Chasing Harmony A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour ➱ Join us for the Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway

 

CHASING HARMONY

by Melanie Bell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE:  Young Adult LGBTQ+

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour.

Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story, featuring a bisexual protagonist, for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines on Prince Edward Island and Vancouver, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.

Piano prodigy Anna Stern is used to having all eyes on her. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.

Anna finds refuge in her best friend, Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans. However, now their relationship is changing and Anna is starting to fall for her. Adding to the complicated status is new kid Darien, who is always vying for Anna's attention.

As the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by, an upcoming performance with Liss will determine both of their futures. With everything building to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

She blows out the flame, crushes the poster into a ball as bits of ash flake off. She can’t let them catch this.

Another voice: “I swear I didn’t burn anything!”

She grabs the stack of old band posters from the file shelf and stuffs them in her bag. No one else working at The Green Staircase cares about these posters. It was Anna’s idea to keep them.

“Maybe it’s the radiator.”

All those bands, her pride and joy. Who was she kidding?

“I think it’s coming from over there—”

Quick! Into the alley, garbage bins reeking. What bin should burnt paper go in—recycling? Compost? She tosses and runs wildly down the street. Her shift is over. She’s done her job.

Out of habit, she stops at the community center on the corner. It’s late Friday evening, still open, no floor hockey games or beading club for underprivileged youth. No one at the pool tables or arcade.

She rushes to the piano.

No one is there to clap as she launches into the band’s last number, a tender little piece sung by Mustache Man whose burnt face now graces a compost bin. She hasn’t played it before, but that isn’t a problem. Her fingers relish the slick feel of keys, the quick acrobatics of motion. She riffs on the melody, improvises, and adds a solo section. For those lyrics she remembers, she sings along, not powerfully but perfectly in key.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST

Often, books inspire other books. I was reading two novels – Leonard Cohen’s The Favourite Game and Melissa Bank’s The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing – when I got the idea for Chasing Harmony. I was also inspired by books I read while writing, including novels about music that I read as research.

Then there were the books I read while writing that had nothing to do with my story, but had a hand in shaping it anyway. One of these was Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things.

In this beautifully crafted novel, Roy innovates with language. She invents new terms and combines words for effect. I loved that! Some of this inventive spirit crept into Chasing Harmony when I created the characters’ imaginary world, with its own goddess, chants, and childlike religion.

I also combined words and used partial sentences for traumatic scenes, conveying the way the character couldn’t think in full sentences.

Roy’s writing style had an impact on my craft. I also did a lot of my own careful thinking about how to use words in different ways to convey Anna’s world.

When I wrote about playing music, I used vivid images, like animals and plants, to show Anna’s thoughts. She is conscious of small details and often thinks in metaphors.

Being a writer, I never grew out of having imaginary friends! They just matured into characters in my stories. Anna is similar. She and her best friend Liss invent a musical goddess, Ay-a, who is a lifelong presence in Anna’s life.

Anna also lives in dialogue with an imaginary version of herself. “Another Anna” makes all the choices that Anna doesn’t. I bet a lot of us have alternate selves like this. I certainly do.

Another element of craft that I used is characters’ writing. I included some of Anna’s book report notes, letters between characters, song lyrics (I had fun writing these), and old journal entries from Anna’s mother that shed new light on both the mother and the daughter’s lives.

I put a lot of thought and care into each chapter of Chasing Harmony. I hope it pays off in joy and connection!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Melanie Bell is a Canadian multi-genre writer living in the UK. Her books include a short story collection, Dream Signs, a nonfiction title, The Modern Enneagram, and the YA novel Chasing Harmony. She has written for several publications including Contrary, Cicada, The Fiddlehead, and Huffington Post. She loves music, art, and nature, and aspires to see as much of the world as she can.

Melanie’s Digital Footprint 

http://inspireenvisioning.com/

https://www.facebook.com/InspireEnvisioning/

https://twitter.com/InspireEnvision

Read Furiously’s Digital Footprint

https://readfuriously.com/

http://facebook.com/readfuriously

https://www.instagram.com/readfuriously/

http://twitter.com/readfuriously

Where to purchase Chasing Harmony (print)

https://readfuriously.com/products/chasing-harmony

https://bookshop.org/p/books/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/18542996

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/1141640134

https://www.target.com/p/chasing-harmony-by-melanie-bell-paperback/-/A-87380558

https://www.waterstones.com/book/chasing-harmony/melanie-bell/9781737175896

Where to purchase Chasing Harmony (digital)

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/1141640134?ean=9781960869999

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/chasing-harmony

https://www.scribd.com/book/631773896/Chasing-Harmony

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Harmony-Melanie-Bell-ebook/dp/B0BYSRC29S

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#lgbtq #fiction #youngadult #melaniebell #goddessfish 

Hosted by http://www.goddessfish.com

Melanie Bell will award a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway