A warm welcome to author Marie Sexton joining us here today at Love Bytes on Riptide’s tour of her new release “Trailer Trash”.
Welcome Marie 🙂
Hello, everybody! I’m Marie Sexton, and I’m here today to talk about my New Adult novel, Trailer Trash. Trailer Trash is an ‘opposites attract’ story of two high school seniors in small-town Wyoming in the mid-1980s.
One of the hard parts about setting a story in the 80s is that it’s too recent to be considered “historical,” but it’s too long ago to be called “contemporary.” At the outset, it feels like a contemporary.
Until it doesn’t.
Until some little fact jumps up and surprises you, or makes you stop and go, “Huh?” When reading it, even my beta readers (all of whom were at least teenagers in the 80s) would occasionally say, “Oh, I forgot about that!”
And even though the 80s weren’t all that long ago, there are still enough differences between then and now that I worried the story wouldn’t translate well for readers under the age of forty. So, I’ve decided to do a list of the five things a Gen-Y (or younger) reader might not know.
- Shopping in second hand stores was NOT cool or hip: These days, everybody shops secondhand. Stores like Plato’s Closet have made it acceptable, but in the 80s, that was NOT the case. In fact, when I was a teenager, we wouldn’t even admit to shopping at K-Mart. That was the social kiss of death. I will never forget a moment in eighth grade, when we had to write our greatest fears on a slip of paper, and the teacher would draw them out and read them (no names attached). One of them was, “My greatest fear is to have a bus load of students from our school pull up just as my family and I are walking out of K-Mart, because then everybody would know that we shop there.” And when it was read, most of the kids in the class laughed, not because they related, but because as far as they were concerned, NOBODY worthwhile shopped at K-Mart. To this day, my mother nearly has a coronary every time I tell her I’ve been to ARC.
- Making calls cost money: Only local calls were included in phone service. Anything outside of town was “long distance,” even within the same state. When my husband and I were first living together, calling his parents was a long-distance call, even though they only lived thirty miles away. Very few people had the luxury of just picking up a phone and calling anybody they wanted, anywhere in the country.
- Winners on Wheel of Fortune used their prize money at the end of each round to buy items from the “prize showcase.” (This one caught one of my beta readers off guard.) Go here (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkd80w_wheel-of-fortune-1983-ed-dawn-ellen_shortfilms) and skip to 5:57 to see it in action.
- Eight-track tapes were dead, but (in 1986, when my story is set) CDs were too new to be common. Parents may have had CD players, but very few teenagers did. Music existed in two primary mediums: vinyl, and cassette.
- Information was hard to come by: About half of my friends had sets of encyclopedias on their shelves, and we’d all go to their house when it was time to write a report. We could comb through the card catalog in the library, but even our high school didn’t have much. Tasks like finding a job or a place to live in some distant town were major undertakings. And along those same lines, porn was almost impossible to come by if you were under the age of 18. Admittedly, I was a bit of a prude when it came to sex, but I remember finding a Playgirl in my stepmother’s drawer once, and being AMAZED at what was inside. I was sixteen, and I’d never seen an actual penis before. And I remember some of my male friends talking about how they’d only ever seen the “triangle” (of pubic hair) on a girl. They had no idea what actual female genitals looked like. And NOBODY was going to look that up in the school library, believe me!
So there they are: the top Trailer Trash-related facts from the 80s that may catch younger readers off-guard.
How about you? Anything from the 80s you particularly miss (or are glad to have gone)?
About Trailer Trash
It’s 1986, and what should have been the greatest summer of Nate Bradford’s life goes sour when his parents suddenly divorce. Now, instead of spending his senior year in his hometown of Austin, Texas, he’s living with his father in Warren, Wyoming, population 2,833 (and Nate thinks that might be a generous estimate). There’s no swimming pool, no tennis team, no mall—not even any MTV. The entire school’s smaller than his graduating class back home, and in a town where the top teen pastimes are sex and drugs, Nate just doesn’t fit in.
Then Nate meets Cody Lawrence. Cody’s dirt-poor, from a broken family, and definitely lives on the wrong side of the tracks. Nate’s dad says Cody’s bad news. The other kids say he’s trash. But Nate knows Cody’s a good kid who’s been dealt a lousy hand. In fact, he’s beginning to think his feelings for Cody go beyond friendship.
Admitting he might be gay is hard enough, but between small-town prejudices and the growing AIDS epidemic dominating the headlines, a town like Warren, Wyoming, is no place for two young men to fall in love.
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About Marie Sexton
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along.
Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.
Connect with Marie:
- Website: MarieSexton.net
- Twitter: @MarieSexton
- Facebook: facebook.com/MarieSexton.author
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/MarieSexton
To celebrate, Marie is giving away a $50 gift card to either Amazon or All Romance Ebooks, winner’s choice. Leave a comment to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 26, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
LOL, I have heard many similar stories from my mom. I was born in the 80’s but sure have heard a lot of what you mentioned here. Congrats and best of luck on your new novel Marie!
Thank you! 🙂
The stuff from the 80s that I miss is cassette, back then I used to make my own cassette compilation from my favorite songs, like Peter’s mum in Guardians of the Galaxy. Lol. I also think the climate was not as hot or as unpredictable back then. 🙂
Congratulations on the new release, Marie and thank you for the a chance at the generous giveaway.
Thanks very much to Love Bytes Reviews for hosting me here today!
The 80s was ‘my’ decade, I went to gigs and never paid more than £5! Did my hair with sugar water and huge amounts of back combing and the boys I went out with wore as much make up as I did! Cassettes were king and I had a sony walkman which was the thing that all the ‘cool’ kids had to have.
I still can’t get used to calling people before 6pm which was when the price dropped in the UK!
Happy days.
Good luck Marie.
Thank you for the great post! I was a little younger in the 1980’s, but I remember making mixed tapes off songs on the radio and buying records. I also remember that phones were mostly corded, so you couldn’t escape to your room to have a private conversation.
Congratulations on the new book!
Forgot my email…. jczlapin(at)gmail(dot)com
Yes, information was hard to get with no internet. Most homes had hard cover encyclopedias, they were great. Thanks for the chance.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
I’ve told my kids stuff about the 80s and it blows their mind, since it wasn’t that long ago but feels like a lifetime.
I don’t miss sitting in front of the radio with my cassette ready, listening for that one song to play that I’ve been wanting to record. Usually took three hours, lol.
I do miss my Atari, though. Loved the games. I’d spend hours playing Frogger, Dig Dug, Space Invaders and Pitfall.
fsteph55(at)yahoo(dot)com
I remember waiting for a song to come on the radio too! Trying to hit “record” really fast, and then the DJ usually talked over the first part of the song anyway. LOL.
I love 80s music! I’m old enough that it was the sound track to many of the big events of my life, not unlike Nate and Cody.
I miss the 80’s music. And so much of what you posted is so true for me. The whole K-Mart thing, yep I can so relate.
Love 80’s music! Sexy cover.
karadg@hotmail.com
Thanks for the list! Brings back memories…one thing I do not miss is network TV back then. You had to watch when it was shown and suffer through commercials. I was a big fan of the show MASH and when the last episode aired, there was a big storm and we lost the signal half way through the show! They did eventually re-air it…but I much prefer my Netflix and on-demand shows/movies. 🙂
jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
I was in elementry school in the 80s…but i miss the innocence of being a kid, free roaming and only coming home when the street lights came on, trusting your neighbors…
Ah yes, my mid teens on hot the 80’s so not sad to leave all that teen angst there!
The hair and shoulder pads were huge! And certainly in the UK we only had a handful of TV channels then and no mobile phones, plans had to be made well in advance.
Littlesuze at hotmail.com
I live in the UK so we only had 4 TV stations in the 80’s I remember “Walkmans” I had just started work in 1982 and I couldn’t wait to get one. I did and still do like 80’s music but the clothes and the hair no way!!
Sugar I forgot my e-mail: ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
I was born in the 80’s and I get it too. I use to see Kmart as a shameful place to shop even today I don’t want to be seen in there.
Thanks for the interesting post!
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
So true about the availability of information. I would go to the library and topics would be compiled in these green periodical reference books that took months to be published. Of course, the library might not even own a hard copy of the magazine or newspaper, or have a microfiche/ microfilm roll of them.
strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot)com
I grew up in the eighties and I totally agree with those things. Some other issues that today’s kids don’t know about are chalk boards (and cleaning them), pay phones, and calling cards.
waxapplelover (at) gmail (dot) com
Great post! I was a kid in the 80s, and I really miss the cartoons. There were great cartoons in the 80s. violet817(at)aol(dot)com
Remember the Godzilla cartoon? That was my favorite. LOL.
god i miss the 80’s…cant wait to read this story ..congrats
jmarinich33@aol.com
My earliest memories are from the early 80s. In the 90s I was mortified with pics of myself from that era. Now my daughter thinks the greatest music came from that period, I enjoy a trip down memory lane every time I pass her room.
hojurose(at)gmail(dot)com
OMG, the 80s. I did most of my growing up then, and remember Jordache jeans and big hair, pagers (no cell phones), a VCR our big-ticket family Christmas gift (beta or VHS was the question). Seems like yesterday and seems like centuries ago. Looking forward to a story set in my own teen years, back when dinosaurs roamed according to my son.
I was just finishing high school and into becoming an adult during the 80’s
I’m glad to see big hair disappear and I can’t really say I was a fan of disco music 😛
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
I remember my kids were so surprised to see that I had a older phone in the closet that actually had a dial on it and they also couldn’t believe that we had a total of 4 channels on the television because my parents lived in a more rural area!
I can’t wait to read Jury of One. Thank you for sharing!
ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
My younger sister was totally into the New Wave scene, and dragged me out of the 70’s rock & roll zone, and into the Alternative world. Still love the music, and still smoke clove cigarettes on occasion. I do not miss making my long, straight hair big enough to hit the roof of any vehicle I was riding in. Should have invested in Aqua Net and Stiff-Stuff stock. We actually did shop in second hand stores, but only places that carried “vintage” or “antique” garments, footwear, and accessories. Bought a couple of dresses from the early 1900s to wear to parties and concerts. Wore gloves, veils, granny-boots–OMG, I hope there’s no photographic evidence………
mztikicat@gmail.co,
I miss ’80s music and less-fancy video games…
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
Congratulations on the new book, it sounds great!
annmarief115 at gmail dot com
Congrats on the release. Some of the greatest memories for me happened in the 80’s. There are times where I would give anything to just go back. I’m looking forward to being able to pick this up. Oh, and love the cover. Thanks for a chance in the giveaway.
flutterfli01 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Haha, I think it will be best if I don’t comment on the 80s given my age…
OceanAkers @ aol.com
I still have all of my old eight-track tapes, cassettes, and albums. At least vinyl is making a comeback . 🙂 We also had a set of encyclopedias at home. You should check out the ABC series The Goldbergs. Your post made me think of them. 🙂
lkbherring64(at)gmail(dot)com
Congrats on the new release! And as the 80’s is not my time, I can’t really say I miss them. 😛
serena91291@gmail.com
I still love 80’s music and listen to it today. Congratulations on your new release.
sstrode at scrtc dot com
Oh my gosh, this post was priceless! I wonder what would have been written in the 80s from someone in the 40s or 50s. So great!
caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com