How Did That Book End — Caroline Bartlett

“You know the book you’ve just finished was amazing when you keep thinking about it long after it’s over.”

Read the full review here.

Find Caroline’s Instagram here.

Reading Rachael — Rachael Tierney

“Ultimately it was the brilliant charactisation of Clare that kept me reading.”

Read the full review here.

Find Rachael’s Instagram here.

Alyrene’s Blog — Alyrene S.

“Chad Musick wrote an incredibly good and important book with gorgeous character developments (not all though, but the important ones evolved greatly) and a stirring plot.”

Read the full review here.

Find Alyrene’s Instagram here.

Purrfectly Booked Blog – Amanda Lee

“The MC really grabbed my heart. She’s strong and brave yet doesn’t even recognize her abuse is just that, abuse, and it’s heartbreaking. I was so invested in Lilac and Esther.”

Read the full review here.

Find Amanda’s Instagram here.

Find Amanda’s blog here.

My Best AudioBooks – Meli K

“I can’t imagine how a guy could write a story about such feminine issues. But I must admit that I liked the story a lot.”

Read the full review here.

Find Meli’s blog here.

Moonstone Aurora – Silpi

“This is more than a book about young adults. It is a book about life and families beyond the one you’re born into. It is the broken voice, singing love.”

Read the full review here.

Find Silpi’s bookstagram here.

Essie’s Books – Essie

“[…] there’s a lot going on in this book, but you can tell the author wrote thoughtfully about trauma and disability.“

Listen to the full review here.

Find Essie’s book tiktok here.

Obsessed Wallflower – Nathália

“[This book is] one that’ll make you think and I can see the story popping back up in my mind for years to come.“

Listen to the full review here.

Find Nathália‘s blog here.

Nom On Books – Mon

“It’s weird & a testament to the text that despite the plot hinging on trauma it isn’t a spectacle. Seeing it all through Clare’s eyes made it true, real and painful. A really empathetic read.“

Read the full review here.

Find Mon’s bookstagram here.

Bookshelf Blooms – Kiersten

“Musick’s writing was extremely powerful, and each of the characters felt incredibly real.“

Read the full review here.

Find Kiersten‘s bookstagram here.

Find Kiersten’s Twitter here.

Biblio Nerd Reflections – Chris

This was a story that I won’t soon forget no matter how much I may want to. It moved me deeply and made me feel so many things. I highly recommend it, but it is not a light read. Therefore, I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.”

Read the full review here.

Find Chris‘s bookstagram here.

Travel the Ages – Lara MacGregor

“Not My Ruckus takes place in 1980/1981 in East Texas. I lived there as a child in the 1980s, but that’s 40 years and 6500 miles away from me now. Treating this time as historic requires as much research as any other historical fiction, though primary sources are more readily available. For example, the characters live in houses built in the 1950s as tract homes. The cover artist used one of these on the cover to great effect.”

Read the full guest blog from Chad here.

Find Lara‘s blog here.

Long and Short Reviews

“Not My Ruckus is a book in which the characters go through a lot of trauma. Reviews have called it “sharp”, “brutal”, “brutal”, and “brutal” (it’s come up a few times), but most readers have agreed that it’s not a book about trauma. Bringing in trauma without making it the central theme was something I spent a lot of time working out with my critique partners.” – Chad

Read the full guest blog from Chad here.

Find L&S Review‘s blog here.

Find their twitter here.

Full Moon Dreaming – Julie Lynn Hayes

Question: When you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?

“Usually I start with an image, and then I develop the characters who would create that image, and then the plot comes later.” – Chad

Read the full interview of Chad here.

Find Julie Lynn Haes‘ blog here.

Rogue’s Angels

Question: How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

“A mix of real life – my own and people I’ve known over the years – and some of the Greek tragedies, mostly subverted. I wanted to tell the story of someone growing up autistic and epileptic, undiagnosed, with people taking advantage of that but the person ultimately reclaiming themselves and their life.” – Chad

Read the full interview of Chad here.

Find the Rogue‘s Angels blog here.

Fabulous and Brunette – Ally Swanson

Question: Tell us all about this truly loathed character and the inspiration behind their development.

“Ultimately, many readers feel about Iris what Clare does: betrayed. The monstrosity is personal, and the personal is powerful. There’s a reason Dante reserved the deepest level of Hell not for murderers but for traitors.” – Chad

Read the guest post from Chad here.

Find the Fabulous and Brunette blog here.

Find the Fabulous and Brunette Facebook blog here.

Book Reviews & Interviews – Lisa Haselton

Question: What exciting story are you working on next?

“I’m finishing up a fantasy novel about a (very tiny) dragon who is obsessed with watching tv, wearing costumes, and escaping from the tower where they’re being held by a magician who spends his days playing MMORPGs. It’s a lot lighter than Not My Ruckus, but there are still moments that had early readers making comments like “What’s the happy little monster going to do next?”” – Chad

Read the interview of Chad here.

Find Lisa Haselton’s blog here.

Find Lisa Haselton’s Facebook here.

Candrel’s Crafts, Cooks, & Characters

Question: Who would be your dream narrator for the audio book version?

“ Ivy Tara Blair narrates the audiobook version, and I’m so pleased with her performance. […] She’s a stellar professional, and listening to her narration in Not My Ruckus had me crying pretty hard.” – Chad

Read the interview of Chad here.

Find Candrel’s blog here.

Find Candrel’s Pinterest here.

Find Candrel’s Twitter here.

Candrel’s Crafts, Cooks, & Characters

Question: Who is Clare, and is there an inspiration behind her?

“Clare is two people in Not My Ruckus, in a literal sense. “Clare” is both a girl who was lost and the girl her parents decided would replace her. She is nevertheless a fictional construct. Her story combines real elements of my own and others’ lives, but she is none of us.” – Chad

Read the interview of Chad here.

Find Viviana’s blog here.

Find Viviana’s Pinterest here.

Find Viviana’s Facebook here.

Find Viviana’s Twitter here.

All the Ups and Downs – Heather C

Question: What was your work schedule like while writing Not My Ruckus?

“My writing and work schedule for Not My Ruckus was that I got up at by 6 a.m. daily and wrote until I started work at 9:30. In terms of “plotting” vs. “pantsing”, I fall squarely into the “agonizing over words” camp. Not My Ruckus has a three-act structure, and I knew what the major points were, and I knew how it ended, and the rest was working out how to get there.” – Chad

Read the guest post by Chad here.

Find the All the Ups and Downs blog here.

Find the All the Ups and Downs Facebook here.

Find Heather’s Twitter here.

The Avid Reader – Nancy Allen

Question: Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

“I’m finishing up a fantasy book about a television-obsessed dragon trapped in a lighthouse by a magician who spends his days playing MMORPGs. It’s shaping up to be one of those books that you can read in a couple of different ways. This will be published in February of 2022, but I haven’t yet got a title for it.” – Chad

Read the guest post by Chad here.

Find The Avid Reader blog here.

Find The Avid Reader Facebook here.

Find The Avid Reader Pinterest here.

Find The Avid Reader Twitter here.

Westveil Publishing – Jenna Rideout

“Altogether, Clare is one of my favorite characters that I’ve written. She doesn’t see the world the same as most other people, but my neurodivergent readers have sympathized strongly with her, and most of my neurotypical readers have enjoyed her perspective.” – Chad

Read the guest post by Chad here.

Find the Westveil Publishing blog here.

Find the Westveil Publishing Facebook here.

Find the Westveil Publishing Pinterest here.

Find the Westveil Publishing Instagram here.

Find the Westveil Publishing Twitter here.

Find the Jenna Gets Creative Youtube here.

One Little Quote

“The strength of the book for me is in the voice of the narration, which is highly specific and does a great job with characters and their personalities, through word choice, actions, and dialogue.”

Read the full review here.

Find the One Little Quote bookstagram here.

Mayah L Writes

Published on 16 February 2021 by Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC

Cover by Nada Backovic

Editing by Elizabeth Roderick

ISBN: 978-1-953971-00-5 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-02-9 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-01-2 (EPUB)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-03-6 (Audiobook) — Performed by Ivy Tara Blair