Lindsey Black... Thanks for letting me visit today to talk about Fishy Riot. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, well, maybe this will give you a small glimpse at what’s to come. Though, honestly, probably not. I’m just going to say a few words about family (because everyone can refrain from a sermon about that. Ha!).
Most people think riot squad officer Taylor Jameson is an asshole. Little do they know his apparent indifference stems from having a meddlesome family always butting into his business. And little does Taylor know he’s about to stumble into a situation that’ll make indifference impossible.
When everything goes horribly wrong at a political rally on a harbour ferry, Taylor encounters Sietta Salisbury. The son of a wealthy politician, Sietta is a revered—but presumed dead—musician, and an enigma who is so strange, Taylor is compelled to look into his background. What he discovers draws him into a bizarre mess of prisoners, politics, and attempted murder that makes him realise what he’s been missing.
Falling in love isn’t hard. Trying to convince someone else you’re worth loving despite your crazy family and the people trying to kill you? That’s a whole other can of worms.
Order at Dreamspinner Press / Amazon / B&N
Cat gives this one 4 Meows with a 3 Purr heat index...
Taylor and Clay are riot squad workers. Their job is dangerous and their family weird and hilarious. On one job they have to watch a bunch of rich kids that are fundraising a save the sea life type event. Taylor meets a sexy Sietta a hot twenty to year old wealthy boy. When the party turns into a riot gone wrong and a huge drug bust, Taylor finds his picture in the paper with Sietta being drug out by his father and thinks something is fishy. Sietta's brother Micah hands Taylor a USB and after they see what is on it things get turned upside down.
Fishy riot is a fun story to read. There are a lot of fun, colorful characters. Taylor's family is crazy in a good way. After every job, they are calling them asking silly questions. It made the story fun. And Braden, their older brother's six-year-old daughter Em really steals the show with her remarks. They will make you laugh out loud.
The storyline is good, has some mystery, and humor. When Taylor and Sietta get together, there is a little hot man-sex, just enough to make the story sexy.
If you like Australian settings, fun characters, policemen, firefighters, Drs. , a tight family, a touch of mystery, cute kids, a bit of humor you will enjoy this book.
Guest post with Author Lindsey Black...
Family is a funny thing. While all of us have a different concept of family, generally crafted from our own experiences, regardless of culture or nationality we all seem to agree that family is an awfully funny thing. Fishy Riot is about a lot of (completely ridiculous) things but at its heart is family. It’s on the Perchance to Dream line at Dreamspinner press, and so it’s supposed to reflect Aussie life. Which it does, mostly in a ridiculous, satirical manner. But weirdly, most people are going to think it’s the family that’s OTT, when in fact…that’s really the most down to earth Aussie-esque part of it all.
Australia has a crazy history, and its recent multiculturalism has occurred only in the last few seconds of the hour of its inhabitancy. That said, regardless of origin all Aussie families have one strange trait that seems unique and I suspect stems from our sense of humour. We’re most brutal with those closest to us. This goes beyond honesty, since half of what we say is made up and deliberately false, and is instead about reaction. It’s about interactions, and having fun together, usually at one another’s expense. Okay, so almost always at one another’s expense.
Fishy Riot gives you two families; from the outside one seems perfect and the other seems nuts. But from the inside…well, that’s the point. Right? The Jameson’s are what families should be and the Salisbury’s are…not, regardless of how things appear. That’s kind of the point; we never find what he need in what we’re looking for because what we need isn’t a perfect picture from a glossy mag.
To non-Australian’s the Jameson’s probably seem over the top crazy and their shenanigans are likely unrealistic (I can only assume, based on my own experiences with non-Australian families). To Australians…well, we all go home for Xmas, right? Family gatherings are beyond insane, especially once you’re all adults (or as adult as we’re willing to behave at home). The way Australians treat those closest to them often sounds like we hate each other and world war three often feels one insult away, but as a general rule the harsher the conversation the better you know the people having it. This is definitely the case with the Jameson’s.
Each character is a bit of a stereotype; they’re each a version of archetypes common in Aussie families. They’re not perfect, and they don’t pretend to be. It’s love and an incredible sense of humour that crafts great families. It’s the stupid things we remember best. The silly things that make us family. Yeah, they seem nuts when viewed from the outside, but from within it’s just who we are. That’s what I’ve tried to capture in Fishy Riot.
Chloe Jameson is the typical Aussie mum; she loves her children enough to let them go and live their own lives, but expects them to rock up to a weekend BBQ on demand so she can berate them for everything stupid they’ve done of late. She loves her family, but she has her own life and she makes sure her children know it.
Daniel is, like his wife, a conglomerate of Aussie stereotypes; he’s not obsessing over football on the couch, he's out cooking on the BBQ with a beer while he catches up with friends and talks about work and life. He’s an integral part of his family, constantly involved but knowing when to back off and his kids and wife know he loves them. He’s not miserable, he doesn’t regret his choices; he’s living the Aussie dream. I think a lot of fiction portrays fathers who hate their lot in life and that’s pretty crap. It isn’t un-masculine to love your family.
Bray’s the oldest child, and as a result he feels the weight of responsibility. He’s married, with the kids and trying to build his own life which resembles his parents’ life because that’s the ideal that’s been drilled into him.
By contrast, Clay and Taylor are their own unit, separate from the group but still integral. They’re designing their own reality ---the typical Australian middle child, despite not being in the middle. It’s a different concept to the Jan Brady middle child syndrome drilled into us by TV sitcoms. Here they’re an integral part of the family, but they’ve forged their own path and a lot their success is in being removed from the place they started. They go home and touch base, but they’ve managed to get the farthest away.
Hayley is the oldest girl and has taken Brayden’s lead; she’s married, wants kids one day, and still calls everyone in the family so they’re all in touch. She’s following in Chloe’s footsteps, knitting everyone together.
Ash is the youngest boy, so naturally he idolizes the person who’s managed to most remove themselves from the family –Taylor—because the youngest always ends up closest to home.
Leila is the youngest, but she’s too far removed from the older siblings. They’ve left home and as a result she’s almost an only child. It’s more like she has five sets of parents. She’s not spoiled but she’s a tad oblivious and she’s probably going to be living at home til she’s 30 while she works her way through a string of terrible partner choices and bad life decisions and that’s OK. Absolutely everything is OK when you’re the youngest.
The point is Fishy Riot isn’t about rotten families – though it could be, because look at the Salisbury’s (no amount of counselling is going to help those guys!). It’s not about how abusive we are to each other –though it could be, because…those darn Salisbury’s. Seriously, they’re on another level. Fishy Riot isn’t preaching how families should be. Because really, can you say Salisbury?
Fishy Riot is a reminder to go home on Saturday (or Sunday), sit down with the people who love you and talk shite. Hang out. Rag on each other. Then go back to your own place and remind yourself that your family is crazy and that’s OK. And if someone invites you to their family BBQ next weekend, GO! Guaranteed, even if it’s awful, it’ll be hilarious. Nothing beats looking in on someone else’s family madness. Hopefully you have some fun getting a glimpse at the Jameson’s in Fishy Riot.
Lindsey Black lives in Darwin, Australia, where the weather report permanently reads ‘humidity at 100%, only going to get worse’ for ten months of the year and ‘monsoon at 4:00 p.m. for exactly fifteen minutes’ for the remaining two. Between teaching and studying full-time, she escapes this oppressive environment to bushwalk for weeks on end wherever the mobile phone reception has zero bars for as long as possible and the weather report reads something along the lines of ‘blizzard likely.’ She enjoys martial arts, music, and mayhem, which explains the untidy state of her home where she attempts to write while splitting her minimal amounts of spare time between her incredulous husband, lazy Chinchilla cat, and crazed Siberian husky. If you expect her to sit and have a chat, it’s best to have a matcha green tea latte with almond milk on hand and your hiking boots within reach. Oh, and be sure to bring a guitar for impromptu jam sessions.
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Thanks for the review & post!
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