Book Tour + #Giveaway: Dead Sea by Mia Kerick @MiaKerick @yaboundtourspr

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Book Tour + #Giveaway: Dead Sea by Mia Kerick @MiaKerick @yaboundtourspr

Book Tour!

Dead Sea
by: Mia Kerick

Dead Sea

(Story Ballads Book #2)
by: Mia Kerick
Genre: YA Coming of Age Gay Romance
Release Date: March 3

Summary: Kyle is a swaggering bully; Lenny strives to be invisible.

Kyle has been left alone in the world; Lenny is the world’s biggest loner.

When Kyle saves Lenny from drowning, their lives will never be the same.

After a brutal encounter with school bullies, Lenny swims out into the ocean, determined to let the current whisk him away. Next thing he knows the meanest kid in town is pulling him from the waves, promising to be his Dead Sea, and to never let him sink.

All Kyle wants is to get out of beach cleanup, is that too much to ask? So he goes for a swim, only to come upon the most epic “nobody” in the senior class drowning in a riptide. Lenny’s haunted gaze grips him, and Kyle makes the impulsive decision to save his life or die trying. And through this ordeal, Kyle and Lenny are transformed.

Kyle’s heroic act sets him on the straight and narrow, and he opens his heart to the young man he dragged from the ocean. Lenny changes too but is still unable to reveal the truth of his pain. While drowning in a sea of secrets, the reformed bully and wary victim fall in love. But staying afloat in the Dead Sea is not as simple as it seems.

Buy Link:

Amazon

(Kindle Unlimited or $2.99)

Interview with Mia Kerick

I’m so happy to be with you today at Avid Reader to talk about my new YA Coming of Age Gay Romance with angst and heat and characters who find lots of trouble, DEAD SEA.

What made you want to become a writer?

Well, there are two answers. First, my older sister has always been my role model and she wrote a book. Soooo… I wrote a book. (I have been accused of being a “copycat” since I was three years old.) Second is my great love for tortured heroes in literature. I loved them so much I decided to create my own. His name was Brett in my first romance novel, Beggars and Choosers.

What inspired you to write Dead Sea?

Dead Sea was inspired by the Lumineers song of the same name. The chorus is:

Like the Dead Sea

You told me I was like the Dead Sea

You'll never sink when you are with me

Oh Lord, like the Dead Sea

Whoa, I'm like the Dead Sea

The finest words you ever said to me

Honey can't you see

I was born to be, be your Dead Sea

I found the concept so romantic that someone was born to be the one who refused to let you sink in life. So romantic I decided to write about it.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Dead Sea?

Lenny is an introvert with a huge secret. He tries to be invisible at school, but when he is in his bedroom, he lives a brilliantly colorful life. Kyle is a bully with a heart of gold. I think the beginning of my blurb says it best.

Kyle is a swaggering bully; Lenny strives to be invisible.

Kyle has been left alone in the world; Lenny is the world’s biggest loner.

When Kyle saves Lenny from drowning, their lives will never be the same.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

I have favorite books more than favorite authors. For YA, I loved Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Sáenz) and Twilight (Stephanie Meyer). Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) is a classic that I read and reread. My favorite MM tear-jerker is Bareback (Chris Owen) And don’t get me started about Brokeback Mountain (Annie Proulx). Oh, and then there’s The Locker Room (Amy Lane).

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

My next release is Whatever He Needs which releases May 4^th from Boroughs Publishing Group. It is New Adult Gay Romance.

Here’s the blurb:

DADDY ISSUES

Nightclub dancer, Dimmy Cirillo, is living a nightmare. He doesn't want to be the boy-toy his father is pimping him out to be, but he has no way out.

Construction-company heir, Liam McAllister, wasn't looking to become anyone's white night, but he couldn't stop himself from helping the willowy, tattooed man who takes his breath away. But Liam isn't out, and he won't tell his father - the repercussions would be disastrous. His only truth is found in Dimmy's love.

If Liam waits too long to be the man he knows he should be, he risks losing Dimmy. Worse, Dimmy might fall back into his father's clutches.

Both men have to face standing up for themselves and for their love. It's the fight of their lives, and they have to win.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I’ll talk about Whatever He Needs for just a moment. I loved writing (yet another) story about a “bad boy” who has a heart of gold. Someone who looks tough but is sweet on the inside.

As I wrote, I fell more and more in love with Dimmy. He’s the tattooed, inked, pierced, and purple-haired high school dropout who has had zero advantages in life. What happens when preppy, elite, country club Liam spots Dimmy go-go dancing at a dive bar? What happens when he wants him for his own?

I love writing hard-knock-life love stories with tortured heroes who can only be saved by the sheltering arms of a certain man. I thought a lot about the song “Father Figure” by George Michael while I wrote. I love this story!

Giveaway!

$20 Amazon Gift Card (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

Award-winning gay romance author, wife, and mother of four, Mia Kerick, knows that a satisfying romance novel is riddled with challenges. For true love to prevail, the leading men are going to have to put in some effort. But the HEA is oh, so rewarding.

From Jane Eyre’s Mr. Rochester to Brokeback Mountain’s Ennis and Jack to Twilight’s Edward, Mia has a great affinity for the tortured hero in literature. Her contemporary gay romance focuses on such tropes as coming of age, hurt/comfort, and forbidden love. She firmly believes that sometimes you have to break his heart to save him. In Kerick’s books, the course of true love truly never does run smooth.

Mia’s books have been featured in Kirkus Reviews magazine. They have won a 2019 IPPY GOLD award for Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction, GOLD award for Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction, a 2018 YA GOLD MOONBEAM Children’s Book Award, a YA Readers’ Favorite Award, several Gold Rainbow Awards in YA and adult categories, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, a YA Indie Fab Award, a First Place Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, a First Place Story Monsters Purple Dragonfly Award, and more.

Mia cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights. 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.