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Guest Blogger - Brynn Stein
Mar. 8th, 2015 08:00 amHey everyone, welcome Brynn Stein back to my blog with her newest offering! It's from the young adult, Harmony Ink imprint.
This is the sixth stop on my blog tour. I’m having such fun, as I always do on these tours, talking about various aspects of writing in general, and Ray of Sunlight in particular and getting to know all of you. Thanks so much for following the tour. If this is your first stop, feel free to go back and comment on the other three, listed below, to be entered to win one of five prizes. More about that later.
Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Jana. It’s always nice to visit.
As always, I find that homophobia and religion crept into this book when I wasn’t looking.
I live in an ultraconservative, small town in the Bible Belt. The people I work with are over the top fundamentalists. I often share some of the stories of things that happen to work on my blog in a recurring feature called Tales from the Bible Belt. Some of these people look like they’re two dimensional characters and they’re actual people. I’ve known some of them for almost four years now and couldn’t tell you one way that they’ve grown as a person. They feel they are “God’s chosen people” and apparently that mean they have no more room for personal growth.
Russ parents are modeled heavily on my bible thumping coworker, and another staff member whom I refer to as Mary in my Tales from the Bible Belt feature. CJ’s father is an amalgam of coworker and several other staff members.
The good thing about the negative side of religion creeping into my stories is that the positive side usually does too. In this book, Pete, Russ’s step-brother has recently started going to church and what he finds there isn’t anything like what his father spouts all the time. The youth pastor even comes to the house at one point to talk to Russ about a project he and CJ have going that the youth might want to help with. He takes that opportunity to tell Russ that he doesn’t believe God wants him to hate anyone. That he takes to heart the passage “Judge not, lest thee be judged,” as well as Jesus’ commandment to “Love your neighbor.”
Obvioiusly, I agree with the pastor’s form of faith over Russ’s parents’ brand of ‘religion’. This is a recurring theme in the book, though not the main one, as it is in many of my other stories.
In Haunted, a powerful, but homophobic man did a huge amount of damage over the years. In Living Again, Daniel’s uncle is also modeled after Bible Thumping Coworker, and is homophobic to the point of being irrational. In Through the Years, Edward himself struggles with internalized homophobia because his parents belong to a church that espouses hatred and even violence toward gays. At least in later years, they find a church that accepts and supports them.
I don’t know of a lot of churches around here that would do that. The best I’ve heard of around here are churches that just don’t say anything about LGBT issues at all. But that’s a vast improvement over most of them.
I don’t mean that this negative attitude is the norm for Christianity. Before I moved here, I found several really nice churches who would support any of their members or anyone in the community. That was still in the Bible belt, just in a larger town. So I’m sure the lack of choices around here plays a huge part in the narrow viewpoint, but it’s not really surprising that those attitudes tend to creep into my stories.
What about all of you? Writers, do you find yourself tackling the same problems in different way in your books? Does it have to do with the challenges you face in your real life? Do you tackle the religious issue in your books? How so? Do you make sure you balance good with not so good? Or do you occasionally present only one view? Readers, do you like to read stories that include religious issues? Do you tolerate that issue as long as it’s not the main theme? Do you read it only if the sides are balanced or do you read stories that are all one side or the other?
Comment below for a chance to win.
Here’s how the giveaway will work. Visit as many sites as you want, as often as you want. Each comment will enter you to win one of the following prizes: 1st) An autographed paperback copy of Ray of Sunlight, 2nd) An electronic copy of Ray of Sunlight, 3rd) Your choice of audio or electronic copy of Living Again, 4th) An electronic copy of Through the Years, and 5th) an electronic copy of Haunted. The takeovers for Harmony Ink’s blog and Facebook page will be part of the tour, so comments on there will count. I will draw the winners during the FB takeover and will announce them then, but will come back and announce it to all the sites too. So, you don’t have to leave your email address here if you don’t want to, just remember to check back. You’re also welcome to leave your email in the comments if you’d rather or email me at brynnstein2@gmail.com with the subject heading of “just in case”, so I can contact you if you win, if you don’t want to have to stop back by the blog sites. You don’t have to be present at the FB takeover to win.
Thanks for playing.
Blog Tour Stops
3/3/2015 Bike Books Review http://bikebookreviews.blogspot.com/
3/4/2015 Grace Duncan http://www.grace-duncan.com/
3/5/2015 Susan Laine https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5221828.Susan_Laine/blog
3/6/2015 Jo Ramsey http://www.joramsey.com/blog/
3/7/2015 Alicia Nordwell http://ciasstories.blogspot.com/2015/01/visiting-author-brynn-stein-with-ray-of.html
3/8/2015 Jana Denardo https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/
3/9/2015 Lex Chase http://lexchase.com/blog/2015/03/09/welcome-brynn-stein-ray-sunlight/
3/10/2015 Sean Michael http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca/
3/11/2015 Charley Descoteaux http://cdescoteauxwrites.com/
3/12/2015 Anne Barwell http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/
3/13/2015 Karenna Colcroft http://www.karennacolcroft.com
3/14/2015 Anna Butler http://annabutlerfiction.com/2015/03/14/brynn-stein/
3/15/2015 Nic Starr www.becausetwomenarebetterthanone.com
3/16/2015 Shae Conner http://shaeconnorwrites.com
3/17/2015 Jessica Davies http://jessicaskyedavies.blogspot.com/
3/18/2015 Aidee Ladnier http://www.aideeladnier.com.
3/19/2015 Emma Tett http://emmy-j.blogspot.co.uk/
3/20/2015 Harmony Ink Blog http://harmonyinkpress.com/
3/21/2015 Harmony Ink Facebook Page facebook.com/harmonyinkpress
Ray of Sunlight
Brynn Stein
Russ Michaels has his whole life ahead of him but no plans beyond dropping out of school as soon as he turns eighteen. He’s been in and out of juvenile detention for the last four years and thoroughly expects to end up in an adult penitentiary at some point. He hates life and everyone in it, especially this latest community service that he earned in lieu of juvie yet again.
CJ Calhoun has big plans. He wants to bring joy and happiness to sick and injured children for as long as he can by performing as a clown. The problem is, he has stage-four cancer and a horrible prognosis.
When circumstances throw these two polar opposites together, they find they have more in common than they imagined. CJ discovers Russ’s talent for art and arranges for Russ to create a mural in the hospital foyer, which leads to a tentative scholarship to the Art Institute. As life changes in ways neither of them could have expected, Russ must work harder than ever to better himself as CJ struggles with his deteriorating health.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6176
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/ray-of-sunlight-by-brynn-stein-261-b
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25005560-ray-of-sunlight?from_search=true
Brynn Stein
Brynn Stein has always loved to write. Fan fiction, original fiction, whatever. While Brynn wrote in numerous genres—everything from mystery, to contemporary, to supernatural—she had always tended toward strong male characters. And then she discovered “slash,” male/male romance, and all those strong male characters were finally allowed to express their love for one another. It seems that there are always at least two characters clamoring to tell Brynn their story.
Brynn lives in Virginia near her two grown daughters who encourage her writing and provide a sounding board for fledgling stories. When she isn’t writing, Brynn teaches children with special needs. In free time, when such a thing exists, she reads anything she can get her hands on, and haunts bookstores. She draws and paints, and enjoys the outdoors—especially if she can get to the beach—and is always thinking about her next story.
Please feel free to contact Brynn at any of the following:
http://brynnstein2.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/brynn.stein
brynnstein2@gmail.com
This is the sixth stop on my blog tour. I’m having such fun, as I always do on these tours, talking about various aspects of writing in general, and Ray of Sunlight in particular and getting to know all of you. Thanks so much for following the tour. If this is your first stop, feel free to go back and comment on the other three, listed below, to be entered to win one of five prizes. More about that later.
Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Jana. It’s always nice to visit.
As always, I find that homophobia and religion crept into this book when I wasn’t looking.
I live in an ultraconservative, small town in the Bible Belt. The people I work with are over the top fundamentalists. I often share some of the stories of things that happen to work on my blog in a recurring feature called Tales from the Bible Belt. Some of these people look like they’re two dimensional characters and they’re actual people. I’ve known some of them for almost four years now and couldn’t tell you one way that they’ve grown as a person. They feel they are “God’s chosen people” and apparently that mean they have no more room for personal growth.
Russ parents are modeled heavily on my bible thumping coworker, and another staff member whom I refer to as Mary in my Tales from the Bible Belt feature. CJ’s father is an amalgam of coworker and several other staff members.
The good thing about the negative side of religion creeping into my stories is that the positive side usually does too. In this book, Pete, Russ’s step-brother has recently started going to church and what he finds there isn’t anything like what his father spouts all the time. The youth pastor even comes to the house at one point to talk to Russ about a project he and CJ have going that the youth might want to help with. He takes that opportunity to tell Russ that he doesn’t believe God wants him to hate anyone. That he takes to heart the passage “Judge not, lest thee be judged,” as well as Jesus’ commandment to “Love your neighbor.”
Obvioiusly, I agree with the pastor’s form of faith over Russ’s parents’ brand of ‘religion’. This is a recurring theme in the book, though not the main one, as it is in many of my other stories.
In Haunted, a powerful, but homophobic man did a huge amount of damage over the years. In Living Again, Daniel’s uncle is also modeled after Bible Thumping Coworker, and is homophobic to the point of being irrational. In Through the Years, Edward himself struggles with internalized homophobia because his parents belong to a church that espouses hatred and even violence toward gays. At least in later years, they find a church that accepts and supports them.
I don’t know of a lot of churches around here that would do that. The best I’ve heard of around here are churches that just don’t say anything about LGBT issues at all. But that’s a vast improvement over most of them.
I don’t mean that this negative attitude is the norm for Christianity. Before I moved here, I found several really nice churches who would support any of their members or anyone in the community. That was still in the Bible belt, just in a larger town. So I’m sure the lack of choices around here plays a huge part in the narrow viewpoint, but it’s not really surprising that those attitudes tend to creep into my stories.
What about all of you? Writers, do you find yourself tackling the same problems in different way in your books? Does it have to do with the challenges you face in your real life? Do you tackle the religious issue in your books? How so? Do you make sure you balance good with not so good? Or do you occasionally present only one view? Readers, do you like to read stories that include religious issues? Do you tolerate that issue as long as it’s not the main theme? Do you read it only if the sides are balanced or do you read stories that are all one side or the other?
Comment below for a chance to win.
Here’s how the giveaway will work. Visit as many sites as you want, as often as you want. Each comment will enter you to win one of the following prizes: 1st) An autographed paperback copy of Ray of Sunlight, 2nd) An electronic copy of Ray of Sunlight, 3rd) Your choice of audio or electronic copy of Living Again, 4th) An electronic copy of Through the Years, and 5th) an electronic copy of Haunted. The takeovers for Harmony Ink’s blog and Facebook page will be part of the tour, so comments on there will count. I will draw the winners during the FB takeover and will announce them then, but will come back and announce it to all the sites too. So, you don’t have to leave your email address here if you don’t want to, just remember to check back. You’re also welcome to leave your email in the comments if you’d rather or email me at brynnstein2@gmail.com with the subject heading of “just in case”, so I can contact you if you win, if you don’t want to have to stop back by the blog sites. You don’t have to be present at the FB takeover to win.
Thanks for playing.
Blog Tour Stops
3/3/2015 Bike Books Review http://bikebookreviews.blogspot.com/
3/4/2015 Grace Duncan http://www.grace-duncan.com/
3/5/2015 Susan Laine https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5221828.Susan_Laine/blog
3/6/2015 Jo Ramsey http://www.joramsey.com/blog/
3/7/2015 Alicia Nordwell http://ciasstories.blogspot.com/2015/01/visiting-author-brynn-stein-with-ray-of.html
3/8/2015 Jana Denardo https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/
3/9/2015 Lex Chase http://lexchase.com/blog/2015/03/09/welcome-brynn-stein-ray-sunlight/
3/10/2015 Sean Michael http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca/
3/11/2015 Charley Descoteaux http://cdescoteauxwrites.com/
3/12/2015 Anne Barwell http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/
3/13/2015 Karenna Colcroft http://www.karennacolcroft.com
3/14/2015 Anna Butler http://annabutlerfiction.com/2015/03/14/brynn-stein/
3/15/2015 Nic Starr www.becausetwomenarebetterthanone.com
3/16/2015 Shae Conner http://shaeconnorwrites.com
3/17/2015 Jessica Davies http://jessicaskyedavies.blogspot.com/
3/18/2015 Aidee Ladnier http://www.aideeladnier.com.
3/19/2015 Emma Tett http://emmy-j.blogspot.co.uk/
3/20/2015 Harmony Ink Blog http://harmonyinkpress.com/
3/21/2015 Harmony Ink Facebook Page facebook.com/harmonyinkpress
Ray of Sunlight
Brynn Stein
Russ Michaels has his whole life ahead of him but no plans beyond dropping out of school as soon as he turns eighteen. He’s been in and out of juvenile detention for the last four years and thoroughly expects to end up in an adult penitentiary at some point. He hates life and everyone in it, especially this latest community service that he earned in lieu of juvie yet again.
CJ Calhoun has big plans. He wants to bring joy and happiness to sick and injured children for as long as he can by performing as a clown. The problem is, he has stage-four cancer and a horrible prognosis.
When circumstances throw these two polar opposites together, they find they have more in common than they imagined. CJ discovers Russ’s talent for art and arranges for Russ to create a mural in the hospital foyer, which leads to a tentative scholarship to the Art Institute. As life changes in ways neither of them could have expected, Russ must work harder than ever to better himself as CJ struggles with his deteriorating health.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6176
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/ray-of-sunlight-by-brynn-stein-261-b
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25005560-ray-of-sunlight?from_search=true
Brynn Stein
Brynn Stein has always loved to write. Fan fiction, original fiction, whatever. While Brynn wrote in numerous genres—everything from mystery, to contemporary, to supernatural—she had always tended toward strong male characters. And then she discovered “slash,” male/male romance, and all those strong male characters were finally allowed to express their love for one another. It seems that there are always at least two characters clamoring to tell Brynn their story.
Brynn lives in Virginia near her two grown daughters who encourage her writing and provide a sounding board for fledgling stories. When she isn’t writing, Brynn teaches children with special needs. In free time, when such a thing exists, she reads anything she can get her hands on, and haunts bookstores. She draws and paints, and enjoys the outdoors—especially if she can get to the beach—and is always thinking about her next story.
Please feel free to contact Brynn at any of the following:
http://brynnstein2.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/brynn.stein
brynnstein2@gmail.com
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