I
am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the JUST SHELBY by Brooklyn James Blog Tour
hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.
Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Brooklyn James
Pub.
Date: October 27, 2020
Publisher: Arena Books
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 290
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords
A secret note square found in a handmade guitar proves that small town gossip is not only ubiquitous but occasionally true. This gossip comes with strings rivaling those on Ace Cooper’s guitar, the safest strings he will ever have around his heart.
Ace’s father warns him to stay away from the Lynn girl. Daughter of a deceased bootlegger and a barely living addict, Shelby Lynn is no stranger to small town contempt. She keeps her nose in the books and feet to the ground, a college scholarship the only escape from her tumultuous life.
As Ace’s heartstrings unravel, so does his family’s role in Shelby’s broken past. Thrust into a precarious journey of their roots brimming with music and betrayal, the two have never been closer…to the truth of how Shelby’s father died. One truth transforms every facet of their lives forever.
A dual POV friends-to-first-love story, Just Shelby is an unsuspecting
mystery that depicts how growing together can sometimes hurt worse than growing
apart.
Interview:
Hey Brooklyn! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books. I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! JUST SHELBY sounds AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about JUST SHELBY and the characters?
Just Shelby is a
dual POV friends-to-first-love story that depicts how growing together can
sometimes hurt worse than growing apart. Although Shelby and Ace experience the
same small town very differently, they find more that unites them than
separates them. The daughter of a deceased bootlegger and a barely living
addict, Shelby is no stranger to small town gossip. She's an outcast who dreams
of nothing more than college, city life, a place where her family's tumultuous
past does not define her. Ace pridefully plans on staying in his hometown
because his own mother left it, and his father, in the rearview mirror years
ago. Not exactly a golden boy, Ace's moody and mysterious demeanor coupled with
his solid job as a miner make him a hot ticket in the traditional Appalachian
community. The one person's approval that Ace seeks the most is his father's,
following in his footsteps at the mine to ensure it. Until he and Shelby grow
closer and she discovers Ace's hidden talent and desire for music. One of her
mother's triggers, Shelby is just not
that into music. But when Ace plays it, she can hear its intoxicating
melody. As Ace becomes the one constant in her chaotic life, Shelby encourages
his musical aspirations, much to his father's chagrin. This ultimately leads to
the discovery of a secret note square hidden for eighteen years in a handmade
guitar, which proves that small town gossip is not only ubiquitous but
occasionally true. What role did Ace's family play in Shelby's broken past?
What are you
working on now?
As an indie author/singer-songwriter, I often work on a book and
then on music or occasionally work on both simultaneously as with my first
novel, The Boots My
Mother Gave Me, which comes with an original music soundtrack,
making for a unique Audible experience. The music element of Just Shelby inspired a new run of songs
that we are working on at Wonderland Studios, Austin, Texas. So that is first
on the agenda for me, getting a few new singles and videos turned out in 2021.
I am outlining two other novels in the meantime, one Adult and one YA. If Just Shelby is well received, we will
follow-up with an audiobook as well.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
One need not read any further in my writing than The Boots My Mother Gave Me (based on
the true-life event of growing up with an abusive father) and Born in the Bed
You Were Made: One Family's Journey from Cesarean to Home Birth
(my true nonfiction book to date) to know that I often approach writing as
“creative therapy.” Just Shelby may
have been the first book I've written where I identified as much with the male
protagonist as with the female protagonist, in large part due to Ace's music
aspirations and his strained relationship with his father because of those
aspirations. And growing up in a small town quite similar to the one Shelby is
so desperate to break free from, I knew immediately who she was.
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
Side characters are usually my favorite to write. Enisi—Shelby's
Cherokee paternal grandmother—was my favorite character to write in this book.
Speaking of characters being inspired by real life, Enisi's ceremonies, wisdom,
and self-reliance were inspired by an extraordinary woman whom I had the
pleasure of meeting and becoming forever friends with nearly ten years ago on a
writing retreat/seasonal position I took part in at Brooks Lake Lodge in
Dubois, Wyoming. My least favorite character to write was Shelby's mother,
Maisy, only because of the addiction she struggles with. The topic itself
requires great truth but great care. My father struggled with alcoholism, a
catalyst in his abuse, for years before his suicide. The effects of addiction
are quite raw to me. But Just Shelby
is a story of redemption. In that respect, writing Maisy's character was
satisfying and pivotal to the outcome.
What is your
favorite passages/scenes in JUST SHELBY?
My favorite passages in most any book are those that portray the
romance aspect. Just Shelby being a
friends-to-first-love story, there are many of those types of scenes. Shelby
and Ace have an easy friendship. They share playful banter. They support and
encourage each other. They are adept at and quite enjoy pressing one another's
buttons. All things that make for an easy transition from friends to first
love. However, they are guarded, and rightly so. Shelby doesn't want to end up
like her mother, in love and pregnant at seventeen and stuck in a small town
forever. Ace doesn't want to end up like his father, falling in love with the
only girl in his small town who would leave him the way his mother left his
father. So their transition from friends to first love comes with its fair
share of strife. Shelby is book smart but quite naive in the romance
department, unlike Ace. The first time they almost kiss, I relate to her
internalization of that feeling: Forget butterflies and mush. This feels like a
chemical reaction. Exothermic. Combustible. Humans can’t actually explode. Can
they? And when they do actually kiss for the first time, I love how
everything—even the sensation of kissing Shelby—comes back to music for Ace:
Akin to one more song…it'll never be enough.
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
I researched Appalachia, the setting, which I found to have much
in common with the rural Pennsylvania town I grew up in. I researched
addiction, the opioid epidemic specifically, as Shelby's mother became hooked
on prescription painkillers after her teen pregnancy/birth with Shelby. There
was some Cherokee language and herbal medicine research required for the side
character portrayal of Enisi. Twenty years removed from high school, I YouTubed
the origami technique of folding a secret note square, which became a favorite
homeschool art project for my children.
Who is your
ultimate book boyfriend?
My ultimate book boyfriend is Jeremiah “Miah” Johnson from The Boots My Mother Gave Me because I
surprisingly and eventually married the muse for the character.
What inspired you
to write YA romance?
The inspiration to transition from Adult Romance to YA Romance
grew out of a personal reading slump. My preferred reads are romantic novels
that are not exactly romance novels. Don't get me wrong, it is the romance
aspect of any book that keeps me reading. However, as a reader I thoroughly
enjoy books that give me experiences and feelings beyond love. Coming of age,
underdog archetypes, and memoirs always satisfy my reading sensibilities. Even
nonfiction is a favorite genre of mine. But I came to a point where I was
looking for something else, a change of reading pace, which led me ambivalently
to YA. As an adult with a propensity for “steamy” romances, I assumed that
there wouldn't be much for me in YA novels. Was I ever wrong. My TBR list
teemed with YA must-reads that provided countless experiences and feelings
beyond love. Just what I was looking for! Dual POV YA books—Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park to name one—were some
of my absolute faves. That's when Just
Shelby morphed from a single POV Adult novel to a dual POV YA novel. In
retrospect, I believe I was in a writing slump as well, Just Shelby slowly coming to life as an Adult Fiction manuscript.
As soon as I took it in the direction of YA, it gave
new and expeditious life to the manuscript, challenging yet refreshing all the
same. The detail I relished most about writing YA is the freedom to explore
endings that are uplifting and inspiring without being quintessential
happy-ever-after endings. Something that I have run into before in writing
Adult Romance is that there seems to be a lot of pressure to go in the happily
ever after direction where love is the be-all and end-all. The majority of
Young Adult books I have read, and the ones I enjoy most, leave the reader with
a clear sense of who the characters are and how they have transformed, but love
is merely a part of that transformation and not the journey itself. A true joy
to read and write!
Lightning Round Questions
What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
I am currently rereading Where the Crawdads Sing. Can't get enough of that book! For our homeschool curriculum, we are reading The Call of the Wild. Apparently they released the movie at the beginning of this year, which we will be watching after we finish the short adventure novel. I'm listening to Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, Book 8) on Audible. Up next on my TBR, I have Heart Bones, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, and Recommended for You.
Instagram, Twitter or Facebook?
I am more active on IG and FB these days than I am on Twitter. A newbie to IG, it is my current preferred platform. I like Instagram's display and ease of navigation. It speaks to the minimalist in me. For the singer-songwriter aspect of my work, I use YouTube and SoundCloud. SoundCloud is wonderful for sharing sounds, not simply music but audiobook snippets as well. I do have to remind myself to post to social media. It is not something that I prioritize naturally. For all the benefits of social media, it definitely falls into the category of moderation for me as it can easily become too much of a good thing.
Favorite Superhero?
A child of the eighties, I was pretty proud of my Incredible Hulk Underoos, even though they were predominantly marketed to boys back then. A Marvel fan, I'm obsessed with the character development Hulk has experienced! He will always be one of my favorites. But, I tell you, the ladies are killin' it for me these days, Captain Marvel (that fiery mohawk) and Black Widow among my faves. And Mystique—never have I rooted for a supervillain more.
Favorite TV show?
We are into Big Bang reruns currently, the Marvel-obsessed cast of characters providing some of the best Marvel references and cameos.
Sweet or Salty?
Totally salty!
Any Phobias?
Hmm... Is “What If They Hate My Book” a phobia?
Song you can’t get enough of right now?
Lee Brice—One of Them Girls & Brandi Carlile—The Mother
Fall/Winter 2020 Movie you’re most looking forward to?
I have been looking forward to
Marvel's new Black Widow movie that
was supposed to release this past May. Then they said maybe fall, but now
they're saying May 2021, because of covid. At this point, I'd see pretty much
anything in an actual theater!
Thanks so much Brooklyn for answering
my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read JUST SHELBY!
About Brooklyn:
Brooklyn James is an author/singer-songwriter
who savors any opportunity to blend books with music. Her first novel, The Boots My Mother Gave Me, has an
original music soundtrack, making for a unique Audible experience. Out of Boots
grew a platform where it was Brooklyn's honor to serve as a guest speaker with
a focus on awareness and prevention of domestic violence and suicide.
Her latest speaking engagements centered around accessibility, rights, and
choice in birth, as well as writing workshops on how to put pen to paper composing
one's own birth story with the release of her birth memoir, Born in the Bed You Were Made: One Family's
Journey from Cesarean to Home Birth.
Just Shelby gifted both the challenge
and the thrill of this author's primary exploration into the Young Adult genre.
She cherishes reader reviews, if you should be so inclined.
Moonlighting occasionally in voice-over and film, Brooklyn played a Paramedic
in a Weezer video, met Harry Connick Jr. as an extra on the set of When Angels Sing, appeared in Richard Linklater's
Boyhood for all of a nanosecond, and
was a stand-in and stunt double for Mira Sorvino on Jerry Bruckheimer's Trooper pilot for TNT. Although reading,
dancing, working out, and a good glass of kombucha get her pretty excited, she
finds most thrilling the privilege of being a mother to two illuminating little
souls and a wife to the one big soul from whom they get their light.
Brooklyn holds an M.A. in Communication, a B.S. in both Nursing and Animal
Science, and lives in Texas Hill Country.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
| SoundCloud | Goodreads |
Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a Signed Paperback
that comes with a 3-set candle gift pack (one limited edition Just Shelby book
scent "Gray Fog," one fall scent, and one winter scent). The Signed
Paperback/Candle Set is valued at $35. US Only.
3 lucky winners will receive an eBook of
JUST SHELBY, International.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
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10/19/2020 |
Interview |
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10/19/2020 |
Instagram Stop |
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10/20/2020 |
Excerpt |
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10/20/2020 |
Instagram Stop |
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10/21/2020 |
Guest Post |
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10/21/2020 |
Instagram Stop |
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10/22/2020 |
Review |
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10/22/2020 |
Excerpt |
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10/23/2020 |
Interview |
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10/23/2020 |
Instagram Stop |
Week Two:
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10/26/2020 |
Review |
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10/26/2020 |
Excerpt |
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10/27/2020 |
Review |
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10/27/2020 |
Excerpt |
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10/28/2020 |
Review |
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10/28/2020 |
Excerpt |
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10/29/2020 |
Review |
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10/29/2020 |
Instagram Stop |
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10/30/2020 |
Review |
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10/30/2020 |
Excerpt |
