Seattle, WA.—Camel Press is proud to announce the release of Not my Kid ... (ISBN: 978-1-60381-840-7, 280 pp., $17.95), by Mary Billiter, a novel about a single mother and newspaper reporter whose child becomes a suspect in a case she is covering. Tim Sandlin, author of the GroVont Quartet, says, “Mary Billiter doesn’t blink when staring head on into a parent’s greatest nightmare... She dives straight down into the deepest fears of the human heart. Not My Kid is a book to be savored.”
“(Not My Kid) is about small-town living in the West, single parenthood, working moms, kids in trouble, troubled adults,” says Tina Welling, Author of Cowboys Never Cry. “And Mary Billiter gets it all just right.”
Craig Johnson, author of The Cold Dish and Hell is Empty, says, “It’s the intimacy and sense of detail that makes Not My Kid a nightmare for every parent and pleasure for every reader.”
Megan Reilly is a newly divorced single mom trying to raise two sons. She is also an ambitious journalist covering a story about bomb threats at her son’s middle school. After her 13-year-old, Cameron, is arrested for shoplifting, he becomes the prime suspect in Megan’s big story. Her response is, “Not my kid.” As the case against Cameron builds, even the man who loves Megan thinks the boy deserves to be put away. But the authorities haven’t bargained on the fierce power of Megan’s maternal devotion.
“I was working at the Jackson Hole Journal when a series of bomb threats occurred at JH Middle School,” says journalist Mary Billiter. “When I tackled the story, I asked a counselor what prompts a kid to do such a thing. I kept thinking as a parent and not a reporter. When I asked what parents said when confronted with their child’s involvement, I was told the first response was always, ‘Not My Kid ...’
“I spent more than a year conducting interviews. When I went to write the story, the heartbeat I heard first was Megan’s. Then her son’s, the policeman’s, the attorneys’, the ex’s .... each of them had to tell their stories.
“‘Not My Kid’ may be the cry of every parent, but the child’s cry is the one that needs to be heard. What prompts young people to commit crimes that have the potential to harm many? Why are they acting out? What’s happening at home? Can you always point the finger at poor parenting? Does domestic violence play a role? Troubled kids. Troubled adults.”
Mary Billiter is a weekly columnist for the Casper Star-Tribune. Following in the footsteps of her father, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Billiter earned a BA in Journalism from California State University at Northridge. Mary teaches a Fiction Writing course for Western Wyoming Community College Outreach. A single mom, she resides in Wyoming with her four amazing children and their dog. You can find her online at marybilliter.com.
Not My Kid is available in Kindle ($4.95) and paperback editions on the Amazons and at select Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores. Bookstores and libraries can order by contacting info@Camelpress.com or through Ingram or Baker & Taylor. Other ebook versions can be purchased on Smashwords or from any of the major online ebook retailers.
ABOUT Camel Press—Based in Seattle Washington, Camel Press is a new imprint owned by Coffeetown Press. Camel Press publishes genre fiction: romance, mystery/suspense, science fiction, horror … or any combination thereof. We publish the books that grab you and hold you in their grip long into the night.