Long and Short Reviews welcomes Steven Harper who is visiting with us to celebrate today’s release of The Importance of Being Kevin.
Grandma’s House: We didn’t have much money when I was young (this was part of the inspiration for Kevin and his father in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING KEVIN), so my parents had to get creative with vacations. As it happened, my grandmother lived in Cadillac, Michigan. Her tumble-down house was in the middle of a bunch of woods and farmland, and not far from Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell. And so for several summers, we spent our vacations in her back yard. We slept on cots on the porch, or pitched pup tents in the backyard. My siblings and I explored the woods, swam in the lake, and rode our bikes around Cadillac’s hilly downtown. Every year, I made it a personal tradition to bike all the way around both lakes. This took up most of a day. It’s one my favorite childhood memories.
Higgins Lake: In the middle of Michigan is a huge, crystal-clear lake called Higgins Lake. Part of the shore includes a state park, and this was another inexpensive vacation option for my cash-strapped parents. My brother, sister, and I rode our bikes all over the trails, played on the playground, and spent our allowance at the camp store. The wooded trails created an endless labyrinth, and the hill above the campground was precipitously steep–perfect for speeding down on a bicycle. But I went back there as an adult and was amused to discover the trails are are actually short and limited, and the steep hill I remembered is a gentle slope. A piece of my childhood–warped by memory!
Michigan Cottages: When I got older, camping lost its appeal. Everything from cooking to going to the bathroom to bathing is work. Still, it was about the only way I knew to have a vacation. Traveling and staying in hotels and eating at restaurants are all so expensive! Then one year, on impulse, I splurged and rented a cottage on a Michigan lake. It was a complete delight! All the advantages of a house–kitchen, bathroom, shower, bedroom, bed, roof and porch when it rained–and none of the disadvantages of camping–outdoor toilets, bugs, campfire cooking, lack of hot water. And I could walk out the back door straight onto the beach. Heaven! This is how I spend nearly all my vacations now.
Mackinac Island: Mackinac Island is pronounced “mack-in-aw,” and it’s just off the Michigan coastline near Mackinaw City (note the spelling) near Fort Michilimackinac (ditto). If that doesn’t make you want to vacation there, nothing will! Mackinac Island has been a vacation spot since the 1800s. They invented the concept of selling fudge to tourists. Cars and trucks are forbidden on the island; walking, bikes, and horse-drawn carriages provide all transport. The island air is cool and refreshing (a change in Michigan’s hot, muggy summers), and the island itself is so chock-full of charm and fun that it’s always a joy to visit. So I visit a lot.
Cemeteries: It’s true! I’m a history buff and a cemetery buff. So is my husband. Whenever we go somewhere (say, a Michigan cottage), we hunt up the local cemetery and wander through it. (Mackinac Island has more than one awesome cemetery, in fact.) We love playing detective. How is this person related to that person? Why did this person die so young? Why is this grave separated from all the others? Every single stone represents a story. This fascinates us no end, and we probably spend more time in graveyards than is good for us!
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Kevin Devereaux’s life can’t get worse. He’s on probation. He’s stuck with an unemployed ex-convict dad. And he lives in a run-down trailer on the crappy east side of town. To keep his probation officer happy, Kevin joins a theater program for teenagers and falls hard for Peter Finn, the lead actor in the show—and the son of the town’s leading family. Despite their differences, Peter returns Kevin’s feelings, and for the first time, Kevin learns what it means to be in love.
But Peter’s family won’t accept a gay son—let alone a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks—and in their conservative town, they must keep the romance secret. Still, they have the play, and they have each other, so they’ll get by—
Until a brutal attack shatters Kevin’s life and puts Peter in danger of going to jail for murder.
About the Author: Steven Harper Piziks was born with a last name no one can reliably spell or pronounce, so he usually writes under the name Steven Harper. He grew up on a farm in Michigan but has also lived in Wisconsin and Germany, and spent extensive time in Ukraine. So far, he’s written more than two dozen novels and over fifty short stories and essays. When not writing, he plays the folk harp, lifts weights, and spends more time on-line and in cemeteries than is probably good for him. He teaches high school English in southeast Michigan, where he lives with his husband and youngest son. His students think he’s hysterical, which isn’t the same as thinking he’s funny.
Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Indie Bound, or Google Books.
Too much of a good thing?
The narrator, Johnny, seems to have been born to succeed. He is a journalist, has friends, a loving family, an excellent education and a marvelous lover, Lex. But all starts to go wrong when a minor difference causes a rift between the two. Is it coincidence that the same night, the flat they share is set alight and Johnny only narrowly escapes. As he has identified a terrorist, he is given protection and a new identity by the police. But even here he is not safe and an explosion kills his two minders. Terrified, Johnny tries to hide himself in London. Who can he trust? He eventually finds out in a terrifying climax. ‘I’ll follow you to the Ends of the Earth’. Is that a threat or a loving promise?
Michael Gouda was born and raised in London, England. He served as a National Serviceman in the R.A.F. where, he claims, he lost his virginity. Then he went back to the commercial life. After a change of direction in his thirties, he left the world of commerce and entered that of education becoming a teacher at a Comprehensive School in Worcestershire, England. Since retiring he lives in a limestone cottage in the Cotswolds with a neurotic Border collie. He has written short stories included in anthologies and crime novels. 
By 4042 CE, the Hierophant and his Church have risen to political dominance with his cannibalistic army of genetically modified humans: martyrs. In an era when mankind’s intergenerational cold wars against their long-lived predators seem close to running hot, the Holy Family is poised on the verge of complete planetary control. It will take a miracle to save humanity from extinction.
M.F. Sullivan is the author of Delilah, My Woman, The Lightning Stenography Device, and a slew of plays in addition to the Trilogy. She lives in Ashland, Oregon with her boyfriend and her cat, where she attends the local Shakespeare Festival and experiments with the occult. 
Seth Arnold learned at an early age that two things in life could make his soul soar—his violin and Kelly Cruz. In Seth’s uncertain childhood, the kindness of the Cruz family, especially Kelly and his brother, Matty, gave Seth the stability to make his violin sing with the purest sound and opened a world of possibility beyond his home in Sacramento.
Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.
Born to be enemies. Raised to hate each other.
Love never goes out of style.
Includes the Coda series prequel novella, Meant to Be
Marie Sexton is the author of over thirty published works. She’s written contemporary romance, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian fiction, historical short stories, and a few odd genre mash-ups. Marie lives in Colorado, where she recently fell head-over-heels in love with the Colorado Eagles. She’s happily married, with one teenage daughter, one adorable dog, and one very stupid cat. 
Maury Garcia’s one of the greatest bull riders in the world—and one of the biggest liars. Can he turn forbidden love with a rodeo rookie into a lasting romance? 
Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her best-selling stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes — the beautiful boys of romance — and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers. She also loves to hear from you. 
Ashland Wells is an actor of sci-fi cult fame but with little direction for the future, when handsome grad student Remy Beaumont lands in his lap at a fan convention. Remy is everything Ash ever wanted and wished he could be—including out and proud. For twelve hours they’re the best of friends. But the convention ends, and saying goodbye to Remy might be the biggest mistake Ash has ever made.
