Earlier in the year, I decided to do some heavy rewrites on Kamikaze Boys. That seems a little crazy in retrospect, because the original version had always been received well. The reviews were good and it’s the only book of mine to win a Lambda Literary award. So if it’s not broke, why fix it? The answer is simple: I wanted there to be an audiobook version. That’s a significant financial investment, so it seemed prudent to reacquaint myself with the contents before sending them along to the narrator. When I did, I wasn’t happy with what I saw. I’ve written over a dozen books since first publishing Kamikaze Boys. I’ve learned a trick or two while honing my craft. When I started rereading the book, I could see way too many imperfections. Clumsy phrasing, awkward pacing, jokes I didn’t quite manage to sell or emotional moments I neared without quite reaching… I also saw plenty in the story that I still liked, which made me eager to jump back in and put what I had learned to good use. Not only did I give everything a much needed polish, but there’s extended content, additional scenes, and a brand new cover to wrap it all up in.

I’m especially pleased about that last bit. The previous cover was created under serious time constraints and far from ideal circumstances. That’s a story in itself which I’ll save for another day. I’ve been wanting to give this book a facelift for a long time though, and I’m thrilled with what Andreas came up with this time around. Even though I added nearly 20,000 words to this new version, I also strived to keep the original story intact. I didn’t rewrite history. I only did a better job of representing events. So if you’d like to revisit my favorite self-destructive teenagers, you can find the second edition of Kamikaze Boys at Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and my personal shop.

As for that audiobook, it’ll be out early next year. Kirt Graves, who worked with me on Straight Boy, has agreed to narrate Connor and David’s story. I can’t wait to hear his take on these characters! If you’d like to be notified when the audiobook is out, please consider signing up for my newsletter at the link below. I promise I won’t pester you too much. For now, no matter your format of choice, I hope you enjoy revisiting a book that is near and dear to my heart.

Kamikaze Boys is making its audiobook debut in early 2020. To be alerted when it’s out, please sign up for our newsletter:.