Brain to Books Blog Tour – Kevin Zdrill

Kevin Zdrill discovered the power of story telling at the age of 11. After dusting off a manual typewriter from the closet of his parent’s home, he began creating short, comedic skits for his friends to read. Their laughter at these unadorned stories sparked an enthusiasm to continue exploring human behavior and relationships.

“I’m always looking for the characters within my books to have natural flaws. I find it speaks to their desperate nature in humorous and earnest settings. It’s important for the reader to relate and bond to the characters and to care about the chain of events that occur.”

Kevin Zdrill is a Manitoba-based author employed in the field of mental health and crisis intervention. His comedy fiction series, including No Kiss Good-Night and Boom Chicka Wah Wah, captures the heartfelt misadventures of dating and relationships. His third book, Crazy, Mixed-Up World, explores the ramifications of the collision of life, love, and betrayal.

Blurb

When thirty-year-old independent web designer Larissa Androshchuk separates from her husband after nine months, one day, and a morning, she blames it on the Ukrainian curse that has dogged her family for generations; she believes that all

Androshchuks are destined to fail at whatever they do.

Larissa moves back to her former room in the basement of her parents’ Manitoba house, where she starts posting a blog venting her fears and frustrations. In spite of her uncertain and possibly ill-fated future, she is determined to break free of the

family shackles. Larissa embarks on a complete makeover as a prelude to a triumphant return to the dating scene, turning for help to her best friend, Bernadette; her Internet-savvy cousin Garth; her middle-aged diva aunt Tina; and her ninety-one-year-old pierogi-making baba. But the men she encounters turn out to be even more damaged than her ego. Meanwhile, Larissa’s father unabashedly takes to restoring the tarp covered twenty-year old Chrysler in the backyard to ensure her stay in their house will be short-lived, making her life even more uncomfortable.

When an unexpected opportunity presents itself, Larissa sees this as her last shot to take control and leap free from her fate. But can she escape the curse long enough to turn her life around?

Excerpt

I flopped down on my bed, not caring … what effect the towel was going to have on my hair. Let it become a rat’s nest, I thought. There was no one to impress anymore. Fingers wouldn’t be running through it with passion—not that I’d ever had that kind of passion from my ex, but I always fantasized it could happen at any moment.

Did I really believe that was possible? I took a deep breath and moved my gaze around the room slowly, taking in wallpaper so familiar I knew where every mismatched seam was. Besides the obvious conclusion—this room needed a serious makeover—my observations hammered home the fact that this was the last place in my life I needed to be for any reason. Heck, I needed a makeover more than this damn room did.

Sweet Jesus, I was thirty years old and starting from scratch. I had no job; no money; no higher education; no car, because I didn’t have a driver’s license; and now no husband.

I shivered, although I wasn’t cold anymore. I still couldn’t believe it. At thirty years old, I didn’t have the ability to live anywhere but in the basement of my parents’ home, in my former bedroom. It sucked so bad that it hurt to breathe.

The Ukrainian curse had finally caught up with me. My entire family tree suffered from it, and I was the latest victim.

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