Book Lovers 4Ever: Lodestones by Naomi MacKenzie Tour & Giveaway !!

Book Name: Lodestones

Author Name: Naomi MacKenzie

Release Date: September 8, 2015

Pages or Words: 226 pages

Publisher: Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Cover Design by Buckeyegrrl Designs

Cover and Interior Illustrations by Abby Hellstrom

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, Young Adult

Goodreads

Blurb:

On the eve of a new school year, several groups of college students cross paths as they seek out a secret end-of-summer lake party—including Robin and Charlie, two inseparable friends who discover of the course of the twenty-four hours that their relationship is something much deeper than simple friendship.

Excerpt:

Larry holds up the flyer to study the map Florence drew. Barry is leaning to look at it, too, when it's ripped from between Larry's fingers.

A greasy man in a campus security uniform stands over them with a pinched expression. His faded nametag reads: Ron Anderchuk. "Another one," he all but growls. "Where in heck did you get this, boys?"

Barry tries his best to look innocent. Which isn't all that hard, since he knows nothing.

"Found it on the ground," Larry lies.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," the security guy says. "Extra trouble for littering." He glares hard at the paper for nearly a minute before looking back at them. "You do know parties like this are illegal, don't ya, boys? And frowned upon by this here establishment." He raps his knuckles on the table. "I think it best you stick around here this weekend. That would be best, don't ya agree?" He widens his beady eyes while he waits for their assent.

Barry looks to Larry. Seeing him nodding, he mimics the gesture.

The security officer's answering grunt sounds disbelieving. He mutters as he walks away; the flyer with their map is gripped in his fist.

"What are we—"

Larry holds up his hand, stopping Barry's question in its tracks. "Not to worry; I have a photographic memory. I've got the map in here." He taps a fingertip against his temple.

"Even after all of that? And we do have another problem, if Florence is to be believed."

Larry hums and strokes his chin. He picks up Barry's tray and they walk to the windows. The orientation officers are indeed spread across the entire expanse outside, handing out pamphlets and organizing games of lawn bowling and oversized croquet. The entrance to the student parking lot is completely blocked.

Barry should throw in the towel, admit defeat and convince Larry to do the same. And he would, if not for one thing. The one detail that has roped him into the excitement over the lake festivities fully and completely is Kate Zimmermann, captain of the Dicaroon Seadogs field hockey team. Barry was looking through the school's website while Larry was plotting behind him and he caught sight of her picture. He informed Barry that she was one of the girls who was carrying the van's bench seat into her dorm room and invited him to the party early that morning.

Barry is in love with Kate Zimmermann. He has been since seeing her on the Dicaroon University website the previous summer. Well, he's in love with the image of her and her red hair and blue eyes and adorable freckles that are so voluminous that they connect on her face. He has dreamed of red-haired kids calling him Daddy and hitting balls with sticks. Possibly. And she's throwing the party, so even if Barry will never get up the nerve to speak to her should he live for a thousand years, he has to go. For his future dream-wife.

"Well, then," Larry says. He sets Barry's lunch tray down on the bussing station and rubs his hands together. "I guess we are in need of a foolproof plan."

"A stratagem," Barry says. He feels immediately foolish for being such a huge dork.

But then Larry grins at him. "Ooh, yes, I like that. A stratagem."

Buy the book: Interlude Press Amazon Smashwords Indiebound

About the author:

Naomi MacKenzie is a writer and photographer from the eastern coast of Canada. She considers herself a Maritimer first and a Canadian second, or so she told the standardized testing people in essay form during the eleventh grade. She enjoys vegan baking, walks in the woods and, contrarily, hiding from the sun. Lodestones is her first novel.

Where to find the author: Website; Twitter and Facebook.

Q and A with Naomi MacKenzie

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Naomi MacKenzie author of Lodestones.
Hi Naomi, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hi! Thanks so much for having me.
I'm from eastern Canada, now living in the Toronto area. I'm a photographer and wannabe makeup artist, and I spend my time searching the city for vegan bakeries and whining about the lack of proper beaches. Lodestones is a coming-of-age story about a whole mess of students who spend 24 hours searching for an end-of-summer lake party.

1) Talk to us about your characters in this book. What makes them unique?
I think the characters are a good representation of people in their teens and early twenties. What I think makes them unique in a literary sense, although not in a real-world sense, is that they are a such a diverse group of characters. Diversity in books, and other types of media, has been receiving a lot of attention lately. When I sat down to write Lodestones I wasn't focusing on diversity specifically, and didn't think about it until it was pointed out to me that I had such a diverse cast. The characters are a group of students you would find at any Canadian university.

2) What was one of the most surprising things you learned in getting your book from start to publish?
I think the biggest surprise was how many people it takes to make a book. It's a whole community of people, from the writer to multiple editors, to graphic artists and illustrators, to tech and promotional people behind the scenes. I'm lucky to have had such a supportive community behind my first foray into the publishing world. I'm very grateful for all of them.

3) Have you ever gone to a convention? If so, how was it? If not, do you think it’s something you’d like to do in the future?
I've never gone as an author, but I have gone as a reader and fan. It was great fun and like paradise, really, being surrounded by books and people ready and willing to talk about them. I definitely want to go now that I've published a book. I think that would be a fantastic experience.

4) Would you like to be a full-time writer?
I would love to write full-time. There is nothing better. It's my dream job and ultimate goal.

5) Design the ultimate pizza.
Thin crust, perfect amount of tasty tomato sauce—not too much, not too little—topped with feta, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomato and pineapple. Baked in a brick oven until slightly crispy. And now I want pizza.