Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Abdi Nazemian!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Abdi Nazemian
Abdi Nazemian is the author of Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book, Only This Beautiful Moment, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco.
About the Book: Desert Echoes
Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.
Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The idea came to me the first time our kids went to sleepaway camp. I felt lonely and decided to go to Joshua Tree by myself in July on one of the hottest days of the year, so hot that it felt like I was all alone on a distant planet as I wandered. The desert is a place of mystery and contemplation, and while I was there, I pondered the death of my first boyfriend. He was a magnetic and complicated human being who, like the character of Ash in the book, was drawn to the desert. I had wanted to write about the journey of both loving and losing him for a long time. That’s what first inspired this book, though of course it evolved in the writing to be about more than that.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Lana Del Rey. Well, she’s not a character but she is a presence in the book. Also, the desert. In terms of the human characters, I can never pick a favorite.
YABC: How do you know when a book is finished?
When my editor says it is!
YABC: What research did you do to write this book?
Much of the research for the book came from my lived experience. I attend Al-Anon meetings, and the teachings of that program informed the writing. I’ve been touched by addiction throughout my life, and those experiences informed the book. The biggest area of research was on specifics of the desert itself.
YABC: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I think, in some buried part of myself, I always knew. I was so drawn to storytelling as a kid who never fit in anywhere. I would write (atrocious) poems in my tween years. I would submit stories to Archie Comics (my childhood obsession). But I never thought I could be a writer until I worked for two years as an assistant in Hollywood, where answering phones and reading scripts was the bulk of my job. After reading hundreds (maybe thousands) of scripts and realizing these writers were getting paid for doing something I felt I could do too, I took the plunge into writing as a career and never looked back.
YABC: What word do you have trouble overusing?
Recently, we were in our local bookshop with our kids and one of their best friends. Their friend picked up my novel Like a Love Story and started reading it in the shop. A few pages in, she said she knew I wrote it because the word “deranged” was in it, and I use it all the time. So, there you go. The kids also make fun of me for overusing the word “divine.” But come on, those are both such good words that demand to be (over)used.
YABC: What is your favorite writing space?
A hotel room with a coffee machine and room service. I do so much of my writing in hotel rooms. Recently, a hotel did a security check on me because they were worried that I hadn’t left the room in days. I explained to them that I was writing a book, and they seemed even more confused than they were before I explained. But really, when your home is two-kid, one-dog chaos, a quiet room is the writing dream.
YABC: What hobbies do you enjoy?
I’m one of those lifelong learner people. I’m a big advocate of older people always trying to challenge their brains by learning new things. At the moment, my obsessions are learning Portuguese and piano. Our son and I take piano lessons together, and while I’ll never be great, being able to play some of my favorite songs on an instrument that was once a mystery to me brings me immense joy.
YABC: What’s your least favorite word or expression and why?
I’ve never loved the way our culture uses the word “closure” to imply the end of an emotional journey, because in my experience of human relationships, there’s always more to learn and unravel with time. I’m all about keeping our hearts and minds open for more learning.
YABC: What fandom would you write for if you had time?
I already write for Madonna fans, Lana fans, Judy Garland fans. I recognize this is a “deranged” answer, but it’s who I am.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?
Our kids’ birthday because watching them grow into the most beautiful, curious, funny, empathetic humans is the great joy and honor of my life.
YABC: What other age group would you consider writing for?
All of them. I’ve written movies, television shows, an adult novel, a handful of young adult novels. I’ve tried my hand at podcasts and theater (so far unsuccessfully, but I’m persistent). I have no interest in creative limitations. That said, I don’t plan on leaving YA anytime soon because I love writing for this age. The emotional immediacy and wry humor of adolescence makes it such a joy to write.
Title: Desert Echoes
Author: Abdi Nazemian
Illustrator: Katherine Lam
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult
Age Range: 14–17-year-olds
Giveaway Details ~
One (1) winner will receive a copy of Desert Echoes (Abdi Nazemian) ~US Only!
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
