Straight Browsing from the Library: A Hard Day's Night by Mia Kerick

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READ THE BLURB

High school senior Kalin (Lennon) Macready knows several facts for certain: John Lennon is his hero. Beaumont Finley Danforth II (Fin) is his best friend. And—this is the complicated one—he feels more for Fin than mere friendship.

For weeks, Lennon pesters Fin, who like Lennon admits to questioning his sexual orientation, for a commitment to spend twenty-four hours together exploring “the gay side of life.” Fin reluctantly agrees. Each boy will seek to answer the daunting question, Am I gay? Lennon pre-plans the day, filling the hours with what he assumes “gay life” is all about: shopping for fashionable clothing, indulging in lavish dessert crepes, boogying to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”, and yes, listening to show tunes.

However, Lennon quickly realizes that in creating his plan he has succumbed to the most common and distorted of gay stereotypes. Can he be gay and not fit them? And more importantly, is it possible that spending one very hard day and night together will help Fin accept that he’s gay, too? If so, maybe Lennon has a shot at winning the heart of the boy of his dreams.

“A Hard Day’s Night” is an amusing young adult contemporary romance about two boys who seek to discover if they must fulfill stereotypes to be together.

In the end, maybe all you need is love.

READ AN EXCERPT

We’re surrounded by lit up mirrors. I mean, I’m totally relating to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds at this point. It’s like being on a trip—talk about plasticine porters and looking glass ties.

“Giovanna, iz vhat you call me. I vill be making you up to be irrezeesteeble— preety like two perfect dolleez—you vill see, no?” My spine stiffens, letting me know in no uncertain terms that I may not be ready for this step. And if I’m wavering at the mere prospect of being made up like a “perfect dolly”, I’m certain Fin is close to panic-attack-mode. “Seet down, my booteeful boys....”

“Breathe, Fin... in, out....”

I offer this type of encouragement service to Fin at school before he takes major calculus tests. His parents freak out if he gets anything below an A minus on a test or quiz, which sometimes causes his nerves to act up.

We might be tall, but Fin and I still have to stand on our tiptoes to slide our asses onto the two matching bar stools set up in the middle of the tiny mirrored room, which was likely once been a storage closet. Giovanna is an incredibly tall, and rather masculine, glass of water, and I guess she just doesn’t like to bend over. Or maybe she does like to bend over, but just not while she’s working. In any case, we sit side-by-side like two perfect victims on the too-high stools under the glaring searchlights.

“Who I do first?” Her question sends chills of trepidation shooting up my already stiff spine. But when she unceremoniously drops a handful of cosmetics on a table near the wall and moves directly in front of us, I gather that what she means by “do” is just apply makeup. And although Giovanna’s new position blocks a portion of the blinding light (that just so happens to be shining down upon us with the directness of the sun in the tropics), her broad shoulders are still as intimidating as a linebacker’s. I shrink down onto my stool, nonetheless aware that I will be the first to find myself being worked over...I mean, worked on, by Giovanna’s impressively large mitts...or hands. Yes, hands.

“That’d be him... he’s first.” Fin pokes me rather unceremoniously with his elbow and I nod, although I will admit I am finding it a challenge to subdue my fight or flight instinct.

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-two 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 people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy 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 Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, CoolDudes Publishing, and CreateSpace for providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.

Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality. Now marital equality is the law of the land!! WOOT!! 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.

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