On The Way To Birdland by Frank Morelli BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY!!!

 

Title: ON THE WAY TO BIRDLAND

Author: Frank Morelli

Publisher: Fish Out of Water Books

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Book Links: Goodreads , Amazon , B&N , TBD , Bookshop.org

Self-proclaimed teenage philosopher Cordell Wheaton lives in a sleepy, southern town where
nothing ever happens; not since his hero, jazz musician John Coltrane, left some seventy years
earlier to “follow the sound.” Cordy’s life has been unraveling since the night his father and his
brother, Travis, exploded on each other. The night Travis’s addiction transformed him from
budding musician into something entirely different. The night Travis took his saxophone and
disappeared. When Cordy’s father falls ill, the sixteen-year-old vows to reunite the Wheaton
family. He embarks on a modern-day odyssey with forty bucks in his pocket and a dream to find
his brother and convince him to be Travis again—by taking him to a show at Birdland Jazz Club
in New York City, and reminding him of the common bonds they share with their legendary
hero. Cordy’s journey is soon haunted by ghostly visions, traumatic dreams, and disembodied
voices that echo through his mind. He starts to wonder if the voices are those of the fates,
guiding him toward his destiny—or if he’s losing his grip on reality.

                                     Praise for ON THE WAY TO BIRDLAND

“Engrossing story and sympathetic characters. Morelli…makes it worth the trip.”—Booklist

“With a haunting secret, a brave journey and fascinating characters, On the Way to Birdland will
remind readers that when you take a giant step into the unfamiliar, you might just find
yourself.” —Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times Best Selling author of VERIFY and DISCLOSE

“On the Way to Birdland is a work of tremendous heart. It sings with the joys and pains of
family, hope, and impossible dreams. A must read for everyone trying to find their way back to
what matters most.”—Adrienne Kisner, Author of DEAR RACHEL MADDOW, THE CONFUSION
OF LAUREL GRAHAM, and SIX ANGRY GIRLS

“Listening to and believing in our fears keeps away from a life we wish for. On the Way to
Birdland shows us what’s possible when we listen to something else.”—Angelo Surmelis,
author of THE DANGEROUS ART OF BLENDING IN

“With balance, beats, and rhythm, this heartfelt coming-of-age story is bridged together like a
Coltrane riff under Frank Morelli’s skillful hand. ON THE WAY TO BIRDLAND and its cast of
diverse, fully fleshed-out characters are now included among My Favorite Things.” –Brenda
Rufener, Author of SINCE WE LAST SPOKE and WHERE I LIVE

“A classic tale of choice and chance, with more twists than a Virginia mountain road, On the
Way to Birdland is a guide to finding your true self by accepting that you are ‘completely
destructible…desperate not to get destroyed.” —Valerie Nieman, author of TO THE
BONES and BACKWATER (Fitzroy, 2022)

                                          About Frank Morelli

Frank Morelli is the author of the young adult novel, No Sad Songs (2018), a YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers nominee and winner of an American Fiction Award for best coming of age story. The first book in his debut middle grade series, Please Return To: Norbert M. Finkelstein (2019) is a Book Excellence Award finalist and provides young readers with a roadmap to end bullying. His fiction and essays have been featured in various publications including The Saturday Evening Post, Cobalt Review, Philadelphia Stories, and Highlights Magazine.

A Philadelphia native, Morelli now resides in High Point, NC with a brilliant illustrator and his fur babies. Connect with him on Twitter @frankmoewriter and on Instagram @frankmorelliauthor.

Author Links: Website , Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Goodreads , Amazon

Excerpt:

  I stand on the solid, white line like a flesh-covered statue. The roar of the road
builds in my chest. The semi approaches but does not slow down. The headlights
blind me and my ears approach explosion levels as the WAAAAAaaaarrrUUMMM!
erupts from the horn and the truck
barrels past. My legs buckle. I dive headlong for the safety of the road’s shoulder.
  The truck lurches and slides to a stop about fifty yards down the road. The
driver pulls the truck into the emergency lane and the door of the cab swings open.
He hops straight down to the road from his seat in one heroic swoop. I’m shocked halfway to hell 

with my chin on the pavement and a jagged collection of pebbles pressed into the side of my face.

  Before I can catch my breath, the driver is already hovering over me as I lie

there, stunned and motionless, having just had an eighteen-wheeler barrel past with
only the width of a Kraft single between me and certain death.
    “Hey! You alright?” he shouts.
  He drops to one knee and clamps his hands down on both of my shoulders.
There’s a sense of desperation in his voice. His eyes bulge from their sockets and the
whites glow against the dark curtain of night. For a split second, with the moon
glowing off the angles of his cheekbones and a slight quiver trembling his thin lips, I almost think 

it’s Travis staring down at me.

But then I blink and the image is gone. He’s just some guy with a shock of pitch-
black hair stretching out from under a beanie cap like a million tiny tentacles. But
that doesn’t stop him from taking hold of the sleeves of my t-shirt and hoisting me to
my feet like he’s known me all my life.

    “Dude! You okay?! Tell me you’re still alive!” he pleads, giving me a
rough shake. “Come on! Say something!” The scent of pine on the roadside hits my
nostrils and snaps me back to reality.
    “Yeah, I’m...I’m fine!” I push out through terrified lips.
  We stare at each other, dumbstruck—me, the scrawny slice of white toast with
a mask of freckles and the driver, a tall and ghostly-looking specter with dark, bushy
eyebrows, a network of metal hoops and gauges punched through both earlobes, and
a sinister-looking tattoo on his forearm.

    “Man, you almost gave me a heart attack,” the driver groans. He doubles over
and fights for air. “What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere at
this hour of the morning?”
    “Running,” I tell him. I feel my freckles turn into a single, red blotch
on my face when I say it. Like, I’m about to face the shame I deserve for
my reckless decision. But the shame never comes.
    “Everybody’s running,” he says.

                                                               Giveaway Details:
                 3 winners will receive a finished copy of ON THE WAY TO BIRDLAND, US Only.

                                                           

                                               >>>   GIVEAWAY   <<<

TOUR SCHEDULE

Week One:

5/24/2021  Rockstar Book Tours - Kickoff Post

5/25/2021  Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt
5/26/2021  Jaime's World - Excerpt
5/27/2021  Jaimerockstarbooktours -  Instagram Post
5/28/2021 YA Books Central  - Guest Post

Week Two:

5/31/2021  Fire and Ice - Review
6/1/2021  Living in a Bookworld - Guest Post
6/2/2021  Rajiv's Reviews -  Review
6/3/2021  @pagesofyellow - Review
6/4/2021  @barbs_bookland - Review

Week Three:

6/7/2021  Sj_bookshelf - Review
6/8/2021  The Keysmash Blog - Review
6/9/2021   Dorky Girl and Skeletor - Excerpt <  You are here :)
6/10/2021  The Obsessed Reader - Excerpt
6/11/2021  Lady Hawkeye - Excerpt

Week Four:

6/14/2021  I'm Shelfish - Excerpt
6/15/2021  A Dream Within A Dream - Excerpt
6/16/2021  Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers - Guest Post
6/17/2021  For the Love of KidLit - Excerpt
6/18/2021  The Momma Spot - Excerpt

                                 ~     ~     ~