THE PIZZA CHRONICLES SERIES TOUR and BOOK 4 RELEASE Young Adult LGBT by Andy V. Roamer ➱ Release Tour
THE PIZZA CHRONICLES SERIES TOUR
and BOOK 4 NEW RELEASE
SERIES BLURB
The books in the Pizza Chronicles series follow the main character, RV, through his high school years, as he tries to answer his many questions about life, God, prayer, sexuality, being the son of immigrants, and staying loyal to his heritage while carving out his own life and relationships.
The stories should be read in order.
Book #1: Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza?
Book #2: Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza?
Book #3: Why Can’t Relationships Be Like Pizza?
Book #4: Why Can’t Sophomore Summer Be Like Pizza?
Overall Heat Rating for the series: 1 flame
NEW RELEASE
BOOK 4
Book Title: Why Can’t Sophomore Summer Be Like Pizza?
Author: Andy V. Roamer
Publisher: Nine Star Press
Length: 52 000 words
Release Date: August 2, 2021
Genre: Young Adult LGBT
Tropes: Summer vacation between freshman & sophomore years of high school
Themes: Teenage steps toward maturity: ups & downs of romance, driving lessons, coming out to family
It is a standalone story, with the same characters from books 1-3.
The books have frequent references to previous titles in the series, so better if they are read in order.
Buy Links
Amazon US Author Page | Amazon UK Author Page
RV’s summer after sophomore year of high school isn’t all fun and games as he navigates a budding new relationship, struggles with driving lessons, copes with the ups and downs of his summer job in a movie theatre, and tries to be patient with his traditional family that doesn’t want to deal with his sexuality.
Blurb
It’s the summer after sophomore year and RV enjoys new adventures and faces new challenges having finished two years of high school. Since he loves movies, he’s happy to get a job as an usher at a movie multiplex, but learns the realities of dealing with job stresses and unruly customers. It’s time for him to start learning how to drive, and his father is eager to give him lessons. But he’s not the most patient of teachers and RV is not the most capable of drivers. Bobby is still around, but he’s doing the hard job of recovering from his injury so doesn’t have time for much else. RV tries to open himself up to a new relationship and is happy when he meets Matteo, who works at the multiplex also. It looks like the start of a budding romance – until it isn’t. And then there is RV’s family, loving but traditional, not ready or willing to discuss issues of sexuality. Luckily, as always, there is Mr. Aniso, RV’s freshmen-year teacher, who has become a friend and is always there to talk over anything that might be bothering RV. But he’s away for the summer, helping his partner’s family, so there’s only so much time and attention he can give RV.
CHECK OUT THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN
THE PIZZA CHRONICLES SERIES
BOOK 1
Book Title: Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza?
Author: Andy V. Roamer
Publisher: Nine Star Press
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Length: 55 100 words/ 208 pages
Release Date: March 30, 2020
Genre: YA Contemporary
Trope: Son of immigrants
Themes: Coming Out
It is a standalone story.
NineStar Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
In Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza? RV begins freshman year at demanding Boston Latin School, doing his best to keep up and fit in while wrestling with his immigrant heritage and his sexuality.
Blurb
Wrestling with his sexuality, along with a lot of other things, RV thinks all is okay when he starts going out with Carole. But things get more complicated when RV develops a crush on Bobby, a football player in his class, who admits he may have gay feelings, too. Bobby is African American and facing his own pressures. Luckily, RV develops a friendship with Mr. Aniso, his Latin teacher, who is gay and always there to talk to when the pressure becomes overwhelming.
BOOK 2
Book Title: Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza?
Author: Andy V. Roamer
Publisher: Nine Star Press
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Length: 50 200 words/196 pages
Release Date: June 1, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Trope: Summer Vacation
Themes: Obstacles to exploring sexuality and enjoying summer
This story is a continuation of Book #1 with the same characters
Buy Links
Nine Star Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Tagline In Why Can’t Freshman Summer Be Like Pizza? RV and Bobby have survived freshman year and are looking forward to spending a wonderful summer together. But life has other plans.
Blurb
RV and Bobby’s summer is not what they wish for. They hardly have time to spend with each other. Bobby is busy at football camp and working at a job his father has pressured him into taking. RV is busy with a summer job, too, and also has to help his parents pass their U.S. citizenship test. His friend Carole jumps at the chance to spend her summer in Paris. As always, Mr. Aniso, RV’s Latin teacher is there to talk to when RV gets too lonely. He’s also there when RV inadvertently spills one of Bobby’s secrets, and Bobby is so angry at him RV is afraid he’s ready to cut off the friendship.
BOOK 3
Book Title: Why Can’t Relationships Be Like Pizza?
Author: Andy V. Roamer
Publisher: Nine Star Press
Length: 58 000 words/ 272 pages
Release Date: March 15, 2021
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Trope: Forming relationships
Themes: Maintaining relationships through difficulties/helping friend through tragedy
This is a continuation of Book #2 of The Pizza Chronicles
Buy Links
Nine Star Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
In Why Can’t Relationships Be Like Pizza?, Book #3, RV begins sophomore year in high school, though his relationships create more questions than answers.
Blurb
RV is trying to maintain his newfound friendship with Bobby, but it’s becoming harder and harder. Bobby seems a different, more distant, person. RV’s friend Carole is distracted with the ups and downs in her relationships with the French boyfriends she met during her summer in Paris. RV’s new friend Mark is focused on his family’s troubles. School is a mixed bag. But Mr. Aniso, RV’s former teacher and mentor, is there to lean on, especially when near tragedy strikes and RV needs Mr. Aniso’s counsel to stay strong and provide help where it’s needed most.
Interview Questions
Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t
know.
A.
I’m first-generation (my parents emigrated from
Eastern Europe), and English is my second language. I thought I was doing OK
learning English in school, except the day when my first grade teacher asked us
to name bugs. I said “lady,” thinking of ladybug, but forgetting the second
part of the word for some reason. I still remember that embarrassing moment
when my teacher made me stand up in class and asked me to explain why I thought
she was a bug. I still think of her whenever I see a ladybug. I taught me the importance of words.
Q: What’s your favorite scene in your latest book and what
makes it a fave? Would you care to
share an excerpt from the scene with us?
A.
The main character, RV, has many rites of
passage. One of my “fun” favorites, is
RV’s first driving lesson with his father. I hope readers can both laugh and identify
with their own rites of passage.
EXCERPT:
I took a
breath, said a quick prayer to the Big Guy, whom I’ve abandoned so far this
summer, turned the key in the ignition, and pressed on the gas. The car lurched
forward.
Panicking, I
slammed on the brake pedal. The car stopped short, nearly sending both of us
into the windshield.
Dad looked
at me. I was expecting him to yell, but I think he was too shaken up. “Gentle.
Gentle.” He put up his hand with his palm facing forward. He moved it slowly
toward me. “Gentle. Gentle,” he repeated.
I tried
pressing on the gas pedal as gently as I could. Five miles per hour. Ten miles.
Good. I started to relax a bit and pressed harder. Another lurch. And another
panicked slam on the brake.
We did that
a couple of times. To his credit, Dad didn’t yell, even though at one point I
saw him massaging his shoulder when I apparently yanked him around too much. I
appreciated him pretending to stay calm, even if it was just on the surface.
I noticed
his right foot resting on the incline of the floor, mimicking mine whenever I
stepped on the brake. His imaginary brake, I guess. Just in case his dufus son
stepped on the wrong pedal. Too bad his brake is imaginary and doesn’t work. He
has to trust me. I also noticed when we started going, he would grasp the
dashboard with both hands tightly, his knuckles getting totally white. Thanks
for the vote of confidence, Dad.
I kept at it
though. Finally, I got a little more comfortable, starting and stopping the car
without the threat of flinging both of us into the windshield. I even went up
to twenty-five miles an hour and drove the car in a couple of big circles.
Then Dad
asked me to try backing up. We went over the backup camera screen and the
safety features. I put the gear shift in reverse and off we went. Two miles an
hour. Three. Six. Ten. I cracked a smile. Was I actually starting to enjoy
this?
“Watch!
Watch!” Dad yelled suddenly.
“What?”
“Watch!”
I slammed on
the brake. But it wasn’t the brake. It was the gas. We zoomed backward at what
seemed like a hundred miles an hour.
I slammed on
the brake for real this time. The car lurched to a stop, and we were jerked
around, barely missing the windshield again. Thank God for those seatbelts,
which had been part of our safety check too.
I looked
around. A car had come out of nowhere, which I didn’t see. It had stopped a few
inches away from us. At least it seemed like a few inches, though maybe it was
a few yards. Did the backup camera make that weird high-pitched beep! it’s
supposed to when you’re getting too close to another car. Maybe I wasn’t close
enough. Or maybe I was just too nervous to hear it.
I was afraid
to look directly at Dad, who was sitting there, hyperventilating. The driver of
the other car glared at us. He threw up his hands, like he was about to say,
“What the f—?”
Q: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the
characters in the book, who would you choose and why?
A. I
would love to spend it with Mr. Aniso, one of RV’s freshman-year teachers. He’s
the ideal older gay mentor I wish I had.
But he’s not only a mentor, he becomes much more. As RV struggles to
work out his sexuality and other aspects of his life, Mr. Aniso is there to
provide perspective and to share stories about his own struggles. Despite their
age differences, they become friends, good friends, something rare in life and
to be treasured.
Q: On the flipside, which character would you probably least
get along with? Why?
A.
Duffy and Doyle, those high school bullies who never
seem to get caught! Didn’t we all know people like that?
Q: Let’s take off your author cap and put on your reader cap
for a moment: what do you look for in a book, what sort of protagonists do you
love, and do you have a favorite genre?
A.
I love a good story where the characters have
psychological depth. I love looking at
people and discovering what makes them tick. So a plot that develops from a
character’s struggles or conflicts is what I enjoy most.
In terms of protagonists, I love characters who don’t give up. Feisty ones are fun to read about, but I’m
also attracted to gentle, downtrodden characters, who have a quiet strength and
don’t let themselves give up on life.
I don’t stick to one genre. In nonfiction, I love history and reading
about faraway lands. In fiction, a good
thriller is sometimes a great way to escape for awhile.
Q: What books and authors would you say influenced you to
become a writer?
A.
I loved plays as a young man, so playwrights
were the ones who influenced me most. I
loved George Bernard Shaw because are not only funny, they point out many of
the foibles of his characters and society as a whole.
Q: What are your least and most favorite things about being
an author?
A.
My favorite thing. When I’ve written a scene or
a description that I’m really happy with.
A passage that seems just right. It’s so fulfilling.
B.
Least favorite thing -- and, most difficult:
Letting go. By that I mean letting other people (reviewers, readers, friends)
react to my writing the way they do without feeling defensive or basking in
praise too much. Once you release your writing to the world, it becomes alive,
its own being if you will, and you have
no control on how it affects others and how others interact with it.
Q: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve
ever received that you’d pass on to someone just getting started in the
business?
A.
In college I entered a writing contest and asked
the judges if I should continue writing (ie, seeking validation, asking if my
writing was good enough). I didn’t win, but scrawled on the form rejection
letter were the words, “if you have to write, you will write.” In other words,
the person was saying don’t do it for approval, do it for yourself.
Q: Have you ever written a line, paragraph, or passage, and
thought, “Darn, that’s pretty amazing, even if I do say so myself”? What was
it?
Q: What’s the one genre/sub-genre you haven’t written yet,
but would love to? What’s kept you from it so far?
A.
I love
the theatre, which first got me interested in writing, as I said above. So I would like to try my hand at plays. I
took a few classes, but found I was too shy/insecure to have my work critiqued
right there in front of me. As much as form rejections are dispiriting, I
prefer those to “live” critiques.
Q: Let’s talk tropes: do you have a few favorites that you
enjoy both writing and reading? If so, what are they and what makes them your
favorites?
Q: If you could choose one of your books to be adapted for
the silver screen, which would you choose? Why do you think it would translate
well to film?
A.
Well, I’m
partial, of course, but I think the entire Pizza Chronicles series would make a
good miniseries. It has a lot of
characters dealing with various issues, there’s humor, and a lot happens that I
think the average person could identify with.
Also, the characters come from traditional
backgrounds. The main protagonist’s
family is conservative, and the main protagonist himself considers himself a
nerd. Those qualities, coupled with the
main character coming from an immigrant background, provide the struggles and conflicts that the
main character faces. Such shy, quiet people, and those from different
backgrounds, often get lost in a lot of the media and popular attention that’s
out there. The more books we have about
people dealing with these circumstances, the easier it will be, I hope, for
those who come after us.
Q: What’s the one book you’ve read in your lifetime that you
wish you’d written? Why did this particular book leave such a lasting impact on
you?
Q: If I were to interview your main characters, what would they say about you?
A.
They’d say I’m a nice guy, a bit too shy and
afraid of really letting himself go at times.
(That’s why part of me lives through my characters.)
Q: Let’s pretend you’re taking a road trip, and you can
choose any three of your characters to go with you. Who would you want on the
ride-along, and why them?
A.
I’d go anywhere in the world and take along:
1.
Bobby, RV’s first gay crush. Is there a better
moment in life than looking up at the stars with your first crush sitting there
beside you and sharing that moment?
2.
Carole, RV’s first girl crush. Fun-loving and a little naughty, Carole is
the girl who gives RV his first French kiss.
She’d push me to try new things, even if she did get us in trouble on
occasion.
3.
Mr. Aniso, RV’s gay teacher, mentor, and friend.
Someone truly older and wiser who would ground me and extricate me from any
trouble Carole gets me into!
About the Author
Andy V. Roamer grew up in the Boston area and moved to New York City after college. He worked in book publishing for many years, starting out in the children’s and YA books division and then wearing many other hats. This is his first novel about RV, the teenage son of immigrants from Lithuania in Eastern Europe, as RV tries to negotiate his demanding high school, his budding sexuality, and new relationships. He has written an adult novel, Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon, under the pen name Andy V. Ambrose. To relax, Andy loves to ride his bike, read, watch foreign and independent movies, and travel.
Social Media Links
Blog/Website | Facebook | Instagram: andy_v_roamer
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