Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: Growing up is complicated—particularly when you’re a gay kid living in the Bible Belt. R.C. Dickens has given us a fantastic queer coming-of-age novel, , and we’re lucky enough to have them here to answer our questions about it. R.C., can you tell us the blurb for your book?

R.C.: Kayden Moses has worked for 15 years to be a good pastor’s son. He’s volunteered at every Vacation Bible School, never missed a youth group meeting, and tries to follow the example of his spiritually gifted twin sister, Delilah. However, all his diligent efforts are disrupted when he meets the biggest stumbling block of his life:

Alex. The new boy in youth group. Bubbly. Opinionated. Dizzyingly nice to look at.

Suddenly, Kayden finds himself caught in a spiral of confusion and asking questions he’s never asked before.

Who is Kayden Moses? Because he’s certainly not a good pastor’s son anymore.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

R.C.: This book initially started as a short story imagining a young man protesting a pride parade seeing his ex-lover from across the fence. That conflict of faith and sexuality became the core of Crown of Blooms and it sort of spiralled from there.

Zilla: It sounds like a very personal story. If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

R.C.: Sorry not sorry, lol. But to be serious, I would probably tell Kayden that there is an entire world outside of the Bible Belt, full of people who will love you as you are. The world is not nearly as hopeless for a queer kid as it feels, as you’ve been told over and over again for your entire life. It’s cliche to say, “It gets better”. I think it’s more honest to say, “You can make it better.” You can break free of those chains, form your own beliefs, find your own tribe. Your Pink Pony Club is out there, somewhere, waiting for you.

Zilla: That’s really beautiful—thank you for saying that. Is there a fictional character who has been with you through your life?

R.C.: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) was my first love. I wrote three novel length ATLA fanfictions between the ages of 12-16 about Zuko and my self insert Mary Sue OC. No one understands Zuko like I do. I genuinely owe my whole writing career to this character as I wouldn’t have discovered my love of writing if not for my obsession. He’s just such a compelling, well rounded character with endless depth. I could talk about the intricacies of his character arc for days.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

R.C.:  I’m currently looking for beta readers for the sequel, Crown of Thorns, which is very exciting. I’m also publishing a serial romance on the Radish app called Prince and the Gladiator if you’re interested in a high-heat trope driven romp.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

R.C.: You can find me on TikTok @babyraythesadclown or on Instagram @rcdickens_author. If you want to go purchase your copy of Crown of Blooms, sign up to be a beta reader or read my other work, check out my link tree: https://linktr.ee/RCDickens