T's Stuff: Audio Blog Tour: Alex McKenna & the Geranium Deaths by Vicki-Ann Bush

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Audio Blog Tour: Alex McKenna & the Geranium Deaths by Vicki-Ann Bush

Author: Vicki-Ann Bush

Narrator: Marcus Rothenberg

Length: 8 hours 38 minutes

Publisher: The Parliament House

Released: June 10, 2020

Genre: YA Paranormal

For Alex McKenna, high school is just a distraction from the love of his life Margaret, with whom he can't wait to spend more time once they get to college. In many respects, Alex is just an average 17-year-old boy...except for the fact he's a transgender medium born from a long line of Strega witches, possessing the ability to communicate with ghosts.

With the help of Margaret and his talented Strega great-grandmother, Alex will learn how to strengthen his abilities. The dead need Alex to help them reconcile issues they left behind, and he finds that he needs them, too.

As his abilities multiply, assisting the dead becomes an outlet to channel his new energy, giving him the strength to come to terms with who he is as a transgender male and how far he will choose to go.

Originally from New York, Vicki-Ann currently reside in Nevada. Writing Young Adult paranormal, she finds inspiration from events that have been in her life for as long as she can remember. Inheriting the sensitivity to the supernatural from her family, they continue to be an endless source of vision.

Newly released on September 24, 2019 from The Parliament House, the YA Paranormal LGBTQ, Alex McKenna & The Geranium Deaths. A series of books that will feature a seventeen year old, transgender boy with paranormal abilities.

Author has several titles that have received Reader's Favorite Five Star seal, as well as the 2017 & 2018 winner of, 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading.

Coming October 20th, 2020, the release of book 2, Alex McKenna & The Academy of Souls.

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Marcus Rothenberg is a voiceover artist born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. After high school, Marcus joined the Air Force as an air traffic controller. Once out of the service, he began to pursue his passions, including his dream career as a voice over artist. Marcus began pursuing voice work full time in November of 2019. Since then, he has lent his voice to multiple projects ranging from commercials, to commissioned Dungeons and Dragons character voices, to full length audiobooks. He currently lives back in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois and is continuing to use his voice to fuel his passion. When Marcus is not recording, he enjoys table top games, video games, reading, and kayaking.

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Alex McKenna is a transgender teen with the gift of being able to see and interact with ghosts. He is also a member of a family of Strega witches. Alex and his family try to cross over deceased spirits who are causing problems in the living world. This time the case hits very close to home. His own house. People are dying of no apparent reason but the weird part is when they are found their head is frozen. it is up to Alex, his family, and his best friend Margaret to figure out who the spirit is and stop them before the body count goes up even higher. And hopefully Alex will not become a tally mark on the body count.

This is my first book by Vicki-Ann Bush and it could be considered YA if not for all of the language used in the book. I enjoyed this book. I loved the way Alex uses his gift and his detective skills to search out the spirits. I think my favorite character is. Alex's mom she is great. Marcus Rothenberg does a awesome job narrating. he kept my attention and really made this book come alive.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Vicki-Ann Bush. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Q&A with Author Vicki-Ann Bush

Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook. For me it was a dream come true. I’d been with my previous publisher for over seven years and none of my books were offered in audio. Honestly, the first day I saw it on Amazon and heard the excerpt, I cried. But that didn’t answer the question. My publisher, The Parliament House, auditioned narrators and sent me a sample of one they thought would be a good fit. I agreed, and after that it was primarily waiting for everything to be completed.
Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing? For this book, yes. It was part of my contract with the publisher.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing? Actually, yes. The protagonist Alex McKenna, was written for someone very close to my heart who is transgender. I wanted a character that is transgender but that component of his life is his. He shares what he wants and the rest is focused on the paranormal.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go? Since time travel is one of my favorite topics, I love this question. Yes, I would absolutely travel back in time. I’d center it around my family, see my grandma when she was a kid, and my mom and dad too. Maybe revisit certain precious memories of my childhood and the childhood of my children. Oh and the early 20th century, 1910 - 1939.
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles? I’ve been looking at various young adult, trans male actors, and one that stood out to me is Theo Germaine.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”? My sister in-law and brother both drive daily for a specimen company. They’re on the road for nearly eight hours a day, five days a week. Audio books allow them to enjoy the stories they don’t have time for and the books help keep the day interesting. So I’d say to those who question the validity of audio vs. “real reading”, understand that not everyone may have time to read with the pages between their fingers but it doesn’t mean they should be denied the stories they love.
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel? My go to is wine (red of course), Mexican food, and dark chocolate.
In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series? Since I’ve done both, I think for a series the pros are being familiar with the characters and the background. Cons are you’re trying to outdo the last book and keep the existing characters fresh. For a stand alone, I think for me it’s only pros. You create, build, and then when it’s over you move on.
What’s next for you? Releasing on October 20th, 2020 is the second installment of the Alex McKenna series, Alex Mckenna & The Academy of Souls.