Hi and welcome to the SHIFT blog tour! Thanks to Karen here at For What It’s Worth for hosting, and thanks to all the bloggers who’ll be taking part. Most of all, thank YOU all for coming to SHIFT’s Book Birthday party!
Before we get to the main topic of the day (Logan Patrick Keeley), I want to officially announce the title of the third book in the Shade trilogy.
First, there was SHADE…
Then, there was SHIFT…
And next summer….
probably on May 2…
although that can always change…
(you know how things are in publishing)….
There’ll be….
SHINE!
Why SHINE? Well, obviously, it’s a five-letter word beginning with SH. But once you’ve read SHIFT, you’ll understand why SHINE is a perfect title.
(Titles rejected as less than perfect: SHAFT, SHOVE, SHAVE, and SHARK. Also, SHRUG.)
On to the post! I decided that today’s installment should be about Logan, since it would be hosted by one of his biggest fans. The Other Guy gets a lot of female attention, (especially from women over 30―what’s up with that?), so it always makes me smile when someone declares themselves Team Logan.
Because Logan is a lot like me. Now, I can’t sing or play the guitar. I’m rarely the life of the party. And I’m not seventeen, a guy, or, you know, dead.
But Logan and I have many of the same hopes and fears. We’re both a little (a lot?) self-absorbed, we’re both major hams, we both get ecstatic over shiny new things, whether it’s a band or the latest Vans skate shoes. We both could not live without music, especially the Irish kind. And no matter how many friends we have, we secretly believe that everyone thinks we’re a jerk.
Since Logan expresses himself best through music, it seemed fitting to base his post around one of the many playlists he made Aura. He created “Sucks to Be a Ghost (Sometimes)” after his death, during the period that SHADE takes place. Most of the songs are about Aura, but some are about his struggles with death and regret and feeling invisible.
You can think of it as sort of a SHADE playlist from Logan’s point-of-view, though it doesn’t follow the story chronologically like the SHADE soundtrack does.
This playlist is available―with my preferred choice of Flogging Molly song―for purchase from iTunes’s iMix site: Logan's Playlist: Sucks to Be a Ghost (Sometimes). Note: I make no money off the sales of my iMixes―I just like to spread the word about bands I love.
The first song, “The End is Where We Begin” by Our Lady Peace seemed like the perfect place to start, because of the title and the way it fades in. These lines just killed me:
Here I am
Waitin' for one last chance,
'Cuz this time we got nothing left to lose,
And everything is ruined.
But the end is where we begin.
After he dies and comes back as a ghost, Logan and Aura pick up where they left off, but in a way they’re also starting over. They can’t touch each other, so their relationship goes back to a more innocent, pure stage, when it was all about being together and sharing the things they loved, making each other laugh.
For a while, anyway.
The line “everything is ruined” is total Logan. He’s quick to declare disaster and blame himself for it, but just as quick to turn around and say everything will be fine―no, everything will be awesome, and he’ll be the one to make it so.
Nearly a year ago, Karen told me about Mumford & Sons, that they reminded her of Logan. When I was writing his short story, I played their LP Sigh No More over and over, five or six times a day. Often in tears. Almost every track is made for Logan, and I imagine him singing different songs to different people in his life.
“Thistle and Weeds” at first seems like Logan wanting Aura to move on and stop wasting away with grief over him.
Plant your hope with good seeds.
Don’t cover yourself with thistle and weeds.
Rain down, rain down on me.
But then he screams, “I will hold on” again and again. He can’t let go, not yet.
Interesting note? The thistle is the national symbol of Scotland. So maybe when Logan is telling Aura, “Don’t cover yourself in thistle and weeds,” it’s code for, “Stay away from that Scottish dude!!” (It’s anyone’s guess who the “weeds” might be.)
Coldplay’s “Til Kingdom Come” appeared at the end of the SHADE playlist, and appears again at the beginning of SHIFT. Aura describes it this way:
The one Logan created after he died, “Sucks to Be a Ghost (Sometimes),” was ending now, with a hushed acoustic tune. One voice, one guitar, the way he’d played for me so many times. The song was a bonus track―an afterthought for the artist, but a thread of hope for us.
A few minutes before Logan dies unexpectedly at the beginning of SHADE, he kisses her, his lips cold from drinking way too much, and whispers against her mouth, “Wait for me, Aura.” They were his last living words. When he disappears near the end of SHADE, he tells her not to wait for him. He knows she needs to move on.
But she does wait, every night, listening to the mix CDs and playlists he made for her. “Til Kingdom Come” ends like this:
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.
For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
So time and time again, Aura and Logan hold on to each other, through life, and death, and much, much worse.
Logan will have his own short story coming in September, in the ENTHRALLED anthology. He is very excited about that.
Buy the books!
Giveaway!
If you’ve read SHADE and/or SHIFT, what do you think of Mr. Logan Keeley? (I promise not to feel bad if you think he’s a selfish, immature brat!) Do you want to smack him or hug him? If you haven’t read SHADE, what are some of your favorite love songs? You know the kind I mean, the ones that rip your heart out.
Answer one or more of these questions, or ask Jeri a question, in the comments below to enter today’s drawing. There will be two winners. (leave your email address so I can contact the winner)
The Prizes:
1) a signed copy of SHIFT, plus Logan’s playlist on iTunes, courtesy of Jeri. (Note: due to iTunes’s rules, the playlist may only be gifted within the US. International winners will receive a $15 iTunes gift card instead.)
2) an unsigned copy of SHIFT, courtesy of Jeri’s publisher.
*You are automatically entered to to win the Grand Prize by commenting.
*Contest open 24 hours after posting - Ends Wednesday April 27th at 9:00 AM
Open to international entries!
This daily Giveaway is open for 24 hours - winner announced tomorrow. Each stop on the tour will have a giveaway!
Every comment enters you to win the GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY - which is just made of awesomesauce!!
*Grand Prize: Annotated copies of both SHADE & SHIFT, plus a galley of the third book SHINE. There will be NO ARC's so this is an awesome prize!
Plus and iPod Shuffle!
Read all about it and comment on this post to enter.
*Author Bio: Jeri Smith-Ready’s next release is SHIFT (May 3), the second in the YA ghost trilogy that began last year with SHADE (which just came out in paperback April 5). She loves to hear from readers, so please visit her at www.jerismithready.com, or better yet, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jerismithready) or Twitter (@jsmithready), where she spends far too much time.
Karen here! I just want to tell you guys what a thrill it is for me to be hosting this blog tour. I have loved all of Jeri's writing for several years now.
As for the Logan question - yes, he's a selfish, immature brat! But what can I say, he loves with everything he's got and lives (or is dead??) in the moment. I love him and I'm always rooting for him.
Team Logan!! C'mon you three girls out there! Who's with me??
One more thing - I happened to have got an early sneak peek at Logan's short story for Enthralled and it is one of my favorite things Jeri has ever written.
Next stop on the tour - Mountains of Instead - All things Scottish (Especially Zachary)
are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project. In this lively and compelling account of that year, Rubin carves out her place alongside the authors of bestselling memoirs such as Julie and Julia, The Year of Living Biblically, and Eat, Pray, Love. With humor and insight, she chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier.
(pre-order this book!! Melissa has an awesome short story from the Wicked Lovely world)
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