Featured Author & Giveaway: MB Mulhall

MB Mulhall has been reading and writing since childhood; her love of stories so great it pushed her to earn a BA in Comparative Literature and Languages from Hofstra University. Wanting to share that love and inspire young writers, she also has an Elementary Education background from Georgia Court University.   Currently, her full-time job is working with developmentally disabled adults, and she gets her writing time in before or after hours.

  She has dedicated much of her time not only to writing great stories but also to navigating social media and educating herself in the industry. She runs a successful blog sharing her writing challenges and advice with other authors.

  Born and raised a Jersey girl, MB is often inspired by the beauty of her state and the people who visit its shores, snapping pictures and making up stories in her head to writing down at a later date. When not writing, she’s plowing through her cascading to-be-read piles, crafting, doing her nails, or watching Doctor Who.

Connect with MB Mulhall on Twitter @MBMulhall or visit her website: http://keystrokesandwordcounts.wordpress.com .

Q&A with Author MB Mulhall:

1. Tell us about your cover design. Is there any symbolism from the story reflected in the cover?
   
   The beautiful cover represents the main character, Ian, at his heaviest, which puts him into the bottom of the heavyweight wrestling class, not a good place to be when his opponents weigh much more. The title though, not only refers to his sport, but to the heavy weight of the secrets that he carries around with him.


2. In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?
   
   It deals with the stresses of a sport and what some athletes are willing to do to themselves, mentally and physically, in order to succeed. Ian struggles with an eating disorder, but it’s different than what most people would expect. Many think of those who are anorexic or bulimic as having body dysmorphic disorder, but that’s not really Ian’s issue. He’s more concerned with being the best he can be at his sport, and that means either starving himself or binging and purging in order to remain at the top of his weight class, regardless of the strain it puts on his heart and the rest of his body.


3. What did you like to read when you were a teenager?
   
   As a teen I pretty much devoured everything of Stephan King’s I could get my hands on. Horror was kind of my go to genre followed by adult romance/smut such as Jackie Collins. The Young Adult genre, sadly, didn’t really exist at the time.


4. Tell us something we’d be surprised to learn about you.
   
   Even with a comparative literature and languages degree, I pretty much hate most English lit. Pride and Prejudice? Not even the addition of zombies made me want to read that. Bronte sisters? Snooze-fest. Shakespeare? Well, most of his stuff gets a pass, especially A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Prankster Puck turns Nick Bottom’s head into a donkey’s head! How can you not enjoy that?


5. If you could travel back in time and tell the teenage you one thing, what would it be?
   
   Ooh there’s lots I’d probably tell myself, but I think the two main things would be to have more confidence in myself and plan to travel after high school before college. I think a lot of kids are going right into college without a clue of what they really want to do with their lives. It leads to dropping out, wasting money or being stuck in a profession you don’t really enjoy. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with taking some time off to learn more about yourself and what you really love. Traveling is a learning experience and once you’re settled into school or a job, you find you don’t really have the time for it. Do it while you’re young. Acquiring student loans can wait!


6. What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
   
   I would love for them to walk away knowing: to change your goals does not equal failure, that everyone deserves love and acceptance, and that true friends will stand by your side, regardless of the circumstances.

Now Available from MB Mulhall:

Heavyweight Secrets. Their weight can be crushing, but their release can change everything—and not necessarily for the better. Ian is no stranger to secrets. Being a gay teen in a backwater southern town, Ian must keep his orientation under wraps, especially since he spends a lot of time with his hands all over members of the same sex, pinning their sweaty, hard bodies to the wrestling mat. 



When he’s trying not to stare at teammates in the locker room, he’s busy hiding another secret—that he starves himself so he doesn’t get bumped to the next weight class.



Enter Julian Yang, an Adonis with mesmerizing looks and punk rocker style. Befriending the flirtatious artist not only raises suspicion among his classmates, but leaves Ian terrified he’ll give in to the desires he’s fought to ignore.



As secrets come to light, Ian’s world crumbles. Disowned, de-friended, and deserted by nearly everyone, Ian’s one-way ticket out of town is revoked, leaving him trapped in a world he hates—and one that hates him back.

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Heavyweight Giveaway!

MB Mulhall has generously donated a free copy of Heavyweight for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on 2/23/14.