Modern Monsters
by Kelley York
Release Date: 06/02/15
Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads:
Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went...
And wished he hadn’t.
Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic did it. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry and judgmental kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie’s best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.
But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened that night, they realize that while the truth can set him free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life...
And wished he hadn’t.
Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic did it. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry and judgmental kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie’s best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.
But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened that night, they realize that while the truth can set him free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life...
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It was hard, and your heart aches for these people. I witnessed a lot of tears, and a lot of different ways of expressing grief. Some people completely fell apart and couldn’t even hold a conversation. Others were still in shock, moving about the process mechanically. Others still you could tell were coasting along on adrenaline and would seem fine one second, and breakdown in the next.
This kind of ties into another post I did about different people handling situations like this. For as sad as it was, it did come across as interesting to me, being on the outside looking in at families handling such a big thing like death. Sometimes I think that job might have been what really interested me in learning more about psychology.
I didn’t mean for this post to be such a downer. Can I leave off with a funny mortuary story? One of the other receptionists was very skittish around the bodies and refused to go anywhere near them. Two of the guys—sons of the mortuary owner—decided it would be fun to play a prank on her. One of them laid on a gurney with a sheet over him while the other went into the office to ask Receptionist to come help him bring in some flowers delivered for a service. I’m sure you can imagine the scream she let out when walking by a “body” and it reached out to grab her.
...Okay, so it wasn’t very funny for her.
We won’t go into some of the jokes they played on me.
I told you mortuary people have a dark sense of humor.
Guest Post
Pulling from Personal Experience
A common question I’ve gotten is “Which of your characters are you most like?” and my answer has always been the same: Vincent from Suicide Watch. Not because our personalities are the same, but because writing Vince—all of Suicide Watch, for that matter—was a very difficult, therapeutic experience for me in getting out a lot of toxic thoughts and feelings I went through when I was his age. I’ve suffered from anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember, so when these traits show up in my characters...it may not always be intentional in my part, but it is some of me shining through in my stories.
And yes, as a writer, I think certain plot points come about as a result of experiences. While discussing topics for blog tour posts, one of the lovely ladies at Entangled said, “I also know you worked in a mortuary as a teenager so did you ever pull from anything that you encountered in the mortuary?” I don’t know how she remembered that about me, but bless her.
Because, yes, as a teenager, one of my first jobs was as a receptionist in a mortuary. And it was...definitely an experience the few months I was there. I got to learn about the process of embalming, I often went on deliveries to take bodies to the airport that were being flown out of state to their families, I went on pick-ups with some of the other employees to pick up bodies from hospitals...
Yeah, good time. Let me tell you, mortuary workers have the darkest, driest senses of humor of anyone you’ll ever meet.
But the point I was getting to is that I also witnessed a lot of loss and grief working there. No customer walks into a mortuary with a smile on their face, though some of them try. Either they’re coming in because they’re old and/or ill and want to discuss a pre-plan—where they make their funeral arrangements and pay for it before they pass so their family doesn’t have to—or they’re coming in because they’ve lost someone important.
It was hard, and your heart aches for these people. I witnessed a lot of tears, and a lot of different ways of expressing grief. Some people completely fell apart and couldn’t even hold a conversation. Others were still in shock, moving about the process mechanically. Others still you could tell were coasting along on adrenaline and would seem fine one second, and breakdown in the next.
This kind of ties into another post I did about different people handling situations like this. For as sad as it was, it did come across as interesting to me, being on the outside looking in at families handling such a big thing like death. Sometimes I think that job might have been what really interested me in learning more about psychology.
I didn’t mean for this post to be such a downer. Can I leave off with a funny mortuary story? One of the other receptionists was very skittish around the bodies and refused to go anywhere near them. Two of the guys—sons of the mortuary owner—decided it would be fun to play a prank on her. One of them laid on a gurney with a sheet over him while the other went into the office to ask Receptionist to come help him bring in some flowers delivered for a service. I’m sure you can imagine the scream she let out when walking by a “body” and it reached out to grab her.
...Okay, so it wasn’t very funny for her.
We won’t go into some of the jokes they played on me.
I told you mortuary people have a dark sense of humor.
About the Author
"I like unicorns and cats and games...and stuff..." - quality author quote by Kelley
"I like unicorns and cats and games...and stuff..." - quality author quote by Kelley
Kelley York was born in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, step-daughter, and way too many cats, while fantasizing about moving to England or Ireland. (Or, really, anyplace secluded.) She has a fascination with bells and animals and Disney. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or to at least write about them. She occupies her spare time with video games,designing covers, playing on Tumblr, and watching anime.
Kelley is a sucker for dark fiction. She loves writing twisted characters, tragic happenings, and bittersweet endings that leave you wondering and crying. She strives to make character development take center stage in her books because the bounds of a person's character and the workings of their mind are limitless.
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