Title: That Feeling When
Author: SM James
Series: #lovehim #1
Genre: Young Adult, M/M Romance
Release Date: September 16, 2018
Publisher: May Books
Cover Artist: Story Styling
Dance Academy reject, Archie Corrigan, resents the stereotype guy ballet dancers are gay. Because he isn’t. At all. Forced to reassess his life goal at Camp Crystal Cove, it’s by sheer dumb luck he meets Landon Summers, who turns everything Archie was sure of into chaos.
Poor boy turned teen heartthrob, Landon Summers, is the name on everyone’s lips. With his unexpected leap to fame, his agent advises him to keep his bi status on the down low. Not a problem! Until Landon meets Archie.
Their unexpected friendship leads to an inevitable kiss, but their moment is caught in high definition and used as fuel for blackmail. If the truth gets out, Landon’s career could be over, and Archie will be forced to acknowledge the one thing he’s fought to deny.
But how do you go back to your average life once you’ve experienced That Feeling When ... you’re finally happy?
Landon Summers is into guys. I think he likes you.
And while Meredith didn’t say anything about me, there was something way too knowing in her look. Everyone else seems too into their own lives to be paying us any attention, and even when we’re announced winners of the trivia, my celebration doesn’t crack the surface chill that’s taken over me.
Meredith’s wrapped her arm through mine, and she’s cheering with the others, one hand in the air.I’m a week in the past. Watching Landon pull on that stupid costume in the dark. The spark in his eyes as he thanked me. The brush of his skin on mine.
How was that only a week ago?
Why can’t I go back and enjoy that moment more? Savor my time with him?
Really take it all in, before he went and messed it all up.
What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I’ve always written YA fantasy as that’s the genre I used to read. Then one day I picked up one of Rainbow Rowell’s books (fangirl), which lead to Carry On, and Dumplin’, and Simon vs, and then it seemed like all I was reading was contemporaries—a genre I had purposely steered clear of because I was convinced nothing fun ever happened IRL.
The more I read, the more real the characters and their relationships began to feel, without the distraction of immense world building and complicate plots (which I still love). And then there was the whole diversity side of things. For a long time there, all the fantasy I read had the coloured or gay characters killed off, or as ‘plot devices’. Reading contemporary YA showed me these characters can be the heroes, and I ship that hard.
When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
That’s a tough one. I kind of love/hate it all. I love the planning because I get to know the characters I’m about to be spending a whole lot of time with, but it always seems to take forever. Then I love the writing, because telling their stories is so much fun—but I never seem to have enough time for it. Then I love seeing a book really come together in edits, but sometimes it frustrates me to tears when something just will. Not. Work.
Then finishing is really bitter sweet. I’m one of those lame people who really misses my character when I’m done.
When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
LGBT YA for sure. There’s so much hope and optimism in the characters, and it really is an amazing thing to watch characters be true to themselves, even in the face of adversary. (I should point out here, I only read books with happy endings.)
If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
So I’m currently reading Riding with Brighton and I’m so addicted it’s really messing with my work life. So maybe Haven Francis, but any other time it would have been Becky Albertalli.
Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
Always. In primary school I was ‘that kid’ who always had a book in front of them. I can still remember getting to school early one morning, and there was literally just me and this other kid I used to hang out with there. I pulled out a book on palmistry (I don’t even know why) and he said, “Why do you read all time? It’s kind of weird.” I bit back with something incredibly witty I’m sure (probably, “You are”) and went back to my book. It was my very first experience with knowledge not being valued. I wanted no part in it.
That’s around the time I started writing (badly). I just wanted to reach other people like me.
I’ve always written YA fantasy as that’s the genre I used to read. Then one day I picked up one of Rainbow Rowell’s books (fangirl), which lead to Carry On, and Dumplin’, and Simon vs, and then it seemed like all I was reading was contemporaries—a genre I had purposely steered clear of because I was convinced nothing fun ever happened IRL.
The more I read, the more real the characters and their relationships began to feel, without the distraction of immense world building and complicate plots (which I still love). And then there was the whole diversity side of things. For a long time there, all the fantasy I read had the coloured or gay characters killed off, or as ‘plot devices’. Reading contemporary YA showed me these characters can be the heroes, and I ship that hard.
When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
That’s a tough one. I kind of love/hate it all. I love the planning because I get to know the characters I’m about to be spending a whole lot of time with, but it always seems to take forever. Then I love the writing, because telling their stories is so much fun—but I never seem to have enough time for it. Then I love seeing a book really come together in edits, but sometimes it frustrates me to tears when something just will. Not. Work.
Then finishing is really bitter sweet. I’m one of those lame people who really misses my character when I’m done.
When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
LGBT YA for sure. There’s so much hope and optimism in the characters, and it really is an amazing thing to watch characters be true to themselves, even in the face of adversary. (I should point out here, I only read books with happy endings.)
If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
So I’m currently reading Riding with Brighton and I’m so addicted it’s really messing with my work life. So maybe Haven Francis, but any other time it would have been Becky Albertalli.
Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
Always. In primary school I was ‘that kid’ who always had a book in front of them. I can still remember getting to school early one morning, and there was literally just me and this other kid I used to hang out with there. I pulled out a book on palmistry (I don’t even know why) and he said, “Why do you read all time? It’s kind of weird.” I bit back with something incredibly witty I’m sure (probably, “You are”) and went back to my book. It was my very first experience with knowledge not being valued. I wanted no part in it.
That’s around the time I started writing (badly). I just wanted to reach other people like me.
SM James in an Australian author who writes books for teens about squishy sweet characters. While not writing, SM is a readaholic and Netflix addict who regularly lives on a sustainable diet of chocolate and coffee. Member of SCBWI. Unapologetically dishing out HEAs for LGBT+ characters.
That Feeling When #1
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