Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to be part of the Boy Queen blog tour and today it's my turn. I am so honoured to have a guest post from the author, George Lester, talking about some of his favourite characters.
I then have a review of the book when I'll tell you a little bit about what I thought of it!
First, here is the synopsis:
Read on for George Lester's guest post and my review of Boy Queen...
Favourite Boy Queen Characters and Why by George Lester
Thank you so much for having me! This has actually been one of the hardest posts to write because I love all of the characters from my little world and it is hard to pick between them. But here are a couple of introductions to some of my favourites and why!
Robin
Okay, look, I know it's really popular to dislike the main character of a book but I love Robin with all of my little gay heart. He is a poor confused boy who has big dreams that (at the start of this book) aren't quite coming true. And you know what else? He doesn't cope with that well and he's sort of chaotic and twirly and those are the kind of characters I like to read. He has many flaws and he is working to be a better person and he stumbles a lot along the way. I took a lot of my anxieties that come from being a performer and very much laid them on Robin, using the characters around him to give him the advice that I definitely need to be taking myself.
Natalie
I love her SO VERY MUCH! There is another post in this blog tour where I talk about if these characters are based on people I know, and Natalie very much is. I have been so lucky in my life to have been friends with incredible women that are strong, driven and the most ally-est allies that ever allied. I don't know how I got this lucky if I'm totally honest but to have those kinds of people in my life has saved me on more occasions than I can count and I wanted Robin to have that same network. Natalie sort of represents all of them. She backs Robin on everything that he wants to do, determined to pick him up when he is down, but she will also call him out when he is being a dick. And I think that's what being a good friend is.
Greg
THE AMOUNT OF CONVERSATIONS ME AND MY EDITORS HAD ABOUT GREG IS OBSCENE! We love Greg a lot. He is a sweet, marshmallow straight boy who takes care of Robin like he is an older sibling and I adore him. There was definitely a stage in the editing process where my editor said I'd made Greg a little bit too soft and a little bit too loveable and even with those parts toned down he still seems to be someone I get a lot of tweets and DMs about! Ha! We all love Greg. Everybody needs a Greg!
Priya
Priya was actually one of the most fun characters to write. I'm sure a lot of writers must have this, but you know when a character walks in the room and suddenly the energy changes? Priya is that freaking energy and I am so grateful for her. She wasn't in the initial draft but after discussions with my editors about it, we decided that there needed to be someone at the dance school that Robin interacted with and, almost instantly, Priya was born. She is confident in herself and in her ability as a dancer, as a human being, and I love her for that. We could all stand to be a little bit more Priya.
Mum
When I first set out to write this book, one of the cornerstones of it was that positive relationship between parent and child. My pitch line was Dumplin' meets RuPaul's Drag Race by way of Gilmore Girls so creating that Gilmore Girls dynamic between Robin and his mum was a huge thing to do. Their scenes were some of my favourites to write because I adored their back and forth, it flowed really easily for me and I could have written so many more of their conversations if the book could have been longer. Something else I love is how she would do absolutely anything for Robin, how she is working so hard and constantly backing him on the things he wants to do.
I was going to talk about a couple of different characters in here but realised that I couldn't do it without major spoilers, but please know that I have a huge amount of love for the characters in this book and I really hope you enjoy them too!
Robin Cooper's life is falling apart.
While his friends prepare to head off to University, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it's ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.
Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realises there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .
With a mother who won't stop talking, a boyfriend who won't acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter make up, there's only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway.
Read on for George Lester's guest post and my review of Boy Queen...
- - - - - - - - - -
Favourite Boy Queen Characters and Why by George Lester
Thank you so much for having me! This has actually been one of the hardest posts to write because I love all of the characters from my little world and it is hard to pick between them. But here are a couple of introductions to some of my favourites and why!
Robin
Okay, look, I know it's really popular to dislike the main character of a book but I love Robin with all of my little gay heart. He is a poor confused boy who has big dreams that (at the start of this book) aren't quite coming true. And you know what else? He doesn't cope with that well and he's sort of chaotic and twirly and those are the kind of characters I like to read. He has many flaws and he is working to be a better person and he stumbles a lot along the way. I took a lot of my anxieties that come from being a performer and very much laid them on Robin, using the characters around him to give him the advice that I definitely need to be taking myself.
Natalie
I love her SO VERY MUCH! There is another post in this blog tour where I talk about if these characters are based on people I know, and Natalie very much is. I have been so lucky in my life to have been friends with incredible women that are strong, driven and the most ally-est allies that ever allied. I don't know how I got this lucky if I'm totally honest but to have those kinds of people in my life has saved me on more occasions than I can count and I wanted Robin to have that same network. Natalie sort of represents all of them. She backs Robin on everything that he wants to do, determined to pick him up when he is down, but she will also call him out when he is being a dick. And I think that's what being a good friend is.
Greg
THE AMOUNT OF CONVERSATIONS ME AND MY EDITORS HAD ABOUT GREG IS OBSCENE! We love Greg a lot. He is a sweet, marshmallow straight boy who takes care of Robin like he is an older sibling and I adore him. There was definitely a stage in the editing process where my editor said I'd made Greg a little bit too soft and a little bit too loveable and even with those parts toned down he still seems to be someone I get a lot of tweets and DMs about! Ha! We all love Greg. Everybody needs a Greg!
Priya
Priya was actually one of the most fun characters to write. I'm sure a lot of writers must have this, but you know when a character walks in the room and suddenly the energy changes? Priya is that freaking energy and I am so grateful for her. She wasn't in the initial draft but after discussions with my editors about it, we decided that there needed to be someone at the dance school that Robin interacted with and, almost instantly, Priya was born. She is confident in herself and in her ability as a dancer, as a human being, and I love her for that. We could all stand to be a little bit more Priya.
Mum
When I first set out to write this book, one of the cornerstones of it was that positive relationship between parent and child. My pitch line was Dumplin' meets RuPaul's Drag Race by way of Gilmore Girls so creating that Gilmore Girls dynamic between Robin and his mum was a huge thing to do. Their scenes were some of my favourites to write because I adored their back and forth, it flowed really easily for me and I could have written so many more of their conversations if the book could have been longer. Something else I love is how she would do absolutely anything for Robin, how she is working so hard and constantly backing him on the things he wants to do.
I was going to talk about a couple of different characters in here but realised that I couldn't do it without major spoilers, but please know that I have a huge amount of love for the characters in this book and I really hope you enjoy them too!
- - - - - - - - - -
Now onto my review...
I'll try not to waffle on too much as I honestly think I could sit here for a good couple of hours writing about this book! It really was one of those books that once I picked it up and read that first chapter, getting a really good feel for the characters from those first few pages, I was hooked. George's writing flows beautifully and the story moves at a great pace that keeps it moving but doesn't throw you through the motions of it all too quickly. I also really like the use of text messages to convey parts of the conversation at times.
Overall, I loved it! It was a fun and very enjoyable read that had me constantly turning the pages! The story was unique and works as an insightful look into the world of drag. It's full of fun, friendship and glitter - what more could you want?! I definitely agree that anyone who is a fan of Ru Paul's Drag Race or Everybody's Talking About Jamie will love this, but I would actively encourage anyone to read it. I have already recommended it to two friends who I know will adore this book!
Also, if you don't usually read the acknowledgements at the back of the book then please do with this one. From referencing lockdown and the weird times we find ourselves in to giving shout-outs to some amazing people in George's life and talking about supporting local drag queens, it's a lovely note to read at the end of the book.
Boy Queen is out now and you can purchase your copy here!
Boy Queen is out now and you can purchase your copy here!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete