Blog Tour: Lovesick (Guest post & Scavenger Hunt)

Welcome to Proud Book Nerd for part 7 of the first chapter Scavenger Hunt for Spencer Seidel’s new novel Lovesick. I gotta tell you, I loved it. It’s a fantastic thriller.

Anyway …

Before I get to the scavenger hunt tidbit, enjoy a guest post written by Spencer himself.

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A Kid and His Books

By Spencer Seidel

Because my fiction can be so dark, I occasionally get asked what kinds of books I read as a kid. I suppose some people think I was raised on a steady diet of old horror movies and King novels. As Frank Zappa famously (and flippantly) said to a senator inquiring about what odd toys his children must have had: “Well, why don’t you come up to the house and I’ll show ‘em to you.” That’s sort of what I’m going to do here. Hopefully, this short list of my favorites as a kid will bring back some fun reading memories of your own.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

This classic was the first big-boy book I remember reading on my own from start to finish. I was probably five or so, but I don’t know for sure. What I do remember is the absolute thrill the experience of reading something like this gave me. The little kid version of a head rush, I guess. I think I read it six times in a row.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

As I recall, I had to give this a start a few times to get through it. The language was tougher in Phantom Tollbooth than in other books I’d read and the concepts far more abstract. Once I caught onto it however, I couldn’t let go. To this day, I think about Milo driving his car through that play tollbooth.

The Great Brain Series by John D. Fitzgerald

Man, did I eat these up. My favorite was The Great Brain at the Academy, but I loved them all. Remember how The Great Brain used to climb up in that hay loft and haul the ladder up after him so he could think? Or the fact that the kids were always fist fighting in those books? These books were gritty. Publishers would have a hard time with that today, I’d wager. Wonderful, true-to-life series depicting real, not-even-close-to-politically-correct kids doing kid stuff.

Anything by Judy Blume

I can’t say enough about Judy Blume and the influence her books had on me. I read them all, even the girly ones like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. And I probably read them all before I was technically old enough, and that’s part of the reason I love my mom. Her philosophy was: if the kid wants to read something, let him, because he’ll find a way to read it anyway. My mom is probably mostly why I have such respect for women, but I’m sure Judy Blume’s female characters had something to do with that as well.

Anything by Beverly Cleary

When I was a kid, I was a strong reader, so they put me in a program called “Great Books.” What a joke. I hated the books they wanted me to read. They were all ancient and had kid characters I just couldn’t relate to. It’s a miracle those people didn’t poison my love of reading. Sheesh, if a kid is reading on his own, stop trying to control it, let him be, and enable the habit with all the books he wants! He’ll get to the good stuff before too long. Besides, a lot of that “literature” is overrated – crap grown-ups think kids should read and not what kids want to read. Anyway, I didn’t last long in that misguided program. See, what I wanted to read was stuff about kids like me. Back then, I guess I felt that way about Henry Huggins, because I couldn’t get enough of those stories. I think a part of me still wants to be like Henry.

Honorable Mention: The Hardy Boys Series

I must confess that I didn’t love the Hardy Boys books, but I aspired to read them all, as some of my friends did. If you’re looking for a hook into my dark side, the Hardy Boys series was probably it. Something about their world was dangerous (but not too dangerous) and scary (but not too scary). Kind of perfect for a kid who is maybe curious about the evils people commit behind closed doors…

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Great post. And it did indeed bring back some of my own reading memories. Thanks so much, Spencer!

And now for the scavenger hunt. Before I give you my snippet, let me point you to the tour page. If you’re new to the scavenger hunt – or a regular reader here on Proud Book Nerd – you should probably head there to get the first six snippets. I’m number seven on this tour, and would hate for you to miss anything!

He was rocking back and forth and staring at the ground in front of him.

“Police!” Bruce said a little louder. “Lie down flat on the ground, arms out, palms up. Do you hear me? Arms out, palms up.”

Twenty feet away now.

Jimmy said, “He’s not moving.”

“No shit. Get on that shoulder mic and update dispatch. Get some backup out here. And an ambulance. Jesus H. Christ, the kid’s got blood all over him.”

Jimmy did as he was told.

Ten feet away now.

Bruce said, “Stop here.”

“Can you help me? Can you help?” the kid said quietly. “I think there’s something wrong with Lee.”

Oh, fucking-a-right there’s something wrong with Lee, Jimmy thought.

Bruce said, “We’re going to get your friend Lee all the help he needs. Why don’t you lay him on the ground and—”

I gotta tell you, this was a very good book! My review was posted a couple of days ago. For tomorrow’s snippet, stop by Book Journey: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/.
♥

FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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