“Hey, Ma,” she said, practicing. “My suitcase is already packed. When can you pick me up?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Back in the day, Suzanne Kamata spent a lot of time hanging out in a club in Columbia, South Carolina, much like the one in this book. (The Beat goes on ….) She later wrote about musicians for the State newspaper, the Japan Times, and other publications. Now, she mostly writes novels. In her free time, she enjoys searching for the perfect fake fur leopard print coat and listening to the Japanese all-girl band Chatmonchy.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book probably would have stayed in a drawer forever if not for the enduring enthusiasm of Helene Dunbar. So, thank you. I’d also like to thank Tracey Waters, Margaret Stawowy, Eric Madeen, Andy Couturier, Leza Lowitz, and Caron Knauer for reading and commenting on earlier drafts. I’m eternally grateful to Pat Conroy and Jonathan Haupt, for their brilliant suggestions; Michelle Sewell of GirlChild Press, for publishing a portion of this book in Woman’s Work: Short Stories; and the editors of Hunger Mountain for publishing another part. I’ve been deeply honored to work with the fabulous Jacquelyn Mitchard, dream editor and writer extraordinaire, and her wonderful intern, Mary Chamard. Finally, I am so happy to have the support of my fellow SCBWI Japan members, and the UncommonYA writers. I couldn’t do this without y’all.
Copyright © 2014 by Suzanne Kamata.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Merit Press
an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.
10151 Carver Road, Suite 200
Blue Ash, OH 45242. U.S.A.
www.meritpressbooks.com
ISBN 10: 1-4405-7279-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-7279-1
eISBN 10: 1-4405-7280-1
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-7280-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kamata, Suzanne
Screaming Divas / Suzanne Kamata.
pages cm
Summary: A teenage girl–band in 1980s South Carolina becomes a local sensation, but just as its members are about to achieve their rock girl dreams, tragedy strikes.
ISBN 978-1-4405-7279-1 (hc) -- ISBN 1-4405-7279-8 (hc) -- ISBN 978-1-4405-7280-7 (ebook) -- ISBN 1-4405-7280-1 (ebook)
1. Rock groups--Fiction. 2. Bands (Music)--Fiction. I. Title.
PZ7.K12668Sc 2014
[Fic]--dc23
2013045567
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and F+W Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
Cover design by Frank Rivera.
Cover images © 123RF/Vertes Edmond Minai/gl0ck33.
Screaming Divas Page 19