The Art of Hero Worship By Mia Kerick Tour
Author Name: Mia Kerick
Book Name: The Art of Hero Worship
Release Date: February 14, 2016
Blurb:
Trembling on the floor, pressed beneath a row of seats in a dark theater, college freshman Jason Tripp listens to the terrifying sound of gunshots, as an unknown shooter moves methodically through the theater, randomly murdering men, women, and children attending a student performance of Hamlet. Junior Liam Norcross drapes his massive body on top of Jason, sheltering the younger man from the deathly hail of bullets, risking his life willingly, and maybe even eagerly.
As a result of the shared horror, an extraordinary bond forms between the two young men, which causes discomfort for family and friends, as well as for Jason and Liam, themselves. And added to the challenge of two previously “straight” men falling into a same-sex love, are the complications that arise from the abundance of secrets Liam holds with regard to a past family tragedy. The fledgling passion between the men seems bound to fade away into the darkness from which it emerged.
Jason, however, is inexplicably called to rescue his hero in return, by delving into Liam’s shady past and uncovering the mystery that compels the older man to act as the college town’s selfless savior.
The Art of Hero Worship takes the reader on a voyage from the dark and chilling chaos that accompanies a mass shooting to the thrill of an unexpected and sensual romance.
Pages or Words: 212 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Gay Fiction,
Excerpt:
Pop-pop-pop….
No, I’m not even remotely safe. But thankfully I play dead far better than my dog did when I taught him that trick at the age of seven.
The shots are earsplitting and getting louder because the shooter’s heading our way. I’m so fucking scared I’m trembling violently, but I promised the guy lying on top of me that I’d stay still. I concentrate on taking short shallow breaths, one after another, in my effort to stop trembling. To stay frozen—like I’ve been since I pulled Ginny to the floor and promptly let go of her hand so I could curl up into a tight fetal ball.
Somebody near me sits up, scrambles to his knees, and impulsively crawls toward the far aisle.
Pop-pop-pop…
“Bang, bang… you’re dead.” The voice comes from directly above me; it’s blank and monotone and controlled. The weird snicker that follows is chilling. I want nothing more than to throw the big guy off my back and run like hell toward the double doors, but I just keep on going with the short breaths and stay as still as I’ve ever been in my life. Even in my terrified state, I know that the guy on top of me is totally exposed and I can’t move because I’ll cheat him out of his life, for sure. Which is so not cool when he’s trying to save mine.
I smell blood. Never noticed the smell of blood before. It reminds me of Grandma’s penny collection… if it got spilled onto the sticky floor of the theater. The scent of old copper is everywhere… like wet pennies strewn all around me on the floor.
Pop-pop-pop…
Shooter’s right above us now. Don’t move… don’t move… don’t move….
“Dear God, help us!” This request seems to catch the shooter’s attention and he turns around and steps away from us. I curse myself for feeling as relieved, and maybe even glad, as I do.
Pop-pop-pop….
We wait and it seems like forever. We wait as voices beg and plead and pray and he shuts them up with bullets. We wait as the sound of shots moves to the front left near the exit, where I figure he’s shooting at anyone who tries to get out through the double doors.
And then, for a second, it’s quiet.
“Now….” The big guy’s voice is whispering but it seems to blast into my left ear. “We have to make our move now.” Before I agree, the heaviness of his body lifts and I feel cold and exposed. “This is our chance to get outta here….”
His hand is attached to the back of my wrist, clutching me so hard that I know I’ll have fingerprint bruises for a week… if I live so long.
Interview:
Hello, I’m happy to be here today promoting my new release The Art of Hero Worship, an Adult Contemporary LGBTQ Romance published by CoolDudes Publishing. In an effort to create interesting blog posts that will resonate with the reader, I decided to look for some great quotations that illustrate what it is to be a write. On the Writers Digest website, in There Are No Rules section, Zachary Petit provided me with too many quotations to create a top ten list. I loved creating this list—I plan to continue to research this topic as it puts me in touch with similar souls.
And so, from that article alone, I have selected twenty quotations that speak to me, as a writer. (I found myself nodding and saying things like, “Uh huh, that’s right” as I put this list together.)
Top Twenty Favorite Quotes About Being a Writer from Writers Digest
- “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway
- “The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”
—Philip Roth
- “It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.”
—Jack Kerouac, WD
- “If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.”
—Peter Handke
- “For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen
- “We’re past the age of heroes and hero kings. … Most of our lives are basically mundane and dull, and it’s up to the writer to find ways to make them interesting.”
—John Updike, WD
- “Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King, WD
- “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.”
—Elmore Leonard
- “There are no laws for the novel. There never have been, nor can there ever be.”
—Doris Lessing
- “Style is to forget all styles.”
—Jules Renard
- “I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.”
—Tom Clancy, WD
- “Don’t expect the puppets of your mind to become the people of your story. If they are not realities in your own mind, there is no mysterious alchemy in ink and paper that will turn wooden figures into flesh and blood.”
—Leslie Gordon Barnard, WD
- “Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot.”
—Leigh Brackett, WD
- “When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”
—Stephen King, WD
- “I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”
—Harper Lee, WD
- “I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
—Ray Bradbury, WD
- “I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.”
—William Carlos Williams
- “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
—Mark Twain
- “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
—Annie Dillard
- “Writers live twice.”
—Natalie Goldberg
From Writers Digest Editors’
There Are No Rules
By: Zachary Petit | June 22, 2012
Buy the book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Hero-Worship-Mia-Kerick-ebook/dp/B01ABCB73U/ref=sr_1_1
AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theartofheroworship-1967344-145.html
Meet 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 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 men and their relationships, and she believes that sex 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 CoolDudes Publishing, Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.
Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of 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.
Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Mia-KerickAuthor-231404220346244/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiaKerick
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/bCLWfT
Website: www.miakerick.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6474518.Mia_Kerick
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Mia-Kerick/e/B009KSTG9E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1410298098&sr=8-2
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28369581-the-art-of-hero-worship
Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Louis C. Harris
Tour Dates & Stops:
15-Feb
Bonkers About Books, Divine Magazine, The Hat Party, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
16-Feb
MM Good Book Reviews, Bookaholic Confessions
17-Feb
Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, My Fiction Nook, Mikky’s World of Books
18-Feb
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter
19-Feb
22-Feb
Parker Williams, BFD Book Blog
23-Feb
Three Books Over The Rainbow, V’s Reads, Bayou Book Junkie
24-Feb
Multitasking Mommas, Velvet Panic, Full Moon Dreaming
25-Feb
Book Lovers 4Ever, Unquietly Me
26-Feb
TTC Books and More, Inked Rainbow Reads, Kiki’s Kinky Picks, Kirsty Loves Books
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