Welcome friend! Today, I am excited to chat with Rebecca Alasdair, author of Holding Up the Sky, a contemporary YA novel. I met her through MTMC Tours during her book promo tour and shared about her work on the TBR version of books with LGBTQIA+ representation. Today, we will get to know Rebecca and her book better. Let’s welcome her.
Get to know the author: Rebecca Alasdair
Hi Rebecca! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hi there, thanks so much for having me! I’m a proud Aussie from Melbourne, and I was one of those crazy kids who loved writing stories from the moment I learned to hold a pencil. By day, I work in the public sector trying to save the environment, and by night I can usually be found typing away at my next novel. Some of my favourite things include dogs, coffee, reading until the dawn light peeks through the curtains, and tending to my many, many plant children.
What inspired you to write this book?
There wasn’t one specific thing that inspired Holding Up the Sky. I started writing it at a time of great change in my life. I’d recently finished high school and was coming to terms with what that experience had meant to my perfectionist self. I’d started university and my eyes were being opened to a whole new world outside the bubble I’d been in. This is a story that began as an exploration and grew with me over time. It’s funny how hard it can be to put our “inspiration” into words, but that’s as close as I can get!
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
The idea first came to me in 2014. Last edits were made in early 2022 and the book was published in late 2022. So that’s a good eight years it took in total! Eight years and four drafts and then came the final copy. But it’s not about how fast you write a book; it’s how much you want it and work for it.
What makes your story unique?
Mental health is a key theme in my book. One thing I really wanted to show—and which I’d never really seen in a YA book myself—was the main character getting professional help. Eventually. I wanted to explore not just the descent into darkness, but the struggle to rediscover hope and meaning in life. The getting-help part of the mental health journey is often glossed over in fiction, or it doesn’t happen at all. Not the case in Holding Up the Sky.
What is something you have learned on your author journey so far?
I could probably write a whole novel about things I’ve learned on my author journey, but one of the most useful lessons has probably been to take all advice with a grain of salt. There’s so much advice out there about writing and publishing. I’ve read a lot of it. I’ve tried some of it. I’ve continued using parts of it. What’s important is figuring out what works for me. Everyone’s journey is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Be very wary of anyone who tries to tell you there is.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
Having said all that about advice, there is one piece that will always stay with me. When I was ten years old, I attended a writing workshop, and the facilitator took the time to write a letter just for me. She saw straight to the heart of the problems I’d been having, and she taught me how to fix it. I needed more DISCIPLINE in my writing. Because I’ve always had so many ideas, it can be hard to keep a story on track. That’s where the discipline—and detailed planning—come in. To tell the truth, I didn’t fully understand the facilitator’s advice until years later, but once I did, I never looked back. If you’d like to read the letter yourself, it’s in my blog post The letter that changed my life.
Where can readers find you on the Internet?
- A summary of my top links on linktr.ee/rebeccaalasdair
- Website: rebeccaalasdair.com
- Newsletter: subscribepage.com/rebeccaalasdair
- Instagram: @rebeccaalasdair
- Facebook: @rebeccaalasdair
- TikTok: @rebeccaalasdair
- Twitter / X: @rebeccaalasdair
- Pinterest: @rebeccaalasdair
- Goodreads: Rebecca Alasdair
- My indie publishing imprint: southscriptpress.com.au
Holding Up the Sky
YA contemporary
Published 2022
A closeted Australian teen learns that there are some things love alone can’t conquer in this novel for fans of Heartstopper, Adam Silvera, and Sophie Gonzales.
Everyone knows Carter Cantwell: brainiac, music nerd, school captain. Total overachiever. What no one knows about him: all of it is a sham. The real Carter is an anxious mess still drowning in grief after tragedy ripped his family apart. He’s just gotten good at pretending.
Then he meets Remy. Brazen, charming, and everything he’s not, Remy blazes into Carter’s orderly world and turns his defences to ash. But as Carter juggles new responsibilities at school, old troubles at home, and this boy he can’t seem to stay away from, he starts cracking under the pressure.
With his secrets leaking out and all that he’s worked for falling apart in his hands, Carter faces the hardest choice of his life: succumb to his demons, or fight for the future he never knew he wanted.
But when you’re lost in the dark, how do you find your way back?
Content notes:This book contains content that may be distressing for some readers, including homophobia, suicide and self-harm, emotional abuse, and minor violence. A full list of potential triggers is available on the book’s content warning page.
Book Excerpt from
Holding Up the Sky
I avoided Remy for over a week. At school, during recess and lunch, I found excuses to stay away from him and the rest of my friends. I arrived as late as possible to the classes we shared so I could choose a seat on the opposite side of the room. I ignored his calls, and his text messages went unanswered.
It was a cowardly, immature thing to do, but I couldn’t face him after what I’d done.
I couldn’t face myself.
No one called me out on it until cricket training on Thursday afternoon. “So,” Jake said, voice muffled beneath his helmet, “are you going to tell me why you’re ignoring Remy?”
I kept my eye on the ball spinning towards me, stepping forward at the right moment to make a block with my bat. The ball ricocheted off the smooth willow surface with a satisfying crack and bounced back along the ground to Matt Phillips, who was taking his turn at bowling.
I straightened, glancing at Jake where he crouched behind the wicket. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh huh.”
Matt paced back out to the start of his runup. I made a few adjustments to my stance and flexed my hands. The rubber grip on the bat’s handle was worn so thin, I could almost see the brownish cane beneath, but I couldn’t bring myself to replace it. The bat had been my brother’s.
The ball came hurtling towards me.
Crack.
Jake groaned. “Come on, Carter, I’m your best mate. What gives? You’ve been ignoring him all week, and he’s been miserable.”
Remy was miserable? I hadn’t noticed. Then again, I had been avoiding him, so that wasn’t exactly surprising. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, my best mate or not.”
I struck the next ball hard, a low drive that flew straight back at Matt and forced him to leap aside to avoid getting hit in the groin. “Hey!” he squawked. “What the hell, Cantwell? Are you trying to maim me for life?”
“Sorry!”
Matt muttered something under his breath and jogged off down the embankment to fetch the wayward ball.
“Seriously. What’s got you all worked up?” Jake rounded the wicket and leaned back against the chain-link wall of the batting cage. “Did…” He lowered his voice, a hint of caution creeping in. “Did something happen on Saturday at Piper’s party?”
I whirled on him. “What? No!” Cold dread draped itself around my shoulders. “Why would you ask that?”
“He looks at you a lot. Like, a lot a lot.” Jake removed his helmet and peered at me through his fringe of sandy hair. “I suspect he has a crush on you, and since you started ignoring him after the party, I thought maybe…” He shrugged.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” The lie sat heavily in my chest. I licked my lips, knowing I had to offer him something more, or he might just keep pushing until I cracked. “We had a misunderstanding, that’s all. I’m dealing with it, and I’ll speak to Remy when I’m ready.” Not that I knew when that might be.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.” Jake grinned. “I like that kid. I didn’t want to have to kick his scrawny little—”
“Hey, Brenner!” Matt’s shout preceded him up the rise. “You’re up, man. I am not giving Mr Aggro another shot at my favourite parts.”
I felt a guilty sort of relief as Jake turned away.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away from Remy forever, no matter how much I wanted to. But every time I thought about approaching him, talking to him, a wraithlike hand took hold of my windpipe and squeezed. I told myself I’d use the weekend to get it together, to figure out what to do, but by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, I was no closer to answers than I had been eight days before.
Lying on my back in my childhood bed, I stared up at the ceiling. My vacant eyes traced the pattern of the glow-in-the dark galaxy Dad stuck up there when I was little. Its soft gleam beckoned, waiting for me to reach out and touch it.
But it was so far away, and the years had dulled its shine
I was like those stars and moons, like those planets and suns. Faded. Remote. Tired in a way that went bone-deep.
Then I felt sad.
It was the type of sadness that seized my heart and never let go, the type that slipped into my bloodstream like ice shards, ripping through the fragile walls of my veins. It was the type of sadness that stole my breath, a thief in a moonless night without end.
I was a collapsing star, sucking everything into itself as it died. Even the light.
You know I’ll always be here for you, right?
I thought I did. I thought Miles would be here forever. But he wasn’t. He’d left me to fight this battle on my own.
Interested?
Find Holding Up the Sky on Goodreads, IndieStoryGeek, Amazon. Thanks for taking the time to join us for this interview!
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.
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