RJ Scott - Author: Boy Banned

Showing posts with label Boy Banned. Show all posts

Have you Read? Boy Banned

Thursday, 2 November 2017

At the moment I am writing a short birthday story for Amber Kell's birthday bash. When I asked Rachel what book she wanted me to write from she immediately said Boy Banned was one of her favorites.

So I did some re-reading, and loved it as much as a read through as I did writing it.

But, then I came to the part after THE END, my note to readers, and realised that if you haven't read Boy Banned then you may never have seen these words.

So, being in an introspective mood today I thought I would copy them here...

* * * * *

For those of you who follow my Facebook, or my blog, you will know that my son has autism. He is a funny, sweet, angry, confused, perfect, child, and he influences our lives in so many varied ways.

One of the many questions I often get asked, besides the one about writing a sequel to The Christmas Throwaway (one day), is when was I going to write an ASD character.

I have always said I wouldn’t. Because it’s too hard to write a future with love and hope, when I worry so much about Matthew. There, I said it, I admitted it.

But, Matthew isn’t like Corey, he isn’t interested in forming friendships or relationships at the moment, his autism is, for want of a better word, worse, or maybe, just different. He may not have a significant other, but equally he doesn’t have the anxieties that Corey has with social conformity. He just gets on with life in his own way.

Autism is all about swings and roundabouts I think. Some good, some bad, but always perfect in its own way.

But I digress.

When Meredith Russell showed me this premade cover she was looking to put on her website to sell, I had to have it. The cover is beautiful, and I had a story all ready to go. Corey was edgy and Angel was sweet, and their relationship was one of enemies to friends. That is exactly how I was going to write it.

Until.

I started writing it.

And suddenly Corey became more, he was different, struggling in a world others take for granted, and Angel wasn’t his enemy, but his peace. And I knew why. Corey was on the autistic spectrum, knew himself as Asperger and was comfortable with that label.

I couldn’t argue with him. Or Angel, who loved him so hard.

And so, if you take anything from this story of Angel and Corey, I hope you take hope, and trust that there is someone out there for all of us, whatever our view on the world.

Like, maybe there will be one day for my Matthew.

Love and hugs to you all.

RJ, 18 May, 2016, England

✨🎤 Boy Banned 🎤✨

When the only way to win is to hide who you are, how far are you prepared to go?

Reuben “Angel” Jacobs is one step away from giving it all up. Losing a place in the live finals of Sing UK almost kills him. He has no choice but to go home and work for the family business, even though it means giving up his dreams and proving his old bullies right.

Corey Dixon is a rocker at heart. Being on the spectrum means that making sense of other people’s ‘normal’ is hard in itself, let alone in the chaos of a high-powered competition. Singing is his safe space, the only way he can think through the noise in his head. Messing up his audition for the live shows means his journey is over, and it’s the worst day of his life.

The judges throw them a lifeline and create a boy band from the near-miss hopefuls. Angel, Corey, and three others are put together in a room and offered the chance to sing as a group. Agreeing to become part of the new band means Corey has to hide who he is and what Angel has come to mean to him.

Is winning worth the price Corey and Angel have to pay?

#RainbowSnippets - August 5 2017

Saturday, 5 August 2017

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (snippets are 6 sentences long–one for each colour in the Pride flag). You can find all the snippets by clicking here.

RJ is on holiday this week so I'm taking over and I've picked a snippet from one of my favourite RJ books, Boy Banned and the lovely Corey and Angel. ❤ Rachel

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

He didn’t like people touching him, didn’t ask to be touched, but something in Angel spoke to him, and he saw compassion and not dismay in Angel’s eyes. “Fuck.” Corey extricated himself fully from Angel’s arms. The only other person he allowed such close contact with him was Aunt Mim, so where had this come from? He’d wanted to say “I can’t bear wearing this stuff, it’s scratchy and it hurts,” but who would he tell? The stylists, who would look at him as if he were an alien? Or Angel, who he didn’t even know that well?

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

Boy Banned - Out Now

When the only way to win is to hide who you are, how far are you prepared to go?

Reuben “Angel” Jacobs is one step away from giving it all up. Losing a place in the live finals of Sing UK almost kills him. He has no choice but to go home and work for the family business, even though it means giving up his dreams and proving his old bullies right.

Corey Dixon is a rocker at heart. Being on the spectrum means that making sense of other people’s ‘normal’ is hard in itself, let alone in the chaos of a high-powered competition. Singing is his safe space, the only way he can think through the noise in his head. Messing up his audition for the live shows means his journey is over, and it’s the worst day of his life.

The judges throw them a lifeline and create a boy band from the near-miss hopefuls. Angel, Corey, and three others are put together in a room and offered the chance to sing as a group. Agreeing to become part of the new band means Corey has to hide who he is and what Angel has come to mean to him.

Is winning worth the price Corey and Angel have to pay?

Buy Links

The Winner Takes It All - Boy Banned

Sunday, 16 April 2017

Five solo artists pushed together to form a new boy band. What could possibly go wrong?

This is the song the guys choose for their hero’s week. It’s all Corey’s idea, because he sees music in a very different way to the other four. He sees music as a way of speaking, as a way of telling a story, and to him, this song tells a story that needs to be sung. The band isn’t stupid, they know that to win public votes they need to have a song that people recognize, and one that people love.

I love this song so much, mostly because it is my favorite ABBA song (alongside Gimmee Gimmee Gimmee).

“Okay, this is for the first show only. Corey? What do you think?”
“That we should do Winner Takes It All, that we work on the harmonies, and that we move as little as possible.”
“One thing though, are Abba our heroes?” Toby asked, and it was a fair question.
“I love Abba,” DK offered. That seemed to be enough for everyone.
“Okay, let’s vote on that,” Angel said. He raised his own hand, as did Corey, Scott and Toby followed quickly, with DK only a few seconds later.
And that was how they decided their first song, and came in at just under the extra fifteen minutes.
And how the responsibility for how they did that week would be resting on his and Corey’s shoulders.

You can watch (and listen) to this song here – on YouTube - https://youtu.be/iyIOl-s7JTU
(all excerpts in these posts are unedited)

The Book

When the only way to win is to hide who you are, how far are you prepared to go?

Reuben “Angel” Jacobs is one step away from giving it all up. Losing a place in the live finals of Sing UK almost kills him. He has no choice but to go home and work for the family business, even though it means giving up his dreams and proving his old bullies right.

Corey Dixon is a rocker at heart. Being on the spectrum means that making sense of other people’s ‘normal’ is hard in itself, let alone in the chaos of a high-powered competition. Singing is his safe space, the only way he can think through the noise in his head. Messing up his audition for the live shows means his journey is over, and it’s the worst day of his life.

The judges throw them a lifeline and create a boy band from the near-miss hopefuls. Angel, Corey, and three others are put together in a room and offered the chance to sing as a group. Agreeing to become part of the new band means Corey has to hide who he is and what Angel has come to mean to him.

Is winning worth the price Corey and Angel have to pay?

Buy Links

Paper Back Links

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Reviews

Sexy Erotic Exciting Book reviews 5/5 Boy Banned is a book not to be missed.

There are times in life when a person can honestly say that a book touches their life. Boy Banned by R.J. Scott was such a book.

Ms. Scott delivered such a touching and heartwarming story ... The flawless writing facilitated a beautifully written tale of young men attempting to make it into the world of music and oh wait…one of them happened to have Asperger Syndrome. "

The Geekery Book Review 4-4.5 I highly recommend this wonderful story!

I could gush more about Corey and Angel and the relationship they build together, but I’ll just say you should definitely read this book!

Bookaholics-Not-So-Anonymous 4.5 Boy Banned was sweet with a tiny dash of angst...

The author tackled Corey's status with sensitivity, portraying how his behavior elicits varying reactions from people, but when he's with those who truly care about him, it's all about care and patience.

Multitasking Mommas 5/5 RJ went over and above this one

I couldn't recommend this book more and seriously, just the second time this year I can honestly say, multiply the rating by five and there you have it.

Diverse Readers This is a stunning story. Entertaining and touching!

Their interactions, moments, all of it. It was written so brilliantly that I had tears in my eyes at the beauty of it all.

Rainbow Book Reviews The love that grows between them is amazing. Corey and Angel, are perfect together.

It’s heartwarming and gives hope to everyone who feels they are different.

Cathy Writes Romance 5/5 My favorite thing about this book is it didn’t just focus on Corey and Angel.

Their romance was sweet, slowly built from Corey’s need to be grounded, Angels understanding and how all the guys accepted each other’s differences.

Archaeolibrarian 5/5 STOP!!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT OPENING THIS BOOK...

... at least, not until you can sit down and read it without interruption because, trust me, you will NOT want to be disturbed until you've finished it!

Zipper Rippers 4/5 A must-read for any romance fan.

There was angst, there was drama (but not too over the top), real emotions from real people and the romance between Cory an Angel was so sweet and romantic.

Making It Happen 4.5 Oh, and don't be surprised if you become a little emotional while reading-this book will definitely do that to you!

The politics of the show made me want to scream, and Brianna...I don't even want to go there as I may say things I might regret later. Well, no...I wouldn't regret them at all. You'll see when you read it what I mean (GRRRR...).

Wicked Reads 4/5 Can Corey merge with these other people and be a cohesive unit?

The autism aspect of the book was interesting and I felt portrayed well.

The Novel Approach 4/5 Boy Banned is simply this: a feel-good book, unrepentantly so, full of optimism and happy beginnings.

RJ Scott is always a sure-bet author for me when I’m looking for a romance novel I can really sink my whole heart into, and boy oh boy, is Boy Banned that book.

Bayou Book Junkie 4.5 I really enjoyed Boy Banned and definitely recommend it.

Boy Banned might not be the first book about the creation of a boy band and certainly not the last but the characters are definitely a fresh take on the story!

Joyfully Jay 5/5 Boy Banned is a book which touched my heart and gave me hope.

However, Boy Banned is not a story about ASD, though this helps the reader in understanding Corey and his initial need for Angel’s comfort. Boy Banned is a story about love, friendship, and identity.

Prism Book Alliance 4/5 His sheer need for Angel and the way Angel so quickly becomes able to read him is fascinating and so hopeful.

I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to read but I did feel it would be accurate given what it means to the author and boy did she do a fantastic job with it.

New to RJ?

Sunday, 12 February 2017

So i got asked this week by a fellow author, that thorny question, which RJ Scott book should I read? I immediately flailed a lot, looked at my back list, felt like none of it was worthy - the usual thing a lot of creative people do.

In the end I recommended my Montana series, which is the newest of my series. And, also The Heart Of Texas, which is book 1 in my Texas series, with the warning it's like very soap-opery,

Then, my chiropractor admitted she'd bought and read The Christmas Throwaway. She said she really liked it which was enough for me to turn scarlet. LOL.

So, I thought I'd try to create a primer for my books, but seriously, this is hard. I've been publiushed since 2010, and I've written over 100 stories, a mix of novels. novellas, stanalones, and series books. I have also co-authored some books...

Here goes with some random observations and places to start...

Series books (MM)

Family, saga, drama, The Texas Series (and Legacy, the offshoot), The Montana Series. Both of these set in an around ranches, with various stories and some different couples. The Montana series is quite angsty in book 2 and 3. There is also Ellery Mountain, a series of novellas, and this is being re-released in full in May. Sapphire Cay (co-authored)

Drama, action, guns, The Sanctuary Series, Bodyguard Series, Heroes,

Paranormal, drama, Oracle Series, The Fire Trilogy, End Street,

Co-authored End Street

Standalone titles (MM)

Christmas, Family, all my Christmas books are here, and include The Christmas Throwaway, New York Christmas, Jesse's Christmas... and more...

Action, drama, Alpha, Delta,

Angst, Emotion, family, Boy Banned, Deefur Dog, The Bucket List, The Decisions we make

Other bits and pieces! Three (MMM), All the Kings Men (think disaster movie!)

Paranormal The Gallows Tree, The New Wolf

MF titles

Hockey Romance Dragons Hockey

Famil saga, small town, Stanford Creek (includes 2 MF, 1 MM)

Focus on... Boy Banned

Friday, 13 January 2017

Five solo artists pushed together to form a new boy band. What could possibly go wrong?

One of the songs I featured in Boy Banned is Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars.

What I love most about this song is that this IS Corey’s song. Although the five members of Wildcard sing it together, it is Corey who holds this song together. Not only that, it signifies the moment in the book when Corey helps Angel, and when Wildcard are taken as being a serious contender in the show.

There is a passion to this song that suits that part of the book perfectly, a mix of rock and harmony that never fails to make me smile.

There is a quietness to the start of the song and that given Corey time to adjust to what he is doing, a moment when it is just him and the music that makes it easy for him to communicate. And then, when the song starts… Into the night… I get tingles down my spine… lol

Perfect.

Angel gripped the mic hard. The beginning bars of Kings and Queens filled the arena and he Scott and Toby were first in, harmonizing the start, until they backed off and Corey was right there, Into the night…

Corey channeled 30 Seconds to Mars, like he was born to be Jared Leto, and Angel was right there with him. No fancy dancing, no backing singers, no special effects, just them, raw and singing like their lives depended on it.

You can watch (and listen) to this song here – on YouTube - https://youtu.be/hTMrlHHVx8A