The Signs We Missed by Lena S. May - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Lena S. May and her new book, “The Signs We Missed,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Lena and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

The Signs We Missed

by Lena S. May

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GENRE:  LGBTQIA+ Contemporary Fiction

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BLURB:

Thrown out by his mother, 17-year-old Luke hopes to overcome his narcotic addiction and depression by changing his surroundings. At his new school, he quickly becomes friends with Sean, but finding that his developing feelings aren’t returned, Luke retreats into old habits. Determined to hide his self-injurious behavior and an advancing eating disorder, he soon risks much more than a broken heart.

When Sean meets Luke, the last thing on his mind is falling in love with a boy. Grappling with his own conflicting emotions and trying to keep them from his suspicious girlfriend, he brushes off Luke’s strange behavior. But when Luke suddenly cuts him off, Sean is forced to confront the truth and take action to save his best friend.

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EXCERPT ONE:

It's my fault.

I'm not sure how yet, but it's what the white blank hospital room walls keep hammering into my head as the pungent, antiseptic smell makes my eyes water when all I'm trying to do is keep my composure.

My fault.

It's what they're all trying to say – the half-dead, bled-out body of the boy lying in the bed beside me, his fingers slowly losing their grip on mine, the over-worked and under-paid nurse already rushing down the corridor, the non-specialist assistant doctor, paying half his attention to the arrhythmically beeping monitor, the other half to fumbling his phone to mute.

And then there's my brother, leaning against the wall in the corner, his crystal blue eyes asking not what I've done but when I'd planned on telling him that I was gay – which I'm really not. When I don't react, he looks down to the face resting on the pillow next to my elbow, and I do, too: empty whiteness staring back. I'm beginning to think it's burning into my retina, sucking every last speck of color out of the sky as I finally raise my glance to the window. I can't let myself get lost in the void that is now his face if I want to clear my head, but there isn't a single cloud drifting by to take hold of my attention, not a single leaf left in the trees, no bird, not even a gust of wind. It's just me and my trembling heart and my racing thoughts, and yet, my loneliness is nothing in the face of what I now know he has been going through.

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GUEST POST:

My Favorite Motivational Phrase – and How It Influences My Writing Journey

I think that one of the things about motivation that many writers struggle with in the early stages of their journey is uncertainty – it has been for me, anyway. If your goal is to publish a novel, you usually have to put a whole lot of work into that without knowing whether you’ll eventually find a home for it. Making time for that work is a challenge of its own, and depending on your situation, another part of your life might fall short for a while. For me, that part were my courses at university (I quit four or five of those in the semester during which I finished writing the first draft of The Signs We Missed). I was pretty optimistic about finding a publisher at that point, but I’ve heard countless unsolicited remarks about how I should get my priorities in order and focus on finishing my degree. Temporarily, those statements worked like a motivational charm themselves – being told your goal can’t be reached kind of makes you want to reach it twice as much, doesn’t it?

Once I began educating myself about the querying process and getting into touch with other aspiring writers in similar situations, though, that effect wore off. Most people I talked to had an entire stack of rejections under their belt – for books that I felt were way more likely to be picked up than mine. I concluded that the competition out there must be so huge that I don’t stand a chance, and my motivation dropped pretty significantly. I tried anyway, since the draft was done and I felt I didn’t have anything to lose, and I collected my own stack of rejections. I figured I could polish the draft and try again, but I felt like I was competing against thousands of people more talented than me.

Then, I found that phrase that really changed the way I viewed the publishing process, and many other things, actually. I came across it while aimlessly scrolling through Instagram, and I haven’t been able to find it again since I first read it, so I don’t know who it’s even from (if you do, please let me know!). I thought about it a lot, and what I learned from it, is…there is no competition. I’m not up against anybody, and nobody is up against me. Bringing our stories to life may be a goal we all share as writers, but I think we’ve all got our own road to walk, in our own pace, to get exactly where we’re meant to get. I got a little better at being patient and just letting things happen, and not confusing temporary setbacks for ultimate defeats (a little better, which is far from perfect, but still). And I actually found it helpful and somewhat comforting in all sorts of situations, like applying for an apartment or a new job. In hindsight, I think, we’ll often be able to understand why one thing or the other didn’t work out, and why not getting that apartment or job – or book deal! – was actually in our favor because it allowed us to receive what was actually – oh, wait, that’s the phrase:

Nobody else can take what’s meant for me, and I don’t want what was meant for somebody else.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Lena S. May is a Germany-based author and student. Living with her dog, she enjoys long walks, ideally followed by a cup of tea and an equally long reading session. After graduating university with a degree in English and American and German Studies, she is working towards her Master of Education to become a secondary school teacher. With her writing, Lena hopes to raise more awareness for mental health and the importance of looking out for one another and oneself. Her debut novel will be published in August 2022.

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CONNECT WITH LENA:

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Lena_S_May

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/Lena_S_May

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22427784.Lena_S_May

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61105368-the-signs-we-missed

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3bALZb7

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3bHML66

Amazon US Hardcover:

https://amzn.to/3vTNPdR

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Signs-We-Missed-Lena-May-ebook/dp/B09YVLCNKQ

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Signs-We-Missed-Lena-May/dp/195397144X

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/Signs-We-Missed-Lena-May/dp/1953971458

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Lena will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.