri chooses love over comfort. But things are never as they seem. When he discovers just how far the city dwellers will go to maintain control, and the horrific truth behind an ancient and secret alliance, he will do everything he can to protect his new family—and disrupt the balance.
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/tiffanyandthetigerseye.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Tiffany-Tigers-Eye-Foxglove-Lee-ebook/dp/B00IJFOPPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1398201617&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=tiffany+and+the+tiger%27s+eye&quot;&gt;Tiffany and the Tiger&#39;s Eye&lt;/a&gt;by Foxglove Lee&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Prizm&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How many secrets can a family keep? 

If there&#39;s one thing Rebecca knows, it&#39;s how to hide her problems. But with a rock-and-roll dad who drinks too much and a mom who works day and night, Rebecca needs a sympathetic ear. That&#39;s why she tells her troubles to Yvette, an antique doll that once belonged to her grandmother. 

In the summer of 1986, after her father&#39;s strange disappearance, Rebecca and her little brother are sent to the cottage with Aunt Libby and Uncle Flip. Rebecca&#39;s relieved to get away from the city, and her relief grows to bliss when she meets Tiffany, a water-skiing blonde who dresses like Madonna, makes her own jewelry, and claims to see auras. 

But strange things happen when Rebecca spends time with Tiffany. Her aunt and uncle are convinced she&#39;s acting out -- and she&#39;d have good reason to, considering they obviously know where her father is and won&#39;t say -- but she can&#39;t convince them she isn&#39;t the one trashing her bedroom and setting fires. As crazy as it seems, Yvette must be the culprit. 

There&#39;s nothing more dangerous than a jealous doll that knows all your secrets...
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-releases-for-april-2014.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-6531640815632149193</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-21T19:54:47.400-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><title>Featured Author: Mia Kerrick</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoTitle&quot;&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRhsKqW6VHjToRVAz8vWKR5COIqY0NGnSUp2wstPTrVzwt8Zj0P2twas0HrwmU0QRS5l_vBpzQGMykEWL7-zd9lgni3f78phsbXAyBJ8dPlh6Zy6nlpj6bHoHkrkqUOySdwKHK0DmdycV/s1600/redsheet.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRhsKqW6VHjToRVAz8vWKR5COIqY0NGnSUp2wstPTrVzwt8Zj0P2twas0HrwmU0QRS5l_vBpzQGMykEWL7-zd9lgni3f78phsbXAyBJ8dPlh6Zy6nlpj6bHoHkrkqUOySdwKHK0DmdycV/s1600/redsheet.jpg&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; width=&quot;213&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;v:shape id=&quot;Picture_x0020_3&quot; o:spid=&quot;_x0000_s1026&quot; style=&quot;height: 475pt; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 0; mso-position-horizontal-relative: margin; mso-position-horizontal: left; mso-position-vertical-relative: margin; mso-position-vertical: top; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 317pt; z-index: 251658240;&quot; type=&quot;#_x0000_t75&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/v:shape&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different
person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities
he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his
neck like a cape.&lt;br /&gt;
Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more
unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees,
helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere
he finds it.&lt;br /&gt;
Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the
former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott
from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive
in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall
behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.&lt;br /&gt;
Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is
shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed
by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and
improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes
Bryan’s obsession.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;With a
foreword by C. Kennedy&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoSubtitle&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Book Links:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4725&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Dreamspinner&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; Ι &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20619717-the-red-sheet?from_search=true&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Goodreads&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoTitle&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoTitle&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“Miss Libby just
said to read it and comment.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“And your comment?
I’m very much looking forward to hearing it.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“I already told
you. I don’t believe that this”—he placed his hand firmly on my journal—“is
genuine.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“Well, do you
believe I found the note in the trashcan?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;He looked directly
into my eyes and nodded. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“And that it said I
hated you and myself and my sexuality?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;He nodded again,
this time with more fervor. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“Do you believe
that I know I was wrong?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Another nod. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“Do you believe I
know I’m gay?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;He shrugged and
then nodded once more. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“Then what about
this journal entry isn’t genuine, Scott?” I lifted my notebook from off the
desk and waved it back at him. “What part do you not believe?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“I don’t believe
that you could possibly have forgotten what we feel, or rather, felt, for each
other. I don’t want to believe that.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Frankly, those
words hurt like I’d gotten bitch-slapped, but I could tell by his expression
that he had more to say, so I waited. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“And I don’t
believe that you cannot remember what happened that Saturday night.” Scott rubbed
his eyes with his thumbs and then he swallowed deeply. “It was the worst night
of my life. I can’t believe it isn’t burned into your mind, as well.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;It was my turn to
nod. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;“But I do believe
you are sorry. I’m just not sure that it matters anymore.” After rubbing his
dry eyes one more time, he pulled his journal out of his backpack and handed it
to me. “My entry is about how much I detest broccoli.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoTitle&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Interview:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Hello and
thanks for inviting me over… &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;What would you
like teen readers to take away from your novels? &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;My goal is for
my novels to be difficult to put down once they have been started. I want teens
to think, I can’t wait to pick up another Mia Kerick novel after they have
finished, so my primary objective in writing is to create interesting stories
that teens will actually want to read. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;I write
romances, so I want teen readers to recognize that love can be very powerful,
even instrumental, to happiness, when it is respectful and honest and devoted.
Mixed in with this message are sub-themes, I guess you could call them, that
encourage teens to accept responsibility for their actions, to say that they
are sorry, to forgive themselves and others, to embrace everybody’s
differences, and to recognize that they have the power to take care of
themselves and to help others.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;But back to the
beginning of my answer, if the book isn’t interesting, then teens won’t get to
the part that they reflect upon their own lives because they’ll have put the
book down on the coffee table, so writing a compelling book—one that makes
teens want to think about its message—is goal number one.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Tell us about
your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the
cover?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;I had looked at
lots of pictures of models as I was creating covers for my previous books, so I
had come across this model, MJ (who is older now and looks much different), in
Dan Skinner’s work on Deviantart. Somehow, the challenging look in his eyes,
and the physical characteristics of this model, stayed in my mind as I wrote
The Red Sheet. So, in effect, I wrote this book about this model as my second
main character, Scott Beckett. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;When it came
time to choose the cover, I had no doubt about what I wanted. And I wanted a
photo of this model. However, in order to incorporate the symbolism, and the
title, we had to change the color of the sheets that he was lying on. They
couldn’t be white!! They had to be red!!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;In my novel The
Red Sheet, the red sheets symbolize the main character, Bryan Dennison’s,
sudden inexplicable urge to be a better person and to do the right thing. Bryan
actually refers to himself as&amp;nbsp; “a
Superman of Intention” because he sees his strong desire to wear the red sheet,
tied around his neck like a cape, as representative of how Superman wears a red
cape when he is off to save the innocent and foil the bad guys. When Bryan
needs to feel empowered to do the right thing, he envisions, or even actually
wraps himself in, his new set of red sheets. And by these sheets, he is
comforted and encouraged to continue on his path toward creating a better
world.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;What part of
the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;The most fun
part of The Red Sheet to write was definitely the flash mob scene where all of
Bryan’s new, less-than-popular friends dance to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in the
lunchroom, in front of the entire junior class, to celebrate a much-loved
teacher’s thirtieth birthday. I laughed as I wrote I, especially when I was
describing 6’4” hairy-legged Bryan doing Rockette-style high kicks.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;I will say,
though, the flash mob scene was also the most difficult to write because it
involved research. I have a seventeen-year-old daughter who is a dancer living
in New York, so first thing I did was call her. She told me about me some basic
dance moves that might be used in a flash mob and she referred me to Youtube
videos where I could check these moves out so I could describe them accurately.
I researched the most commonly danced to songs (for the purpose of a flash mob)
and I selected ABBA’s Dancing Queen. I then viewed as many different flash mob
videos as I could find to get the full spirit of a flash mob event. I googled
“how to set up a flash mobs” and I found a rather serious set of “rules”.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Now, this was
fun and interesting research, but it was also a bit intimidating as I had never
described this type of a scene in writing and I wanted it to be funny and
true-to-life, and I wanted it to really bring to the reader the feeling that
was in the room.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;If you could
travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;I think my big
message could be encapsulated into one word: relax. You see, I am a worrier,
and I have been as long as can remember. I worried about school quizzes and my
driver’s test. I worried about whether I would make the cheerleading squad and
if I would get a part in the school play. I asked myself “what if this
happens?” and “what if that doesn’t happen?” It would have benefited me to have
just taken a deep breath and tried to relax, because worrying really doesn’t change
things.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;More than
relaxing about the things that could happen to me, though, I would tell myself
to relax when I worried about what everybody else thought of me. “Will they say
my outfit doesn’t match?” “Does he think I’m pretty?” “Does she think I’m cool?”
“Was that a totally stupid thing to say?” “If I say no, will they hate me
forever?” I would go back and tell myself, again, to take a deep breath, and
just do what my gut told me was right, regardless of what anyone else though or
said.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Which of your
characters is most like you?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;A few come to
mind, but the one who most resembles me in personality would be from my first
book, Beggars and Choosers. Beggars and Choosers is technically an adult novel,
but it falls into the category really of a “New Adult” or a “coming-of-age”
novel where one of the two characters, Cory Butana, is 15-19 during the entire
book. Cory is very much like me, in fact, this story had been in my mind since
I was about thirteen, and in my mind, Cory was me.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;The main
characteristic I share with Cory is my deep desire to please other people. Cory
tries to please his father, his bosses, his best friend, Maura, and his love
interest, Brett. He is a bit of a target at school, but not a total victim. He
is honest and thoughtful and has trouble saying no even when he needs to. Cory
can be pushed very far before he gets angry; but when he finally draws a line,
he means it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;Is there
anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;&quot;&gt;As a teen,
music was very important to me. (It still is!) I incorporate music into every
story that I write as I know it would be important in the lives of my
characters. Intervention is about a musical boy who uses popular songs and
lyrics to communicate with a boy who refuses to pay attention to him when he
speaks. The intervention in question is a musical one. Not Broken, Just Bent
was named after and inspired by the Pink/Nate Ruess song “Just Give me A
Reason”. It refers to two boys’ long term relationship that endures hard times,
but ultimately is not broken, just bent out of shape. The Red Sheet was
inspired by Five For Fighting’s “Superman”, which is quoted throughout the
novel. It deals with the fragile humanity of Superman as he takes on the evil
of the world.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;v:shape id=&quot;Picture_x0020_2&quot; o:spid=&quot;_x0000_i1025&quot; style=&quot;height: 349.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 308.25pt;&quot; type=&quot;#_x0000_t75&quot;&gt;
 &lt;v:imagedata o:title=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;file:///C:\Users\Jeff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg&quot;&gt;
&lt;/v:imagedata&gt;&lt;/v:shape&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ncdLt2fQoegiw9kuWUkytJxnZt3_Rg7l5Nsh-hr8o4ZRaATvtXrDHOVCZwn-l5hmlvKe3L_1ycPYRx1eviAdtRS7HiA6_2Miq4xNfMqD9K6-SlYa4KeJsJ-kHA3OLm-ao68Aebm21bCd/s1600/filmstrip_miakerick.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ncdLt2fQoegiw9kuWUkytJxnZt3_Rg7l5Nsh-hr8o4ZRaATvtXrDHOVCZwn-l5hmlvKe3L_1ycPYRx1eviAdtRS7HiA6_2Miq4xNfMqD9K6-SlYa4KeJsJ-kHA3OLm-ao68Aebm21bCd/s1600/filmstrip_miakerick.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;About the Author: &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;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 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.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Mia focuses her
stories on the emotional growth of troubled men and their relationships, and
she believes that sex 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 for providing her with an
alternate place to stash her stories.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Mia is proud of her
involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every
victory made in the name of 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.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;My themes I always write about:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;EN&quot; style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Sweetness. Unconventional love, tortured/damaged heroes- only love can save
them.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;Author Links:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://miakerick.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;http://miakerick.com/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Century Gothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/04/featured-author-mia-kerrick.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRhsKqW6VHjToRVAz8vWKR5COIqY0NGnSUp2wstPTrVzwt8Zj0P2twas0HrwmU0QRS5l_vBpzQGMykEWL7-zd9lgni3f78phsbXAyBJ8dPlh6Zy6nlpj6bHoHkrkqUOySdwKHK0DmdycV/s72-c/redsheet.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-3745134580878377527</guid><pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2014 22:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-17T18:58:31.665-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Sally Bosco</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/cevinsdeadlysin.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Sally Bosco&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/cevinsdeadlysin.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Sally Bosco &lt;/b&gt;has a fascination with gender: the perceptions we have, the attitudes people have toward those who don’t fit into the usual categories, and the feelings we have about our own genders. She is inexplicably drawn toward the Uncanny, the shades of gray between the light and dark, the area where your mind hovers as you’re falling off to sleep. She loves writing young adult fiction because she strongly relates to teenage angst, the search for self-identity and the feelings of being an outsider. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
 Her published novels include &lt;em&gt;Death Divided &lt;/em&gt;(written with Lynn Hansen), &lt;em&gt;The Werecat Chronicles&lt;/em&gt;, and her newest book (and thesis novel), &lt;em&gt;Cevin’s Deadly Sin&lt;/em&gt;, the story of a hetero teen cross-dresser struggling to make it through his senior year in a small Florida town. She has also been published in &lt;em&gt;Many Genres, One Craft&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Small Bites&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Hazard Yet Forward&lt;/em&gt;, and &lt;em&gt;Cellar Door&lt;/em&gt; anthologies. She has an MFA degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Sally Bosco on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/SallyBosco&quot;&gt;@SallyBosco&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://sallybosco.com/&quot;&gt;http://sallybosco.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Sally Bosco:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cover model exactly fits my image of Cevin, so I was very happy about that. The “V” in Cevin is made of a pair of red panties. These panties are the catalyst for all of the struggles Cevin experiences during the course of the story. They also symbolize different elements of the story: Cevin’s uniqueness, the struggles he faces with bullying, and finally they symbolize Tessa’s love for him.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cevin’s Deadly Sin is unique because cross-dressing has seldom if ever been the subject of a book in young adult literature. Cevin isn’t a drag queen, and he isn’t transgender, he just has a need to dress in women’s clothing. Yet, he’s attracted to women. Heterosexuality is actually very common with cross-dressers. He is gender dysphoric to a certain extent. This means he identifies quite a bit with the female gender, yet in his daily life he doesn’t act particularly effeminate. His preferences are to a large part hidden. It’s unique to have such a person as a protagonist in a young adult book, particularly one that’s a romance. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Don’t stress over relationships. Most of them aren’t going to work out, and you will meet “the one” when the time is right. That will come much later than you thought, but it’s all for the best, because you’ll develop proficiency and independence in your life that will make you much stronger and more self-assured. I swear, I’ve wasted so much time mooning around over relationships that didn’t work out. And for what? I wish I had spent all of that energy working on my writing.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there anything from your own life that has been placed into your books?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes. Tessa’s bedroom is basically a dungeon. She’s painted everything black, covered her windows with black velvet drapes, has candles and gargoyles all over and has a large lion-head fountain that billows smoke. I had this exact same setup in a room that had been added onto my house as a sunroom (I know, ironic.) I loved using the room for writing. I&#39;d sit in there and zone out from the world. Alas, the room broke down over the years—the walls actually started cracking—so I had to have it torn down and replaced it with a big, bright sun room. It’s still dark at night though!
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Do you have a nervous habit when writing? &amp;nbsp;A guilty pleasure when writing? 
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love to write in cafés. The smell of the coffee, the activity of people bustling around, the general sounds of people talking and moving are an inspiration to me. It’s always been very difficult for me to write at home. I’m getting better at it. Still, I like knowing that when I&#39;m at a café I’m there for one purpose, to write, and I find myself getting much less distracted than I would around my house.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When you’re in school, it feels like the most important thing in the world is fitting in. If you’re different you feel like an outcast—an outsider. Yet, as you get older, these differences can become an asset. Try celebrating your differences. Your true self is unique and beautiful. The world is bigger than you think it is. You don’t have to fit in. You just have to be you. On the edge.
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Sally Bosco:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/cevinsdeadlysin.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=25&amp;amp;products_id=122&amp;amp;zenid=bmj7mduiavhvieeu1f7clppho2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Cevin’s Deadly Sin&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Cevin thinks that moving to a small town is the worst thing that ever happened to him…until he falls for Tessa. She may be the one person who can accept him for himself and his cross-dressing, but her brother Hunt’s goal is to make Cevin’s life a living hell. When Hunt’s bullying escalates, Cevin has to figure out how to keep Tessa and make peace with his cross-dressing in order to save his own life.
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347895078l/11701709.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.amazon.com/The-Werecat-Chronicles-Sally-Bosco/dp/0615496202/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1344719428&amp;amp;sr=8-1&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Werecat Chronicles&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Confused by heightened senses and a heat that overwhelms her body and mind, shy, sheltered Kenley discovers that she’s a werecat. And not just any old werecat—she’s part of a royal lineage that goes back to Egyptian cat goddesses. She’s eager to embrace her new heritage. After all, who wouldn’t want the strength and agility of a cat and, well, a few other special abilities? But when she falls in love with Luis, the crown prince of an opposing faction of werecats, she’s tempted to do the unspeakable to be with the boy she loves.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Cevin’s Deadly Sin&lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Sally Bosco has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt;Cevin’s Deadly Sin&lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on April 21st.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/04/featured-author-giveaway-sally-bosco.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-2032278223913415907</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Apr 2014 02:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-06T22:24:56.332-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">John H. Ames</category><title>Featured Author: John H. Ames</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391441587l/20703763.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;John H. Ames&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391441587l/20703763.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;John H. Ames &lt;/b&gt;was born in El Salvador C.A. He currently lives in Belize and began writing in 2009. He posted some of his work on an internet website, and after receiving positive feedback, he completed several full-length novels under his pen name, John Henry Ames. His first completed novel is Surviving Elite High. The story chronicles the life of a gay sixteen-year-old boy as he makes his way through life as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies. His passions are reading, writing and spending time with the ones he loves. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with John H. Ames on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/JohnHenryAmes&quot;&gt;@JohnHenryAmes&lt;/a&gt;
 or visit his website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://jhabooks.webs.com&quot;&gt;http://jhabooks.webs.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author John H. Ames:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would love to swap places with Lucas Edward Johnson from &lt;em&gt;Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain: Swapatized!&lt;/em&gt; I find him to be a very amazing and interesting individual. &lt;em&gt;Swapatized!&lt;/em&gt; is told in Kyle’s point of view, and we don’t get to see what goes on in Luke’s head or what he does. It would be great to see him doing his best, being Lucas Edward Johnson.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What inspired you to write &lt;em&gt;Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With &lt;em&gt;Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain&lt;/em&gt;, I wanted to write something new and fresh, something that no one has seen before. I love short novels and lengthy ones as well. So, why not have both of them at the same time? Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain is made up of three short stories. They can stand alone but they can also stand as one.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What’s up next for you?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Right now I’m going through a lot of personal and family issues. As it is, &lt;em&gt;Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain &lt;/em&gt;might be my last GLBT novel. I can’t say for sure because my ‘inspirational flashes’ are spontaneous and out of control. Right now, I’m working on my first mainstream novel, &lt;em&gt;Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories&lt;/em&gt;. I’ve been working on it since 2009 so I’ve got to release it. &lt;em&gt;Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories&lt;/em&gt; might come out around summer time, so be ready to embrace it. It’s a little bit of &lt;em&gt;Twilight’s&lt;/em&gt; love story and &lt;em&gt;Harry Potter’s&lt;/em&gt; magic with very unique little twists. &lt;em&gt;Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories&lt;/em&gt; might be a straight YA novel but it does have a GLBT element in it. So, I think it’s the perfect novel or the best of both worlds.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What do you like most about writing Young Adult?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love the fact that you can basically recreate your teenage years and make them a little more interesting and fun. You can also let other people into your mind and teach them a lesson or two. Writing makes life fun, exciting, and enjoyable. My life was dull and boring before I started writing. My novels made it fresh and extremely amusing.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I want my readers to learn that nothing is impossible. Once you set your mind on a goal, never ever give up. Keep going until you can’t no more, and even then, you shouldn’t give up. Many doors will be closed, but there will be an open one that will take you to the perfect road. Remember, life is simple. If you love someone, go for it. It’s better to have tried than never to have tried at all. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from John H. Ames:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391441587l/20703763.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ai-press.net/love-joy-heartache-and-pain/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
A collection of new entwined stories by best-selling Young Adult author, John H. Ames. Love that reaches beyond the boundaries of the physical realm… 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;The not so unrealistic detailed account of how my best friend and I swapped bodies for a short period of time or Swapatized!&lt;/b&gt; - High school is one of the most excruciating and painful periods of any teenager’s life. To Kyle, it’s hell on earth. Being the target of the jocks made him hate high school more than anything in the world. All he has is his best friend and the center of the jock’s interest, the beautiful Kylie Bursnell. But Kylie is not your typical beauty. She hates the jocks even more than Kyle, especially Lucas Edward Johnson, a jock who is madly in love with her and Kyle’s forbidden dream. After a bizarre and freaky night, they swap bodies and are force to live each other’s live. Can this actually be true? Has Kyle’s dream come true? Will he be able to love Lucas Edward Johnson unconditionally until the end of time? Or is their love nothing but a beautiful dream enveloped in heartache and pain? 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Spirit Indestructible&lt;/b&gt; - Brandon Angelo William has it all. He’s hot, popular, shy, humble, and one of the typical and regular guys in high school. But, unbeknownst to everyone, he’s a closeted gay teen who came out to his parents the previous year. They loved and accepted him with open arms so what more could Brandon want? Love. The one thing that his soul and body need. After a late night out with his best friend, Kevin, Brad sees one of the most beautiful guys he has ever laid eyes on. But could the teen in front of him be real? Or is he the legendary hitching ghost that everyone talks about? Brad needs to find out and what he discovers shocks him and changes his young life forever… 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;The Lake View Psychopath&lt;/b&gt; - Jocks beware, he’s here and he’s not scared. Ashton Hall hates his existence at Lake View High. The jocks have made his life a living hell and his friends have completely turned their backs on him. Why? For being gay and dating the love of his life, Austin Young. Almost overnight, they became the center of every joke and every bully’s paradise. To make matters worse, even the school’s coach allows his ‘jock superstars’ to make fun of them. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
But everything the night Austin Young is brutally murdered by the jocks and they walk free. Something snaps inside Ashton’s head and the only think he can think of is revenge. Will Ashton come to his sense and let Austin go? Or will he become one of the greatest serial killers of all time?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389031724l/20453329.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ai-press.net/surviving-elite-high/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Surviving Elite High (Surviving Elite High #1)
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
John Henry Ames is a sixteen-year-old boy from a small New Jersey town. John is humble, shy and studious. He lives as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
On the verge of dropping out of school due to overdue payments, a teacher enrolls him in a tutoring program where he meets the school&#39;s star quarterback and hero, Nick Anthony Hawking. Since he was doing poorly in several subjects, Nick needs John&#39;s help to pass and graduate high school. As John becomes closer to the jock, he develops a strong affection towards him even though Nick has a strong reputation of sleeping around with a lot of women. Nick becomes his friend and protector in school. Their sincere friendship helps to bring out the best in each of them, even as several tragedies, like a school shooting, threaten to change their young lives forever.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361410520l/17404961.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ai-press.net/surviving-elite-high-senior-year/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Senior Year (Surviving Elite High #2)
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
And you thought last year was full of drama, suspense and romance? You ain’t seen nothing yet!
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
After a summer of love, hard work and…ahem…cohabitation, Nick and John are beginning their senior year. However, putting the memory of last year’s turbulent events at Elite High behind them proves harder than ever. Mysterious notes begin to appear inside John’s locker. Something is definitely wrong since the writer of the notes is none other than Matthew Ward, the homicidal student who nearly killed John. Is Matthew now free to finish what he started?
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
As if that weren’t bad enough, a new girl at school has an obsession with Nick that makes her do terrible things, things that threaten to tear Nick and John apart at every turn. Will Nick and John ever find happiness and stability together? Or will they end up going their separate ways?
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
All of these questions and more will be answered in part two of the Surviving Elite High saga!&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361410961l/17404967.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ai-press.net/surviving-elite-high-loving-james/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Loving James (Surviving Elite High #3)
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Surviving a normal high school is hard enough. Surviving Elite High? Close to impossible! Not until you learn the difference between love and obsession…
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Sixteen year old James Gordon has it all. He’s rich, studious, and bears quite a strong resemblance to Justin Bieber. So, what’s stopping him from being a normal kid in high school? The deadly jocks. They torment anyone who’s gay or possibly closeted, even though Nick Wild Hawk, star of the football team and the love of his life, John, came out to the whole school in previous years and made being gay at Elite High just another walk of life.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
However, even though the jocks have bullied James nonstop and made his life a living hell, he can’t help but fantasize about the king of the jocks, Nathan Parker. Nathan is rugged, straight and the most popular guy in school. When fate intercepts and places James and Nathan under the same roof, James’ torture really begins. And yet, through it all, James hopes that that his steadfast love for Nathan will change the jock into a lover rather than an abuser. Unless a certain hot, loyal, guy in the background can find a way to show James he is really, truly loved, and has been for a long time. Before it’s too late…
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Surviving Elite High: Loving James is the third part of the Surviving Elite High Saga which features one the most famous and loved characters in the series, Jacob Ashmore.&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/04/featured-author-john-h-ames.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-1634373121101491377</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2014 16:40:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-31T12:40:37.221-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><title>Featured Author: Brent Hartinger</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_brenthartinger.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_brenthartinger.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Brent Hartinger&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;Brent Hartinger is an author, teacher, playwright, and
screenwriter. &lt;i&gt;Geography Club&lt;/i&gt;, the
first book in his Lambda Award-winning Russel Middlebrook Series, is now a
feature film co-starring Scott Bakula, Ana Gasteyer, and Nikki Blonsky. In
1990, Brent helped found one of the world&#39;s first gay teen support groups, in
his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. In 2005, he co-founded the gay
entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006.
Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.brenthartinger.com/&quot;&gt;brenthartinger.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Brent Hartinger on Twitter @brenthartinger or visit his &lt;a href=&quot;http://brenthartinger.com/&quot;&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author NAME:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;&quot;&gt;What
would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;&quot;&gt;Well, mostly I just want them to be entertained. I&#39;ve always seen myself as more of a storyteller than an &quot;artist,&quot; which always sounds pretentious to me (I believe there are artists, but that that&#39;s a label for others to apply).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;Anyway, I tell the stories that fascinate me. Hopefully, my readers are interested too.
But do my stories have a &quot;point&quot;? Apart from ideas like, &quot;Gay people are human too,&quot; I didn&#39;t really think about this too much, until one day I had a realization. Every single YA book I&#39;ve ever written has a point where the main character (and, often, the supporting characters!) has to make a choice: do they do the selfish action, the thing that would give them immediate pleasure, or do they sacrifice their own immediate pleasure for some greater good? It&#39;s kind of funny. Whichever book of mine you look at, that moment is right there, at the end of the second act, right before the final confrontation. Once you&#39;re aware, it&#39;s incredibly obvious.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;And the more I thought about this, the more I realized that these moments made sense in my YA books, because I see the teen years as being about change, about growing up, and these moments I&#39;m talking about are the ones where children literally become adults. Children are selfish and self-centered. Adults are (theoretically) mature -- they understand the importance of other people. Sometimes a sacrifice in the short run makes things much, much better in the long run, for everyone, including the main character.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;But for what it&#39;s worth, I think there are plenty of adults who never understand this. They never really &quot;grow up.&quot; They&#39;re fundamentally selfish. They basically stay children their whole lives.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;b style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other
     books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;The older I get, the more I believe in Sturgeon&#39;s Law -- the idea that ninety percent of everything is crap. I don&#39;t know if my own books are crap -- although I know some people think they are (!). But I&#39;m extremely proud of the fact that my books feel very, very unique to me. They couldn&#39;t have been written by anyone else. If I hadn&#39;t been born, nothing like them would exist.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;It&#39;s a little funny. The Russel Middlebrook Series is the story of a gay kid and his two best friends, a straight guy and a bisexual girl. It&#39;s vaguely autobiographical, and all the characters are these quirky, nerdy intellectuals. The series ended it up being pretty popular -- they even made a movie out of the first one -- but its success still confounds me a bit. I felt like a freak in high school , like there was no one like me except me and my small circle of friends. I still feel like a freak now!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;But these weird, quirky, nerdy characters found a place in the hearts of a lot of other people. And then I realized: there are more freaks and nerds in the world than I or most people realize! Plus, freaks and nerds read a lot. Who knew?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: whitesmoke; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;What are your writing goals for the next five years?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul style=&quot;margin-top: 0in;&quot; type=&quot;disc&quot;&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;Well,
as I said before, I consider myself a storyteller more than anything. And I&#39;m
not even particularly wedded to the medium of prose. I also love playwriting
and screenwriting. In fact, whenever I teach writing, I always encourage my
students to try another medium. Yes, they&#39;re all very different, but ultimately
a story is a story. And in my opinion, most novelists could stand to think a bit
more about plot.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;So
lately I&#39;ve been returning to screenwriting, which was my first love, before I
had my first success as a novelist. I love the medium of film, but more than
that, I like collaborating with others. Well, let me clarify -- sometimes I
hate it, because collaboration means compromise. But after writing novels for
basically the last ten years, it&#39;s really fun to be working with other people
in the creation of movies. And so far, they&#39;re all people I like and respect.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;I
have a couple of different movies in the works. And yes, one of them is a gay
teen story that I&#39;m really proud of -- a little gay teen love story with a &lt;i&gt;Dead Poet&#39;s Society&lt;/i&gt; vibe. I have no idea
what people will think -- I don&#39;t think it&#39;s crap, but maybe it is! But it&#39;s
definitely totally uniquely &quot;me&quot; -- even more than the Russel
Middlebrook books. So naturally I&#39;ll be totally crushed if it isn&#39;t a success!&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: whitesmoke; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage
     you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul style=&quot;margin-top: 0in;&quot; type=&quot;disc&quot;&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;Two
things. First, to relax. None of it matters as much as he thinks it does. Yes,
bad things are going to happen, without a doubt. But good things will happen
too, also without a doubt. Why worry about something that hasn&#39;t happened yet?
Why &lt;i&gt;create&lt;/i&gt; misery for yourself? What
in the world is that about?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;But
then I&#39;d tell him there is one thing that does matter: your friends. Basically,
they&#39;re the most important thing in your life. They will literally determine
whether you are happy or sad in life. Because if you pick good friends, and
nurture them, they can help you be happy, help you to appreciate life, even
when the bad things inevitably happen.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;I
didn&#39;t know the first piece of advice when I was teenager -- and I wouldn&#39;t
have listened even my adult self had traveled back in time to tell me that.
Sometimes I think I still haven&#39;t truly learned it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;But
the second piece of advice? I think I had an inkling from the very beginning how
important good friends were. And every moment of my life since then has
completely confirmed it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed
into your books?&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;Oh,
lots and lots! I mentioned before how one of my books -- &lt;i&gt;Geography Club&lt;/i&gt;, the first Russel Middlebrook book -- was recently
turned into a movie. It was really fascinating watch them film scenes that were
taken directly from my life. At one point, I was on the set thinking,
&quot;Wait. Did I just watch that, did I write it, or did it happen to
me?&quot; It was all a strange, fabulous blur!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;One
of the big plot lines in the book and movie is how the main character&#39;s best
friend desperately wants to get a girlfriend. Well, that totally happened to
me. I was just walking with that friend yesterday, laughing at how this thing
that caused us both so much angst in high school is now being acted out by
impossibly pretty people in a movie.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;Life does seriously NOT get any weirder than
that!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05IZYkbCVrI04xKIIhlkdxrx7FLHAhovRDK99nPVuRgiJPCJKoJPaovH8WT04Yzm8NZ8g41FDs8cePVrvYyX85JyBCFiDZ5d_4-RyX-GYBV-P0sKCJrEU8SUGljedhRQ2lEaGVX6iG8XJ/s1600/the-real-story-500x800.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05IZYkbCVrI04xKIIhlkdxrx7FLHAhovRDK99nPVuRgiJPCJKoJPaovH8WT04Yzm8NZ8g41FDs8cePVrvYyX85JyBCFiDZ5d_4-RyX-GYBV-P0sKCJrEU8SUGljedhRQ2lEaGVX6iG8XJ/s1600/the-real-story-500x800.jpg&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;The Real
Story Safe Sex Project:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;Brent,
can you share with us some information about The Real Story Safe Sex Project?
What exactly is it, and why is it important to you to reach out to teens and
young gay people about this issue? What can readers do to help? And can you
please provide a link to the project and any info you’d like to share?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Cambria&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;&quot;&gt;http://brenthartinger.com/therealstory/&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;Feel free to include as much or
little of this as possible&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; -
Brent&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is this all about?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
Well, the Real Story Safe Sex Project is my way of helping to encourage safe
sex among gay and bi male teenagers and twentysomethings.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
HIV/AIDS is still a really serious disease, and gay and bi guys are at a
very high (and rising) risk of catching it. But a lot of people don’t seem
interested in talking about it anymore.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So the Real Story Safe Sex Project takes a new, hopefully more entertaining
approach: remind people about HIV and safe sex using entertainment and popular
culture, especially projects involving your favorite fictional gay and bi
characters.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’m launching the project with my story &lt;em&gt;Two Thousand Pounds Per Square Inch&lt;/em&gt;,
using a character from my own Russel Middlebrook Series (warning: it’s sexually
explicit!).&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lots of other writers, artists, and filmmakers are currently participating
in the project too -- about twenty-five so far, with lots of others (hopefully)
coming soon.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
What exactly are you trying to do here?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
A bunch of different things. First, validate bi and gay guys who choose to
have safe sex — and celebrate and eroticize that sex. I also hope we can
educate people who might have questions about safe sex, HIV, and AIDS.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But mostly, I think I just want to restart the conversation about safe sex
that seems to have lagged lately among a lot of young gay and bi guys.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
Who is the Real Story Safe Sex Project?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
Well, it’s me, Brent Hartinger, and anyone else who wants to participate!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’m an author. But I’ve also worked as an AIDS educator, and I helped found
one of the world’s first LGBT teen support groups, in my home town of Tacoma,
Washington, back in 1990. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;How can I help?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Lots of ways!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;(1) Help spread the word&lt;/strong&gt;. Tell people what the Project is
all about. It’s as easy as using the social media links below. Also, follow the
Real Story Safe Sex Project on &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/RSSafeSex&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/therealstorysafesex&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;
to see the latest contributions to the effort. If you’re a journalist or a
blogger, consider writing about us.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;(2) Volunteer.&lt;/strong&gt; This entire project depends on people’s
willingness to help out. So are you a graphic designer? A proof-reader? Do you
have some other skill you think might help the project? &lt;a href=&quot;http://brenthartinger.com/contact-me/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Contact me! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;(3) Create a Real Story safe sex story.&lt;/strong&gt; This is the heart
of the project — the reason it exists in the first place. So if you’re an
author or a filmmaker (even an unpublished or unproduced one), consider
creating something on the subject of safe sex. You can use entirely new
characters, or existing characters from a book, TV show, or movie you created
(and/or control the rights to).&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Then upload your short story or video to your favorite media platforms, and
tell your fans about it! Tell me too, and if I agree that it follows the
mission of the Real Story Safe Sex Project, I’ll also do what I can to help
spread the word.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My own contribution to the project includes some facts about HIV/AIDS and
safe sex, but that isn’t a requirement of this project (at all!). On the
contrary, I hope the other stories will be about all aspects of safe sex. I’d &lt;em&gt;love&lt;/em&gt;
to see stories or videos about the emotional side of things, or funny stories,
or maybe even just outright erotica!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The only requirements I have are that (1) the project be available in as
many platforms as possible for free; (2) that it promote safe sex, preferably
among gay and bi teens and twentysomethings; and (3) that you mention “The Real
Story Safe Sex Project,” on the cover if it’s an e-story, and include a link to
this page in the body of the work. If I think your content meets our mission statement
(and isn’t going to get me attacked and/or sued!), I’ll help distribute your
work too.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Don’t know how or where to upload your e-story or video? Need a designer for
your book jacket, or a proof-reader? I have volunteers lined up, so &lt;a href=&quot;http://brenthartinger.com/contact-me/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;contact me, and
I’ll do my best to help!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Brent Hartinger:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/covers/elephantofsurprise.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Surprise-Russel-Middlebrook-ebook/dp/B00BG3EG1O/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1396283553&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=elephant+of+surprise&quot;&gt;The Elephant of Surprise&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
Book 4 in the Lambda Award-winning Russel Middlebrook Series!

People aren&#39;t always what they seem to be. Sometimes we even surprise ourselves.

So discovers seventeen-year-old Russel Middlebrook in The Elephant of Surprise, a stand-alone sequel to Brent Hartinger&#39;s landmark 2003 gay young adult novel Geography Club (which has now been adapted as a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Nikki Blonsky).

In this latest book, Russel and his friends Min and Gunnar are laughing about something they call the Elephant of Surprise – the tendency for life to never turn out as expected. Sure enough, Russel soon happens upon a hot but mysterious homeless activist named Wade, even as he&#39;s drawn back to an old flame named Kevin. Meanwhile, Min is learning surprising things about her girlfriend Leah, and Gunnar just wants to be left alone to pursue his latest technology obsession. 

But the elephant is definitely on the move in all three of their lives. Just who is Wade and what are he and his friends planning? What is Leah hiding? And why is Gunnar taking naked pictures of Kevin in the shower?&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/featured-author-brent-hartinger.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05IZYkbCVrI04xKIIhlkdxrx7FLHAhovRDK99nPVuRgiJPCJKoJPaovH8WT04Yzm8NZ8g41FDs8cePVrvYyX85JyBCFiDZ5d_4-RyX-GYBV-P0sKCJrEU8SUGljedhRQ2lEaGVX6iG8XJ/s72-c/the-real-story-500x800.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-251401299153482009</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-26T14:54:04.239-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Jeff Erno</category><title>Jeff Erno Giveaway</title><description>&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Ai Press:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/foreverfearless.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://booklinkhere/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forever Fearless&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;The Forever Vampire saga continues…
In the aftermath of unspeakable slaughter, Robbie and Colt have escaped to the wilds of Alaska to face their immortal future. Things aren&#39;t so certain for their sworn enemies, Dylan and Issa, Matarian soldiers sworn to hunt them down and slaughter them.
Dylan is poised to begin his first vampire hunt and wants Issa as his partner, but Issa is far more concerned with finding his brother and tracking down the blond boy who nearly died on the battlefield. The entire cast from book one reunites in this thrilling continuation of their story, joined by a host of new faces--friends and foes--whose lives somehow weave together as they cross paths in their efforts to battle evil and attain their own happiness. Humans, Shifters, Daywalkers, and Purebloods confront each other with the guidance of three enigmatic sisters--one a Maenad, one a necromancer, and the other a human witch. Plot twists and surprises mark the paths of these diverse characters, forever fearless in their quest to cling to all they hold dear.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; style=&quot;background-image: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Forever Fearless&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Jeff Erno has generously donated a free copy of&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;Forever Fearless&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. Contest open until April 1, 2014.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/jeff-erno-giveaway.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>8</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-6982865972139352734</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-24T10:53:25.220-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Hayden Thorne</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Hayden Thorne</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaeBRiBh02B0pSECzCmwyRRbmXx_xoCSdibePsh1jwcT591p4dTSiinFsB4-WprGHUxL_tYL4kgxuqiwjIL8crrD8bnNqF5pyYVa_pZAwyXKEBmAHxXfftMhwfICOHm3Sf59EcetBKZg8/s1600/haydenthorne.png&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Hayden Thorne&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1390355404l/20614987.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Hayden Thorne &lt;/b&gt;has lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area though she wasn’t born there (or, indeed, the USA). She’s married with no kids and three cats, is a cycling nut, and her day job involves artwork, great coworkers who specialize in all kinds of media, and the occasional strange customer requests involving papier mache fish with sparkly scales.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
She’s a writer of young adult fiction, specializing in contemporary fantasy, historical fantasy, and historical genres. Her books range from a superhero fantasy series to reworked folktales to Victorian ghost fiction. Her themes are coming-of-age with very little focus on romance (most of the time) and more on individual growth with some adventure thrown in.
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Visit Hayden Thorne’s website: http://haydenthorne.com/.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Hayden Thorne:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’m a massive nerd when it comes to fiction – at least in terms of making use of what I know as an English Major in college. I’m extremely fond of symbolism, metaphor, and allegory. I find it exciting writing a story that’s a lot more than what’s obvious on the surface. It’s like working bread crumbs into the plot, and leaving readers to find connections. If they don’t, that’s fine, too. The stories just become colorful fantasies, and there’s nothing wrong with that. By and large, though, I never write a story without a specific metaphor in mind. For me, there’s more than one way to tell a story, even something like a coming-out novel.  
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What are your writing goals for the next five years?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’d like to continue writing what I write, but I’m also interested in dipping into the fantasy middle-grade fiction waters, LGBT and otherwise. I’m particularly interested in writing gothic fiction for kids, and if things work out in my favor, I’d like to find an agent for it. Fantasy LGBT YA fiction is still my mainstay, though, and even if I were to cut back on my output there, I’m not stopping completely.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Do you believe in ghosts? (or aliens or vampires or whatever the subject matter of the story is)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I do, which is the reason why I’m excessively fond of ghost fiction, particularly Victorian ghost fiction. I’ve had experiences when I was younger involving hauntings, the most significant one being an incident that happened to both me and my younger sister at the same time. So she could corroborate my claims easily. We still talk about it once in a while, too. I think neither of us will ever forget that moment. 
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Which authors do you enjoy reading?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Those would be authors whose works I adore and look up to as inspiration for my own stories. I’ve got several, but the ones who keep their top spots, no matter what, are M.R. James (Victorian ghost fiction), Chris Priestley (dark fantasy children’s literature), Susanna Clarke (historical fantasy / alternate universe), and a smattering of classic lit writers (Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

I’m also very fond of anthologies – ghost fiction and gothic fiction from the beginnings of the genres to the early twentieth century.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there one genre of YA that you would love to write but haven’t? (example: paranormal, contemporary, fantasy)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I grew up watching mecha anime, and I’d love, love, LOVE to write a sci-fi gay YA novel that involves giant robots battling aliens or monsters or whatnot. My favorite series is Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I devoured as an adult, and I’m still completely blown away by the series’ psychological complexity and fantastic art. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That they – the readers - are more than their sexual orientation. They’re complex, they’re contradictory, they’re exciting, and they’re very much heroes of any story that can be written. Whether it’s a fairy tale or a contemporary fantasy or a gothic romance, a young reader can easily find him/herself front and center, faltering and stumbling, making mistakes, learning something valuable and unique about him/herself, and ultimately emerging a lot wiser and stronger.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Hayden Thorne:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1390355404l/20614987.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=2&amp;products_id=114&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Masks: Rise of Heroes (2nd edition)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Strange things are happening in Vintage City, and high school goth boy Eric seems to be right in the middle of them. There&#39;s a new villain in town, one with super powers, and he&#39;s wreaking havoc on the town, and on Eric&#39;s life. The new super hero who springs up to defend Vintage City is almost as bad, making Eric all hot and bothered, enough so that he almost misses the love that&#39;s right between his nose. Peter is Eric&#39;s best friend, and even if he does seem to be hiding something most of the time, he finds a way to show Eric how he feels in between attacks on trains and banks and malls. The two boys decide to start dating, much to the chagrin of their other best buddy, Althea, who has a terrible crush on Peter, and a secret or two of her own to keep. As the fight between the villain, known as the Devil&#39;s Trill, and superhero Magnifiman picks up, Eric&#39;s relationship with Peter almost ends before it begins when Eric finds out about Peter&#39;s special talents, which might just rank Peter as a superhero in his own right. When the Trill takes an interest in Eric, too, Peter and Althea, along with Magnifiman and Eric&#39;s normal, middle-class family all have to work together to keep Eric, and their city, safe. Can they figure out the super villain&#39;s plan in time?&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389020914l/20452442.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=2&amp;products_id=110&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Weeping Willow &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
A woodland shadow and a mortal fall in love, and a tragic cycle begins, haunting the steps of their daughter, Aeldra. At a young age, Aeldra finds herself pregnant, abandoned, and standing at a precipice, her child’s future hanging on a balance. Already physically weakened for having shadow and mortal blood in her veins, she remains defiant when her shadow kin demand her child’s life. She presses her faithful servant, Halfrith, to stand by the boy and make sure he remains unnamed, as it’s through his name that the shadow world will find the means by which they can claim him. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Hope comes in the shape of Helena Butcher, a seventeen-year-old seamstress who brings shame to her family by getting pregnant out of wedlock. From beyond the grave, Aeldra looks to Helena and her unborn child to save her own son, who’s now cursed to remain caught between two worlds after a woodland shadow’s attempt at taking the boy away is thwarted by Halfrith. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Though tragedy marks the births of Crispian Butcher and Aeldra’s son, who’s been turned into a weeping willow by the woodland shadows, something much deeper and more enduring will shape the curious friendship between a ragged boy and a mournful tree. And something stronger and more resistant to hate and prejudice will ultimately break a curse, end a dark cycle, and bring two lonely boys together.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1378242592l/18397199.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=2&amp;products_id=100&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Benedict &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
A young person’s sixteenth birthday is an important rite of passage that’s celebrated in the land of marionettes. A quarterly dance at the king’s palace for recent celebrants marks the highlight of a teenager’s year, where youngsters of all classes are invited to mingle and dance and enjoy themselves, forging new friendships and potential romances, all of which are expected to shape their lives for the better.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Benedict is a boy from a privileged household. Spoiled and taught his role as the future benefactor to those less fortunate, he’s grown up with specific strictures on how to behave toward others, and he’s learned to look to his elders for unequivocal guidance.
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Just before the next dance at the king’s palace—a dance where Benedict, having just turned sixteen, is invited—a few strange things begin to happen. First, there’s the matter regarding Jeremy, Benedict’s friend, who lives in a poor cottage with his mother and grandmother in the woods. Jeremy’s not only been acting oddly, but also is missing some of his marionette strings. No amount of prodding from Benedict yields answers, and the more he tries to delve into things, the more Jeremy pushes away.
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Secondly, there’s the matter regarding birds insisting that Benedict go to the palace to find the lost prince. With nothing but a key and obtuse instructions to go by, Benedict attempts to humor the birds but gradually realizes that the answer to the mystery of the lost prince could very well be a lot more personal than he’d first believed, especially when he sees Jeremy somehow being involved in it.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373806232l/18193685.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=2&amp;products_id=93&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Helleville &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
All fifteen-year-old Noah Hipwell wants is to go through high school in peace. Yet he finds himself suspended after a bully pushes him too far, and Noah’s forced to defend himself. His mother, fed up with the school’s indifference to his plight, pulls him out completely and leaves Noah uncertain of his future while they look for a good and safe school for him.
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All Dorothy “Dot” Hipwell wants is to go through single motherhood in peace. Yet she and her son are harassed by weekly phone calls from her evangelical family hell-bent on guilt-tripping them both back into the fold. Then Noah’s grandparents ask strange questions about their old van after dropping cryptic references to a group called The Soul Warriors. Fed up, Dot takes Noah away for a much-needed getaway, only to find themselves suddenly transported to an alternate world, where a town called Helleville awaits them and all other condemned souls.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Along with warm-blooded, living human beings, the Hipwells rub shoulders with zombies, vampires, house ghosts, and occasional “green vomit piles” while picking up the pieces and sorting out what could very well be an eternity in a bizarre, fanciful, and humorous world of ghouls and banned books.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When residents suddenly disappear one by one with no trace and for no logical reason, however, doubts being “housed” in an alternate world for their sins are raised, and time suddenly becomes of the essence as Noah and the rest of Helleville’s condemned race to find answers to what’s quickly turning into a dangerous puzzle.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Masks: Rise of Heroes&lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Hayden Thorne has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt;Masks: Rise of Heroes&lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on March 31st.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/featured-author-giveaway-hayden-thorne.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>5</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-8433724955798602384</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2014 20:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-20T16:22:10.464-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new releases</category><title>New Releases for March, 2014</title><description>&lt;link href=&quot;http://IMAGE_LINK_GOES_HERE.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;

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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Featured New Releases:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Angel by Alex Norris&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/angel.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Alex-Norris-ebook/dp/B00FOR5N5G/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395338744&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=angel+by+alex+norris&quot;&gt;Angel &lt;/a&gt;by Alex Norris&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Creativia&lt;br /&gt;
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Cambridge University isn&#39;t everything Lewis wanted it to be. Still hung up on a lost love affair from the past and surrounded by friends he loves and loathes in equal measure, Lewis&#39; life takes a dramatic turn after a chance encounter with homeless Rosie. Desperately seeking meaning among the vacuous student lifestyle, Lewis embarks on a quest to help those without homes and without voices. Through a string of secret and sordid affairs with strange men he meets online, Lewis tries to raise money for his new homeless friends. Along the way he&#39;ll encounter a transvestite with the lips of Brigitte Bardot, a gorgeous French traveler, and a slew of lonely men willing to pay for satisfaction. But as Lewis delves further into the depraved, secret life of Cambridge&#39;s backstreets, his faith in humanity and hope for his own future decline rapidly. How low is he willing to sink to make some cash?.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Aun by Tam MacNeil&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/anu.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Anu-Tam-MacNeil/dp/1495353427/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395337959&amp;amp;sr=1-3&amp;amp;keywords=tam+macneilE&quot;&gt;Aun &lt;/a&gt;by Tam MacNeil&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jao is in a quandary. He can&#39;t find work, and he doesn&#39;t want to work for Kazematsuri anyway. That doesn&#39;t stop the crazy man from sending new recruits to test their skills on Jao. There is also something going on with Jao&#39;s upper class boyfriend, Masahiro. Is he really so busy with his opium business that he struggles to find time for their relationship? Or is he getting tired of slumming it with Jao? Then Kazematsuri turns up in person to employ Jao to find out what a new gang, the Anu, is doing in Okatsu. At the same time Fan, the daughter of his friend Akai, disappears and Akai hires Jao to find her. Now Jao has enough money, but he also has several dangerous people to contend with. And he still needs to find out what&#39;s really going on with Masahiro.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Demons! Come Out! by Charlie Purcell&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/demonscomeout.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=2&amp;amp;products_id=131&quot;&gt;Demons! Come Out! &lt;/a&gt;by Charlie Purcell&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It sucks to be Charlie, the only gay kid in his small town high school. He’s different, which is never a good thing. His parents don’t understand him, his sister actively hates him, and his best (and only) friend accidentally outs him to the biggest bully in school. Things can’t get any worse ... Until he accidentally opens a doorway to Hell and unleashes a horde of murderous demons. Now he has to defeat each demon before anyone finds out what he did. If he doesn’t kill all of them before the town’s big centennial celebration, then the gate to Hell will open permanently. Suddenly, being gay isn’t that big a deal. He’s much more concerned about staying alive. On his first demon-hunting mission, Charlie saves Todd, one of the popular kids. Pretty soon they team up to track down the remaining demons, and Charlie starts to realize he and Todd might have more in common than he first thought. As young love blossoms, the world inches closer and closer to apocalypse. Charlie’s completely overwhelmed with swordfights, demon possessions, and more near death experiences than he can possibly imagine. His life has never been more different, and that just might help him save the world.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Destined Union by Tina Brescanu&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/destinedunion.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Destined-Union-Tina-Brescanu-ebook/dp/B00G8KI21A/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395339086&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=destined+union&quot;&gt;Destined Union &lt;/a&gt;by Tina Brescanu&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Creativia&lt;br /&gt;
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Destined Union is a sexy, surprising and witty story about coming out, and of becoming who you are. 

Tordis is a Swedish sex therapist who comes to Ireland and begins to work in the most progressive hospital in the world, the Royal Hospital Dublin. She thinks she knows who she is, heterosexual and monogamous, because that&#39;s what she&#39;s been told from birth. When her life experiences take her off the culture lines of both Sweden and Ireland, she is surprised and delighted to finally have the honor of getting to know herself fully. &lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;The Divide: Unity (Book Two) by Kim Flowers&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/divideunity.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Divide-Book-2-Unity/dp/1495353338/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395339307&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=the+divide%3A+unity&quot;&gt;The Divide: Unity (Book Two) &lt;/a&gt;by Kim Flowers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen press&lt;br /&gt;
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Sequel to The Divide Book 1: Uprising

The revolution has begun, and 18-year-old Malaki Cheyenne is spying on the U.S. government.

In the midst of training on a rebel military base, Malaki can&#39;t decide whether she wants to be in infantry or intelligence. She is also torn between her feelings for three girls, including Serenity Blackwater, who left on a refugee plane to The Nation of California Islands. Malaki is impatient at being low-ranked, but raises her status by creating a program to deactivate U.S. military drones. The base gets attacked after the government finds out members have allied themselves with the revolutionary Human Equality Organization. Malaki is captured and taken to a detainment center, where the same man who tortured Serenity last year says he&#39;s going to convert Malaki from Gay to Normal. Malaki is beaten and starved, and forced to undergo experimental injections which are supposed to change her mind and body so she fits into the mold of what the government says is &quot;normal.&quot;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Ghost Songs by Andrew Demcak&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/ghostsongs.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Songs-Andrew-Demcak-ebook/dp/B00IZEGZZM/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395339472&amp;amp;sr=1-2&amp;amp;keywords=ghost+songs&quot;&gt;Ghost Songs &lt;/a&gt;by Andrew Demcak&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
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It’s not easy being Todd Williams, a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old gay musical prodigy. The bullies, Bob and Ari, at his fancy private school make his life a living hell. Todd’s drunken, irresponsible mother, Eddie, constantly embarrasses him and puts his artistic future in jeopardy. And now, his best friend, Jennifer, who plays clarinet with him in the orchestra, isn’t speaking to him. Maybe Leroy, Todd’s friendly poltergeist, knows what’s going on with her. To top it off, he can no longer rely on Jennifer&#39;s help in the race to solve a puzzle that could lead to a buried treasure. Todd must learn to stand alone. He’s finding out that growing up is far scarier than he ever imagined.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;If We Shadows by D.E. Atwood&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/ifweshadows.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/If-We-Shadows-D-E-Atwood-ebook/dp/B00ITSTHP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395339631&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=if+we+shadow&quot;&gt;If We Shadows &lt;/a&gt;by D.E. Atwood&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
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Born female, all Jordan wants is to slip under the radar and live the last year of high school as a boy. His parents and siblings support him, but he’d rather be recognized for his acting and musical talents than his gender issues. 

When Shakespeare’s Puck gives him three magical potions—true sight, true seeming, and true love—Jordan discovers being true to himself isn’t as simple as he thought. 

Jordan must navigate the confusion of first love, a controversial role in the fall musical, and his transgender identity, while fairy magic creates a net of complications over everything he does. In order to unweave the spells laid over his friends—his supportive older brother, James, his playwright friend, Pepper, and Maria, another transgender student—Jordan needs to understand exactly how far he’ll go to reach his goals of finding true love, true sight, and true seeming.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;The Red Sun Rises by Victoria Kinnaird&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/redsunrises.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sun-Rises-Victoria-Kinnaird-ebook/dp/B00EZZBUI2/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1395339814&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=red+sun+rises&quot;&gt;The Red Sun Rises &lt;/a&gt;by Victoria Kinnaird&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
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Blurb: &quot;Eren Anderson is a freak among freaks. At 17 years old, he doesn’t fit in with his peers in the tiny town of All Hallows and despite being born into it, he most certainly doesn’t fit in among The Order of Our Mother, the secret nature worshipping society that has harnessed the ability cast spells and believes vampires are not only real, but their deadliest enemies. Eren is turned into a vampire after an attack by the local coven master, but that is the least of his worries... 

In a post-Twilight world, “The Red Sun Rises” is a YA novel intended to give vampires their bite back but it should not be read as simply another vampire novel. “The Red Sun Rises” is a story about growing up, responsibility, falling in love, facing your fears and taking fate into your own hands.&quot;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Strong Arrow&#39;s Warpath by Kim Flowers&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/strongarrowswarpath.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=24&amp;amp;products_id=130&quot;&gt;Strong Arrow&#39;s Warpath &lt;/a&gt;by Kim Flowers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sequel to Nadine&#39;s Voyage Strong Arrow knows a great war is inevitable. In the past few weeks, he and his friends have defeated sinister delegates from Great Britain as well as traitors in the U.S. who want to reinstate colonial rule. Now the British Imperial Navy is on the way to America, and Strong Arrow believes it is his responsibility to lead this final battle. Unless he does something drastic, he won’t have enough status to be with his love, Spirit Warrior, who is both a warrior and a shaman, and son of the chief. He doesn’t always know what he should believe, but he wants a future where he and his friends can live in peace. But if things don’t go well in battle, it may be time for the Lenape to insist on only following their ways from now on. As all eyes keep watch for the Imperial Navy, Strong Arrow, Spirit Warrior, and Nadine help Amelia and her father build an air ship to search for the enemy. Will Strong Arrow be able to defeat their enemies this last time, or will he have to turn his back on the people he once called friends?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Triane&#39;s Son Reigning by Amy Lane&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/trianessonreigning.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-trianes-son-reigning-by-amy-lane/&quot;&gt;Triane&#39;s Son Reigning &lt;/a&gt;by Amy Lane&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
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From the moment Torrant Shadow realized Consort Rath murdered his family, he’s lived a dual identity: a healer and poet by nature, a predator out of necessity. It’s not just exhausting, it’s perilous.

In the deadly city of Dueance, Torrant must succeed in both lives, because while the predator may save the Goddess’s folk from Rath’s brutal policies, it is the poet who will sway the minds of the people to revolt against the oppressive government. As his cause falters, Torrant finds his worst nightmares come to pass as the people he loves most—his family from Eiran, his former lovers, and his moon-destined, Yarri—all come to his aid, despite the danger.

They must succeed—there is no other option. If they fail, Rath will eliminate joy from the heart of the lands of the three moons, and all that Torrant and his family cherish will be lost. But success could exact a devastating cost, one Triane’s Son was never prepared to pay.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;Us Three by Mia Kerick&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/usthree.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4857&quot;&gt;Us Three &lt;/a&gt;by Mia Kerick&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his junior year at a public high school, sweet, bright Casey Minton’s biggest worry isn’t being gay. Keeping from being too badly bullied by his so-called friends, a group of girls called the Queen Bees, is more pressing. Nate De Marco has no friends, his tough home life having taken its toll on his reputation, but he’s determined to get through high school. Zander Zane’s story is different: he’s popular, a jock. Zander knows he’s gay, but fellow students don’t, and he’d like to keep it that way. No one expects much when these three are grouped together for a class project, yet in the process the boys discover each other’s talents and traits, and a new bond forms. But what if Nate, Zander, and Casey fall in love—each with the other and all three together? Not only gay but also a threesome, for them high school becomes infinitely more complicated and maybe even dangerous. To survive and keep their love alive, they must find their individual strengths and courage and stand together, honest and united. If they can do that, they might prevail against the Queen Bees and a student body frightened into silence—and even against their own crippling fears.&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-releases-for-march-2014.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-3384766691690601304</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Mar 2014 02:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-17T22:37:24.716-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author: Kate Larkindale</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385708867l/18979066.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Kate Larkindale&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385708867l/18979066.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Kate Larkindale &lt;/b&gt; is currently residing in Wellington, New Zealand after having spent a lifetime travelling the globe.  A cinema manager, film reviewer and mother, she’s surprised she finds any time to write, but doesn’t sleep much.  As a result, she can usually be found hanging out near the espresso machine.
Her short stories have appeared in &lt;em&gt;Halfway Down The Stairs, A Fly in Amber, Daily Flash Anthology, The Barrier Islands Review, Everyday Fiction, Death Rattle, Drastic Measures, Cutlass &amp; Musket and Residential Aliens&lt;/em&gt;, among others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
She has written eight contemporary YA novels, five of which other people are allowed to see.  She has also written one very bad historical romance.  She is currently working on a new YA novel that is still looking for a title other than its Twitter hashtag, #juvvielesbian.&lt;br /&gt;
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Connect with Kate Larkindale on Twitter @Vampyr14 or visit her website: http://katelarkindale.blogspot.com/.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Kate Larkindale:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My main character, Livvie, has synesthesia, a unique condition where, in her case, she sees sounds as colors and tastes colors as flavors.  It gives her a very singular view of the world, and I think the cover does a good job of showing the way she might see herself.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The most fun parts to write were the first, tentative kisses, and Livvie’s first exploration of her sexuality.  There’s a scene where Livvie and Bianca take a bath together, and that’s one of my favorite scenes in the whole book. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The most challenging part to write was the euthanasia stuff.  It’s such a controversial issue, and I knew I had to get the tone exactly right so readers wouldn’t damn Livvie for the choice she makes.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Which of your characters is most like you?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think all my characters have elements of me in them.  I don’t usually notice it until I go back to a book after having left it for a while, but then I often realize I’ve used experiences and phrases and conversations I had in real life.  It’s a little weird because I don’t usually realize I’m doing it at the time…
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think I’d tell me that it doesn’t last forever.  I hated high school, but as soon as I finished and got out into the world, so many wonderful and exciting things happened to me.  Things I probably couldn’t even have imagined as being possible while I was stuck in a classroom, in a uniform, being told what and how to think about things.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What other interests do you have outside of writing?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For a day job I run a movie theatre, and I love movies.   Cooking is also something I enjoy very much.  And, of course, reading….&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’d like them to leave my books with a sense of hope.  That wherever they are in their life journey now, things won’t remain the same forever, and the things that feel impossible now do get easier.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Kate Larkindale:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385708867l/18979066.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/An-Unstill-Life-Kate-Larkindale-ebook/dp/B00HNCAPFI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1388696099&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=An+Unstill+Life&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;An Unstill Life&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Things at home are rough for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick again after being cancer free for almost ten years.  Her mom becomes more frantic and unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better.  Just when she needs them most, her closest friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up on a series of disastrous blind dates.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Livvie seeks refuge in the art room and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’.  Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and an attraction she never felt before with Bianca. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
While searching for the strength to make her life her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she loves.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/featured-author-kate-larkindale.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-7428861328518170304</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-10T07:00:10.829-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Elise Himes</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWigoiTnU0nSGrmxD6OaD6Mn-N_pwUq5Qfy1ye6lJdan0CchhZn7TYHSeCx2u5NsS_3FpZglWS_Z0xoRg5spGYajOfJmj4W0qPJgqHDmHtfqLcJQfKYMQmVQCXgw7uCrxapTTkDQe_D7gD/s1600/filmstrip_elisehimes.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Elise Himes&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWigoiTnU0nSGrmxD6OaD6Mn-N_pwUq5Qfy1ye6lJdan0CchhZn7TYHSeCx2u5NsS_3FpZglWS_Z0xoRg5spGYajOfJmj4W0qPJgqHDmHtfqLcJQfKYMQmVQCXgw7uCrxapTTkDQe_D7gD/s1600/filmstrip_elisehimes.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Elise Himes &lt;/b&gt;graduated with a BA in Asian History and a TESOL certification.  She had spent the last three years teaching in South Korea.  In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, talks to her pet finches as if they were people, and reading tons of books.  She also happens to be a transwoman and her novel was inspired by her life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Elise Himes:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
During my transition, I couldn’t find many books that I identified with.  They were either about an older generation or from a non-trans character’s perspective.  I want those who are transgender to have a character they can relate with and give cisgender readers an understanding of what being trans is like.  Also it covers a fair bit of the transition process from the challenges to the triumphs.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What other interests do you have outside of writing?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’m a huge history dork.  I also love playing video games and used to be really into anime.  For past few years, I’ve been learning piano and can finally play the theme from Howl’s Moving Castle.  Watching a friend play a terrible game is much funnier than any Hollywood comedy.  Oh, I can’t go a day without listening to music, but I’d come off sounding like a hipster if I list the bands I like .&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Surprisingly, I loved writing the scenes with Sissy, the conniving gossiper.  Growing up, my favorite parts of Disney movies were those starring the villains.  They were so fun to hate.  The most challenging scenes were those with Rachael’s family as they hit too close to home at times.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Transition is possible.  Thirteen, bathroom door locked, standing in front of the mirror in my sisters’ dress, I cherished those hours after midnight.  The sound of my parents’ alarm would send me scrambling for my room.  I feared that if I actually tried to transition, I’d end up becoming a joke like those on the Jerry Springer Show and hunted by villagers with pitchforks.  I didn’t know that not only was it possible to be a cute girl, but I’d now be a cute nerdy chick with my very own dresses.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The yellow bird by my name is from the one mentioned in Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’.  That play plays a huge part in the book. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Growing up, I felt as if something was wrong with me.  I didn’t fit in with other boys, school felt like a cruel joke… life too, and I secretly coveted my sisters’ dresses.  I want readers to realize that you aren’t alone and that nothing is wrong with you.  Being yourself seems impossible at times, society can suck like that, but the greatest joys are to be found when you stay true to yourself. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Elise Himes:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389096603l/20468603.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Trans-fer-Student-Elise-Himes-ebook/dp/B00HNEZHE0/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Trans-fer Student&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Rachael is just like any other girl… except she was born a boy.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When her family is forced to move due to bullying, she is accepted into a privileged girls’ school.  Her fantasy quickly becomes a nightmare as rumors spread that one of the new students being transgender.  Paranoia, deceit, and backstabbing rule the day as their “witch” will be found, no matter who suffers.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Trans-fer Student&lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Elise Himes has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt;The Trans-fer Student&lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on 3/17/14.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/featured-author-giveaway-elise-himes.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWigoiTnU0nSGrmxD6OaD6Mn-N_pwUq5Qfy1ye6lJdan0CchhZn7TYHSeCx2u5NsS_3FpZglWS_Z0xoRg5spGYajOfJmj4W0qPJgqHDmHtfqLcJQfKYMQmVQCXgw7uCrxapTTkDQe_D7gD/s72-c/filmstrip_elisehimes.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-8667872717811848892</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-03T07:00:07.622-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author: Ashley Chunell</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRa3T2_UJGkXqiURd4iJistWzZQSc5oVuYX7hdgg8qKKGxtKahVG-i0suuaMdssWRgoTTs3zcuEgWeWlKSHh35ujvd8z2Lpw2ZvnWJ3D7PWmZKUSYQ0Wh68rrVLdPAXkV-rZRbSAYPev2/s1600/filmstrip_ashleychunell.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;Ashley Chunell&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRa3T2_UJGkXqiURd4iJistWzZQSc5oVuYX7hdgg8qKKGxtKahVG-i0suuaMdssWRgoTTs3zcuEgWeWlKSHh35ujvd8z2Lpw2ZvnWJ3D7PWmZKUSYQ0Wh68rrVLdPAXkV-rZRbSAYPev2/s1600/filmstrip_ashleychunell.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Ashley Chunell &lt;/b&gt;is a Romance and GLBT author.
Ashley grew up in Boston and has been writing her entire life. After penning numerous song lyrics, poems and short stories, she went on to write various articles and fan fictions, gaining much writing experience and grammar knowledge. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
After writing about the things and people she loved, it wasn’t long until Ashley created her own characters and wrote and published her debut novel “Masterpiece” in November 2012, at the young age of 18. In July 2013, Ashley published her second novel and first GLBT book “A Melody in Harmony.” &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Ashley is a strong supporter of the organizations Stand Up 2 Cancer, NOH8 Campaign, Charity Water and R-Word.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Ashley Chunell on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/AshleyChunell&quot;&gt;@AshleyChunell&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;ashleychunell.tumblr.com&quot;&gt;ashleychunell.tumblr.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Ashley Chunell:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, as a matter of fact. For “A Melody in Harmony,” the cover is two sets of male hands playing a purple piano. One of the young men in my book, Noah, is a pianist and a royal purple, grand piano is his dream instrument. For “New Melody, Same Harmony,” the cover is Noah and Ronan’s hands once again, this time showing off their engagement rings, as the book is about the two getting married and marriage equality. There’s a tint of green on that cover, symbolizing Ireland. Ronan is Irish and Ireland plays a bigger part in the sequel.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
       I think my Noah and Ronan Series is unique because a lot of the homophobia and bigotry in my books is taken from things I’ve heard or witnessed in real life. It makes it all the more real to me, and I hope that comes off to my readers as well. It’s not like I just sit here thinking of awful things to do to my LGBT characters. Most of it is real and because of that, people need to be all the more aware of it, I think.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books?  &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
       Yes! There’s a lot of things, actually. A lot of names have meanings. In my debut novel, “Masterpiece,” the names Jacoby and Evangelina are the names I’d like for my future children someday. Same goes for the names Noah and Ronan. There are also other things, like the name of the restaurant Noah and Ronan go to, The Arch. The word ‘arch’ has a secret meaning to me. The names Eric Anderson and William Jackson, minor characters in “A Melody in Harmony,” also have meanings to me. The name David Thompson in “New Melody, Same Harmony” also has a meaning to me. So, I’d say there’s lots of little things that I’ve added to my books that, in a way, make them more “me.” 
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there any LGBT charities or resources that are near and dear to you that you would like to give a shout out to?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’d like to give a shout out to the NOH8 Campaign for all the work they’ve done. They spread so much awareness and take the coolest photos! It’s always inspiring to see people’s NOH8 photos!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If there is one message you would like to get out from your book, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All Love, No Hate. Simple as that. Noah and Ronan live that statement in “A Melody in Harmony” and continue to in “New Melody, Same Harmony,” and I hope these novels inspire people to do the same.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would like my readers, young or old, to recognize the love my characters, Noah and Ronan, share. In both “A Melody in Harmony” and the upcoming sequel, “New Melody, Same Harmony,” my two, male characters go through a lot of trials, but their love always prevails in the end. I would also like my readers to recognize the clear homophobia in my books. The hate and bigotry Noah and Ronan deal with is something a lot of LGBT people still go through and people need to be aware of it.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Ashley Chunell:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389462989l/20512406.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Melody-Same-Harmony-Noah-Ronan-ebook/dp/B00HVI8IZS/ref=la_B00DBO7DP2_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1391363478&amp;sr=1-3&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;New Melody, Same Harmony&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
This sequel to “A Melody in Harmony” follows beloved characters Noah Nash and Ronan Shea, who just got married and are about to make a big move as part of the next chapter in their lives. Before they do, the two sit down and reminisce about their last year together in Henderson.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This story rewinds as Noah and Ronan think back on their engagement, planning Henderson’s first gay wedding and lots of other surprises that led up to their big day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This sequel allows Noah and Ronan’s relationship to grow as they continue to fall in love and fight for equality. Even with a new melody, the two still plan to live in harmony as they begin their next chapter together.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1374119555l/18190227.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Melody-Harmony-Noah-Ronan-Series-ebook/dp/B00DVN3TF6&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;A Melody in Harmony&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Henderson is a small, old-fashioned town. Growing up here proved tough for Noah Nash, as he knew the truth he lived would never be accepted in this town, even by his family. To him, all he had was his keyboard. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Until one day, that all changed when Noah met Ronan Shea. Ronan’s confidence, wisdom and pride inspires Noah to finally, happily live his truth for the entire town to see. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

This is a story of two young men and their journey to a relationship, fighting for equality and listening to their melody while striving to live in harmony.&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/03/featured-author-ashley-chunell.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRa3T2_UJGkXqiURd4iJistWzZQSc5oVuYX7hdgg8qKKGxtKahVG-i0suuaMdssWRgoTTs3zcuEgWeWlKSHh35ujvd8z2Lpw2ZvnWJ3D7PWmZKUSYQ0Wh68rrVLdPAXkV-rZRbSAYPev2/s72-c/filmstrip_ashleychunell.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-9060217270220275804</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-24T07:00:09.166-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: Andrew J. Peters</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24JsfJBr80qVxw4pFFJBpFTAb8jvYw1zrPQFJieAJojGTt1EAMiXYSMkBs3NUSj6CZhTDainxqCmGdS6SvjVRekjYCY1swQHNZQdojNsHo1kKD5K82xe_K3-h_fwz1vTbPcWJ-AcDEOPb/s1600/filmstrip_ajpeters.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“Andrew J. Peters” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24JsfJBr80qVxw4pFFJBpFTAb8jvYw1zrPQFJieAJojGTt1EAMiXYSMkBs3NUSj6CZhTDainxqCmGdS6SvjVRekjYCY1swQHNZQdojNsHo1kKD5K82xe_K3-h_fwz1vTbPcWJ-AcDEOPb/s1600/filmstrip_ajpeters.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Andrew J. Peters &lt;/b&gt;likes retold stories with a subversive twist. He is the author of The Seventh Pleiade, based on the legend of Atlantis, and the Werecat series. A former Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow, Andrew has written short fiction for many publications. He lives in New York City with his husband and their cat Chloë.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with Andrew J. Peters on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/ayjayp&quot;&gt;@ayjayp&lt;/a&gt; or visit his website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://andrewjpeterswrites.com&quot;&gt;http://andrewjpeterswrites.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Andrew J. Peters:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I’m really happy with the cover for &lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt;. I think it represents really well the setting for the story, which is the last days of Atlantis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The artwork also hints at the title. The Pleiades are a star cluster that were important in Greek mythology. They were the seven daughters of the titan god Atlas, and an interesting phenomenon is that the seventh star was not always visible to the naked eye depending on the season and other conditions. That made it seem like a disappearing or reappearing star, which inspired legends and auguries.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
In my novel, the seventh star appears mysteriously while Atlantis is in crisis. Part of the adventure for the hero – a sixteen year old named Aerander – is solving a riddle about her (the star’s) re-appearance, which he believes is the key to saving his kingdom.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt; is a combination of fantasy adventure and gay fiction. There is a rich tradition of Greek mythology-inspired stories. David Gemmell is one of the best known authors in that genre, and Rick Riordan has a huge franchise in the Percy Jackson series. I think &lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt; stands out in that field because it takes mythology from a gay point-of-view.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
As gay fiction, &lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt; is unique in that I tried to stay authentic to an ancient world sensibility. There was no such thing as being “gay” back then, but there certainly were young men who had romantic relationships with other men. There wasn’t the concept of sin or abomination regarding those relationships, but the Greeks held traditional beliefs about the way men and women were supposed to behave. It was still a very sexist and patriarchal culture. Besides the adventure aspect of the story, I wanted to explore what it would be like growing up during that time for a young man who is attracted to other men. 
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Do you believe in Atlantis?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Part of me would like to believe that the ancient legend was real, but in the end I’m too much of a science guy to really believe it. What interested me in the subject was it was such a popular legend across the ancient world, from the specific story of the ancient Greeks to the flood and creation legends of the Bible and Native cultures. There’s an intriguing coincidence that rapid climate change occurred around the time that Atlantis was rumored to have been destroyed; so it’s possible that a flood or earthquake or volcanic eruption wiped out a pre-historic civilization and that story was passed down through generations and the circumstances and their meaning were embellished.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
That’s actually what intrigues me about Atlantis the most: how and why the story came to be. I’m drawn to the idea that if Atlantis existed, it must have been inhabited by regular people whose stories were either exaggerated, making them out to be gods, or suppressed. I do have a bit of a conspiracy streak.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What did you like to read when you were a teenager?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I grew up before young adult literature really took off so I was reading adult books. I loved mysteries and read everything by Agatha Christie. I read J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald and I also loved Russian novels by Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When I was taking my first steps coming out, I looked for stories with gay characters. In the 80s those tended to be gritty, subculture books by authors like William S. Burroughs and Paul T. Rogers.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What other interests do you have outside of writing?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I like to cook, especially baking. I grew up playing the cello and the piano, though my talent there has faded considerably over time. Social justice is an on-going interest of mine. I work at a university, and one of the favorite parts of my job is teaching a course on oppression and human diversity.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there any LGBT charity or resource that is near and dear to you that you would like to give a shout out to?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Absolutely! The Long Island Crisis Center is a not-for-profit in Bellmore, New York that is doing amazing work for LGBT teens through their Pride for Youth program. I had the great fortune of doing an internship there in the 90s, and it turned into an eighteen year career as a social worker for LGBT kids. Now, I’m a supporter of the organization. There’s a huge need for resources for LGBT teens in the suburbs.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For any readers of my books, my greatest hope is that they feel it was time well-spent, whether that means the book allowed them to escape for a little while, be entertained, or that they liked the story because it made them think about the world in a different way. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I do have young readers in mind when I’m writing. I worked with LGBT teens for almost twenty years. For LGBTs, it often feels like everything around you is catered to people who are different from you. My hope for young readers in particular is that the places I write about seem like somewhere that they would fit in. I love turning a familiar story around from an LGBT point-of-view.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Andrew J. Peters:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364258767l/17290841.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/The-Seventh-Pleiade-Andrew-Peters/dp/1602829608&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Atlantis is besieged by violent storms, tremors, and a barbarian army. For sixteen-year old Aerander, it’s a calamitous backdrop to his Panegyris, where boys are feted for their passage to manhood.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Amid a secret web of romances among the celebrants, Aerander’s cousin Dam goes missing with two boys. With the kingdom in crisis, no one suspects the High Priest Zazamoukh though Aerander uncovers a conspiracy to barter boys for dark spiritual power. Aerander’s proof — an underground vault that disappears in the morning — brings shame on his family and suspicions of lunacy. The only way to regain his honor is to prove what really happened to the missing boys.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Tracking Dam leads Aerander on a terrifying and fantastical journey. He spots a star that hasn’t been seen for centuries. He uncovers a legend about an ancient race of men who hid below the earth. And traveling to an underground world, he learns about matters even more urgent than the missing boys. The world aboveground is changing, and he will have to clear a path for the kingdom’s survival.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
Andrew J. Peters has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt;The Seventh Pleiade&lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on DATE.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/02/featured-author-giveaway-andrew-j-peters.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24JsfJBr80qVxw4pFFJBpFTAb8jvYw1zrPQFJieAJojGTt1EAMiXYSMkBs3NUSj6CZhTDainxqCmGdS6SvjVRekjYCY1swQHNZQdojNsHo1kKD5K82xe_K3-h_fwz1vTbPcWJ-AcDEOPb/s72-c/filmstrip_ajpeters.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>7</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-89121179051330816</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 15:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-17T10:41:05.354-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new releases</category><title>New Releases for February, 2014</title><description>&lt;link href=&quot;http://IMAGE_LINK_GOES_HERE.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Featured New Releases:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/cevinsdeadlysin.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Cevins-Deadly-Sin-Sally-Bosco/dp/1494874350/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1392650737&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=cevin%27s+deadly+sin&quot;&gt;Cevin&#39;s Deadly Sin &lt;/a&gt;by Sally Bosco&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cevin’s worst nightmare comes true when he and his mom move to a small Florida town where high fashion is a flannel shirt with the sleeves chopped off, and the only entertainment is the Friday night football games. Cevin wants nothing more than to blend in and get through the year so he can graduate and leave Tilapia forever.

When he meets Tessa, an introverted Goth girl, his plans to “not have a life” are forever ruined. She’s friendly to him, and he’s at first suspicious, but her poetic nature draws her to him, and he starts to believe she might be the only one who can accept him for what he is ... if he could just get up the nerve to tell her about his cross-dressing.

Cevin, though, has a problem: two of the local bullies have discovered his proclivity for wearing women’s clothing. One of them is Tessa’s brother, who threatens to “out” him if he doesn’t stop seeing his beloved sister. Cevin will do nothing of the kind, and when their bullying escalates, Cevin has to figure out how to survive their viciousness while still seeing Tessa and preserving his own identity -- whatever that is.

To add to his problems Cevin has an evangelical mom who thinks he’s doing “that thing the Lord despises” and is determined to set him straight by sending him to gay deprogramming camp. A former biker chick, she found religion after her drunk driving caused a serious motorcycle accident that severed her left hand and killed his sister.

A chance meeting with Amy, the school&#39;s only outed lesbian, has him joining the rock band Chemical Sandwich that has to get ready for a major competition in just six short weeks. Never mind that Cevin can’t play bass; he’s going to have to learn.

When Cevin’s friendship with Tessa develops into something more, he finds someone else who doesn’t fit in and who shares his love of music and poetry as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. But Tessa has secrets, too. Will her friendship lead Cevin to the fulfillment of his dreams, or to his own demise?.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/hattrickovertime.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=1&amp;amp;products_id=119&quot;&gt;Hat Trick Overtime &lt;/a&gt;by Jeff Adams&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Continuing the adventures of Simon and Alex from the best-selling book, Hat Trick, this free story follows the boys into college.

They have settled into their freshman year playing hockey for the University of Michigan. After an outdoor game in Detroit, the two break away from their teammates to enjoy time alone under the magical Christmas lights.
.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/lessons.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Destroying-World-Gene-Gant-ebook/dp/B00I9R24R8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1392651019&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=lessons+on+destroying+the+world&quot;&gt;Lessons on Destroying the World &lt;/a&gt;by Gene Gant&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Micah McGhee has struggled all his life against prejudice and abuse. Forced to drop out of school after the death of his mother, Micah works full time to support himself and his alcoholic father. One night, on his way home from a party, Micah’s hard life ends when he’s beaten to death by a street gang. 

Three days later, Micah awakens with godlike abilities granted by the alien device that resurrected him. His work helping the downtrodden and performing miracles soon earns him worldwide attention—including the notice of conservative Reverend Vaughn Titus. Micah’s friends, devout Christians Antonio and Monica, along with Reverend Titus, urge Micah to use the power of the artifact to impose Biblical rule on the world. But Micah is all too familiar with how Christian law treats LGBT people, and he opposes the idea. When Antonio, Monica, and Reverend Titus gain access to the device, Micah must risk everything to stop them from forcing their religion onto everyone on earth.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/nadinesvoyage.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Nadines-Voyage-Revolt-Perfectly-Free-ebook/dp/B00ICNBYMU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1392651149&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Nadine%27s+Voyage&quot;&gt;Nadine&#39;s Voyage &lt;/a&gt;by Kim Flowers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sequel to Two-Spirit&#39;s Red Road 

In this alternate version of history, newly-freed slave Nadine is enjoying yet another night of celebration after successfully defeating the British delegate Sir Pickett, his traitorous brother, and low spies plotting to overthrow the budding American government. 

But now Nadine hears rumors that Queen Victoria herself is on the way to America to set up a new reign. Nadine isn’t as worried about this news as she is about the rest of her family. Before being forced to join Sir Pickett on a voyage to America, she and her family had planned to stow away on the Lady Dervish, but instead of a successful escape, now only half her family is in the New World. Her mother and younger brother were left behind. 

Nadine’s new friends Spirit Warrior and Strong Arrow along with her girlfriend Amelia travel with her on a steam engine to New York. There they rent a fishing boat in hopes of intercepting the Lady Dervish, because a blockade has been set up to keep all foreign vessels from American waters. Amelia vows to help Nadine reunite her family no matter what, and longs for them to have a future together. 

But Nadine has a block upon her heart that won&#39;t be lifted until she finds the rest of her family. Will she be reunited with them? And will she be able to love someone who so resembles those who once persecuted her?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/onsen.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Onsen-Tam-MacNeil-ebook/dp/B00I7WJLU8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1392651292&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=9781611525021&quot;&gt;Onsen &lt;/a&gt;by Tam MacNeil&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Hyabusa Jao needs a holiday. It’s winter, he’s tired, and his ribs are busted from his last job with the Good Men assassins. Jao’s boyfriend Hitori Masahiro wants to get out of Okatsu, as well, to rid himself of his opium dependency. Since money isn&#39;t an object with Masahiro, he can afford to book them into the exclusive Okina Kibou Onsen, a warm water spa in the mountains. Unfortunately Jao has been there before, for a job, and the place carries bad memories. But he can&#39;t tell Masahiro that, so they set off with family, friends, and servants in tow.

When they arrive, the problems begin. First Jao runs into his least favorite person in the world, his ex-boss Kazematsuri. Then he thinks he sees the ghost of the man he killed at the onsen, and Masahiro becomes ill from opium withdrawal. Also, the two sons of the Daimyo of Okatsu, Kazuya and Daijiro, are there to hunt, or so they say. Jao tries to stay out of their way, but the two VIPs are disturbingly interested in both Jao and Masahiro, for different reasons.

Then Kazuya, the younger and slightly nicer of the two brothers, is discovered torn almost to shreds by something big and catlike, an animal the like of which does not occur in the wilds around the onsen. While Kazuya is recovering, Jao is determined to find out what beast is sneaking around at night ... and keep it from killing anyone else.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/redsheet.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-the-red-sheet-by-mia-kerick/&quot;&gt;The Red Sheet &lt;/a&gt;by Mia Kerick&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape.

Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees, helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere he finds it.

Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.

Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes Bryan’s obsession.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/unity.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.queerteen-press.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;amp;cPath=21&amp;amp;products_id=126&quot;&gt;Unity (The Divide: Book Two) &lt;/a&gt;by Kim Flowers&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Queerteen Press&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sequel to The Divide Book 1: Uprising

The revolution has begun, and 18-year-old Malaki Cheyenne is spying on the U.S. government.

In the midst of training on a rebel military base, Malaki can’t decide whether she wants to be in infantry or intelligence. She is also torn between her feelings for three girls, including Serenity Blackwater, who left on a refugee plane to The Nation of California Islands. Malaki is impatient at being low-ranked, but raises her status by creating a program to deactivate U.S. military drones. The base gets attacked after the government finds out members have allied themselves with the revolutionary Human Equality Organization. Malaki is captured and taken to a detainment center, where the same man who tortured Serenity last year says he’s going to convert Malaki from Gay to Normal. Malaki is beaten and starved, and forced to undergo experimental injections which are supposed to change her mind and body so she fits into the mold of what the government says is “normal.”

The rebels who survived the raid at the military base are imprisoned in the crumbling remains of an old Gay Community, living under the watch of guards with no means of contacting the outside world. Meanwhile, Serenity and the other California refugees are under nuclear assault, waiting out the attack in underground bunkers.

Malaki learns secrets about government which will end The Divide, if only she can get out of prison ... and if she doesn’t go insane from brutal torture. Will Malaki be able to free herself from her captors? Will any of her friends survive this war?&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;CAPTION&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/valhalla.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Valhalla-Ari-Bach-ebook/dp/B00IFCP7Y4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1392651580&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Valhalla&quot;&gt;Valhalla &lt;/a&gt;by Ari Bach&lt;/h3&gt;
Published by Harmony Ink&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Violet MacRae is one of the aimless millions crowding northern Scotland. In the year 2330, where war is obsolete and only brilliant minds are valued, she emerges into adulthood with more brawn than brains and a propensity for violence. People dismiss her as a relic, but world peace is more fragile than they know. 

In Valhalla, a clandestine base hidden in an icy ravine, Violet connects with a group of outcasts just like her. There, she learns the skills she needs to keep the world safe from genetically enhanced criminals and traitors who threaten the first friends she’s ever known. She also meets Wulfgar Kray, a genius gang leader who knows her better than she knows herself and who would conquer the world to capture her. 

Branded from childhood as a useless barbarian, Violet is about to learn the world needs her exactly as she is.&lt;/div&gt;
</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-releases-for-february-2014.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-7637408702721561499</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-17T07:00:07.337-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giveaway</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">MB Mulhall</category><title>Featured Author &amp; Giveaway: MB Mulhall</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgA_cGVvFQlmQLfdqa-Fxfg4gca7R1PBticBNeXwGGQW8ekLUFzGl_VSAyha7-uQiNMjCs51z7fy_WThwCms8Q1Aa043Dki8KxvhQ-0wThk5WX3bx8Y6SHjVgg2iSHa5F4wsD66T-i6D5/s1600/filmstrip_mbmuhall.jpgg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;MB Mulhall&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgA_cGVvFQlmQLfdqa-Fxfg4gca7R1PBticBNeXwGGQW8ekLUFzGl_VSAyha7-uQiNMjCs51z7fy_WThwCms8Q1Aa043Dki8KxvhQ-0wThk5WX3bx8Y6SHjVgg2iSHa5F4wsD66T-i6D5/s1600/filmstrip_mbmuhall.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;MB Mulhall &lt;/b&gt;has been reading and writing since childhood; her love of stories so great it pushed her to earn a BA in Comparative Literature and Languages from Hofstra University. Wanting to share that love and inspire young writers, she also has an Elementary Education background from Georgia Court University.
 
Currently, her full-time job is working with developmentally disabled adults, and she gets her writing time in before or after hours.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
 
She has dedicated much of her time not only to writing great stories but also to navigating social media and educating herself in the industry. She runs a successful blog sharing her writing challenges and advice with other authors.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
 
Born and raised a Jersey girl, MB is often inspired by the beauty of her state and the people who visit its shores, snapping pictures and making up stories in her head to writing down at a later date. When not writing, she’s plowing through her cascading to-be-read piles, crafting, doing her nails, or watching Doctor Who.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Connect with MB Mulhall on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/MBMulhall&quot;&gt;@MBMulhall&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://keystrokesandwordcounts.wordpress.com/&quot;&gt;http://keystrokesandwordcounts.wordpress.com&lt;/a&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author MB Mulhall:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The beautiful cover represents the main character, Ian, at his heaviest, which puts him into the bottom of the heavyweight wrestling class, not a good place to be when his opponents weigh much more.  The title though, not only refers to his sport, but to the heavy weight of the secrets that he carries around with him.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It deals with the stresses of a sport and what some athletes are willing to do to themselves, mentally and physically, in order to succeed.  Ian struggles with an eating disorder, but it’s different than what most people would expect.  Many think of those who are anorexic or bulimic as having body dysmorphic disorder, but that’s not really Ian’s issue.  He’s more concerned with being the best he can be at his sport, and that means either starving himself or binging and purging in order to remain at the top of his weight class, regardless of the strain it puts on his heart and the rest of his body.
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What did you like to read when you were a teenager?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As a teen I pretty much devoured everything of Stephan King’s I could get my hands on.  Horror was kind of my go to genre followed by adult romance/smut such as Jackie Collins. The Young Adult genre, sadly, didn’t really exist at the time.&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us something we’d be surprised to learn about you.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even with a comparative literature and languages degree, I pretty much hate most English lit. Pride and Prejudice? Not even the addition of zombies made me want to read that. Bronte sisters?  Snooze-fest.  Shakespeare?  Well, most of his stuff gets a pass, especially A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Prankster Puck turns Nick Bottom’s head into a donkey’s head! How can you not enjoy that?&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ooh there’s lots I’d probably tell myself, but I think the two main things would be to have more confidence in myself and plan to travel after high school before college.  I think a lot of kids are going right into college without a clue of what they really want to do with their lives.  It leads to dropping out, wasting money or being stuck in a profession you don’t really enjoy.  In my opinion,  there’s nothing wrong with taking some time off to learn more about yourself and what you really love.  Traveling is a learning experience and once you’re settled into school or a job, you find you don’t really have the time for it.  Do it while you’re young.  Acquiring student loans can wait! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I would love for them to walk away knowing: to change your goals does not equal failure, that everyone deserves love and acceptance, and that true friends will stand by your side, regardless of the circumstances.
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from MB Mulhall:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/HeavyweightLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4604&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Heavyweight&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Secrets. Their weight can be crushing, but their release can change everything—and not necessarily for the better. Ian is no stranger to secrets. Being a gay teen in a backwater southern town, Ian must keep his orientation under wraps, especially since he spends a lot of time with his hands all over members of the same sex, pinning their sweaty, hard bodies to the wrestling mat. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  When he’s trying not to stare at teammates in the locker room, he’s busy hiding another secret—that he starves himself so he doesn’t get bumped to the next weight class.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  Enter Julian Yang, an Adonis with mesmerizing looks and punk rocker style. Befriending the flirtatious artist not only raises suspicion among his classmates, but leaves Ian terrified he’ll give in to the desires he’s fought to ignore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  As secrets come to light, Ian’s world crumbles. Disowned, de-friended, and deserted by nearly everyone, Ian’s one-way ticket out of town is revoked, leaving him trapped in a world he hates—and one that hates him back.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; height=&quot;150 px&quot; src=&quot;http://true-colorz.com/resources/TC_giveaway.png&quot; style=&quot;background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; margin: 0px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt; Heavyweight &lt;/i&gt; Giveaway!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
MB Mulhall has generously donated a free copy of &lt;i&gt; Heavyweight &lt;/i&gt; for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on 2/23/14.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/02/featured-author-giveaway-mb-mulhall.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgA_cGVvFQlmQLfdqa-Fxfg4gca7R1PBticBNeXwGGQW8ekLUFzGl_VSAyha7-uQiNMjCs51z7fy_WThwCms8Q1Aa043Dki8KxvhQ-0wThk5WX3bx8Y6SHjVgg2iSHa5F4wsD66T-i6D5/s72-c/filmstrip_mbmuhall.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>6</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-7494530156149846618</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-10T07:00:06.974-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><title>Featured Author: Zoe Lynn</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_zoelynn.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=“Zoe Lynn” border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/authors/filmstrip_zoelynn.jpg&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width:200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;Zoe Lynn &lt;/b&gt;strives to give LGBT youth stories they love with heroes they can relate to. Zoe Lynne began in October of 2012, with the sole focus being to create books with LGBT youth in mind. It is my hope to deliver characters who are both real and fantastic, characters you love and love to hate, but more so, characters you can relate.&lt;br /&gt;
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Connect with Zoe Lynn on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/ZoeLynneBooks&quot;&gt;@ZoeLynneBooks&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.zoelynnebooks.com&quot;&gt;http://www.zoelynnebooks.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author Zoe Lynn:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Writing Freeing Stella as a whole was a major challenge for me. It’s about a Transgender youth who hasn’t come out of the closet yet, who lives as a boy at school, but as a girl away from home. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t, or rather, didn’t know much about being transgender going into this book. I had the pleasure of getting to know a transgender youth through my time with a local gay youth group. I spent hours talking to this child and learning what it was like to live a day in his body, to be in a house with parents who didn’t understand him. One of the most profound things he said to me was he often wondered why God would do this to him—this meaning put him in a body he didn’t belong in. The child touched my soul and I learned so much from him. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Which of your characters is most like you? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think it’s a combination of Ashlynn from Being True and Brynn from That Witch! I have Ashlynn’s desire to help people, with Brynn’s shyness.&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What other interests do you have outside of writing?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have a secondary love for Graphics. Making book covers is my Zen. Beyond that, I have a love for music. It doesn’t really matter the genre—though I can’t stand listening to country. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there any LGBT charities or resources that are near and dear to you that you would like to give a shout out to?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, MAGY—Memphis Area Gay Youth. Being in the Bible belt, Memphis isn’t exactly known for it’s gay community. Since moving back home, I’ve found that not only do we have a Gay Community Center, but the Unitarian church down the street allows MAGY to have their weekly meetings there.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A sense of pride and self worth, and that warm, fuzzy feeling people get after reading or watching something so intense it impacts them. I want them to feel like they have an ally, whether it be my characters or me as the author. I want them to feel like there are people in the world who understand their plight and won’t judge them.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from Zoe Lynn:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/FreeingStellaLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4603&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Freeing Stella&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Stella Marshall feels invisible to everyone but her sister Jessica and best friend Jenna. Thanks to their Friday night LGBTQ youth group meetings, she can be true to herself and cast aside the boy she was born as, Steven. The rest of the time, she locks herself away, because if her super conservative, Christian parents ever found out….  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; When her little sister admits to liking a girl as more than a friend, it becomes ten times harder for Stella to keep up the charade. She wants to stand by Jess and take some of the heat away, and that means coming out of the closet—even if it costs Stella her family and the girl of her dreams, Lillian Nelson. Unfortunately, it’s too frightening to give up the security of hiding behind Steven. But Stella knows she has to be brave, for herself and her sister.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1357264377l/17206998.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://silverstreampress.com/love-in-the-spotlight-ebook-p-1386.html?zenid=6d46fd15260356724e1600c289ddc99e#&amp;panel2-1&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Love in the Spotlight &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
There&#39;s nothing in the world Steven won&#39;t do for his best friend Becca, including ditching his schoolwork -- something he would never do -- just to escort her to some club so she can chase down her dream boy who happens to be the drummer in some kind of band. He didn&#39;t expect to set eyes on the most godly creation under the stars, and sure didn&#39;t expect that gorgeous hunk of man to have the voice of an angel.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
While Becca and Mr. Dreamboat drummer boy get to know each other better in the diner parking lot after the big show, Steven and Thorne discover a mutual love for pancakes and hot maple syrup -- not that flavored crap -- that opens doors to a relationship Steven never expected to find when he agreed to go out with Becca that night. But will Thorne ever be able to stand-up to his homophobic bandmates and come out so he can finally find love?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/ThatWitchLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3828&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;That Witch! &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Cassidy Ryan and Brynn Michaels attend the same high school, but they live in different worlds. Cassidy’s a popular cheerleader, and Brynn’s the social leper. One is all sunshine and rainbows, while the other could’ve been carved from an Edgar Allan Poe book. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Both girls have their problems, though. Cassidy is coming into her birthright—a long line of ancient magic Cassidy isn’t ready to have. Brynn is coming into her sexuality—something that will definitely cause problems with her very conservative family. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
When a teacher assigns Cassidy and Brynn to work together on a project, the girls find themselves in a heap of trouble, because what they feel for each other can’t be denied. If they have any hope of changing ignorant and frightened minds, they’ll have to listen to their own hearts first.&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;clear: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/FindingAshlynnLG.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3887&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Being True 1: Finding Ashlynn &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Every Friday night, Jenna and her best friend, Stella, attend their local LGBTQ youth group meeting. It’s a great place for support and friendship, but Jenna wants to fall in love. In walks Ashlynn, a purple-haired girl who wants to know how bad coming out of the closet can be. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Living in two different worlds, Jenna and Ash have vastly different ideas about the difference between sex and love, the definition of virginity, and how to face a world out in the open where they can admit their true feelings… whatever they may be.&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://true-colorz.blogspot.com/2014/02/featured-author-zoe-lynn.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5418547118608639231.post-3082976861163921930</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-03T08:02:08.988-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">featured author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">interviews</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">MJ O&#39;Shea</category><title>Featured Author: MJ O&#39;Shea</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot;&gt;
&lt;link href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivc6saqpkuXp9KbVmf1lO0Rlm2CpBMZ0k-9kKbDTp1ogs33HWh0E4L9uwkQdjvZhfekMXgMPnCzRpzKYxr8QyUqvN4BCgFhxA4djRRmtxhQtaEgEv9VkXHh7wW5ytyXo0wxZvZNV3XZTE1/s320/filmstrip_mjoshea.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;image_src&quot;&gt;&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;img alt=&quot;“MJ&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivc6saqpkuXp9KbVmf1lO0Rlm2CpBMZ0k-9kKbDTp1ogs33HWh0E4L9uwkQdjvZhfekMXgMPnCzRpzKYxr8QyUqvN4BCgFhxA4djRRmtxhQtaEgEv9VkXHh7wW5ytyXo0wxZvZNV3XZTE1/s320/filmstrip_mjoshea.jpg&quot; hea=&quot;&quot; o=&quot;&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;b&gt;MJ O’Shea &lt;/b&gt;Mj O’Shea grew up, and still lives, in sunny Washington state. She loves to visit other places but can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. She spent her childhood writing stories. Most of those were about her, her friends, and of course Leonardo DiCaprio. She hopes she&#39;s come a long way since then...&lt;br /&gt;
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When she&#39;s not writing, she love to play the piano and cook and paint pictures…and of course read. She like sparkly things, owns at least twenty different colored headbands, and has a little white and black dog who sits with her when she writes. Sometimes he comes up with ideas too…when he’s not napping.&lt;br /&gt;
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Connect with MJ O’Shea on Twitter &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/MjOsheaSeattle&quot;&gt;@MjOsheaSeattle&lt;/a&gt; or visit her website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://mjoshea.com/&quot;&gt;http://mjoshea.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Q&amp;amp;A with Author MJ O’Shea:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I&#39;ll start with this question since I drew the covers:) I named the books after actual names of full moons that take place during different seasons, so having the moons on the cover seemed very appropriate. Also, each book has a tree in it, the first one the boys meet under a tree on a dock at night to talk, the second one features a huge tree tattoo, and the third one a character who lives in a tree, so there were my main elements.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
For the first one of course I thought a blood red moon would be cool. For the second and third books, we wanted to keep the look the same, but I changed it to an orange moon since Hunter&#39;s Moons are autum/harvest moons. I also added the wolf as a very clear symbol since one of the main characters is a lycan. For the third one, I went blue since it&#39;s a winter moon and added a sword with a vine for my warrior dryad character (who I kept picturing as legolas even when I tried to fight it lol)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There were a lot of fun parts. I always like making up twists to traditional lore when it comes to paranormal creatures. That will always be the most fun for me in any paranormal or sci-fi book. I like to make things just a bit different than they&#39;ve been before. My vampires have different rules for what blood they like and don&#39;t like, my lycan comes with a full royal court of pain in the butt elders and vampire friends, and my forest world in the third book might not be totally unique, but I haven&#39;t come across something exactly like it anywhere else. I loved working on that.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The most challenging part of writing a book like this, where there&#39;s a romantic plot and an adventure plot is to keep both going and developing at once. It takes a lot of hashing out and thinking ahead!
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Do you believe in ghosts? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My answer to that kind of stuff is never say never!! I think out of all of them, ghosts are the easiest for me to believe in but I think the world is a lot bigger and more complex than we know, and the human mind is capable of things that we can&#39;t even imagine so who knows what&#39;s out there that we haven&#39;t gotten proof of yet?
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh, I&#39;d love to be able to fly! And well, that&#39;s exactly what I&#39;d do. Fly:) I have dreams where I can fly all the time, and they&#39;re amazing. &lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Is there one genre of YA that you would love to write but haven’t? &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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Of course! I&#39;d love to write a big urban fantasy, or a full treasure hunt adventure, which I hopefully will be doing soon, more ghosts, creepier vampires (mine are awfully fuzzy and sweet). There are a ton of things I&#39;d love to do that I haven&#39;t had a chance yet!
&lt;/li&gt;
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&lt;li&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;b&gt;What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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First of all I want them to have fun reading! If they were entertained and had a good time and maybe fell a little in love with my characters then I&#39;m happy. Other than that, every book has a different message, maybe about acceptance or adventure, or finding happiness within themselves and others. It really depends!
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&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Now Available from MJ O’Shea:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/bloodmoon.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4289&amp;amp;cPath=467&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Blood Moon&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Zack met his best friend, Noah, at Harper Lake when they were five years old. Summer after summer, his feelings grew, but he assumed Noah didn’t feel the same. But one night when they were seventeen, Zack kissed Noah… and Noah kissed him back. Zack was sure he did. But the next morning, Noah put an end to their friendship and walked away, leaving Zack with a broken heart.&lt;br /&gt;
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A year has passed, and Zack goes back to the lake—where every leaf, rock, and turn in the road remind him of the biggest mistake he ever made. He hates thinking about what he lost, and more than anything he wants his best friend back. He figures it’ll be the longest summer ever. But then Noah shows up out of the blue, apologetic and more gorgeous than ever. Noah is sweet and attentive, and Zack can almost believe nothing had ever gone wrong. But there’s something different about his old friend, something not quite right. Zack doesn’t want to ruin the fragile new bond between them, but he has to know… What secret is Noah hiding?&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1384974646l/18806850.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4423&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Hunter’s Moon&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
New York City has been calling Miles Hunter for as long as he can remember, but he’s sure the imaginary monsters in his stories are all the adventure he’ll experience—until a mugging and daring rescue leave him wondering what else is out there that he had never believed in before.&lt;br /&gt;
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PC has spent eighteen years doing the opposite of what everyone expects. He hunts supernatural troublemakers, hangs out with vampires, and refuses to settle down—to the disapproval of his respectable parents and the stuffy lycan council. Then one confusing night, his instincts turn him to wolf form to save a stranger.&lt;br /&gt;
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Miles and PC must learn to live together, because even minutes of separation mean extreme pain. Miles falls for the unpredictable PC, the wolf’s strange friends, and their nightly adventures, but his reluctant lover is determined to break their bond. As they are drawn into a mystery involving werewolves, rogue vampires, and a lot of dead humans, finding the truth might mean the hunt of PC’s life—especially if he wants to keep Miles alive.
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&lt;img align=&quot;left&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://www.true-colorz.com/resources/covers/coldmoon.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 200px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4551&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Cold Moon&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
Charlie Fitzgerald is sick of being the kid nobody takes seriously. His older brother Colin is fighting vampires and other troublemakers in New York City, and Charlie wants in on the action—but no one will listen. Then he overhears the lycan council is looking for a human emissary to take a message of peace to a werewolf in the forests of Romania, and Charlie decides he’s the man for the job.&lt;br /&gt;
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Xan is furious: his best friend, Charlie, one of the Fitzgeralds he’s vowed to protect, is walking into danger, and Xan chases him all the way to the freezing Romanian forest to save his stubborn butt. When Charlie is almost killed, Xan realizes he feels much more than friendship for his charge, and emotions that have been bubbling under the surface of his calm façade threaten to boil over and flood them both.&lt;br /&gt;
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They end up in the middle of a political mess involving lycans, werewolves, and nosy vampires, and if they make it out alive, the friendship between the headstrong hunter and his bullheaded protector might turn into a love neither can live without.
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