❀New YA LGBTQ Alert❀: 'No Good About Goodbye' by CT Liotta

 

An incautious, funny, coming-of-age tale for mature teens and adult readers…

By CT Liotta

NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE, YA/LGBTQ, Rot Gut Pulp, 308 pp.

Fifteen-year-old Ian Racalmuto’s life is in ruins after an embassy raid in Algiers. His mother, a vodka-drunk spy, is dead. His brother, a diplomat, has vanished. And, he’s lost a cremation urn containing a smartphone that could destroy the world.

Forced to live with his cantankerous grandfather in Philadelphia, Ian has seven days to find his brother and secure the phone—all while adjusting to life in a troubled urban school and dodging assassins sent to kill him.

Ian finds an ally in William Xiang, an undocumented immigrant grappling with poverty, a strict family, and abusive classmates. They make a formidable team, but when Ian’s feelings toward Will grow, bombs, bullets and crazed bounty hunters don’t hold a candle to his fear of his friend finding out. Will it wreck their relationship, roll up their mission, and derail a heist they’ve planned at the State Department?

Like a dime store pulp adventure of the past, No Good About Goodbye is an incautious, funny, coming-of-age tale for mature teens and adult readers. 308p.

PRAISE

“So many treats are in store for the discerning reader of CT Liotta’s brilliant YA novel NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE. There’s a diverse array of multi-racial/cultural characters, organized criminals with complex political goals underway, and keystone-cop humor/blunders often sparking from the evergreen enchantment of a push-pull romance between two young people, neither of whom have yet decided to identify as ‘gay.’ Rich with often realistically crude boy lingo, NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE is an utterly charming teenage LGBTQ falling-in-love adventure while simultaneously rocking an international crime storyline.” – C.S. Holmes, IndieReader

★★★★★ “Sharply observed and sarcastic as hell, CT Liotta’s debut is the gay teenage spy thriller we have long needed.” -Matt Harry, author of Superkid and Sorcery for Beginners.

★★★★★ I found this YA spy novel to be an utter delight! Fast-paced and witty, we traverse the globe with Ian, who just lost his mother and is charged with stopping a war with China. All the while he’s 15, enrolled in a High School from hell in Philadelphia and struggling with his identity. The author offers his own particular take on the importance of friendship and found family. He also very cleverly features different viewpoints, so the reading experience never feels stale. Honestly, I did not know what to expect going into this story – I however finished it converted into a fan! – Thomas S., Netgalley

BUYING INFORMATION

is available at:

ALSO AVAILABLE AT:

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-good-about-goodbye-ct-liotta/1140173005?ean=9781955394024

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/no-good-about-goodbye/9781955394024

CT Liotta was born and raised in West Virginia before moving to Ohio for college, where he majored in Biology. He now uses Philadelphia as his base of operations. You can find him backpacking all over the world.

Liotta takes interest in writing, travel, personal finance, and sociology. He likes vintage airlines and aircraft, politics, news, foreign affairs, '40s pulp and film noir. He doesn't fear math or science, and is always up for Indian food. His favorite candy bar used to be Snickers, but lately it's been 3 Musketeers. He isn't sure why.

He is author of Relic of the Damned!, Death in the City of Dreams and Treason on the Barbary Coast!

No Good About Goodbye is his latest book.

Visit him on the web at https://www.ctliotta.com.

Sign up for Liotta’s newsletter at https://ctliotta.substack.com.

Sponsored By:

Book Review: 'Frazier, the Very Special Cat' by Faye Rapoport DesPres

Based on a true story!

Frazier, the Very Special Cat is a sweet, heart-warming story for young children! It teaches love for animals, counting, the senses, and encourages discussion and problem-solving.

Frazier is a stray blond tabby not doing very well on his own, but things get worse when he gets hurt. Fortunately, the author is able to trap him and bring him to the vet. Now, all he needs is a permanent happy home...but who will want to take a chance on a one-eyed cat? Not to despair, for a fully happy ending awaits this sweet kitty!

Frazier, the Very Special Cat is Book 3 in the Stray Cat Stories series, and it is the perfect tale to read at bedtime or discuss with an adult in a home or school environment. The rhythm and repetition make it a fun read-aloud picture book. A charming addition to any child's cat bookshelf!

The book is available in Kindle, paperback and hardcover. Find out more and get your copy on Amazon. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Faye Rapoport DesPres is the author of the memoir-in-essays Message From a Blue Jay (Buddhapuss Ink, 2014) and the Stray Cat Stories Children’s Books Series (Writer’s Coffee Bar Press). She earned her MFA at the Solstice Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College and has published creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in a variety of literary journals. A life-long advocate for animals, wildlife, and the environment, Faye donates a portion of the proceeds from her children’s books to non-profit animal rescue organizations. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband, Jean-Paul Des Pres, and their rescued cats.

Connect with Faye on the Web:

Website: www.fayerapoportdespres.com 

Twitter: @FayeRapoDesPres

Instagram: FayeInBoston

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058817963789 

Follow the author on Amazon and receive updates of her new books in this series. 

Read an interview with the author at The Eccentric Bookaholic. 

❀Q&A on Book Covers with J. Stewart Dixon Author of Spirituality for Badasses @PumpUpYourBook #SpiritualityforBadasses #bookcovers

Spirituality for Badasses and 21 Days blossomed out J. Stewart’s life as a spiritual seeker, finder and teacher. He teaches based on his direct experience, twenty-nine years of interaction with numerous nonduality-advaita-zen-unorthodox teachers, his ongoing education / certification in modern mindfulness and a degree in communications / engineering from Syracuse University.

He has been interviewed by Rick Archer on Buddha at the Gas Pump, was the meditation editor of the mind/body/spirit blog All Things Healing, was a board member of Sevenoaks Retreat Center (a nondenominational spiritual retreat center in Madison, VA) and is the owner/founder of a tech design -install firm called Charlottesville Audio Visual Services.

J. Stewart Dixon has been a very creative individual for most of his life. In addition to two self-published books, he has written and produced a rock musical, has two professionally produced and recorded CDs with his former band Alchemy and has dabbled in abstract art.

He lives in central Virginia with his family. When he’s not working or creating he can be found cavorting with the fish, bears, and bald eagles on the local rivers with a fly rod in his hand.

Visit his website at http://www.spiritualityforbadasses.com or connect with him on Facebook.

❀Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

Spirituality for Badasses is a non-religious approach to discovering the spectrum of awareness, told through the POV of the author while accompanying you, the reader through a series of adventure travel destinations and experiences. There are numerous how-to exercises. There is cursing. There is humor. There are sobering opinions offered about honesty, shadow, ego, mind, depression and many of the typical obstacles that prevent us from discovering our

genuine, unique "spiritual badass" natures.

❀Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?

I’m self-published and wouldn’t have it any other way. More control. More creativity. More profits. Screw the big 5 major publishers – they only publish people who are already famous with reality TV shows and who are related to the Kardashians. Yuck.

❀How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

Spirituality for Badasses is my second book.  The first was written ten years ago.  I’ve had multiple false starts on a second book over the years.  I’d write a chapter or two and then resign it to the dust bin. Spirituality for Badasses came about after a frustrating attempt to make a more conventional version of my work fly. It didn’t fly. It flopped. So, in frustration, I said fuck it, and wrote the first few chapters of Spirituality for Badasses in one sitting. (Including the title)  I gave those chapters away for free and it immediately flew.  

❀Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

I’m a pretty good graphic designer. I designed the cover myself and then had a pro graphic designer clean it up.

❀Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

www.blackeggsyndicate.com- long time friend.

❀How was your experience working with the designer?

He’s one of my best friends.

❀What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

99% love it.  I get some feedback every once in a while, about how a copied it from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S Thompson)  that pisses me off.  I never read or saw the cover of Fear and Loathing when I designed my cover.  Happens that both covers have vaguely similar sunglasses.  

❀What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

. It needs to read, pop and wow in tiny format on a phone.

Also go here:   www.blackeggsyndicate.com

❀Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

Sure – here’s the introduction.

 

Introduction

How to be a badass without

being a badass-hole

 

I get it. I really do. 

You’re a badass.

Cool, hip, down-to-earth, together, sane, practical, tough, smart, confident, fringe, alternative, creative, funny, athletic. However, you want to quantify your badass-ness.  

You’ve been this way your whole life, or maybe it took a couple of decades for you to cultivate it, or maybe it just kicked in yesterday at 3:09 pm. Who knows…and who cares, right? 

Because something is missing.   

It seems that being a badass just isn’t—enough.

Is it? 

Let me make this easy for you. I’m also a badass…

…except that for most of my adult life I’ve been involved with spirituality. And maybe you can relate here—this badass has always had…um, a slight issue: He doesn’t really love spirituality, being spiritual or hanging out in spiritual circles.

 No thank you.

This badass…well, eh... he loves beer.  

There—I said it! I love beer. Dark beer. Craft beer. Locally brewed beer. I also love fly fishing and kayaking and hiking in the mountains. I love making fart jokes with my twelve-year-old

son. I love smoking the occasional cigar (or other things) in my hot tub. I love great sex. I love head massages. I love making lots of money. I love cool cars. I love taking vacations in tropical places. I love hanging out with friends and being potty mouthed. I love watching Netflix. I love sitting around on the weekends and doing absolutely nothing. There are a lot of things this badass loves.

But spirituality? No, I don’t love spirituality.  

But...I do like it. I really like spirituality—a lot. 

Spirituality has served this badass well. Here are a few of the benefits I gained from my years involved with spirituality:

·         I used to be depressed. I am now depression free— because of spirituality.  

·         I used to be deeply unhappy most of the time. I am now happy most of the time—because of spirituality.

·         I used to be unaware and off balance about lots of things. I am now very aware and mostly balanced about lots of things—because of spirituality.  

·         I used to be a mindless idiot caught, obsessed and jerked around by the thoughts in my head. I am now

a mindfulness master who realizes that the thoughts in my head are mostly irrelevant, neurotic and frivolous—because of spirituality.  

·         I used to be timid. I used to avoid conflict. I used to deny certain emotions. I am now outspoken, unafraid of conflict, and I fully embrace all emotions whether they feel good or bad—because of spirituality.

·         I used to believe that all existence was a flat, one dimensional, dead end. I now know from repeated experience that life—existence—is a multi-layered, vibrant, and mysterious realm—because of spirituality.

·         I used to believe that death meant the end. I now know, also from repeated experience, that death is not the end and some part of us continues—because of spirituality.

·         I used to believe that who I was was this separate individual named J. Stewart. I now know that the real me springs from this same timeless, limitless ONE that we all are—because of spirituality.

So you see…I really do get it. I used to be depressed, anxious, too smart for my own good, opinionated and unhappy…a real loveless badass-hole. But now I’m just a spiritual badass.  

Spirituality removed the hole. I transformed. I changed. I grew up. I learned some hard lessons. And I did all this without ever losing my cool, integrity, smarts, libido, sense of humor or soul. And that’s just what this book is going to help you do.

You and I are going on a road trip, starting in my hometown and then traveling across the

United States. Along the way, we’ll visit some amazing places, take a few high-risk adventures and experience some strange shit. But what we’re really doing is exploring and where we’re really going is into the vast uncharted territories of your deepest soul.

Will it be easy? Nope. Will it be uncomfortable? Yep. Will it shake your world up like a three-hundred-foot drop on a Six Flags roller coaster? I hope so.

But you’re a badass and can handle this shit, right? Hell, yeah.

“Come to the edge," he said.

"We can't, we're afraid!" they responded.

"Come to the edge," he said.

"We can't, We will fall!" they responded.

"Come to the edge," he said.

And so they came.

And he pushed them.

And they flew.”

― Guillaume Apollinaire

Okay. You’ve now read the introduction. Quit fucking around.  Buy the book and let’s get started.

Fist bump,

J. Stewart

 

Book Information

Release Date: January 21, 2021

Publisher:  PIE Publishing / Awakening Resource Center, LLC;

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-0-9858579-9-8; 329 pages; $15.99; E-Book, $5.99

Book Website: www.spiritualityforbadasses.com

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B08SMP9982