Well today is a very Nickquinnemmeradamian day!
Today is a day to celebrate the special and awesome characters Nick, Quinn and Adam.
After all, they are the main characters in the novella Breathless by the magnificent Brigid Kemmerer that is released today!
And I have a cover love, review and interview for you to celebrate!
Breathless by Brigid Kemmerer
Publication Date: Today! April 30th, 2013
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Source: NetGalley from Publisher
Rating: 6/5 REREADABLE STARS
First, bravo cover designer and Nick model!!!!!!! I absolutely possitively love this incredible cover! I love Nick's stance, the beautiful blue color blended with darker blue signalling air movements. An amazing creation!
My Review:
“His thoughts felt
stuck on a spinning roulette wheel, bouncing along, never settling where he
expected, leaving him half-hoping it would keep spinning — and half hoping it
would stop.” Pg. 22 of my ARC of Breathless.
Gosh, Breathless
comprised of 53 or so pages that left me in awe.
The writing was
phenomenal. The writing was full of many amazing similes like the one above and
splendid prose.
The story delightful
since it was full of self-discovery and even had a little action with Matt’s
creepy friend. While reading, I felt so many moments
of exited laughter as I admired the language, the characters, and the
incorporation of elements. Everything.
Really, the only
complaint I’m left with is the classical it is too short.
For the first time in
my re-reading history, I wanted to experience this wonderful story again as
soon as I finished it the first time. Usually I wait at least a day to re-read
anything. I did not re-read it because it was novella, but because it was
wonderful. Reading it supplies the same feeling I receive as I eat a hot fudge
sundae, loving every bite of bittersweet chocolate colliding with cool ice cream,
never wanting the sweet taste to leave my mouth.
What was it that caused
this novella to be rereadable and special to me the most? Well, it was the
three main characters. Quinn, Adam, and Nick, are characters that leave so much
room open up for exploring. Room to explore their feelings, mistakes, and
histories, basically everything that makes a character real.
Character
Explorations:
Quinn
Quinn was my favorite
character in Storm. I completely
adored Quinn as she constantly revealed how much she cared for her best friend
Becca through standing by her side and her no-nonsense personality. I love how
she was blunt. Sweet when desired.
Quinn was different
in some ways in Breathless. She was
still blunt, but seeing her home life revealed the insecure nature that she hid
in Storm. She battle’s loneliness
that I understand since I feel it sometimes. Quinn has a dismal home life and
the way she reacted to it was not admirable. But it did show that she was a
real person, as she was affected by others opinions of her.
I love her fierce
nature, her open-mindedness, her caring nature that she tries to hide, her
humor, and her ability to adapt quickly to surprise.
Adam
Breathless is the first appearance of Adam. Adam
has potential to be as interesting a character as Quinn and Nick. Quinn shared
his interesting back-story where he could have reacted with vengeance. Instead,
he moved forward, to work on accomplishing his dancing dream. This short story
introduces a funny guy, who is proud of his identity, exuberant in nature, and
understands the importance of letting others make their own choices.
I am eager to understand
him further in Siege. (The full
Nick/Quinn book)
Nick
When I read Spark, I found Nick as the best and
greatest character. My favorite scene in Spark was when he and Gabriel fought because
of every line spoken by Nick.
I feel that I have not
truly understood Nick as fully as I do now.
His appearance is one
of perfection. His interior is compassion rising with confusion. From the first
moment in Breathless, Nick mind is in
disarray. It unfolds in discovery. Stiffens with indecision.
I am hooked to Nick’s
mind with wonderment. A point of view I will never forget. Like water in a sea,
I am bubbling with energy to lean more into his mind.
What makes Nick unique among his brothers is that he is the one who is suppose to have everything together. He is the one the others go to when they have a problem. This situation results with how Nick is keeping his worries in his head, is hiding his hidden fire, and is pushing others to reach their calming point, while not being a saint. Yes, Nick encompasses how you do not have to
be self-sacrificing to be empathetic. Yes, Nick tries to controls his feelings
and usually he does that well. Yes, Nick's empathetic nature is what I love most about him.
Will Nick loosen his control and take a
chance in Breathless?
Find out in a moment of being Breathless.
An interview with the awesome Brigid Kemmerer!
Thanks again for letting me interview you Brigid!
1. How has your writing process changed since writing Storm?
Well, before you sell books to a publisher, you're kind of on your own schedule. You want to write on Friday night, you do it. You want to take three days off, no one cares. Once you signed a contract, you need to put your butt in the chair and your hands on the keyboard. Writing Hunter's book was extremely difficult for me, and I wanted to walk way from it numerous times, but I knew I had to deliver a finished product. Normally I can write straight through a book, with with this, I started and abandoned numerous scenes. I do think I'm better at tight plotting now than I was in the beginning. I also let myself take more risks. When I started writing Storm, I never thought I'd pull of a scene with two guys making out. When I wrote Breathless, I couldn't imagine leaving that out! (And in Siege -- the working title for NIck's book -- I push the envelope even further!)
I, for one, cannot wait to see what happens next between Adam and Nick!
2. What is a mundane but exciting event in your life that you would like to share? Like the rat story on your blog awhile back. (Check out the story HERE!)
The rat story is a good one!
My life is pretty mundane. I tell people I write fantasy to make it more exciting. Actually, here's a funny story that I might have told at the last book signing. When I was researching firefighting and arson, I met with the local fire chief several times and I would email him random questions ALL the time. He had great stories, and my husband got sick of me saying, "The fire chief said ..." ANYWAY, when I got my author copies of Spark, I immediately took one to the fire house to give it to him. Of course, I took a picture of him holding it. When I brought the pics home, I posted them on Facebook, and my husband took one look at the 30-something muscled fireman in my picture and said, "THAT'S the fire chief? All this time, I thought you were chatting and emailing with a fifty-year old fat guy!"
3. Did you do any reasearch while writing Breathless? What did you do?
I've been reading as many M/M YA stories I can get my hands on. One of the best is Don't Let Me Go by J.H. Trumble (We've became friends since I reached out after reading her book.) I've also talked to as many gay men (and young men) who would talk to me. So many varied experiences! And finally, I'm not going to lie, I searched YouTube videos of boys kissing. I wanted to get the dynamics right.
Favorite Section!
Fairytale:
My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast. Hands down.
Dream Vacation:
Dream vacation? Probably somewhere warm, but not the beach. I get bored on the beach. I like to explore.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Don't like ice cream. It's cold. I'd rather eat popcorn and french fries any day.
Books You Love:
Books I love? Do you have an hour? Last book that knocked my socks off (seriously) was Hushed by Kelley York. It's amazing. I like books that get right to the point and don't mess around, without a lot of flowery writing. Hushed is a thriller and it's M/M (though the romance really takes a back seat to the action), and it's just ... Rachel, you need to read it. The main character was terrifying and tragic and I just wanted to give him a hug and make him a sandwich.
Thanks for reading!
