It was really impulsive though- like I had the idea and sent the text about three seconds later!

Plus I’d just written a non-fiction book about Pride, so I was out in schools and talking with young people, and realizing just how much queer kids and teens wanted to see their lives reflected in the books they were reading. Robin: I missed you! You had moved two thousand miles away, and I missed hanging out and talking about writing. Do you remember what prompted you to reach out in the first place?

Tom: It’s been almost five years since I woke up to a text from you that said something like “hey Tom, I just had an idea: we should write a big queer Canadian YA novel together!” Obviously I was totally into it, and before long we were brainstorming and sending chapters back and forth. That is, if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each other’s eyes.Īnd here are Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson!

With a bit of luck, and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they’re looking for. When a series of complications throws everything up in the air, Mark and Talia-with Mark’s little sister Paige in tow-decide to hit the road for Toronto. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who’s barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the Gay Village. Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that’s about all they have in common, other than the fact that they’d both prefer to be in Toronto.

When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it. Living on opposite coasts-Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria-they haven’t seen each other in years. Today on the site, I’m excited to have both brains behind the exciting upcoming Toronto Pride-centric YA, When You Get the Chance, coming May 4th from Running Press! Here’s a little more about the book:Īs kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event.

Way to Go by Tom Ryan