Can you tell us a little bit about your book?
My latest book The Misfits, is based upon four good
friends coming together due to having a dreadful dilemma in common. They are
all being harassed by the same eighth grade student at her crew at school.
When did it come out?
It was May of 2013 via e-book version.
Where can we get it?
It is currently available on Smashwords, and Kindle.
Is there anything that
prompted your latest book ? Something that inspired you?
What prompted me to write this book was the fact
that I am a school teacher and I write on situations that occur with the youth.
My students always inspire me to write.
So, when did you know you wanted to write?
I
envisioned becoming an author the later part of 2003. Writing was not always a pastime for me.
Do you have any favorite authors?
Yes, I do. One of my favorite authors is the
late E. Lynn Harris.
Do you write in a specific place? Time of day?
I
usually write on the floor. I rarely write on my office desk. I do not have a specific time for writing. I just
go with the flow when it comes to me.
Are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers?
Yes...don't give up. Keep writing. Don't
stop!
Any advice?
As a independent author, it's important to come up
with multiple ways to promote yourself. My suggestion is that independent authors
on a daily basis come up with three different strategies to get themselves
exposed and put those strategies to work.
Here is the blurb for The Misfits.
The Misfits...the middle school bullying book of the decade!
Chelsea, your typical everyday student, would love
to get the most out of her middle school experience. Unfortunately, Chelsea and
her three friends Brandon, Meagan, and Josh all have one major dilemma standing
in their way from accomplishing this goal. Linda,a seventh grade student from
the previous school year, along with her crew, took it upon themselves to
bully, and torment the four of them as sixth graders. Blair, Linda's younger
sister of the two,refused to play any role in her sisters cruel tactics. As a
result of it all, Blair becomes friends with Chelsea.
The first day of school for Chelsea and her friends as seventh graders approaches soon. All four of these youngsters experience back to school anxiety the night before. Riding the bus together the morning of the first day of school, they encourage and motivate one another to have a great first day. Although Chelsea and her friends have one amazing bond, does this pact have what it takes to have an productive school year as seventh graders at Vernon middle or,will they succumb once again to Linda's cruel and vicious acts of bullying.
The first day of school for Chelsea and her friends as seventh graders approaches soon. All four of these youngsters experience back to school anxiety the night before. Riding the bus together the morning of the first day of school, they encourage and motivate one another to have a great first day. Although Chelsea and her friends have one amazing bond, does this pact have what it takes to have an productive school year as seventh graders at Vernon middle or,will they succumb once again to Linda's cruel and vicious acts of bullying.
Here is the trailer.
Here is an excerpt from The Misfits.
CHAPTER 1
THE BACK-TO
-SCHOOL BLUE
S AND THE NIGHT
BEFORE THE FIRST
DAY OF SCHOOL
Chelsea
Once
again, the first day of school is here. There’s a Christmas song by some
old-timer titled, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” I’m not sure what
his name is, but every year since I’ve entered school, the first day of class
has always been just the opposite. I hate it! It seems like the night before
the first day of every school year, I can never get any sleep. Just the sound
of the big yellow bus pulling up to the corner to pick me up is enough to make
me want to vomit. The first day of school always made me nervous, but nothing
could compare to the nervousness and jitters I felt in sixth grade entering
Vernon Middle School for the first time.
The good
news is that I made it through sixth grade despite everything my friends and I
endured. Now I’m a seventh grader. The bad news is that I know everyone will
have nice clothes. Well, just about everyone: I won’t. I’ll have the same
clothes from last year. My mom got laid off from her crummy job about a month
ago, and she couldn’t afford new threads. I don’t blame her - it’s not her
fault. What’s the big deal about nice clothes anyway? Well, as a seventh-grader
at Vernon Middle, I quickly learned that appearance is everything.
The
pressure will be on this year. As for Linda and the gang, just like last year,
I know they are going to go straight for the juggler when they see me in the
morning. I know they will notice something very common about my attire: I wore
it last year at least 40 times. Since there are only 186 school days in a year
- if you do the math — it means that the entire Vernon student body will
remember my shirt and skirt.
As a
seventh grader, my only wish is that Linda and her puppets would be a little
more supportive and encouraging to the lower classmen like me and the people I
hang with. It was obvious that she and her clique had it in for us -- bad.
Their mission was always to seek, conquer, and ruin the self-esteem of incoming
students who were already timid and weak. Thank goodness she and her friends
are moving on to high school next year. Boy, am I happy about that. I have a
feeling that things will get worse before they get better this year. I can feel
it coming. Even more personal attacks will be made against me due to the one
thing that she could not control.
Blair,
Linda’s younger sister, entered Vernon as a sixth grader last year. Unlike her
mean-spirited sister, Blair seems like the total opposite. These two are like
night and day. All Linda seems to care about is mistreating and belittling
people. Blair uses her energy for good and is kind to everyone despite her
privileged upbringing. In fact, Blair is so down-to-earth, cool-headed, and
quiet that students frequently forget who her sister is.
I’ll
never forget how Blair and I met. One day after being picked on to the point of
tears by Linda and her notorious crew, I ran to the bathroom to pull myself
together. Raising my head up from the bathroom sink, I saw Blair handing me
several paper towels to dry my eyes. She introduced herself and apologized for
her sister’s appalling actions.
We
established a friendship tight as a braid. Linda, of course, did not approve.
She threatened to end our pact. Often, Blair wanted to tell her parents about Linda’s
cruelty - but she never did. It turned out that Linda could persuade her
parents to believing anything she said. But Blair got so tired of her sister’s
vicious behavior toward me and the rest of my friends that she asked to
transfer to another school at the end of the year. I will miss not seeing her
face tomorrow. I guess I will try to lie down and get some sleep. The first day
of school will be here before I know it.
Brandon
It’s
time to go back to school. It seems like only yesterday I entered sixth grade
at Vernon Middle School. Like any other pre-teen, I was nervous and trying to
keep a big secret from getting out at the same time. As far back as I could
remember, I’d always had difficulty with reading. I tried my best, yet it
wasn’t good enough.
Due to
these challenges, my mom finally had me evaluated. It turned out I have a
learning disability known as dyslexia. At first, I was mad. After all, who
wants to be labeled? Last year, I hid the fact that I saw a Resource Special
Needs teacher every morning. Since the rest of my classes were in a regular
classroom, no one paid much attention.
One
morning after my reading class, I realized I had left my pencil case behind. I
ran back to the room to get it. As I left the Resource Center, I ended up face-to-face
with this girl. Immediately I began to feel dumb and stupid. I guess the
expression on my face said it all. To my surprise, she stuck her hand out and
said, “Hello! My name is Chelsea. You have nothing to worry about. Your secret
is safe with me.” I could not believe her kindness. To top it off, she kept her
word. Chelsea never said anything to anyone about me having a class in the
Special Needs room. We became great friends. Chelsea even began to tutor me
from time to time. Often, we ate lunch together and she eventually introduced
me to Blair. I was happy, because now I had two great friends. Everything was
going great. That was until I made the biggest mistake of my sixth-grade life.
For the
life of me, I could not find my class schedule. I searched everywhere for it. I
just did not want it to get in the hands of any other students. I had a
reputation to maintain. Tired of being stressed about losing it, I decided to
forget about it. I assumed I must have accidentally thrown it away. But I
didn’t -- Linda and her unruly crew had discovered it.
I will
never forget the day when Linda came up to my locker and said, “Missing
something, dumb boy?” Before I could respond, Linda dropped my schedule on the
floor and walked away laughing as loud as she possibly could with her brainless
goons, Kate and Bill. Since Linda did not like Chelsea and knew I was friends
with her as well as Blair, I should’ve known I was next on the list.
On my
way back to my locker after lunch, I did not notice who was following me. It
was Linda, Bill, and Kate. They called my name out. As I turned around, they
began to chant “LD Brandon, your secret’s out!” One of their jock-athlete
friends joined in. The only thing I could do was ignore them. I never felt so
humiliated in my entire life. I wanted to tell my mom, but I did not want her
thinking that I could not handle myself. Going to the principal’s office was
out of the question. It was bad enough that people were going to call me “LD
Brandon.” I couldn’t take being called LD and a snitch. I chose to deal
with it and leave well enough alone. After all, my mom always told me to let
the past be the past and move on.
On a
positive note, Linda starts eighth grade tomorrow and I am glad that I won’t
have to see her irritating face or her brainless friends. My first day as an
official seventh grader starts tomorrow and it will be a good day. I just have
to think positive. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone.
Author Bio
Adra Young is a native of Gary, Indiana.
Teaching for over seventeen years for the Detroit Public School system,
she is the author of three books, blogger, book reviewer, and socialization
skills provider for the Detroit Impact Center. Her business, Ardannyl, provides
performing arts to youngsters placing a direct emphasis on appropriate
socialization skills. The Misfits, her third book is based upon bullying within
the middle school setting.
Website: www.ardannyl.me
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/109019439199839/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ardannyl
