About this item
Publishers WeeklyHartinger (Project Sweet Life) gives his usual slice-of-life style a paranormal twist in this metaphysical thriller. As a mostly closeted gay teenager living with his younger brother and grandparents in a small island community in the Pacific Northwest, Zach relies on the Internet for social interaction. When he's grounded for a minor infraction and loses his online privileges, he starts experimenting with astral projection, though with little luck. After his brother is kidnapped, Zach again turns to astral projection in an attempt to find him. Teaming up with another teenager he meets on the astral plane, Zach and his cute new ally race against time to prevent a tragedy, little suspecting that an even greater danger is stalking them.
About the Author
My name is Brent Hartinger, and I live to write.
For the last twenty years, I have made my living writing just about everything that involves words: novels, screenplays, plays, web content, even greeting cards. These days, I write in lots of genres in many different mediums.
I love mysteries and thrillers, and one of my latest projects is a dark and edgy gay teen book -- part horror, part puzzle box thriller -- called THREE TRUTHS AND A LIE (Simon & Schuster) . It was just nominated for an Edgar Award, which is the mystery genre's top honor.
I'm also the author of a number of books featuring a gay character named Russel Middlebrook, as well as his collection of quirky friends, as they try to make sense out of love and life. I tried to give these books a lot of heart and humor.
The first book about Russel, my 2003 young adult novel GEOGRAPHY CLUB, was adapted as a feature film in 2013, starring Scott Bakula, Ana Gasteyer, and Nikki Blonsky (and the movie is now being developed as a TV series) . One of the book's sequels won the Lambda Award.
The latest of these books is THE OTTO DIGMORE DIFFERENCE, the first book in a new stand-alone series for adults, The Otto Digmore Series, about one of Russel's friends.
The next most recent books are Russel Middlebrook: the Futon Years, also a stand-alone series and also for adults:
* THE THING I DIDN'T KNOW I DIDN'T KNOW (book #1)
* BAREFOOT IN THE CITY OF BROKEN DREAMS (book #2)
* THE ROAD TO AMAZING (book #3)
Finally, I first wrote about Russel in a young adult series, for teens and adults, called The Russel Middlebrook Series.
In order, the books in The Russel Middlebrook Series are:
* GEOGRAPHY CLUB (book #1)
* THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK (book #2)
* DOUBLE FEATURE: ATTACK OF THE SOUL-SUCKING BRAIN ZOMBIES/BRIDE OF THE SOUL-SUCKING BRAIN ZOMBIES (book #3)
* THE ELEPHANT OF SURPRISE (book #4)
* TWO THOUSAND POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH (a free short story)
For the record, I try hard to write books that people like to read. The most frequent comment I get from readers is that my books are "page-turners," which makes me very happy, because that is exactly what I want them to be. If I had to describe my own books, I would say, "Strong central concept, strong plot, strong character and voice." (I may not always succeed in creating these things, but they're what I always strive for.)
Brent HartingerMy biggest complaint with books I hate is that they don't get to the point (or, worse, they don't have a point!) . I get frustrated that so many books have a cliche or overdone central concept, or that they're all atmosphere and world-building (or "beautiful language" or "voice" in the case of some literary novels) with no real story.
