For a limited time, my award winning novel, THE CAMINO CLUB, is on sale at AMAZON and KOBO!
The Camino Club on Sale for $1.99!
For a limited time, my award winning novel, THE CAMINO CLUB, is on sale at AMAZON and KOBO!
Category: Gay YA
EBOOK – $1.99
The Camino Club – Synopsis
Author Copies Have Arrived! Book of Dreams One Step Closer to Being…
Yesterday, my author copies arrived from my publisher!
My novel hits bookstores in exactly 3 weeks from today, on Tuesday, September 13th. And they’re all printed and boxed and ready to go!
BOOK OF DREAMS (Duet Books/Chicago Review Press, SEPTEMBER 13th, 2022) NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER!
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from a previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet teen also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD! Also, put Book of Dreams on your Goodreads shelf!
Amazon USA | Amazon Canada | Chicago Review Press Print | Chicago Review Press Ebook | Barnes & Noble | Interlude Press | Kobo USA | Kobo Canada | IndieBound | Blackwell’s | Booktopia | Book Depository | APPLE Books | Goodreads
I’m still sitting on some amazing news regarding this novel. I can’t wait to share it! And the very second I’m able to share it, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops. Stay tuned for the announcement!
If you’re local to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), you can get a signed copy of BOOK OF DREAMS at the Chapters-Indigo in the Oshawa Centre. I’ll be there Saturday October 1st, 2022 at 1:00pm. Hope to see you there!
The Camino Club ARC Anniversary!
So, two years ago today something magical came in the mail! The Advance Reader Copies ARCs of The Camino Club! It was such an exciting day for me! Though my 7th novel, it’s the first one with a bigger publisher and, therefore, ARCs. And what gorgeous ARCs they were!
From the cover design to the interior, I am still madly in love with what my publisher (CB MESSER, of Interlude Press/Duet Books) did with The Camino Club. Such lovely details. I felt like I was losing my mind with excitement as I flipped through the pages.
I can’t begin to explain how much I love every little thing about the design. It’s still perfect, after two years. What surprises me is that I didn’t keep any of the ARCs for myself. I do have one final copy of the book at home, though.
On this 2nd anniversary of THE CAMINO CLUB ARC arrival, I just know that my next book is soon to arrive. It went out to the printer a while ago and it’s only a matter of time! Book of Dreams is almost here!
Releasing to the world on September 13th, Book of Dreams is destined to arrive on my doorstep any time now. I have such amazing news about this book and I have been sitting on it for so long that it’s burning a hole in my soul! The very second I get the okay to share this news, I will be screaming it from the rooftops.
Have you pre-ordered your copy of BOOK OF DREAMS yet? If you are local to the GTA, you may want to wait for an as yet announced author signing to take place sometime in September. This will be after my return from walking the Camino de Santiago from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I am out of country from Sept 7th to Sept 23rd. Yes, that’s right…I’ll be walking the Portuguese Camino on the day my book releases! This was NOT planned. The original release was May, 2022. The Camino was booked long ago and when the release date changed, my plans were already carved in stone. So look for a book signing sometime late in September or early in October.
You can PRE-ORDER BOOK OF DREAMS wherever books are sold. Here’s some links:
Amazon USA | Amazon Canada | Chicago Review Press Print | Chicago Review Press Ebook | Barnes & Noble | Interlude Press | Kobo USA | Kobo Canada | IndieBound | Blackwell’s | Booktopia | Book Depository | APPLE Books |
Here’s the description for BOOK OF DREAMS:
BOOK OF DREAMS (Duet Books/Chicago Review Press, SEPTEMBER 13th, 2022) EBOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER!
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from a previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet teen also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Although I won’t share the cool interior design of BOOK OF DREAMS just yet, I will share the EPIGRAPH and the DEDICATION. Here they are…
Hey Canada! THE CAMINO CLUB sale alert! 99 CENTS!
Okay, I have news…not the news I’m dying to share with you about BOOK OF DREAMS, but news all the same!
THE CAMINO CLUB is on sale at Amazon CANADA!
Now would be the time to pick up your copy if you haven’t done so already! Before the sale goes away.
AMAZON CANADA – THE CAMINO CLUB
Act fast! Like, run don’t walk to Amazon and get your copy now! Make THE CAMINO CLUB your PRIDE READ for PRIDE MONTH!
SYNOPSIS: After getting in trouble with the law, a group of wayward teens are given an ultimatum: serve time in juvenile detention for their crimes or walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain over the summer holidays with a pair of court-appointed counselors. Although they come from diverse backgrounds, the unlikely friends try to make the best of their situation. The pilgrims grow closer on their journey, but they may not make it to their destination—the Cathedral in Santiago. If they do, will they each find what they’re looking for, and will their newfound friendships endure?
If you have already read The Camino Club, please consider telling your friends! I’d love to see this story of my heart reaching more readers!
Pride Month 2022 – Pride Reads!
Happy Pride Month to all! It’s time to consider reading books with LGBTQ+ representation!
I’m currently reading HOWL by Shaun David Hutchinson and LOVING it! Highly recommend! It’s such a subtly told powerhouse of a story about struggling to find oneself while fearing becoming something other than oneself…while at the same time punching back against bullying and biases. Really, such a deep read. Written for the Young Adult market.
My recently read Pride reads were pretty fascinating looks into growing up with gay dads. One from a Canadian woman whose father gravitated to the Toronto gay village area and one from an American woman whose father gravitated to the Castro in San Francisco. Loved them both! Poignant, sad, funny…all the feels. Highly recommend them…even as side by side reads:
CONFESSIONS OF A FAIRY’S DAUGHTER – GROWING UP WITH A GAY DAD by Alison Wearing
FAIRYLAND – A MEMOIR OF MY FATHER by ALYSIA ABBOTT
I too write Pride books. Here are 3 that are available now!
Billions of Beautiful Hearts (Interlude Press/Duet Books) is a young adult story with two nonbinary teens finding love online during the time of Covid Lockdown. The Camino Club (Interlude Press/Duet Books) is a young adult story with six teens walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across Spain as atonement for their crimes back home in Toronto. It features a gay narrator with lesbian rep. Pride Must Be A Place (Muse It Up) is a young adult story with Ezra Caine and his friends coming together to create their small-town high school’s first Gay Straight Alliance. Ezra discovers along the way that he can find happiness, love, and safety in the places he once feared.
KEVIN CRAIG AUTHOR PAGE on AMAZON USA
KEVIN CRAIG AUTHOR PAGE on AMAZON CANADA
I also have upcoming PRIDE reads! One of which you could definitely PRE-ORDER during Pride Month! YES, I’m talking about BOOK OF DREAMS again!
Here’s the synopsis:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from a previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet teen also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD! Also, put Book of Dreams on your Goodreads shelf!
Amazon USA | Amazon Canada | Chicago Review Press Print | Chicago Review Press Ebook | Barnes & Noble | Interlude Press | Kobo USA | Kobo Canada | IndieBound | Blackwell’s | Booktopia | Book Depository | APPLE Books | Goodreads
It’s Pride Month. Whatever you choose to do with your reading time this month, just consider spending some of that time reading and supporting LGBTQ+ fiction!
HAPPY PRIDE!
The Geography of Book of Dreams
My upcoming novel BOOK OF DREAMS is set in my hometown. Toronto, Ontario. I didn’t think I’d ever write that sentence. At first I even did this surreptitiously, adding little details about Toronto that probably only residents would know. I have always felt the need to mask the Canadianism of my fiction, create small town anywhere locations that wouldn’t alienate American readers.
What I didn’t expect was for my editors to suggest feeding more details of Toronto into my manuscript at a recent editing stage. I can’t tell you how much this delighted me. Also, I guess I wasn’t exactly as surreptitious as I thought I was being. Looks like they knew it was Toronto, but not Toronto enough.
So I was free to sprinkle a few little details about. I still went sparingly, always conscious of the potential of losing the interest of American readers because of the setting. This may sound implausible, but I do believe this is something us Canadians struggle with when feeding into the American market.
We follow by example. How many times have we seen our city streets transformed into Chicago, or New York, or various other major American cities for the sake of filming? To see a police car with New York plates and colours is not unusual here. To see an American postal box on the street is not unheard of in Toronto. These things just mean you’ve walked too close to a movie set. It happens in downtown Toronto all the time.
So I used Toronto street names in my book, but purposefully did not set my story in an actual city. I suppose I did this out of fear of being told to change the setting.
With my requested sprinkled additions, it is now definitely Toronto set…and I couldn’t be happier!
I mention Kensington Market, my favourite Toronto neighbourhood. My characters attend Heydon Park Secondary. The bookstore is on Elm Street, just off of Yonge. I even mention the King of Kensington, Al Waxman…and bring up his statue in Bellevue Square Park.
I also mention Carbonic Coffee (Here is their Instagram account), the gorgeously sleek coffee shop on Baldwin Street…as the last place the main character Gaige kisses his boyfriend Logan before all the madness of the story happens.
It’s all there. Except Dundas. I erased that name, just as Toronto City Council is about to do. Only, they haven’t done it yet…so I didn’t have the new name to change the street to. I chose DARIUS…a little homage to another YA book (Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram). It’s a bit of an Easter Egg. I wasn’t going to use Dundas and I really admire Khorram’s book(#1 of a 2 book series).
So if you’re reading Book of Dreams, for geographical reference, in the book’s universe the Eaton Centre is at Yonge-Darius Square. (-:
This post is just to say…WOW! It really makes a difference when you can set a story in the place where you live. So many Canadians shy away from doing so! We do this either out of a false taboo we ourselves created against doing so, or after being specifically told not to do it. It’s weird. These days, I think it’s more self-policing than publishers actually having an issue with it. We remember a time when it was frowned upon, and we keep that mindset.
Or maybe the movie sets around town tell us Toronto is good enough for the movies, but not good enough to BE Toronto in the movies. The New York or Chicago you’re watching on your television screen is quite often Toronto in disguise. 😉
BOOK OF DREAMS is now available for PREORDER! preorder a copy now wherever books are sold!
My publisher actually DROPPED THE PRICE on new releases. You can get the paperback of Book of Dreams for only $12.99! RELEASE DAY is SEPTEMBER 13th!
Barnes and Noble Preorder Sale!
This is a bit of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it opportunity, but here goes!
My upcoming novel, BOOK OF DREAMS is available for PREORDER. AND…coincidentally, BARNES & NOBLE is having a 25% off discount on all PREORDERS!
For today and tomorrow only, get 25% off the regular price for my upcoming YA novel BOOK OF DREAMS!
Buy from Barnes & Noble today or tomorrow using the promo-code PREORDER25 at the checkout!
Yes, of COURSE you can pick up BOOK OF DREAMS wherever books are sold! Here’s some links here:
Amazon USA | Amazon Canada | Chicago Review Press Print | Chicago Review Press Ebook | Barnes & Noble | Interlude Press | Kobo USA | Kobo Canada | IndieBound | Blackwell’s | Booktopia | Book Depository | APPLE Books | Goodreads
But for these two days, you can get it at 25% off at BARNES & NOBLE. HERE’S THE DIRECT LINK HERE!
Synopsis:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Preorder your copy of BOOK OF DREAMS today! Barnes & Noble is giving you a big incentive right now!
Book Release Date Change!
To all of my readers who have pre-ordered BOOK OF DREAMS…I am forever thankful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have an announcement concerning the release date of the book.
My publisher, Interlude Press, was recently acquired by Chicago Review Press (read about the acquisition here at Publisher’s Weekly). One of the first things to change, for me, was the release date of my upcoming young adult horror, Book of Dreams. They want to give the book more time…for marketing, etc. It’s a hard but understandable change. I hope those who pre-ordered are not too put out by the change in the release date. They want to give it the time it deserves to prepare it for its journey into the world, and I’m totally onboard with this change. Feeling pretty excited about this one!
You can still pre-order BOOK OF DREAMS…it’ll just show up a bit later now. Instead of MAY 24th, 2022…it’ll arrive SEPTEMBER 13th, 2022.
Totally coincidentally, the new release date also happens to be my birthday!
(Please note that some online retailers still show the May date as the release date. This will change…the news is fairly recent. Sites should be updated soon.)
You can pre-order BOOK OF DREAMS wherever books are sold. Here’s some links, if you would like to do so:
Amazon USA | Amazon Canada | Chicago Review Press Print | Chicago Review Press Ebook | Barnes & Noble | Interlude Press | Kobo USA | Kobo Canada | IndieBound | Blackwell’s | Booktopia | Book Depository | APPLE Books
SYNOPSIS:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Cover Reveal and EXCERPT for BOOK OF DREAMS!
Yesterday, I was fortunate to have the cover reveal for my upcoming novel BOOK OF DREAMS take place on LGBTQ READS! Not only that, there was ALSO an EXCERPT from the novel shared! Much much thanks to LGBTQ Reads for hosting the reveal! Please consider supporting the site!
Before I share the cover here, though…a little bit about the book!
BOOK OF DREAMS was my 2014 Muskoka Novel Marathon novel. I wrote about 1/2 of it over a long weekend in that July (The novel writing marathon is a yearly event that raises money for the YMCA literacy programs in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. I’ve taken place in the marathon 13 times now. I won BEST NOVEL AWARD for 5 of those marathons.). BOOK OF DREAMS was awarded Honorary Mention for the 2014 marathon.
After the marathon, I worked on polishing up the 1/2 of a manuscript I managed to write. Then, eventually, I wrote the last 1/2. Fast forward to May 2022, thanks to Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press, it will become a novel I can actually hold in my hands!
Here’s the synopsis for Book of Dreams:
Gaige’s curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers a bookstore on an abandoned street where no bookstore should be. He steps inside and is immediately enthralled by its antiquarian sights and smells. But one book in particular calls to him. It isn’t long before he gets a bad feeling about it, but it’s already too late. The store’s aged bookseller gives him no alternative: once he touches the book, it’s his—whether he wants it or not. It’s bought and paid for and there are no returns. The book leads Gaige on a horrific descent into the unknown. As he falls into the depths of its pages, he loses blocks of time, and his friends become trapped inside ancient cellars with seemingly no means of escape. Gaige soon learns that the ancient bookseller is a notorious serial killer from previous century, and fears that he has fallen into a predicament from which he may not escape. When all seems lost, he finds the one person he can turn to for help—Mael, a sweet boy also trapped inside the book who didn’t fall for the bookseller’s tricks. Together, they race against time to protect Gaige from joining a long string of boys who vanished without a trace inside the Book of Dreams.
Now, HERE. IS. THE. COVER!
Thanks once again to the amazing CB MESSER for designing this cover that captures the mood of Book of Dreams so wonderfully. I love the way it portends to the story inside of it! This is the shiny book that captures Gaige’s attention in the creepy bookstore, yes…but it also suggests some of the dark goopy underworld awaiting him when he dares to open its cover and look inside. CB did an incredible and incredibly subtle job here and I could not be more pleased! CB designed my The Camino Club cover, as well. And I think I made it known by now how much I loved that cover!
You can read the excerpt from BOOK OF DREAMS over at LGBTQ READS by clicking here!
Boy Walks Into a Bookstore that Isn’t There — What’s the Punchline?
When I set out to write a new book, I guess I just don’t give a good goddamn about genres and such. I just get an idea (or a kernel of an idea) and I run with it. I follow its labyrinthine trail until I find myself at the end. Where it takes me, I do not know until I get there. Hence my upcoming young adult novel, BOOK OF DREAMS!
I had a kernel and I needed to chase it down. BOY WALKS INTO A BOOKSTORE THAT ISN’T THERE. Sounds like one of those A PRIEST, A RABBI AND A PHILOSOPHER WALK INTO A BAR jokes, but I swear to you it isn’t. There is no punchline. It’s not a joke. It’s the method by which my stories come to me. First, there is a title. It comes from the ether and lands on my screen. BOOK OF DREAMS. But what does that mean? Book of Dreams? That is such a common name, bound to be conflated with something already out in the world. Doesn’t matter, says my brain. It’s the title I’m giving you…run with it!
So, with a title in hand I have my next thought. A BOY GOES FOR A WALK AND STUMBLES UPON A BOOKSTORE WHERE HE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN A BOOKSTORE SHOULD NOT EXIST. OOh…what happens when he walks inside? I mean, this bookstore is NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!!??
I am at the mercy of my thoughts. I merely chase them down to their ends. I do this more to find out where they lead than for any other reason. This thought, this title, this bookstore joke that’s not a joke that does not have a punchline? It’s now a story I find difficult to pound down into ONE TRUE GENRE. It’s like those toys from the 70s that acquaint children with shapes to build their spatial dexterity.
Where does this story fit on the genre spectrum? It is contemporary, it is horror, it is suspense, it is fantasy, it is paranormal. But when it is all, is it also none? Is there room for stories that zig back and forth across the genre lines with disregard? I had to ask myself that question, because I have created one. I believe the answer is yes. I have read them. Therefore, they exist. I can’t start a story and follow it through to the end and honor it without allowing it to become what it is on its own. I’m okay with its inability to fit ONE specific genre. It’s the story that matters. What happens when a boy walks into a bookstore that isn’t there? It’s a question filled with intrigue…one I had to find out the answer to. So I wrote it.
It comes out in MAY 2022. That’s a short six months away! I’m excited to put this new book baby into the universe. I hope the question that made me race to find the answer also has readers curious. You can preorder BOOK OF DREAMS now. It’s being published by the wonderful queer publishing house DUET BOOKS, the YA imprint of INTERLUDE PRESS. Read about it on the Interlude Press site HERE.
Pre-Orders have ALWAYS been important for both the author and the publisher…and never more so than during a pandemic. I’d love it if you would consider pre-ordering this new forthcoming baby of mine! Here are some of the places you can pre-order BOOK OF DREAMS:
DIRECTLY FROM CHICAGO REVIEW PRESS
DIRECTLY FROM INTERLUDE PRESS – EBOOK
DIRECTLY FROM INTERLUDE PRESS – PAPERBACK
Put it on your TO READ SHELF on GOODREADS!
A boy walks into a bookstore that isn’t there…
What happens next? Pre-Order now to be among the first to know!
KEVIN CRAIG 