Release Date: September 1, 2015
Pages or Words: 21,500 words
Categories: Contemporary,
M/M Romance, New Adult,
Romance
Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Louis C. Harris
For weeks, Lennon pesters Fin, who like Lennon admits to questioning his sexual orientation, for a commitment to spend twenty-four hours together exploring “the gay side of life.” Fin reluctantly agrees. Each boy will seek to answer the daunting question, Am I gay? Lennon pre-plans the day, filling the hours with what he assumes “gay life” is all about: shopping for fashionable clothing, indulging in lavish dessert crepes, boogying to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”, and yes, listening to show tunes.
However, Lennon quickly realizes that in creating his plan he has succumbed to the most common and distorted of gay stereotypes. Can he be gay and not fit them? And more importantly, is it possible that spending one very hard day and night together will help Fin accept that he’s gay, too? If so, maybe Lennon has a shot at winning the heart of the boy of his dreams.
“A Hard Day’s Night” is an amusing young adult contemporary romance about two boys who seek to discover if they must fulfill stereotypes to be together.
In the end, maybe all you need is love.
“Fin
and I have managed to get locked into what I will refer to as a
repetitive pattern of affable behavior,
and, in my opinion, it’s working out splendidly. We are the dearest
of friends.”
Scratch
that. Starting over.
And
since I know it’s well past time for some brutally honest
self-talk, I sit up in my bed, and by the warm glow of my Yellow
Submarine nightlight, study my frayed picture of John Lennon. To
complete the visual, it’s the photo from Mom’s retro record set,
The
White Album,
that I pinned to the wall beside my bed and have worshipped regularly
since I was in the seventh grade. Behind those round wire glasses,
the man’s piercing eyes don’t lie—John was a brutally
honest sort,
often to his detriment. After all, back in 1966 didn’t he assert
that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ? Now, that is
certainly calling it exactly
as
he sees it.
Not
that I necessarily agree with the sentiment, I respect that kind of
direct- ness in a person.
I
owe him this much.
Out
of respect for John, I revise and reissue my previous assertion.
“The
Finster and I are stuck in a rut of pleasant compatibility... an
unusually
deep
rut, at that.”
This
attempt at telling-it-like-it-is is definitely an improvement, but
it’s still
not
right on the money, and I’m nothing, if not specific.
I
prop up my pillow and lean hard against the creaky antique headboard
(call
it like you see it, Lennon—the headboard is just plain old),
with the certain knowledge that I’ve completely outgrown this
flimsy, twin size bed of my childhood.
So
maybe it’s more like this....
“Fin
and I each have one leg semi-submerged in a muddy ditch, and we’re
in it well past our knees. This is the kind of murky and dark,
seemingly bottomless, pit that will suck the rubber boot right off
your foot with a single, hollow, slurping sound, and then belch with
satisfaction.” For the third time I speak aloud in an effort to
make my declaration official. “It appears that the two of us are
gonna be stuck here in this mucky BFF-swampland for the long haul—
bootless and slowly sinking into the sludge—unless, of course, I
act decisively and with haste. And
with
great vigor—because, to accomplish the task I have in mind, I’m
most likely going to have to shift into full-hyper-dunk-mode,
possibly coupled with the
drama-queen-approach.
Neither of which poses a problem for me, other than that they require
an excessive expenditure of energy.”
That
was most definitely a mouthful, but an accurate mouthful.
And
all I need is one day. Just one gay day.
Thankfully,
ever proud of the open-mindedness he hides so well from his
ultra-conservative family, Fin has granted me my greatest wish. On
Saturday, March 21st, Beaumont Finley Danforth II (IMHO this BFD is
a
Big Fucking Deal) is mine for the day to do with as I please. I
sincerely hope that a single day is sufficient to help Fin figure out
what I already know.
Um,
Lennon...maybe now is not the right time to start suffering with a
debilitating bout of self-doubt.
Confidence
is of key importance in this endeavor.
No,
I do
not have any
worries, and yes, I do
have
twenty-four
feminine-side-ex- ploring, team-switching, relationship-igniting
hours to make my homeboy see the rainbow-hued light. Starting bright
and early tomorrow morning.
On
that note, I’ll get started with my beauty sleep. I sure hope I’m
gonna need it.
I
wiggle down so I’m flat on my back with my feet sticking six inches
over the end of the bed, pull the covers up to my chin, and listen to
my mental arrangement of “Imagine” until I fall asleep.
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, and CreateSpace for providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.
Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.
31-Aug Bayou Book Junkie, SA McAuley
10-Sep Prism Book Alliance
11-Sep BFD Book Blog, Ogitchida Book Blog
This is such an incredibly cool blog! Love the design! I am very appreciative that you spotlighted my new book today, "A Hard Day's Night", my first novella!
ReplyDeleteHi Mia , I am so delighted to have taken part in this tour! It was awesome putting everything together too~
DeleteIt's been a great tour!
ReplyDelete--Trix