Author Name: Mia Kerick
Book Name: Love Spell
Release Date: June 1, 2015
Blurb:
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 (with 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.
Pages or Words: 44,300 words
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Excerpt:
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.
Sales Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Spell-Mia-Kerick-ebook/dp/B00XT3044W
About the author:
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, 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.
Stop by Mia’s Blog with questions or comments, or simply share what’s on your mind. Find Mia on Facebook, Goodreads, and Amazon.
Interview with Mia Kerick:
Q: Where did you get the idea for Love Spell?
(Thank you so much for welcoming me on BFD for the promotion of my latest release, Love Spell!!)
A: I wanted to write a story about a gender fluid teenage boy 
because I believe there is a lot of suffering going on within the various gender identities that are housed under the trans* umbrella. Here is an image to help you visualize what I am saying. It is more simplified than the reality of the situation, but I think it helps to get my point across.
This suffering is marked by an epidemic of transgender teen suicide that we have all seen in the news recently. My character, Chance César, is not what most people think of as transgender in that he does not want to live his life as a woman or physically transition to become a woman. But he exists under the trans* umbrella as his very fluid gender identity is a source of great pain and confusion, and makes him the target of ridicule and bullying at school. In order for a society to address a topic like this, we need to be aware of it, and by writing a novel centering on a charismatic character who is gender nonconforming and gender fluid, I bring gender identity issues into the public eye.
Q: Who is the most challenging character you’ve written and why?
The most fun character to write was Chance, closely followed by Bryan from The Red Sheet. But that was not the question, was it? The most challenging character to write was Jamie in Intervention, a teen victim of sexual abuse by an older stepbrother. He was the most challenging because I had to do a great deal of research so that I got things right. There are many topics I choose to write about that I cannot afford to take lightly, and Jamie’s character—his reactions and post traumatic stress and the constant fear he lives with as a teen victim of sexual abuse—portrays one of the most challenging topics I have dealt with.
Q: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
A: I will admit that my favorite thing to do—aside from activities with my family—is to write. But when I say write, I mean everything that comes under the writing umbrella. (It is apparently a day for umbrella metaphors, which is appropriate as it is pouring out today.) I enjoy researching and creating characters, developing plot, and just daydreaming about what I’ve created. I’ve even come to enjoy promoting and writing blog posts like this one!
Q: Who is a must read author for you?
A: Cody Kennedy and Michael Bowler are dear friends and must-read authors. Can you say plot twist? These two authors structure their plots with far more detail than I do, and although I do not write that way, I admire the thought put into it when I read their work.
Q: What is your favorite place to write? When do you prefer to write?
A: I write quite often in my Red Sox-themed family room. There is incredible inspiration on the walls, and I get to stare at an image of the Green Momster when I need to step back and get some perspective. And being a night owl, I get a lot done between midnight and three AM.
Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MiaKerick
Pinterest: http://www,pinterest.com/miakerick/
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6474518.Mia.Kerick
Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Louis C. Harris
Tour Dates & Stops:
25-May
26-May
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
27-May
Because Two Men Are Better Than One
28-May
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
29-May
Rafflecopter Prize: $25Amazon Gift Certificate
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for welcoming me on your blog for my Love Spell Book Tour. I was inspired by your questions, they really got me thinking! Hope your readers enjoy Love Spell!
Hi, Mia-
Good luck on the book tour!