On Tour with My Book

I am grateful as heck to all the people who have been enjoying Old Music for New People, and to the team at The Story Plant working hard to get folks to pay attention to this story that wants to touch your heart. Sometimes I get quick texts or messages on Facebook where people tell me how engrossed they are in the story or that they’re having fun with 100 pages to go.

Gender identity is the big story driver in this novel, but there’s so much more to identity than the simple binary opposites of boy or girl. I don’t want to give the story away, but when one person questions who they are, whole families (extended families, in fact) become part of the questioning process. They become part of the answer, too. Things get messy. They can be intense. But the only way people grow is through messy, intense questions and answers.

We’ve got a virtual book tour going right now with RABT Book Tours that is fun to drop in on and check out. Last week Old Music for a New People got a great review from The Indie Express. Here’s a snippet:

While mainly a story of family, love, and acceptance, I was surprised by the sheer multitude of themes the author managed to include.

The Indie Express

There’s a bit more. It’s a short review, so go check it out. If you’re a book lover, you might think about subscribing to that blog as well. Obviously, if they “get” my little family/coming-of-age story, they probably know a lot about what’s worth reading these days.

I also have some teacher friends who think there is value in figuring out how to use Old Music for New People in high school English classes. One of the main functions of novels is to tell the story of individuals as they struggle with their sense of self and how they fit into society. These days, teenagers are seriously pushing the envelope on gender identity. And while we find all sorts of loud noise and hyperbole in media on numerous levels, it’s not clear whether everyone is taking part in the gender identity question on equal footing. More importantly, it’s also not clear whether people know how to talk to each other yet about these issues. That’s partly what novels are for, especially those you read in school — we always need help learning to speak to each other.

Old Music for New People is about more than a single young person coming-of-age, and more than a single young person struggling to understand who they are. There are three Scattergood siblings (along with their cousin who was supposed to have been Robert but turns out to be Rita, at least for a little while). All four kids — three teens and one pre-teen little brother — are hard at work figuring out the meaning of life on planet earth. Music is a good aid in those discussions, and not just for the kids.

Click here to go to the Old Music for New People Amazon book store to get a copy as either a print or digital volume.

Go the The Story Plant to see all the books they have to offer.

Check out the Old Music for New People Book Tour by clicking here. Also, consider purchasing more than one copy of this story and giving it to friends, parents, teachers, librarians, siblings, and teens everywhere. This is a story about all of us as we try to figure out who we’re becoming this time.