They say opposites attract, and that could be the only explanation for Johanna’s attraction to Paul.
Welcome to one of the November 11th stops on the blog tour for Things Changed by Patrick Jones with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
Here’s a question I bet everyone has an answer to: do you remember your first love? It is a question that almost anyone age eighteen to eighty can answer. But the follow-up question doesn’t get asked as often, maybe because the answer isn’t as pleasant or maybe it’s a memory that people would rather forget. The follow up question is the heart of my novel Things Changed: how did that first love change you?
Johanna is a high school junior in Pontiac, MI who falls for Paul, one year older. At first, he is charming, funny, and proclaims his love for her which is all she ever thought she wanted, but things change as the relationship grows deeper, it also grows darker. Paul is possessive, cutting Johanna off from her friends, and he becomes controlling. The next phase of the relationship is sadly all too common: Paul becomes emotionally, psychology, and then physically abusive toward Johanna. She gets out, but not without scars on her soul.
Bret is a high school junior in Flint MI who falls for Kylee, one year older. She is beautiful, funny, and sexy. Bret, who is bullied at school and at home, thinks he’s finally found happiness, but it is not to be. Kylee is a bully too, using her sexuality to control Bret. When she cheats on him, he thinks his life is in ruins. They get back together but she cheats on him yet again. He leaves the relationship betrayed and broken.
A chance meeting brings Johanna and Bret, who are both on summer break from college, together. They have instant chemistry despite having little in common (other than both wearing Chuck Taylors, which seems to be true of many characters in my books). But things are not that easy (if so, there would be no book) especially since Paul has reinserted himself in Johanna’s life, while Bret can’t stop thinking about Kylee. The first loves have ended yet in many ways, remain very much alive threatening their relationship. On the cover of the book in the background is a clock which is another obstacle to their relationship as time is against them since Johanna is only home in Michigan for the summer before returning to college in New York. Despite everything, Johanna and Bret try to find in a second love what they couldn’t find in the first. So, if you asked Johanna and Bret about their first love, they both could remember in vivid detail not just the good times, but every second of the bad times, in particular their break-up scenes. Can they recover from their heartbreak to love again? But that’s just one question of so many posed by the novel. How does first love with so much promise and excitement go wrong? How do you trust again after having been beaten or betrayed? How do you recover from a broken heart?
Novels are sentences that are really just answers to the questions the sentence before poses. The answer to these questions, and many more about the haunting power of first love, usually come down to the same answer. What happened between the first kiss and the final tears? For all of us the answer is the same: Things Changed.
About the Book
Things Changed
by Patrick Jones
Published 4 April 2006 (reprint)
Walker Childrens
Genre: YA Fiction
Page Count: 228
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Johanna and Paul have a passionate, yet volatile relationship. Shy Johanna knows no amount of passion can wipe out the verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. She finds the courage to walk away to have her own future.
Bret is a social outcast, but an intense relationship with Kylee makes him believe that dreams can come true. Bret’s world crashes down when Kylee cheats with one of Bret’s friends leading to a disastrous prom night confrontation.
Bret and Johanna, home from their first year of college, meet and find an instant attraction. Their chemistry is undeniable, but shadows from the past threaten the present when Paul re-enter Johanna’s life and Bret’s home life turns upside down. Can two broken-hearted people break the grip of the past and find happiness?
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Excerpt
I honk even though my hearing is blocked by the blaring music from the car in front of me spilling out into the night. In a second, my eyesight is clear as I see the black Firebird parked in front of me.
It happens fast. The man—which has to be Paul since Johanna told me often about the black Firebird and I saw it in her driveway once—comes toward me. I quickly lock all the doors and get my phone ready to dial 911 although this far out in the burbs, and with all crime in the city, I doubt they can help me. Paul bangs on the driver’s side window. I’m just about to put the car in reverse while I hear louder sounds coming from the window. It is Paul kicking at it with his right foot. In seconds, the glass explodes, sending shards all over the front seats. I feel some of it cut the skin on my arms and face. I reach up and wipe away the blood. Paul reaches in his hand and hits the switch so the doors open, then he punches me hard in the jaw. Stunned by this blitz attack, I can’t fight back. He pulls open the driver’s side door, and in one swift motion, undoes my seat belt, then grabs me by the shirt. I try to fight back, but I am defenseless against his enraged onslaught. He’s all fury, and I’m all fear. Fury wins.
About the Author
From Flint MI but now residing in Minneapolis MN, Jones is the author of over fifty novels for teens. His working with teens in correctional facilities and alternative schools has informed his works such as the Unbarred and The Alternative series. While he published his book in 1992 and this first novel in 2004, his initial publication was for a professional wrestling magazine when he was only eight years old.
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Giveaway Alert!
The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks for hosting me today and allowing me to contribute content to your blog
Patrick Jones is a new author to me, but I want to thank this blog for the introduction. I look forward to reading this book and the other ones I saw on Goodreads.
Audrey
Thanks for the comment. I have a pretty big back list of titles, although many of them are aimed at the reluctant teen reader. After a break for personal and professional reasons, it is great to have a new book published which I hope readers will enjoy but will also turn people on to my other books.
I liked the excerpt.
Rita – thanks for the comment. It is funny, I’ve done several stops during this tour and all of them have run an excerpt. Even though it is love story between two broken-hearted characters, the bloggers seem to have locked the one with the character with broken ribs better!
Sounds like an interesting book to read. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the kind words. I think one of the thing that makes Things Changed an interesting read isn’t just the story but how the story is told. I used alternating first person switching between Johanna and Bret which gives the reader insight into both of the main characters
Very nice cover, this sounds great.