No More Grumpy Bookseller: Poet Anderson... Of Nightmares by Tom DeLonge and Suzanne Young

Good morning, everyone! I have a fun treat for you today: an excerpt from the very recently released Poet Anderson... Of Nightmares, a unique tale co authored by Tom DeLonge (formerly of Blink-182) and Suzanne Young!

Before we dive into the excerpt, though, here's a bit about the book from Goodreads:

Poet Anderson...Of Nightmares follows the epic journey of two orphan brothers, Jonas and Alan, who are Lucid Dreamers. After a tragic car accident lands Alan in a coma, Jonas sets out into the Dream World in an attempt to find his brother and wake him up. What he discovers instead is an entire shared consciousness where fear comes to life as a snarling beast called a Night Terror, and a creature named REM is bent on destruction and misery, devouring the souls of the strongest dreamers to get closer to the Waking World. With the help of a Dream Walker—a guardian of the dreamscape, Jonas must face his fears, save his brother, and become who he was always meant to be: Poet Anderson.

Are you sufficiently enticed? I know I am. Let's dive in!

There was a deafening bang on the roof of the car, and the entire train shook. The lights flickered. When they snapped back on, Poet saw the color had drained from Sketch’s face. Gunner darted back inside, his mouth hanging open. All three guys lifted their eyes to the ceiling of the train car and waited. No one dared speak.

There was a thump and the high-pitched screech of nails on metal. Gunner winced, covering his ears, but Poet kept very still. What the hell was on the roof? He tried to remember if this had happened before, but his thoughts were too jumbled. Memories of his dreams often disappeared the moment he woke up, or at least they had since his parents died.

The sound above the car quieted and the moving train pulled to the platform, hissing and staggering to a stop. The three boys moved down the row of seats, staring at the doors, worried what would happen when they opened.

“What’s on the roof?” Poet whispered to Sketch, not taking his eyes off the doors.

“I think we’re about to find out.” Sketch’s voice shook, and he looked sideways at Poet. He nodded down the car instead of toward the platform. “On the count of three,” he breathed out, “run.”

Poet clenched his hands into fists, his adrenaline spiked. Gunner backed quietly toward them, his chest heaving. How long is this train? Poet wondered. Long enough to outrun whatever was after them? He sure as hell hoped so.

He swallowed hard, darting a look between Sketch and the doors. The view outside the train window was dingy white subway tiles, no longer pristine and new like earlier. There was no exit on either side of the platform, almost like there was no outside. Like they were trapped.

“One,” Sketch said, reaching to put his hand on Poet’s upper arm. Gunner stepped back. There was a hiss in the gears above the door, signaling they were about to open. Poet could barely breathe.

“Two.” Sketch gave the others a hard look, preparing them. He took a big gasp of air and said, “Th—” The subway doors opened.

Long silver nails clicked and cut into the metal as a creature pulled itself through the doorway. Its feet thudded on the grated floor, and it turned to scan the three boys, a low growl issuing from its throat. Poet’s eyes rounded as he took in the image of the beast—its composition a mixture of every terrible thing he could imagine. It was huge, a four-legged creature nearly too big to fit in the train car. It had green scales along its raised back— jagged like shards of glass. Its eyes were blood-red, and its double rows of shark-like teeth looked ready to tear into Poet.

The creature settled its gaze on Poet, as if it knew him. Poet’s stomach twisted in horror, but it wasn’t just because he was scared. He was sure he’d seen this monster before. In fact, he thought he’d seen it every night since the accident.

About the Authors:

Tom DeLonge is the award-winning American musician, producer and director, best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the platinum-selling bands Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves. Under his media production company To The Stars..., Tom has created transmedia entertainment properties that span music, film, comics and books. Poet Anderson ...Of Nightmares will also coincide with an original soundtrack recorded by the band that you can listen to while you read.

Suzanne Young is the New York Times bestselling author of The Program series of novels for young adult readers. Younglives in Arizona where she also teaches high school English. Her novels include The Program, The Treatment, The Remedy, The Epidemic, and Hotel Ruby.

Big thanks to the book's publicist for setting up the tour. I've got the full list of stops below, so be sure to check them out for reviews, giveaways, and more!

Poet Anderson ...Of Nightmares Blog Tour

November 1, Sunday: Tea Time and Books

November 2, Monday: Reading Teen

November 3, Tuesday: Just Us Book Blog

November 4, Wednesday: Worth Reading It

November 5, Thursday: No More Grumpy Bookseller

November 6, Friday: Go Read a Book

November 7, Saturday: Mundie Moms

November 8, Sunday: Mom Read It

November 9, Monday: Neon Yeti Reads

November 10, Tuesday: Paperback Princess

November 11, Wednesday: Book Love 101

November 12, Thursday: Reading Date