Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Love Spell by Mia Kerick

 

 

 

Love Spell

Mia Kerick

Genre: YA LGBTQ

Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Publisher: CoolDudes Publishing

Date of Publication: June 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1511831857

Number of pages: 123

Word Count: 44,300

Cover Artist: Louis C Harris

Book Description:

Strutting his stuff on the catwalk in black patent leather pumps and a snug orange tuxedo as this year’s Miss (ter) Harvest Moon feels so very right to Chance César, and yet he knows it should feel so very wrong.

As far back as he can remember, Chance has been “caught between genders.” (It’s quite a touchy subject; so don’t ask him about it.) However, he does not question his sexual orientation. Chance has no doubt about his gayness—he is very much out of the closet at his rural New Hampshire high school, where the other students avoid the kid they refer to as “girl-boy.”

But at the local Harvest Moon Festival, when Chance, the Pumpkin Pageant Queen, meets Jasper Donahue, the Pumpkin Carving King, sparks fly. So Chance sets out, with the help of his BFF, Emily, to make “Jazz” Donahue his man.

An article in an online women’s magazine, Ten Scientifically Proven Ways to Make a Man Fall in Love with You (and a bonus love spell thrown in for good measure), becomes the basis of their strategy to capture Jazz’s heart.

Quirky, comical, definitely flamboyant, and with an inner core of poignancy, Love Spell celebrates the diversity of a gender-fluid teen.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/Lx7mVc8846E

Available at Amazon

Not to say that I kept my phone basically right beneath my chin for the next four days, but I kept my phone basically right beneath my chin for the next four days. Yes, I was oh-so-pathetically waiting for his call, which I am aware fully explains the need for the phrase “get a life.” But Jazz hadn’t been at school on the Thursday or Friday after he had called and cancelled our playdate, and now it’s Sunday night, and I still haven’t heard from him. And although I’m frustrated that all of my elaborate plans to make him fall head over heels in love with moi have apparently tanked, I’m also growing genuinely concerned.

That’s when my cell phone, which I placed on my chest before I lay down on my now “love-spell-pink” wrapped mattress, starts singing Express Yourself.

“Yo.” I don’t check the number. It’s Emmy—who else would it be?

“Hi, Chance.” The deep voice is so not Emmy’s.

Yaaassss!!! This is what ninety-nine percent of my insides shout. One percent says quietly, “It’s about frigging time you called, asshole.”

But my voice is calm. “Jasper,” I say blandly. In my opinion, he hasn’t earned the right to be called Jazz any longer.

“Um, sorry, no. It’s Jazz.”

I try not to roll my eyes even though I know he won’t see, but it’s an epic fail. “Whatever.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for a couple days. My mom’s been real sick. I was lookin’ after her, gettin’ her to the doctor, goin’ to the pharmacy, bringing JoJo back and forth to school, and stuff.”

Oh.

“Mom caught JoJo’s strep throat and had to go to the ER because she couldn’t even swallow.” He stops talking for a second and then clears his voice. “Alls she could do was spit into a rag whenever she needed to swallow.”

Well, that’s definitely TMI, but I get the fucker-nelly revolting picture. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault, dude.”

And then there’s silence.

“Gonna take JoJo to the library after school tomorrow. But first I gotta stop by the cable company and pay up or we’re gonna lose our TV and internet at home. They already warned us like twice.”

“Want me to pick up Yolo at school and take her to the library?” I’m so freaking pissed off at him. Why am I offering to save his ass again?

“That’s cool of you to offer, but there’s a bus she can take to the library from her school. Could ya be waiting for her at the library, in case I get held up?”

“Of course.” I’m a Class A sucker.

“You’re such a cool pal.” Ugh—so not what I’m going for.

“Thanks.”

“I’m not gonna be at lunch tomorrow seein’ as I’ll probably be collecting my makeup work. So, I’ll see ya at the library. ‘Kay?”

I don’t say kkkk cuz it’s not even slightly cool. “Sure. The libes after school, it is.”

“Thank you, bro,” Jazz offers.

One more silence, and then I say, “Later.”

I have research to do.

Character Name: Chance César

Character Bio: Chance is a seventeen-year-old high school senior who has long struggled with gender identity issues. He lives in the conservative town of Fiske, NH, where he is largely isolated by the other kids and is referred to as “girl-boy.” Chance is admittedly gay, but struggles with his gender identity as he feels as much like a girl as he does a boy. However, Chance is no shrinking violet.

 

Describe yourself what is your worst and best quality?

Well, nothing like starting off with a totes doozy of a question! Not a problem for me, girlfriend, cuz my best quality is that I am what you might call direct. In other words, I call it as I see it. Causes me some trouble every now and then, but hey… it goes with the territory. Worst characteristic. Well, it’s kinda personal but in the interest of my book, Love Spell, I’m gonna spill. Ya see, I have a little problem—drives me nuts, I’ll admit—and it’s that I can’t decide if I see myself as a dude or a lady. See what I’m saying? And there’s no predicting when I’m going to want to slip into something silky and pastel-colored pretty, or throw on jeans and a sweatshirt and a ball cap. I also never know when I’m gonna be in the mood to go shopping or to chop wood in my backyard. Well, maybe not chop wood, but you get what I’m trying to say.

What is the one thing you wish other people knew about you?

I wish kids at school would realize that, baby, I was born this way. All the “cool kids” think I’m playing a role, or acting like a drama queen, but I’m not. This is me—I’m flamboyant, tons of fun, vibrant as hell, emo as I feel like being at any given moment, and lots of other flashy things. But I want to be accepted and respected, even if I can’t be understood.

What is your biggest secret something no one knows about?

Ssshhh… don’t tell anybody, okay? I’m gay. IN YOUR FACE, girl, this ain’t no secret! Haha! Can you say common knowledge?

What are you most afraid of?

Getting beat up. I mean, I can defend myself—ever been on the wrong side of a cat fight?—but just knowing that kids want to take me down, humiliate me, knock me around some, at totes random moments, messes with my head.

What do you want more than anything?

Hehehe… I want the heart of one Jasper Donahue, or as I call him, Jazzy-boy.

And I’d also like my BFF to get her dream-come-true college acceptance to Juilliard.

What is your relationship status?

Hello! Can you say TAKEN? As in, I am off the market in a big way. Thanks to Jazz and a lot of hard work on my part.

How would you describe your sense of fashion?

Fantabulous. How’s that?

How much of a rebel are you?

Um, my Glamor Shot photo is in the dictionary next to the word REBEL.

What do you considered to be your greatest achievement?

The way I pull off my Cheez Doodle-colored hair. Not everybody could do it.

What is your idea of happiness?

My purple silky robe, a box of Cheez-Its, a little Lady Gaga music, a champagne flute filled with mango iced tea, and a tube of Cherry Chapstick.

What is your current state of mind?

To be real, I’m on guard. You know, defensive. Answering questions makes me this way. Ain’t a crime.

What is your most treasured possession?

My Chuck Taylor All Star High Tops- Pride is the name of the color and they look like a glam rainbow.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I’m colorful. Flamboyant. Smexy. It might seem like hard outer shell, but I’ve got a squishy center.

What is it that you, most dislike?

Mean people suck. How’s that for summing it up?

Which living person do you, most despise?

Edwin Darling, AKA Eddie the Appalling. He’s in the book, you know, Love Spell. And he’s a thorn in my smexy side.

What is your greatest regret?

If you read Love Spell you will get a picture of some of the mistakes I made when trying to catch my man. But my biggest regret involves gummy bears.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Of course I’m into a strong handsome manly man, but what I really like is a quiet guy. I say, “still waters run deep” and that is how you could describe my Jazz.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

I like honesty and devotion in my girlfriends. And a quirky sense of humor helps.

Who is your favorite hero in fiction?

I’ll go with Katniss cuz she werks it hard.

Which living person do you most admire?

I admire Anderson Cooper, not just because he’s the silver fox, but because he said this:

The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.

If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

I would know who I am definitively in terms of gender. It would make my life much easier… but come to think of it, not being gender fluid would change the essence of me. So maybe I wouldn’t change a thing.

What is your motto?

I’m a big Ralph Waldo Emerson quote fan.

 

 

 

 

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Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, CoolDudes Publishing, and CreateSpace for providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.

Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

www.miakerick.com

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