Two Chicks On Books: June 2025

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the LOSING AUSTIN by Michael J. Bowler Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: LOSING AUSTIN

Author: Michael J. Bowler

Pub. Date: June 10, 2025

Publisher: Michael J. Bowler Publishing

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 213

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/LOSING-AUSTIN

Fifteen-year-old Austin Bowman vanishes off the face of the earth. Was he kidnapped, abducted by aliens, or murdered by his hotheaded brother, Colton? Despite the rumors and his troubled kid reputation, only Colton knows he didn’t kill Austin. He also knows what drove his brother from the house that rainy day. Or does he?

Riddled with guilt, Colton spends every waking moment trying to find Austin. Searching online for similar missing kids, he meets Keilani, a girl from Hawaii whose younger brother vanished the same day as Austin. Internet explorations reveal other kids who also disappeared, always on rainy days. Since none of these kids have been heard from since, alien abduction seems the most likely answer.

Colton endures years of frustrating dead ends and high school graduation beckons. Then something so shocking occurs that the world descends on the Bowman home in the form of media, law enforcement, even Homeland Security, and Colton’s life will never be the same.

Excerpt from Losing Austin

Michael J. Bowler

The day my brother disappeared was a rainy Saturday, and Casey—one of the few friends I still had—was hanging out at my house. He was in my grade, about the same size as me, with blond hair and blue eyes. He played soccer, but sports—except the video game kind—pretty much bored me.

Casey and I battled each other on my X-Box and ate junk food. My mom wouldn’t let me play the really violent games, but I had a few T-rated ones and that day everything was going pretty well until midafternoon when Austin started screeching.

“The hell is that?” Casey stared at me with his mouth hanging open.

I realized that all the other times Casey had been over, Austin had stayed quiet in his room.

Not this time.

My whole body tensed up and I felt my ears burn. “Uh, my brother.”

Casey’s eyes bulged. “Your big brother?”

I nodded, anger surging through me. Once again, Austin was embarrassing me in front of a friend.

The screeching increased.

“Jeez,” Casey muttered. “Sounds like somebody choking a cat.”

It was a joke. I knew it was a joke. But the “troubled kid” part of me rose to the surface. “Shut your mouth!”

Casey looked at me like I was “different,” too. “Dude, I know he’s weird, but wow, that screaming is crazy. Your brother is a retard.”

I dropped my game controller, and Casey barely had a moment to cover his face with his hands before I landed the first punch. It glanced off his raised arms and I tackled him off the chair, completely out of control. All he could do was keep his arms up and curl into a ball while I pummeled him.

Next thing I knew, my mother was dragging me backward and yelling in my ear, “Colton, stop! You’re hurting him!”

My fists struck empty air, but I kept swinging until Casey lowered his arms and gave me such a stunned look that my anger deflated.

What the hell had just happened?

Mom was pretty strong for a small woman, but then she’d had lots of experience restraining me over the years. She let go and stepped between us.

“What’s going on in here?” Mom demanded, hands to her hips, mouth turned downward in an angry frown.

“He went psycho on me, Mrs. Bowman.”

“Is that true, Colton?” Mom glared at me.

I could see she believed him.

Casey pulled himself together, wiped his bloody nose with a sleeve, and stood behind Mom, glowering at me. I knew he wasn’t going to admit what he’d said. I could’ve snitched, but what for?

“Yeah, it’s true,” I mumbled, lowering my gaze to my bare feet. “I don’t know what happened.”

Mom sighed loudly, exasperated. Every time I’d been in a fight since first grade, I’d told her it was because the other kid was mocking Austin. She complained to the school the first few times, but they always told her they couldn’t control what other kids said, and since Austin wasn’t even a student at that school, they were under no obligation to take action. I, however, was a student there and apparently—according to the administration—had an obligation to keep my fists to myself, no matter what the other kids said to me.

After numerous failed attempts to get action from my school, Mom’s standard response became, “Just ignore them.”

Easy for you to say, Mom.

By this time, Austin had stopped screeching. It was almost as though he'd acted out on purpose just to ruin my day. Sometimes I hated him so much I couldn’t even think straight. And then I’d hate myself for those feelings. Yeah, I was troubled, all right, but I was about to get a whole lot worse.

About Michael J. Bowler:

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author who grew up in San Rafael, California. He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University and went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master’s in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

Putting his degrees to use Michael taught high school in Hawthorne, California for many years, both in general education and to students with disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook. Using what he learned from his master’s degree Michael wrote two screenplays. His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. He also partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II.”

Michael is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens and serves as a volunteer Big Brother with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and has been a volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles for over thirty years. He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed him and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

Michael’s goal as an author is for teens to experience empowerment and hope; to see themselves in his diverse characters; to read about kids who face real-life challenges; and to see how kids like them can remain decent people in an indecent world. The most prevalent theme in his writing and his work with youth is this: as both a society, and as individuals, we’re better off when we do what’s right, rather than what’s easy.