Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Chasing Harmony by Melanie Bell @InspireEnvision @ReadFuriously @GoddessFish

CHASING HARMONY

by Melanie Bell

GENRE: Young Adult LGBTQ+

BLURB:

A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour.

Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story, featuring a bisexual protagonist, for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines on Prince Edward Island and Vancouver, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.

Piano prodigy Anna Stern is used to having all eyes on her. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.

Anna finds refuge in her best friend, Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans. However, now their relationship is changing and Anna is starting to fall for her. Adding to the complicated status is new kid Darien, who is always vying for Anna's attention.

As the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by, an upcoming performance with Liss will determine both of their futures. With everything building to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.

Where to purchase Chasing Harmony (print) @ Read Furiously, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Target, Waterstones

Where to purchase Chasing Harmony (digital) @ Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Amazon

Excerpt:

She blows out the flame, crushes the poster into a ball as bits of ash flake off. She can’t let them catch this.

Another voice: “I swear I didn’t burn anything!”

She grabs the stack of old band posters from the file shelf and stuffs them in her bag. No one else working at The Green Staircase cares about these posters. It was Anna’s idea to keep them.

“Maybe it’s the radiator.”

All those bands, her pride and joy. Who was she kidding?

“I think it’s coming from over there—”

Quick! Into the alley, garbage bins reeking. What bin should burnt paper go in—recycling? Compost? She tosses and runs wildly down the street. Her shift is over. She’s done her job.

Out of habit, she stops at the community center on the corner. It’s late Friday evening, still open, no floor hockey games or beading club for underprivileged youth. No one at the pool tables or arcade.

She rushes to the piano.

No one is there to clap as she launches into the band’s last number, a tender little piece sung by Mustache Man whose burnt face now graces a compost bin. She hasn’t played it before, but that isn’t a problem. Her fingers relish the slick feel of keys, the quick acrobatics of motion. She riffs on the melody, improvises, and adds a solo section. For those lyrics she remembers, she sings along, not powerfully but perfectly in key.

Interview with Melanie Bell

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

I’ve written three books. Chasing Harmony, my young adult novel, is my favorite. It touches on my experiences as a queer kid growing up on Prince Edward Island. My other books are Dream Signs, a short story collection, and The Modern Enneagram, a nonfiction book about personality types that I co-authored with Kacie Berghoef.




If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?

I don’t have plans for a sequel, but you never know! I do have a short poetry collection in the works about my experience moving to the UK, living through a pandemic, and navigating the quirks and emotions of life in a new country. Its planned release date is 2025.




Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

I’ve written standalone titles so far. All of them are quite different, but my solo work shares the qualities of being personal and imaginative. I think I work with words in a similarly careful way across genres, so if you enjoy the writing style in one of my books, you’re likely to enjoy the others.




How did you come up with the title for your book?

My manuscript started with a title that I don’t think is great. I thought of “Chasing Harmony” several years later while querying. I like its sense of forward movement.




How long did it take you to write this book?

I wrote the first draft in a year and a half. It went through seven revisions before publication, and it took about ten years to find a publisher at a time when the market was searching more for bisexual voices and stories.




What does the title mean?

“Chasing Harmony” is about the pursuit of musical harmony that drives the main character, Anna. It also refers to the search for personal harmony. I believe it’s my publisher who pointed out that it’s a bit of a contradiction… is harmony really something that can be chased?

What did you learn when writing the book?

It was my first time writing a full-length novel, so I learned a great deal about structure and revisions. I confirmed that I could finish something long. And I learned just how much the myth of “potential” has haunted, and continues to haunt, my life. Just because a kid is seen as talented doesn’t mean they’re set on a predetermined path. And what do you do with “potential,” anyway? We all have the potential to do all sorts of things, including sitting on the couch and eating chips! We’re not failed people if we don’t live up to someone else’s ideas of who we could have been.




What surprised you the most?

I was surprised by the way the ending turned out. I’d planned for it to go in one direction, but it evolved a little differently. The characters grew and changed as the story went on. My original ending was more depressing. This version, I think, is hopeful.




Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?

I have – as a teenager! I was quite interested in death when I was younger, and in writing short stories about close relationships where someone died. Their key theme was exploring grief. I think I got it out of my system for a while!




What do you do to get inside your characters’ heads?

I keep lots of notes. Chasing Harmony had notebooks scribbled with information about the characters that never made its way into the book. Sometimes I play music I associate with particular characters when writing. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Melanie Bell is a Canadian multi-genre writer living in the UK. Her books include a short story collection,Dream Signs, a nonfiction title, The Modern Enneagram, and the YA novel Chasing Harmony. She has written for several publications including Contrary, Cicada, The Fiddlehead, and Huffington Post. She loves music, art, and nature, and aspires to see as much of the world as she can.

Melanie’s Digital Footprint

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Read Furiously’s Digital Footprint

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter

 

Giveaway:

$20 Barnes and Noble GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.