Title: Damsel Distressed
Author: Kelsey Macke
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Buy Links:
Synopsis:
Hot girls get the fairy
tales. No one cares about the stepsisters' story. Those girls don't get a
sweet little ending; they get a lifetime of longing
Imogen
Keegen has never had a happily ever after–in fact, she doesn’t think
they are possible. Ever since her mother’s death seven years ago, Imogen
has pulled herself in and out of therapy, struggled with an
“emotionally disturbed” special ed. label, and loathed her
perma-plus-sized status.
When Imogen’s new stepsister, the evil
and gorgeous Ella Cinder, moves in down the hall, Imogen begins losing
grip on the pieces she’s been trying to hold together. The only things
that gave her solace–the theatre, cheese fries, and her best friend,
Grant–aren’t enough to save her from her pain this time.
While
Imogen is enjoying her moment in the spotlight after the high school
musical, the journal pages containing her darkest thoughts get put on
display. Now, Imogen must resign herself to be crushed under the
ever-increasing weight of her pain, or finally accept the starring role
in her own life story.
And maybe even find herself a happily ever after.
Enhance the experience with the companion soundtrack, Imogen Unlocked, by the author's band, Wedding Day Rain.
Damsel Distressed is the story of Imogen, a girl who's survived
the years after her mother's death by focusing squarely on her best friend,
Grant, musical theatre, and lots of cheese. The book is full of humor and
heart, and also contains a few surprises. Full page sketches are scattered
throughout the novel, and each one contains a QR code that corresponds to a
song from the book's soundtrack. Imogen Unlocked is a 12-song album of original
music written by the author and her husband Daron as their indie-pop band,
Wedding Day Rain. Together, the book Damsel Distressed and the soundtrack
Imogen Unlocked work together to tell the story of a girl who might just make
her own Happily Ever After, if she can just hold herself together.
Track Listing:
- Heavy
- No Goodbye
- Something About
- Sinking
- Don't Wake Me Up
- Let Me Go
- My Strength
- Unseen
- Always Too Late
- The End is Just the Beginning
- Breathe Easy
- Edge of the Fall
Kelsey Macke has been creative for as
long as she can remember. From an early age she was on stage singing,
penning poetry, and writing notebooks full of songs. When the idea for
her debut novel, Damsel Distressed, popped into her head, she was
undeterred by the fact that she had no idea how to actually write a
novel. Her bff, the internet, was her guide, and after much trial,
error, and candy, she finished it, and set out to get it published… a
process far more difficult than, the internet (now her mortal enemy),
had lead her to believe.
Her whirlwind adventure was made even
more unbelievable when she signed with fabulous agent, Jessica
Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency and, shortly
after, Danielle Ellison of Spencer Hill Contemporary bought her debut.
This innovative, mixed-media art
project has given Kelsey an incredibly unique opportunity to join two of
her passions: writing and making music with her husband as half of the
folky, indie-pop band Wedding Day Rain.
DAMSEL DISTRESSED, and the companion album of original songs, Imogen Unlocked, are scheduled for release in October 2014.
Author Contact Information:
Interview with Kelsey Macke:
1.
Describe
your book in ten words or less. Go!
Raw, sassy, swoony, hopeful, dramatic
2.
Where
did you get the idea for Damsel Distressed?
DAMSEL DISTRESSED was inspired by so
many things. Some of it came from my own experiences as a teenager, and other
moments were inspired by my friends. Still other facets of the story and
characters were shaped by my experiences as a teacher in high school and middle
school. There are little whispers of so many lives on the pages of my book and
I hope that everyone who reads it finds a little sliver of their own experience
in the words.
3.
Damsel
Distressed touches on several sensitive topics. What made you write a book
about body image and self-harm? What do you hope your readers will take away
from it?
In school, I was never thin. I may have
been average, in reality, but the feeling of being bigger than all my friends
was real. In adulthood, my own emotional eating resulted in weight gain that
eventually lead me to an unhealthy weight for my size, which was brought to my
attention during a health screening.
I have definitely experienced a
complicated, and sometimes painful relationship with food and body image. When
I was younger (and even when I got older), those emotions were often
fundamental in how I saw myself, and I wanted to express that experience
through Imogen.
The other side of Imogen’s primary problems
exists in the realm of mental health issues. I am a vocal advocate for the
destigmatization of mental health needs and care. I have spent most of my
career as a teacher working with young people who have emotional/behavioral
difficulties.
Sometimes, it seems like the hardest part
of living with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or any number of other
conditions, is that those who haven’t experienced it rarely understand the
complexities involved in recovery.
There are no easy solutions, you know? It
can be hard in YA to write a character and keep the readership from
saying/thinking, “Oh my gosh. Stop whining! Go get some Xanax and get on with
it.” But those types of oversimplifications are damaging and hurtful to the
real young people that our characters represent.
It was important to me that Imogen’s problems
be as authentic as possible.
4.
Theatre
is an important part of Imogen’s life. How does being in theatre help her? If
she didn’t have theatre, what would it mean for her?
Theatre, for Imogen, is an anchor. Her
mother was involved in theatre, so her connection is in part a way to hang on
and not let go even though it’s been 5 years since Mom’s death. Beyond the
connection to her mother, however, Imogen feels at home in the sound booth (her
theatre work of choice is running sound, not being on stage) because it allows
her to connect to other people in a real and meaningful way, but also allows her
the space to be in her own head and watch from a safe distance.
Theatre is such a wonderful part of
development for so many young people and adults (including myself), and it was
very exciting for me to honor that work with my book.
5.
Damsel
Distressed is going to be accompanied by Imogen Unlocked, a “soundtrack of original songs
written and performed by Wedding Day Rain.” What do you like most about having
a companion album? In what ways does it allow the reader to dive deeper into
Imogen’s head?
Having a soundtrack for this book
was a weird, crazy, ambitious idea, but now that it’s done, I can’t imagine my
book without the songs that accompany it.
The songs come after critical
scenes, and in most cases, the songs directly continue the emotional weight of
that chapter.
I like to think of the book as
Imogen’s thoughts, as she is aware of them, and the songs as the things she
doesn’t even know she’s got swirling around in her head.
6.
Craziest
thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
My research on compulsion disorders and
self-harming behaviors was incredibly enlightening, and necessary. However, it
was also incredibly difficult and emotional for me to study, because I can’t
help but think about the individuals who live with the burdens of these issues
every day.
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