Friday Feature & Giveaway: Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

This is the last stop on the Junior Hero Blues blog tour! I’m relieved to finally be finished, but of course a little sad that it’s over. This book means a lot to me, not just because it’s a queer novel written for queer kids, but because it’s a comedy. It’s cheerful and light hearted and the overall message is that a group of people dedicated to helping people and doing the right thing can succeed. In the past I’ve written a lot of dark stuff, and been in dark places. I’m not out of those dark places just yet, but I think writing something as happy and hopeful as Junior Hero Blues is a step in the right direction.

Have some excerpts

I finished writing down lack of productivity is the price of encouraged dissent and looked up at him. “Did you ever want to quit?”

“I did,” he said softly. “I had thoughts that I could do better on my own, that the Legion was broken, that it had never worked. But . . .” He shifted in his seat. “There’s some part of me that strongly believes in the power of intent. A group of people truly dedicated to making the world a better place, even if a lot of the time we fall short of our goal, or we . . . make mistakes that hurt people.” He glanced at me. “That’s a group of people I want to belong to. I’m afraid I can’t speak for anyone else.”

~

It was both selfish and immature of me to expect the Legion to be the perfectly good entity that the media tried to make it out to be. When I’d joined, I’d thought that the Legion members were the good guys, and the Organization were the bad guys. But I knew now that there were no good guys, just people trying, and sometimes failing, to do the right thing. Maybe there were no bad guys either.

Except no, I knew there were. The people who experimented on Rick and probably countless others, who killed and hurt people when they were inconvenient, they weren’t good. And they weren’t trying to be, no matter what Rick thought.

I had abilities, gifts, whatever they were, and I knew deep down that I couldn’t ignore them forever. It was who I was, as much as the glowing blue marks on my skin and my attraction to muscly guys were. I had to choose, whether to use my abilities for personal gain, for power, or to try my best to do good, to do the right thing, even if I didn’t always get it right.

And that was what the Legion was. Not a perfect force for good straight out of a comic book. Just a group of people trying to do the right thing. And that was why I belonged with them.

I don’t tend to purposely put morals into my books. I just write, and let the characters come to their own conclusions. This is the conclusion Javier comes to in his own story, but it’s not necessarily what other people think. Still, Javier is a lot like me, and in my own life, I believe that it’s worth it to keep trying to make the world a better place. Whether that’s by fighting for LGBT+ rights, or just by writing books about queer people being happy, I think every little bit is important. That’s why I write, even though sometimes it’s hard and I burn myself out. I can only do what I can do, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks for coming along with me, and I hope we can do this again in the future!

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Don’t forget to leave a comment with your name and email address for a chance to win one of three Amazon gift cards. Thank you for reading!


Title: Junior Hero Blues by JK Pendragon
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Imprint: Triton
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, M/M, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi
Length: 216 pages/Word Count: 58,800

Summary:

Last year, Javier Medina was your average socially awkward gay high schooler with a chip on his shoulder. This year, he’s . . . well, pretty much the same, but with bonus superpowers, a costume with an ab window to show off his new goods, and a secret identity as the high-flying, wise-cracking superhero Blue Spark.

But being a Junior Hero means that Javier gets all the responsibility and none of the cool gadgets. It’s hard enough working for the Legion of Liberty and fighting against the evil Organization, all while trying to keep on top of schoolwork and suspicious parents. Add in a hunky boyfriend who’s way out of Javier’s league, and an even hunkier villain who keeps appearing every time said boyfriend mysteriously disappears, and Blue Spark is in for one big dollop of teenage angst. All while engaging in some epic superhero action and, oh yeah, an all-out battle to protect Liberty City from the forces of evil.

Welcome to the 100% true and totally unbiased account of life as a teenage superhero.

Add to Goodreads.

Purchase Link: Riptide Publishing


Author Bio

J.K. Pendragon is a Canadian author with a love of all things romantic and fantastical. They first came to the queer-fiction community through m/m romance, but soon began to branch off into writing other queer fiction. As a bisexual and genderqueer person, J.K. is dedicated to producing diverse, entertaining fiction that showcases characters across the rainbow spectrum, and provides queer characters with the happy endings they are so often denied.

After writing in the romance community for several years, Junior Hero Blues is J.K.’s first book for young adults. Having been very positively affected by the queer books they came across as a teen, J.K. hopes their young adult books can have a similar effect on teens who may have a harder time finding books about people like themselves.

Notable works by J.K. Pendragon include Ink & Flowers, a contemporary romance novel with coming out themes, and To Summon Nightmares, a horror-fantasy that follows the journey of a young trans man into a world of magic and danger. To Summon Nightmares is the winner of the 2015 Rainbow Awards’ Best Transgender Fiction award. J.K. also contributed to Less Than Three Press’s Geek Out: A Collection of Trans and Genderqueer Romance.

J.K. currently resides in British Columbia, Canada, with a boyfriend, a cat, and a large collection of artisanal teas that they really need to get around to drinking. They are always happy to chat, and can be reached at jes.k.pendragon@gmail.com and on twitter @JKPendragon.

Author Links: Website * Blog * Twitter * Tumblr * Goodreads


Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Junior Hero Blues, three lucky winners will receive $15 in Amazon credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 12, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

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16 Comments

Filed under Blog Tour, Contest, Excerpt, Friday Feature

16 Responses to Friday Feature & Giveaway: Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

  1. James Robert

    Thanks so much for the excerpts and giveaway as well

  2. Ami

    Whether that’s by fighting for LGBT+ rights, or just by writing books about queer people being happy, I think every little bit is important.

    Writing is as much as important because it gives information and knowledge to the readers. Heck, I learn about my asexuality through MM romance books that I read. Thanks for the books, giveaway chance, and good luck for your future books.

    amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com

  3. Elaine White

    I pre-ordered this and can’t wait to read it!

    And thanks for the giveaway. <3

  4. susana

    I’ve been following the tour, and I’ve enjoyed every single stop. Thank you!
    susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com

  5. Liz Marshall

    I love the blurb and excerpts. This definately sounds like a great read. A cheerful read is definately something I need at the moment and I love this mix of genres! I’ll definately be adding it to my TBR! Congratulations on the release! Gorgeous cover too!

  6. Kate Sparks

    I so enjoyed this from you. I love it when authors write things that speak to a smaller group that needs to hear special things.

  7. Jen

    Thanks for a fun tour! And I agree that writing is important. I have learned so much from reading novels and expanded my world and empathy for others.

    jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com

  8. Timitra

    Thanks for the chance!

    taccb (underscore) 1981 (at) yahoo (dot) com

  9. H.B.

    It’s been a great tour. Thank you for the post!
    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

  10. Trix

    It’s been a great tour…keep on keepin’ on, we need you!

    vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

  11. Lisa

    Thanks for the post & excerpt. And thanks for doing what you do to try to make the world a better place. If it weren’t for people like you, people like me might not be doing things to try to make the world a better place either.
    legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com

  12. BookLady

    Congrats on the new release! Thanks for sharing the great excerpts.

  13. Meredith Miller

    Sounds fun! Superpowers–just something else to make the teens awkward years.
    meredithfl at gmail dot com

  14. Ree Dee

    I can’t wait to read more. Thank you so much for sharing and the giveaway!

    ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com

  15. flutterfli

    Wow, this sounds like a great read! Going on my TBR list.
    flutterfli01 (at) yahoo ( dot) com

  16. joy f

    Thanks.
    magic5905 at embarqmail dot com