Excerpt Tour and Giveaway: Stargazer by David Scott

Welcome to my stop on the excerpt tour for Stargazer by David Scott. This tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an exclusive excerpt from the book. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more exclusive excerpts. Enjoy!

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Title: Stargazer

Author: David Scott

Publisher: Tellwell Talent

Publication Date: January 27th 2020

Print Length: 385 pages

Genre: Autobiography

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For thousands of years, stars have held our attention and imagination. They influence our life—we wish upon them, sing songs about them, navigate by them, write about them, follow them, and even give their name to the actors we love. My memories have revealed a lifetime of navigating by the stars, and moving beyond the fear and anxiety that self-doubt so insidiously cloaks us in. Yes, as Jiminy Cricket sang for us in Walt Disney's Pinocchio, "when you wish upon a star . . . fate steps in and sees you through."

Memories and influences have a profound effect on our lives. I look back on my childhood years—the 1940s to mid-'50s—and I can recall the people who were inspirational to me. Mostly it was my family, but there was also Jiminy Cricket. You no doubt recollect the song "When You Wish Upon a Star," with its lyrics that lift the spirit and let you believe anything is possible. I didn't doubt Jiminy for a minute.

The early years of my life were a time of innocence, security, adventure, and family love. How quickly my situation changed—one decision by my parents, made with my best interests foremost in their thoughts, shattered the world I had known. Through the fear, torment, isolation, and loss of my own identity, my memories and influences would come to have an overwhelming power on the choices I was to make.

My transition from teenager to adult seemed to happen overnight, but my unflappable outward appearance belied the struggles of a boy coming to terms with his guilt, and an irresistible need for his parents to be proud of him. My future was being shaped from the past, but it took me a long time to realise it. I chose the road less travelled, steeped in the wonder of the cinema and accompanied by my beloved animal companions, and it has been intriguing, daunting, rewarding, and, at times, solitary, but I always felt it was the path I was meant to take.

Like so many people, I let the emotions attached to memories hold me captive, and I missed opportunities to choose with more clarity. A near-death experience helped me to live a simpler life. Participating in a creative writing course inspired me to engage in script writing, stage work, and novel writing. This is my third book, an autobiography that has revealed more of me than I ever intended to share, and fate has led you to it.

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

My popularity in the boarding house zoomed whenever my parents visited. Mum always stocked my locker to the gunwales with fruit and home-baked cakes and biscuits. At those times, “mates” came out of the woodwork to help me devour the feast, my best-friend status as transient as the last morsel of food.

Boarding school suited gregarious personalities, but for a family-protected country boy like me it was overwhelming, so I stayed as inconspicuous as possible, hanging out with a couple of like-minded friends. I had led a cloistered life with my family until going to boarding school, fishing, bait-collecting and watching plenty of movies. Being the youngest child of my family, I was used to my parents or siblings looking out for me. Consequently, I was ill-prepared for standing on my own feet and went along with what anyone proposed without thinking twice.

That was 1957, which I survived reasonably unscathed.

The next year placed me in a neutral zone, out of new-boy classification but not empowered with the dubious honour of providing initiations—that was the domain of third- and fourth-year students.

During the summer break I had experienced strange happenings with my body. Erections came at all times of the day and night and, not having a clue about the birds and bees, I was embarrassed by it. I was totally ignorant of sex; subjects like that were not mentioned at home—it would have been too embarrassing for everyone. Movies of the time didn’t broach the subject either—kisses were closed-mouth pecks, overly suggestive dialogue was banned, and waves crashing onto a beach represented intercourse, something that washed over my head. Whenever my puberty issue arose, I stayed in my room with the door closed until it subsided, or if that wasn’t possible I wore a long shirt outside my shorts and sat as much as possible. I awoke some nights thinking I was starting to wee and would grab myself to stop, little realising what was happening. It was most disconcerting.

At college, Aunty Vi taught biology (her nickname remains, whereas time has eroded remembrance of her real name), and her lessons were so clinical they held no personal relevance for me. If my mates sniggered I did too, even if I wasn’t always sure why. She was a kindly lady with a sense of fun, ending classes with, “Okay, boys. Down tools and out!” I was not a complete fool, so I’d worked the double meaning out by my erections, but my knowledge bogged down at the physical discomfort without understanding why. I even wondered if something may be wrong with me.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Scott is a playwright, director and novelist – among other things. His career included forty years as a film exhibitor; establishing a horse stud; managing a motel; working in the hospitality industry, and a few other experiences along the way.

 

David’s latest book, Stargazer, is an autobiography highlighting the value of family, ingenuity, bravado, old-fashioned common sense, colourful characters and unfailing good humour. From rural towns in Victoria and New South Wales, to the mountain life in Queensland, the constant has been faithful canine companions, perseverance and a joy for living.

Website * Amazon * Goodreads * Instagram

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GIVEAWAY:

David Scott will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions assumes all responsibility with this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway