Dakota Son by Mary Ramsey - Book Tour + Giveaway
Blurb
Sean Foster has lived with cystic fibrosis his entire life. He falls in love with Jen, a girl with a dark, emotionally painful past. Living with chronic illness, Sean knows a little something about overcoming pain. But when he meets her family, his courage will be put to the test.
Jen's father, Diego, is a disabled military veteran. He is being mentally and physically abused by his wife, due to his role in the death of Jen's brother.
Sean must find a way to save Diego, to help him see that there are people who truly care. From Sean's sister Sara, who views Diego as a heroic father figure. To Remy, Sean's holistic nurse with a talent for healing wounded souls.
Accompanied by a mysterious, supernatural, presence, it will fall to Sean to play the hero. All while navigating a life with chronic illness, and chasing his dreams in California.
Available from:
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dakota-son-mary-ramsey/1128896239?ean=9781546233077
Excerpt
“Sean, are you awake?”
“Is that my miracle?” I asked motioning my head to the doorway, which framed a tall, supermodel-like silhouette.
Sarah turned my room lights on for me. I squinted, but then couldn’t stop staring as the girl walked towards the bed. The stunningly beautiful Latina wore her hair in a pixie cut with bangs sweeping over her eyes.
She lovingly caressed my hand.
“Hello, Jenny-Q.” Even with her new look, I would recognize her beauty anywhere. Up close I could see her caramel skin, high cheekbones, pouty lips and large brown eyes that sparkled with hints of gold.
“Hey, Sean,” she whispered. “Sorry, I’m so nervous. I didn’t even know if you’d remember me. I have no idea what to say. I know if my dad was here, he’d try to get us to pray, or some shit like that.”
“Remember you? You saved my life. I don’t know what I was thinking, that day. I should’ve run.”
“No shit,” Sara muttered. She still hadn’t really forgiven me for talking back to Richie Cross like I was on some kind of suicide mission.
“I knew what to expect, after my run-in with Lisa,” I admitted, not meeting Sara’s eyes. “Richie wasn’t about to let me get away with screwing around with his girl. It had to be me coming on to her, because Lisa would never cheat on him, no.”
“Why I thought I’d get on better with that douchebag than Lisa had, I’ll never know.” Jen rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe he called you an ass-cancer.”
“Yeah, well. I shouldn’t have told him I had cancer. It just seemed easier than explaining Cystic Fibrosis to a dumbfuck.”
Sarah folded her arms. “I get that, but you didn’t do yourself any favors with your comeback.” She glared at Jen, who was giggling.
I’d told Richie that I’d rather be an ass-cancer than the only black guy at White Creek with a micro-penis, and then came the beat-down. I remembered the ‘fight’ clear as day. I’d lifted my chin, daring Richie and his gang of dickwads to attack. In the moment, I honestly felt like I could take whatever they had to give, but the blows came too fast and too hard. I could hear people laughing, even cheering. My efforts to shield my face were proving pointless as my attackers dragged my body away from the lockers and started stomping my head. It was when I’d started to succumb to the pain that I heard screams and voices coming to my defense. One by one, the attackers stepped off, but before I could start to feel the relief, Richie grabbed me by the hair and blew cigarette smoke directly into my blood-covered face.
It was Jenny-Q who’d rummaged in my bag and helped me with my inhaler, preventing a choking spiral that would’ve ended me in minutes. But it got her slapped hard. Through eyes which were rapidly swelling shut, I saw Richie hauling her down the hallway by her arm, railing at her about her lack of respect.
“Yo! Earth to Sean!” Sara said, shaking my arm. “Were you sleeping with your eyes open?”
Author Interview
1. What is the first book that made you cry?
I tend to cry more at movies then with books (I cried at the ending of Emoji movie.) But if I was to pick one, it was probably something from the Baby Sitter’s Club series by Ann M Martin. That was the first kid’s series to touch on things like juvenile diabetes, racism, sexism and even miscarriage. Since I was so young and sheltered, a lot of what was brought up came as a genuine shock and I truly felt for the young female characters.
2. How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
I wrote a 200,000 word novel in a little less than a year. But after that it took 1 year of working with a literary life coach to learn how to present what I had written and another year of working with an editor to create something that I was truly proud of.
I feel like writing is the easy part, I could probably write a book in six months but would it would probably be the strangest, most genre defying/ unmarketable story ever.
3. How do you select the names of your characters?
Each person is inspired by someone with that name. Sean was always going to be the name of my main character, because of my hero: pro-wrestler Sean Waltman. In his early life he recovered from drug addiction and later battled mental health issues but is a shining example of someone who survived through the love and compassion of others.
Other characters like Sara and Diego were named after people I knew personally; Sara was one of my co-workers, and Diego was the name of a father at my mom’s daycare (Who I kinda had a crush on, back in the day.)
4. What creature do you consider your "spirit animal" to be?
Pika-chu! Pika pika! Is that allowed? If not I’ll go with Puffer Fish, someone cute and sweet with is often hurt but has the hidden ability to be something more then she is.
5. What are your top 5 favorite movies?
1‘13th Warrior,’ will always be my #1. It was the first and only time I cried tears of joy for a character.
2‘Wreck it Ralph,’ I have not seen the 2nd one but the first one was a love letter to video game culture.
3‘God’s Own Country,’ the ultimate male to male love story. Some like to compare it to Brokeback Mountain but these characters are so much more relatable in their struggles.
4‘Deadpool ,’ again, I have not gotten around to seeing the 2nd one but the first movie was life changing. I had been a fan of Deadpool since high school, but I never thought Hollywood would give such a unique character the chance to shine,
5’Burnt’- a loving tribute to the art, dedication and self sacrifice that goes into being a chef. Once you fall down you can always get back up, with the help of those who believe in you.
6. If you were the last person on Earth, what would you do?
Find a way to travel to see all I could of the world before my own death.
7. What fictional character would you want to be friends with in real life?
Nightcrawler from X-Men; he’s the blue devil/elf who can teleport. He’s a good Christian with a heart of gold and a body of steel. And I always loved the color blue.
8. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write until you have something that makes you proud. Many sites say “you must have a fan base before your start” or “Know your audience and genre,” but I believe, if there is a book inside you- write it.
9. What book do you wish you had written?
Looking for Alaska, by John Green; as a character study this book in truly inspiring for the YA genre.
10. Tell us 10 fun facts about yourself! :)
1 I made the cover of Dakota Son using deviantart’s editing program to combine several of my paintings.
2 I went to San Francisco School of the arts high school with Salvador Santana, the son of Carlos Santana. I’m proud to say I actually held a conversation with him once.
3 I love video games but I’m only good at the ones meant for small children (Pokémon, Animal crossing, anything Mario.)
4 I’m active on fanfiction.net under the name dourdan
5 I’m more interested in the Razzies then the Oscars since that is where all of my favourite movies seem to end up.
6 I have 4 tattoos; a teddy bear, a church, a panda and the District 4 logo from Hunger Games.
7 I am addicted to youtube, everything from reaction videos to arts and crafts, to creepypastas.
8 I have written 3 creepypastas, the most notable being my Caterpillar series about a demon princess.
9 I have an autographed copy of Anthony Bourdain’s book Medium Raw from when he did a signing in San Francisco, at eye level in my office so he’s always watching over me.
10 the motto of my blog is ‘Live to Rise,’ as a reminder to keep going no matter what life throws at you.
Author bio:
Mary Ramsey is a blogger, artist, and writer. She served in the United States Air Force and has a BA degree in Cinema. Although she was born in California, her work in the military took her all over the world including the diverse Midwest, from the beautiful landscapes of the Dakotas to the small towns of Wisconsin.
She has always had a fondness for unique superheroes; underrepresented minorities, LGBTQ, abuse victims, and so on. She loves an inspiring story that will make her cry. Her favorite movie will always be 13th Warrior.
*****
GIVEAWAY!
Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates are here: http://writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/mary-ramsey/
Use the Rafflecopter to enter for your chance to win one of two Amazon or iTunes gift cards.
7 Comments
I very much appreciate getting to find out about another book to read that my family can enjoy. Thanks so much for the info and the giveaway as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind comment.
Delete:)
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https://bookgrabbr.com/books/64302-dakota-son
digital copy, free for a limited time on Bookgrabber:
ReplyDeletehttps://bookgrabbr.com/books/64302-dakota-son
:)
Wow this book sounds like it will touch so many that is dealing with those pains. Thank you for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI just love your cover.
ReplyDeleteWow that is one hot cover - love the plot.
ReplyDeletethank you
Adding to my TBR. Thank you for the chance!
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.