We are excited to bring you a special Valentine’s Day promotion of Jamison Hill’s most recent book, Something’s Wrong with Micah.
#MEAction had the pleasure of having a Twitter chat with Jamison when his memoir When Force Meets Fate came out. We now get to bring this Q&A about his newest book to you. Jamison has also generously decided to donate $1 for each book sold during the week of Valentine’s Day (Feb. 11- 18) to #MEAction! Thank you, Jamison!
Where to find this book: It’s available on Amazon, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, Spotify, and pretty much everywhere you can buy a book. If you’d like a signed copy, email me through my website, JamisonWrites.com.
Link: https://a.co/d/42HsjEG
Book description: “In the wake of a devastating car accident, sixteen-year-old Micah Hunter’s world begins to unravel. A mysterious illness leaves him unable to pursue the football dreams that he once shared with his father. At the peak of his illness, Micah bumps his wheelchair into Evie Thompson, a headstrong fifteen-year-old living with her own challenges. Coming of age and coming to terms with their disabilities, Micah and Evie find solace and companionship in each other.
As their connection deepens, Evie helps Micah discover the truth about his illness, allowing him to reconnect with his past. But, in doing so, Micah fails to discover Evie’s deteriorating health, which she keeps hidden. When Micah finally realizes the gravity of her situation, he must make the most difficult decision of his life: get Evie the help she needs or respect her wishes and risk losing her forever.”
Author Q&A
- What made you decide to write this book?
I had been writing essays and nonfiction, and I wanted to give fiction a try. I wanted to write a novel about characters with disabilities, and not just one that had such characters, but a story that really dove into what it’s like to live with a disability. - Is this your first time writing fiction?
Yes. Except for some previous unpublished attempts. - What made you decide to write a book for young adults/ featuring teens?
I love young adult books. They encapsulate such a crucial point in our lives, such a raw and honest time, when the realities of the world are revealing themselves and we have to figure it all out. I think that’s why YA is also widely read by adults. We want to look back on that special time. I know a lot of 30-40 year olds who read more YA books than adult books. Some people turn their noses up at YA, but they clearly haven’t read some of the great books in that category. I have always loved John Green books and others, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I wanted to write a book like that, but I wanted to make it more focused on disabilities. - Did your lived experience influence your character’s experience? If so, how?
Yes. Absolutely. Many of the topics and characters in the book are essentially composites of my experiences and people I’ve encountered. Although the doctors and treatments mentioned in the book are fictional, they are based on real examples, some of which still haunt me to this day. - How did you research the other disabilities represented in the book?
I started by reading a lot of blogs and watching a lot of YouTube videos made by people with a wide range of disabilities. I tried to include as many disabilities as I could in the book, but I had to narrow it down at some point. When I did, I used the research I had done to finish writing the book, then I had early readers with those disabilities read it and give me feedback. - Did you have a favorite scene? If so, what and why?
My favorite scene of a book is almost always the one that makes me cry. So I would say my favorite is the scene in the hospital near the end of the book. Though I did also enjoy the throat-punching scene. That’s a close second. - What do you hope people take away from this book?
I hope readers see that stories about characters with disabilities are worth reading. Finishing a novel takes time. It’s a commitment. It’s asking someone to listen to you tell a story for 8 or 10 hours. Not many people would sit through that unless the story is good. So I hope readers will feel that they didn’t waste their time, and the next time they see a book about disabilities, I hope they won’t hesitate to make that commitment again. - Is there anything else you want to share?
Yes. For the week of Valentine’s Day, I’m donating $1 to #MEAction for every book that is sold.
Jamison’s Story
“At the pinnacle of being a personal trainer, bodybuilder, and college student, my life was upended by a mysterious illness. I was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and Lyme disease.
By age 28, I was bedridden and couldn’t even lift a fork. For months I teetered on the brink of death, unable to speak, eat solid food, or elevate my body.
After months of anti-virals, hydrocortisone, and IV saline, I slowly started to regain my health. Eventually I began to walk again. I could eat meals and speak full sentences.
And now, while I haven’t had a full recovery, I have improved enough to tell my story through my blog and other writings, which I hope you’ll enjoy on this site.” Learn more at https://jamisonwrites.com/.
1 thought on “Valentine’s Day Interview with Jamison Hill & Book Promotion”
Really well articulated thoughts on the writing process. I learned a few things about the YA novel and it corroborates with reading Jamison’s book and the episodes it depicts. Well done and highly recommended reading.
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