Swell by Julie Rieman Duck blog tour with giveaway

Hi guys! I’m so happy to be part of this blog tour hosted by CBB book promotions, which started last November 1 and will last until December 14 (which is tomorrow). As part of the tour, a guest post from the author is posted below, enjoy! But before that, take time to read the blurb of the book, :)

ISSUES 

by Julie Rieman Duck

There is a lot of talk about teenagers and peer pressure. We want to be part of the group and accepted, and in order to achieve this we must look, be, and do as they do. This goes against our individual requirements which may or may not subscribe to the group mentality. In other words, what’s good for the gander isn’t always good for the goose, but the goose doesn’t want to look like a duck so it goes along for the ride.

While peer pressures are many, there is something unique to girls in that they are developing their abilities to snag a man. Be cute for that guy. Smile at the right time. Wear the right clothes to get his attention. Be who you think he wants you to be, even if he really isn’t thinking that. Scores of teen magazines push these ideas, adding layers of pressure upon the already simmering volcano. There is no denying that love and adoration are a big goal for many teenage girls. Being selected by a popular, attractive boy is the pinnacle of success for Beck, and she isn’t about to deny herself the opportunity to pursue a relationship with him, even if that means she changes who she is to get his love. It’s self-pressure that initiates her downfall.

With regard to SWELL, peer pressure plays a big part in what happens to Beck in that it introduces her to her weaknesses. For example, Beck might never have discovered her addictive tendencies toward alcohol if she hadn’t felt like she had to attend the Toga Dance. But attending school events like dances or football games are a big part of getting accepted into the high school world, and whether or not these events remain benign or introduce us to bigger, bad things remains a Pandora’s box of surprises. For Beck, her initial reasons for drinking are surface and less emotional than they become later in the book. She wants to please Christian. She wants to be friends with his friends. She wants to be good and perfect in his eyes, even though this isn’t told to us directly. We don’t need Beck to be direct, because we intimately understand what she is doing if only because we’ve been there before on some level.

Once the addiction takes hold, it is less about peer pressure and more about internal demons that keeps Beck going back for more. The throes of addiction are not something to be cast off like summer clothing. They are shackles that hold on to our brains, our hormones, our bodies. We grow to depend on the drugs or alcohol to cope with our feelings, which are particularly new and strong during adolescence. Overwhelmed with all that comes along with first love and first loss, the bottle appears to be a good friend and safety hatch until it shuts you in. 

In a perfect world, we’d all grow up in a bubble and remain outside the sphere of group influence. However, would that really be so perfect? From the experiences we gain via peer pressure, both good and bad, we hone our individuality. Our personalities are carved. Thoughts and feelings about certain things become ingrained. And while some of these markers will have a negative impact for the rest of our lives, most of them will serve us well by keeping us strong and, hopefully, out of trouble.

~~~

Wow. Very well said Julie. I agree with Julie. Peer pressure is not a stranger to any of us, in one way or another we’ve been there, or if you’re still in school, maybe you’re currently experiencing it. But, what we must always remember is through those pressures, we become who we are. Our values develop. We live, we choose, we fail, we win, we learn. That’s how it is. :)

Title: Swell

Author: Julie Rieman Duck

     When Christian Rusch plucks Beck Ionesco from the freshman ranks for himself, she’s tempted with parties, popularity, and love. But as the free-flowing booze that soaks his world seeps into her own, Beck begins using liquid courage as a way to ignore Christian’s dark moods… and cover her anxiety about his flirtatious friend Hillman. 

     However, when Christian breaks up with Beck, and Hillman makes a dangerous move, no amount of alcohol can stop the pain or keep her out of trouble. And just when it seems like she’s lost everything, Beck is partnered with Jesse Leary for an art project. After spending time with him, Beck realizes it’s more than a study date… and Christian’s not happy about it. Then again, Beck’s not sure she’s happy with him, either.But only after plowing through a bottle of wine, a wild fight, and one guardrail that becomes Christian’s last call, does Beck admit to her problem and ask for help from the one whose life secretly parallels her own.

About the Author:

Born in Los Angeles and raised in San Clemente, California, Julie Rieman Duck wrote her way through school on an old-fashioned typewriter. Somewhere along the line, she was sidetracked by careers in magazine publishing and copywriting. While Julie honed her skills at writing print ads and articles, the stories that moved her heart and soul were bubbling underneath, waiting to escape. It took a medical scare and the loss of her job — on the same day and within 30 minutes of each other — to finally allow her stories to free themselves and be put to paper. Julie looks forward to writing more stories that hit where the heart beats fastest, and the soul reaches out for more.

GIVEAWAY!!!

This is a tour wide giveaway and ends 12/18/12.
One person will win:
(Open to US only)

• Paperback of Swell by Julie Rieman Duck
• Paperback of A Place in This Life by Julie Rieman Duck

One other winner will win:
(Open Worldwide)

• 1 ebook of Swell by Julie Rieman Duck
• 1 ebook of A Place in This Life by Julie Rieman Duck
• 1 ebook of The Joy and Torture of Joshua James
• 1 ebook of Earrings of Ixtumea by Kim Baccellia
• 1 ebook of Cornerstone by Misty Provencher
• 1 ebook (kindle) of There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack

a Rafflecopter giveaway