Chasing
Nirvana
by Elyn Oaksmith
Genre: YA Coming of Age Romance/LGBTQ
Release Date: October 2017
Summary:
by Elyn Oaksmith
Genre: YA Coming of Age Romance/LGBTQ
Release Date: October 2017
Summary:
Fran Worth is just another girl
trying to make it through senior year at Weatherwax High in Aberdeen,
Washington. But it's 1993 and Fran is gay. Her comfortably off the radar life
turns vividly public when a student nominates Fran for prom queen. When
confronted by angry parents Fran refuses to back down, promising to deliver her
hometown heroes in hopes of winning prom queen votes.
Fran heads out on a 24 hour
road trip to Daily City, California with four friends, including her crush who
may or may not be gay. Their plan? To sneak backstage to ask Kurt Cobain
and Nirvana to come home and play prom. No problem. Unless something goes
wrong.
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Interview with Ellyn Oaksmith
What
inspired you to write Chasing Nirvana?
In the 1990’s I read a newspaper article
about a gay girl who was nominated for prom queen in rural Washington State.
The parents and students who objected organized an alternate prom. I loved the
idea of a school and a town divided on such a symbolic night. The story just
wouldn’t go away until I puzzled together a plot.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the next books or what you have planned for the
future?
I’m finishing up a book called Stealing Baby X. It’s set in 1927 and
was inspired by my 19 year old Canadian Nana kidnapping an orphaned baby from a
Catholic hospital because it was going to be adopted out for farm labor. I’m
drafting a young adult series called Holly
Parker Goes to Prom about an Asian American teen in such a hurry to grow up
she ends up faking her age to take a job at Google her senior year. The second
book, Nick’s Gap Year, follows Holly
and her boyfriend to Liberia as he goes on quest to find his birth
parents. The final book follows Holly to
New York City after her younger sister runs away from boarding school to become
a model.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the characters in Chasing Nirvana?
Fran, the main character, is a senior in
high school. She’s gay. She doesn’t like attention and has a sarcastic, biting
sense of humor. She’s out of the closet because of a slip of the lip in 6th
grade. Her best friend Nikki is a high octane girl who loves an argument or
cause. She’s in love with Paul. Paul is a star high school soccer player who is
insecure. He dates a gorgeous girl who is demanding and annoying but he puts up
with her because her attention feeds his ego. Allison is a Japanese American girl
who relocated from San Francisco and hates Aberdeen. She has a demanding mother
who wants her to be something she’s not. Fran has a crush on Allison.
You
know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and
why?
Maya Angelou. She wrote about her entire
life in a series of books that touch my heart. They’re autobiographies but they
read like poetic, powerful fiction. I’m not a huge reader of poetry but her
poems move and inspire me.
If
you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would
you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular period?
I’d probably go back to 1908 on Prince
Edward Island because LM Montgomery was one of the first authors I fell in love
with through Anne of Green Gables. Her vision of Prince Edward Island is
idyllic. I recently re-read those books and felt swept away into the magic of
Anne’s world. She’s the ideal heroine: hot tempered, impulsive, damaged, brave
and deeply principled.
Do
you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
Yes. I have a much beloved 11 year old
rescue dog named Lucky who recently survived massive cancer surgery after which
he had a horrible reaction to Fentanyl. We drove him at 1:00 AM to the
emergency vet. While recovering, Lucky cut two paws during a short walk. We
thought we’d have to add “un” to his name but he’s a survivor. He’s doing wonderfully
now. My cat is another rescue animal. An obese polydactyl named Forest. His
Instagram account is @Forestthefatcat. He’s handsome and hilarious.
About
the Author
I graduated from Smith College
and have a very expensive MFA from The American Film Institute. Some writers
will tell you that their MFA was a waste of money. I won't. It gave me great
editorial skills and colorful, crazy experiences working as a screenwriter in
LA. Cooking on fishing boats in Alaska paid my tuition. Screenwriting and
working in the middle of the Bering Sea have a lot in common: hard work,
unpredictability and occasionally both make you want to scream.
Besides my family and friends,
I love rescue dogs, cats, cooking, baking, open water swimming, kayaking and
reading, reading, reading, reading. Did I mention reading?
Author
Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Instagram│Amazon Page
GIVEAWAYS:
Anyone who comments on
any of the blogs during the tour is eligible to win one of 30 e-book copies of
Chasing Nirvana.
Anyone who signs up for
the Author’s newsletter during the blog tour at this link: http://eepurl.com/2ZfTP will
enter to win one of 5 signed copies of the paperback.
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