Monday, December 15, 2014

Excerpt/Tour BURN BABY, BURN BABY by Kevin Craig













Burn Baby Burn Baby, by Kevin Craig

 

Genre: contemporary, young-adult

 

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

 

Date of Release: December 11, 2014

 

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

 

Goodreads

 

Description:

 

Seventeen-year-old Francis Fripp’s confidence is practically non-existent since his abusive father drenched him in accelerant and threw a match at him eight years ago. Now badly scarred, Francis relies on his best friend Trig to protect him from the constant bullying doled out at the hands of his nemesis, Brandon Hayley—the unrelenting boy who gave him the dreaded nickname of Burn Baby.

 

The new girl at school, Rachel Higgins, is the first to see past Francis’s pariah-inducing scars. If Brandon’s bullying doesn’t destroy him, Francis might experience life as a normal teenager for the first time in his life. He just has to avoid Brandon and convince himself he’s worthy of Rachel’s attentions. Sounds easy enough, but Francis himself has a hard time seeing past his scars. And Brandon is getting violently frustrated, as his attempts to bully Francis are constantly thwarted. Francis is in turmoil as he simultaneously rushes toward his first kiss and a possible violent end.

 

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About The Author:

Kevin Craig is the author of three previous novels; Summer on Fire, Sebastian’s Poet, and The Reasons. He is a 4-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. Kevin is also a playwright and has had eight 10-minute plays produced. His poetry, short stories, memoir and articles have been published internationally. Kevin was a founding member of the Ontario Writers’ Conference and a long-time member of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR). He is represented by literary agent Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group.



Find Kevin Craig Online:

Website | Facebook Twitter | Goodreads




December 16th - 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Craig is the author of three previous novels; Summer on Fire, Sebastian’s Poet, and The Reasons. He is a 4-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. Kevin is also a playwright and has had eight 10-minute plays produced. His most recent plays were included in Driftwood Theatre’s Trafalgar24 Play Creation Festival and theInspiraTO Festival at the Alumnae Theatre in Toronto. Kevin’s poetry, short stories, memoir and articles have been published internationally Kevin was a founding member of the Ontario Writers’ Conference and a long-time member of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR). He is represented by literary agent Stacey Donaghy of DonaghyLiterary Group.

BURN BABY BURN BABY SYNOPSIS:

Seventeen-year-old Francis Fripp’s confidence is practically non-existent since his abusive father drenched him in accelerant and threw a match at him eight years ago. Now badly scarred, Francis relies on his best friend Trig to protect him from the constant bullying doled out at the hands of his nemesis, Brandon Hayley—the unrelenting boy who gave him the dreaded nickname of Burn Baby.

The new girl at school, Rachel Higgins, is the first to see past Francis’s pariah-inducing scars. If Brandon’s bullying doesn’t destroy him, Francis might experience life as a normal teenager for the first time in his life. He just has to avoid Brandon and convince himself he’s worthy of Rachel’s attentions. Sounds easy enough, but Francis himself has a hard time seeing past his scars. And Brandon is getting violently frustrated, as his attempts to bully Francis are constantly thwarted. Francis is in turmoil as he simultaneously rushes toward his first kiss and a possible violent end.

EXCERPT

"How do you like that, you little bastard?”

My father’s lips are right up close to my ear. I can feel the wetness inside. I’m six… maybe seven. He hasn’t really revved up to his full potential yet, but he knows how to hurt me. He’s getting really good at it.

The punch bowl from the dining room cabinet is in shards on the dining room floor, along with a few other dishes. I was running through the room and knocked into the cabinet. The stupid door never stays closed. You just have to walk past it for it to swing open. This time, after it swung open, the bowl spilled out, followed by a couple glasses.

“How’s that feel,” he says again. His breath is filled with whiskey. It almost burns as it spreads out across my face. “Maybe now you’ll be more careful. Do you think?” He flicks the back of my head and the sting is immediate. I’m just a ball of flinching.

It’s not a question, though. I will definitely be more careful. I don’t want to feel the broken glass on my feet anymore. I will walk with stealth from now on. But he’s not finished teaching me my lesson.

“Do it again,” he whispers. I try to move away from his grip, but there’s no use. He’s too strong, too mad, too determined. “Come on. Once more across and maybe it’ll sink in, you useless little bastard.”

“No, Daddy,” I say, pleading for mercy. “Please don’t make me.”

He takes a step back and crosses his arms. He’s big man on campus and he wants me to know it. He wants me to know that I’ll do his bidding whether or not he’s actually holding me, steering me.

I break. I give in and brace for the pain. I turn around and face the path of glass one more time. I close my eyes as I try to take that first step. The glass crunches as I put my left foot down. I can’t make a noise, though. He doesn’t like it when I make a noise. Real men don’t complain. They take their punishment.

I lift my foot and I can feel a shard of glass sticking out of the bottom of it. I’m afraid to put it back down. I know it’ll make it poke in deeper. I know I’ll probably pick up another piece. My eyes are still closed. I can feel him beside me. His anger is pushing me forward. He doesn’t even have to speak now. I’m an automaton, walking through the field of glass.

My foot is still raised. My other foot is still on safe territory. “Please, Daddy. I’ll be more careful next time. I promise."

“You don’t have to promise,” he says, calm as a cucumber. “I know you’re gonna be more careful the next time. I already know it. Walk.”

I slowly put my foot back down. I feel the glass make its way deeper into my flesh. In an effort to lessen the pain, I bring my second foot forward and down and quickly lift the left one. But it doesn’t work.

The glass pierces my right foot. A piece breaks off as my foot takes the brunt of my weight. There is already a trail of blood from my last pass through the glass, but now there’s a constant flow from both feet. It’s pooling in the carpet and spreads out below me. My eyes are open now, but I don’t remember opening them. I’m staring down at my feet and they’re both throbbing. I’m crying now, but that only makes him angrier.

Just as his hand is about to make contact with my face, I hear Trig’s voice. Nothing makes sense any more. The dining room fades away.

I’m in my bedroom. Trig is practically on top of me, shaking me awake. I beat him a few times before I’m completely back. I would never have raised a hand to my father, but I’m swatting at Trig like I’m trying to kill him.

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