Scott Semegran's Blog - Posts Tagged "semegran"

SAMMIE & BUDGIE, a new novel by Scott Semegran. Release date: Oct 1, 2017. Pre-order now on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo. Only $2.99! Cheaper than a fancy cup of coffee. Pre-order today!

From Kindle bestselling writer and cartoonist Scott Semegran, Sammie & Budgie is a quirky, mystical tale of a self-doubting IT nerd and his young son, who possesses the gift of foresight. The boy's special ability propels his family on a road trip to visit his ailing grandfather, a prickly man who left an indelible stamp on the father and son. The three are connected through more than genetics, their lives intertwined through dreams, imagination, and longing.

Sammie & Budgie is an illustrated novel brought to you from the quirky mind of writer and cartoonist Scott Semegran. The novel explores the bond between a caring father and his children, one affected by his own thorny relationship with his surly father, and the connection he has with his sweet son is thicker than blood, going to the place where dreams are conceived and realized.

"Engaging and fun, with wonderfully crafted characters." --Derf Backderf, award-winning and bestselling creator of the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer

"Sammie & Budgie is instantly absorbing... I loved this book!" --Davy Rothbart, author of My Heart Is an Idiot, creator of Found Magazine, and contributor to public radio's This American Life

"A sweet story about an extraordinary everyday family, Sammie & Budgie will find its way into your heart, and stay there." --Emily Flake, New Yorker cartoonist, author of Mama Tried: Dispatches from the Seamy Underbelly of Modern Parenting, and creator of Lulu Eightball

Pre-order today!

Pre-order for Amazon Kindle http://amzn.to/2vlC4yQ

Pre-order for Google Play Books http://bit.ly/2vw5dYs

Pre-order for Kobo Books http://bit.ly/2v1ZiYh

Pre-order for Apple iBooks http://apple.co/2vwmD7B

Pre-order for Barnes & Noble Nook http://bit.ly/2vvZh1F

Sammie & Budgie

KIRKUS REVIEW

Two short stories and a novella about youngsters growing up in Texas.

Author Semegran (The Discarded Feast, 2017, etc.) assembles three pieces of fiction; each chronicles the struggles of a boy in Texas—a second-grader, a teenager, and a recent college graduate. In the first story, “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen,” a quirky grade schooler, William, plays solitarily with his toys, which function as surrogate friends. He’s terrorized daily by Randy, a relentless bully, and conspires with his toys to fill his tormenter with fear, pilfering a gun from his parents’ room. Later, a repentant Randy apologizes and reveals that his father is his own oppressor. The boys make amends and become friends, but that doesn’t mean all ends well. In “Good Night, Jerk Face,” Sam obsessively pines for a 1980 Mazda RX7 and takes a job at a local Greek restaurant to save up for it. He makes deliveries in the owner’s truck, though he doesn’t have a driver’s license and doesn’t know how to drive. He starts to put his preoccupation into context, however, when he begins spending time with his crush. In the longest piece, The Discarded Feast, Seff, an aspiring writer, barely makes ends meet working at a restaurant. He starts stealing the food that’s headed for the dumpster but is eventually caught and fired. Along the way, though, he begins a potentially promising relationship with co-worker Laura Ann. Semegran artfully weaves together lighthearted comedy and emotional turbulence in each of the stories, and in the last one, Seff practically sustains his meager survival with jocose banter. The writing is sharp and unpretentiously thoughtful, and since each of the main characters finds solace in companionship, this is an affecting literary depiction of the comforting power of friendship. Each of the stories can be read on its own, but taken together, they make a coherent, thematic whole, skillfully produced.

An endearing collection that deftly captures the need for youthful fellowship. -- Kirkus Reviews

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/scott-semegran/boys/

Boys by Scott Semegran

INDIEREADER REVIEW

Three clever and captivating stories weave in themes of companionship and friendship in BOYS

Verdict: With nary a dull moment, Scott Semegran's BOYS features short stories filled with unexpected nuances that draws readers right into the heart of his well-developed characters.

IR Rating: 5 Stars, IR Approved

Congeniality reigns among action figures (i.e., Star Wars, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors) within William’s fictional and solitary realm in “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen.” Through an imaginary conversation with William, Brave Raideen—a Shogun Warrior action figure—comes up with a solution to scare Randy, the bully at William’s school, “real good.” What follows is entirely unexpected.

During the summer of 1986 in “Good Night, Jerk Face,” Sam wants a 1980 Mazda RX7 for his 16th birthday, even though he has no cash and doesn’t know how to drive. Taking a job working at a Greek restaurant appears to be a good thing until his boss asks him to make deliveries.

In “The Discarded Feast,” Seff and his friend Alfonso make piddly as restaurant servers. Barely making ends meet, the two friends have no idea how they’ll be able to bring in enough money to pay the monthly rent. When the restaurant’s corporate headquarters introduce some changes, Seff and Alfonso end up making their own decisions, which eventually lead them onto different paths.

Semegran adds verisimilitude to his latest collection of stories by employing very relatable human-interest scenarios. In “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen,” both William and Randy seek love, acceptance, and friendship amid undesirable circumstances. Sam represents the stereotypical teen in “Good Night, Jerk Face” who is aching to spread his wings a bit. The longest story—a novella—will most likely speak the loudest to those readers who have struggled with higher education, student loans, and finding a decent-paying job.

Uniting and enriching Semegran’s human-interest stories is his writing style. Semegran weaves in familiar and even expected dialogue scenes while carefully crafting unexpected nuances to his plots. He also has an ability to draw his readers right into the heart of his well-developed underdog characters and their emotional well being. Amid subtle and not so subtle twists and turns, Semegran leaves his audiences ruminating on his surprising story closures.

With nary a dull moment, Scott Semegran’s BOYS features short stories filled with unexpected nuances which draw readers right into the heart of his well-developed characters.

~Anita Lock for IndieReader

https://indiereader.com/2017/08/three-clever-captivating-stories-weave-themes-companionship-friendship-boys/

Boys by Scott Semegran

KIRKUS REVIEW

A father suspects his young son may hold the power to see the future in this novel.

Simon Burchwood is a tender father of two with a difficult life. A computer networking specialist who dreams of becoming an author, he spends an inordinate amount of time reflecting on his inadequacies and failures. Following the death of his ex-wife in a motor vehicle accident, Simon must raise Sammie, a bright as a button little boy with special needs, and his elder sister, Jessie, a competitive young girl with a ferocious love of taekwondo. Sammie wants a pet budgerigar (an Australian parakeet), which he plans to name Budgie. Simon begins to suspect that Sammie has unusual abilities when the child foresees his after-school counselor seriously injuring herself. Intrigue builds as Sammie’s apparent mysticism allows him to select a winning lottery ticket at a convenience store. Surprised and alarmed by his son, Simon takes Sammie to a physician but is met initially with skepticism. Yet when Sammie envisions that all is not well with his grandfather, whom he refers to as PeePaw, the clan sets off on a road trip posthaste. The result is a sensitively told story about family bonds and individual dreams. This is the third installment in the life of the fictional wannabee author. Semegran’s (The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, 2012, etc.) fan base will recognize Simon’s rambling, often crude confessional inner monologue: “Sometimes, kids say the weirdest things at the weirdest times and there really is no rhyme or reason to why they say these things. They just do, and what they say is like an involuntary burp that escapes your mouth an hour after lunch or a silent yet stinky fart that slips out while you’re in an important meeting.” Some readers may quickly dismiss this approach as overly wordy and tiresome, yet Semegran is a persuasive writer, and in this particular story, Simon’s self-doubting verbosity becomes oddly endearing. Sammie is the true star, however—a sparklingly intuitive young character whose few words make the tale truly tick. Simple lines such as “Sorry I told you the truth, Daddy” are not only heart-melting, but also succeed in puncturing the hubris of adult life with the innocence of childhood. Illustrated throughout by Semegran, this book is the author’s best. In these pages, his steadfastly idiosyncratic style really begins to click.

An unconventional, beguiling, and endearing family tale. -- Kirkus Reviews

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/scott-semegran/sammie-budgie/

Sammie & Budgie by Scott Semegran

IR’s second AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR post stars multi-hyphenate author (novels, short-stories and comic books) Scott Semegran. Scott shares his (almost) 25 year journey from early indie (1995) to over 35,000 books sold (to-date!) in 2017.

IndieReader (IR): When did you start writing?

Scott Semegran (SS): I began writing in 1993, the week after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English. In the years following, I garnered publication credits here and there: some poetry in journals (1996), a comic strip in a city paper (1999), and a short story in a literary journal (2002). I also began a career as a web developer.

IR: When did you decide to publish your first book?

SS: I completed two novels, one of which I self-published in 1995, back in the days when it was still called vanity publishing and was frowned upon. In 2003, I completed a draft of a novel but abandoned it after the death of my father. In 2004, I created a comic strip that eventually found its way into several alternative, weekly newspapers and I focused on that for many years. The money was meager but I was building a body of work: fiction and comic strips.

Continue reading on IndieReader.com. https://indiereader.com/2017/11/slow-steady-scott-semegran-25-year-indie-journey/