Series: Runaway Train #2
Publication date: August 5th, 2021
Synopsis:
I had stars in my eyes and I couldn't see around them...
The year is 1995 and my parents have finally allowed me to take the summer to tour in a VW van across the country with my boyfriend Evan and our band. Yes, my dream to be a singer became reality. Even with Clarissa, Evan's jealous ex-girlfriend, as the lead singer, it's my presence on stage that led us to a major record deal. There are moments you'll always remember in life, but I can't imagine anything more cool than hearing your song on the radio for the first time.
But being a Rockstar isn't an easy as it sounds. Using alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms, nothing but tension surrounded me, hurting my still blossoming relationship, and continued grieving over my sister's death.
A love letter to the nineties and a journey of a girl becoming a woman, Grenade Bouquets charts the rollercoaster ride of a band primed to explode on the scene, as long as they keep from actually exploding.
"An engaging '90s pastiche with an earnest heart beating at its center." -- Kirkus Reviews on Runaway Train
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Guest Post
Handling Negative Reviews
GRENADE BOUQUETS is my seventh book, but only my second Young Adult novel, so while I'm used to handling negative reviews of my thrillers, the readers of Young Adult appear to be more critical. I'm aware when I set out to write this book that I'm a man writing a teen girl's perspective and some may take offense to that. But when I conceived these books, they wouldn't have worked with a male main character. Often when I come up with ideas, there's usually one first image, and the character of Nico Sullivan I had in mind when the idea for a book set in the '90s grunge world was born.
While the reviews have mostly been really great and positive, there have been a few negative ones, mostly on Goodreads. The books received great reviews on Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly BookLife. Fiction is very subjective, so it doesn't bother me if someone dislikes my book. I've certainly read books I've disliked before. But with all these sites available to readers to review a book, there's an element of readers who enjoy tearing down a novel, which I find upsetting. A novel is a lot of work. Authors put blood, sweat, and tears and many, many hours into their creation. I believe there's a way to write a negative review that's respectful, but I've received a few that are not. To me it's sad that someone reads a book with the thought of wanting to tear it down. As an author, we are so used to rejection throughout our careers, that you have to let it bounce off of you, but I'd be lying if it didn't sting a little. Still, I try to focus on the positive ones and that anytime you put art out there, it's apt to be judged. I'd rather someone hated my books than found them boring. And all of the great reviews have been so wonderful to read.
These books are about a girl struggling after her sister unexpectedly dies. I lost my dad around the same time, so a lot of my own struggles went into these books. I hope that others who are dealing with death can find solace and hope with this series as well. I could care less about negative reviews as long as someone finds positivity in my work.
Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, THE MENTOR, THE DESIRE CARD and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. His first YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is forthcoming in 2021 along with a sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that's outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him on his website.
