coming of age story | Plain Talk Book Marketing

James M. Roberts wanted to prove that you don’t need to be a college scholar or a perfect writer to put your heart on paper even when it is hurting the most.

James’s experiences have inspired him to tell his story in order to reach young readers suffering from insecurity, sadness, and addiction. Not only did James drop out of high school, but he also stumbled into deep depression early in his adolescent life.

Although he had been an all-star athlete, he was far from happy. He ended up making regrettable choices in order to feel a sense of belonging and worth, especially following his parents’ separation.

Through it all, James knew that one day he was going to share his “misery” with the world. He struggled through life’s lessons and finally put himself through college to earn a business degree and currently has a successful career in sales.

James finished his first rough draft at twenty-five while in college. Five years later he erased all 200,000 words and started from scratch. He currently resides in Woburn, Massachusetts, where he continues to thrive and develop his writing.

Why do you write?

Writing to me allows me to represent my inner most thoughts when I struggle to explain them in person. Some thoughts can’t be explained as Cleary without writing down exactly how you feel. It’s more therapeutic than anything. Writing allows me to write down how I am feeling at the exact moment and hopefully people can relate to it.

What inspired you to write?

Depression

Where is your favorite place to write?

In the library, by a window

What was your writing process?

Put my fingers on the keyboard and let my mind be free.

What have you found most surprising about the publishing process?

Honestly? It can be a pain in the ass! The work’s never done and the writing is only the beginning.

Which character in your book was most challenging to write about?

My father.. I tried to capture how he felt but not sure how good of a job I did.

What is your favorite scene in The Crossroads of Logan Michaels?

My favorite scene is in chapter 9 I believe. When Logan wakes up miserably hung over and finds the note his mother wrote him. It brings me to tears almost every time.

What have you learned about yourself through writing this novel?

I’m a complicated yet simple man.

What is next for you? Are you working on another book?

Yes. The second volume of The Crossroads of Logan Michaels, where we see Logan work his way through the recovery process and rebuilding a life.

How would you like to be remembered?

Alive and when I truly smiled, if you ever captured that moment…

About the Book

The Crossroads of Logan Michaels by James M. Roberts
Genre: Coming of Age

Synopsis

“Thumbs-up for this debut!”—James Frey, best-selling author of A Million Little Pieces

After growing up heartbroken with an endless series of struggles, Maria Michaels creates a picture-perfect family of her own. But life changes too quickly, and she loses her grip on herself and her two troubled sons. In spite of her desire to give them a better life, they spiral downward on the paths they choose. They must fight through sadness, mistakes and tragedy to find redemption and the love that only a mother can give. Told from a dual perspective of mother and son, we follow the family’s battles with divorce, drugs and depression. You will laugh and cry, and probably want to call your mom to tell her you love her.

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Giveaway Goodness

Enter to win $20 Amazon, Six print copies of The Crossroads of Logan Michaels

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Guest post by Jesse Wilson.

In the throes of my angry, fist-in-the-air teenage years, my mom once asked my best friend, “Is Jesse unhappy?” My best friend (he knew me all too well) answered, “Jesse is unhappy… because he’s happy.”

It took me a long time to admit to myself… I really had a happy childhood.

Why is the novel called Faces On My Wall? All the artists I wanted to be that were taped on my bedroom wall– all had corroded childhoods, as far as I knew. They’d been beaten, they’d gone to military school, their mothers were drunks or prostitutes (or both if they were lucky), their father’s held them down and spit in their faces and called them losers, they were rejected unaccountably by society, family, friends… but despite everything, they turned into Great Artists. They soared. They conquered. They triumphed. They made great novels and plays and paintings and symphonies. They celebrated their misery and despair and turned it into unspeakably gorgeous dripping works of art. Unhappiness and white-hot rage, I somehow strangely believed from maybe age 13 to 23, were the criteria for true artistry. That, and living in New York.

Faces On My Wall is the story about chasing after the dream of all those faces… All through high school and then beyond, the persistence of this delusion– wanting to be all the faces on my wall– lead to heart break, and then mild nagging unrest, and then acceptance… ultimately, gratitude, that I came from a safe, happy home life, God forbid.

I remember the night before I left for New York…

I look around my room, at all the books stacked on the shelves, and for the first time in my life, wonder what it’ll be like to live in a dorm room. I have the best room in the house… I practically have my own private view of the city, and I stare at the glow of those distant LA lights… It’s weird. All of a sudden I remember. Mom would sing to me the African Song I never understood the words to and didn’t want to even if I could, and we would listen to the two owls we named Oliver and Olivette, calling each other in the night, serenading each other in the trees that always gave the illusion of living in the country, not ten minutes away from Hollywood Blvd… It’s funny the things you remember when you’re about to leave.

I fought the innocence of Home until everything changed. But there was nothing anyone could do about it.

I had to realize that the things I love so much now in my adulthood… It’s what I had all along. Happiness. Acceptance. Support. And really, unconditional love. A great, happy childhood. Nothing at all like the faces on my wall. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Cover courtesy JenhalliganPR

Synopsis for Faces On My Wall

A coming-of-age story and a comedic tour-de-force, meet Jamey Fuller, a cocky California kid who achieves his wildest ambition: admission to The Juilliard School in New York City, the country’s most prestigious acting school. Once there, he is sure, he will find fame and glory. He will dance on tables, as in “Fame.” He will take his place among the Great Actors of his time, freed from the fear of becoming just like his father, a director of Hollywood TV spots. But the reality proves hilariously brutal, as Jamey grapples with Shakespeare, lust, disillusionment, cut-throat classmates and imperious teachers. FACES ON MY WALL is a privileged glimpse into the bizarre hidden world of an actor’s training, a poignant father-and-son story, and the chronicle of a young man’s painful gropings toward maturity.