The time it was about Date Me, Bryson Keller

Posted July 3, 2020 by Stacee in Interviews | 4 Comments

When I got the invite to do an interview with Kevin van Whye for his debut Date Me, Bryson Keller, I couldn’t respond fast enough.  I had seen a lot of people basically screaming over this book and when I devoured it, I joined in.  This story was absolutely delightful and a top favorite of 2020.

Before we get to Kevin’s answers, let’s check out the book.

Title: Date Me, Bryson Keller
Author: Kevin van Whye
Pages: 336
Pub Date: May 19, 2020
Publisher: Random House BFYR
Find it: PRH | Indiebound | Bookshop | B&N | Goodreads

What If It’s Us meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a ’90s rom-com!

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new–the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he’s never really dated before.

Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

Kai Sheridan didn’t expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he’s awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this “relationship” will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?

Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story that will have readers rooting for these two teens to share their hearts with the world–and with each other.

Sounds good, right?

1.Please give the elevator pitch for Date Me, Bryson Keller. 

It’s the story of seventeen-year-old, gay-but-not-out Kai Sheridan, who asks popular Bryson Keller out on a date as part of a dare, which changes both their lives forever.

2. Which came first: the world or the characters?

Kai came first. From the get go I knew he was this awkward, blushing, soft boy, and so his voice was the easiest for me to find. The rest unfolded from there.

3. Why do you love Kai and Bryson and why should readers root for them?

I love their sense of hope. To me Kai and Bryson are just two boys who want to be happy and you get that sense from their story. And I think readers will see that and root for them as they go about sharing their hearts with one another.

4. Without spoilers, which scene was your favorite to write?

Their date scene at the amusement park. I loved being able to come up with a dream date experience for Kai.

5. Did you have any strange google searches while researching?

Not strange strange, but I did spend a fair bit of time on USA college websites. As a South African it was not something, I’d ever thought I would need to do.

Speed {ish} round:

1. You find out that you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes. 

Stare blankly into space for most of those five minutes before running to tell my parents. Mom joins me in screaming and Dad keeps asking me questions because that’s Dad and he just really doesn’t want me to be scammed.

2. What three things would you take to a desert island? 

Matches. A bottle of Vodka—Lord knows I’ll need it. A notepad—so that I can keep writing. Who knows I might get some of my best work done on that island.

3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?

Truth be told I struggle to reread books. So, this question is a nightmare scenario for me. Seriously, I cannot read only one book for the rest of my life!

4. Which book character would you want to hang out with?

Daenerys Targaryen as I would very much like to ride a dragon, please and thank you.

5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you? 

Related to my answer 3, but I wish someone told me just how many times you would need to reread your own book. Seriously, at one point I could recite the opening of my book by heart!

6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently?

Run. At the first sign of danger I am getting out of town. I’m sorry, I’m not prepared to risk my life for no boy/vampire—sparkling or not. I’m scared of blood so me being a vampire is not something I want, at all. Also, before I leave I would need to give Edward a talking to about him sneaking into my room and watching me sleep because that ain’t it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin van Whye is a writer born and raised in South Africa, where his love for storytelling started at a young age. At four years old, he quit preschool because his teacher couldn’t tell a story. Kevin’s love affair with stories led him to lm school to study script writing. Date Me, Bryson Keller is his rst novel. Kevin currently lives in Johannesburg.

website | instagram

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge thanks to Random House for the opportunity and to Kevin for taking the time.  Date Me, Bryson Keller is out now and buy links are above.

Now, have you read Date Me, Bryson Keller or do you want to?

Tags: , ,


4 responses to “The time it was about Date Me, Bryson Keller

  1. Danielle Hammelef

    I’m excited to read this book and have a hardcover on top of my TBR for this summer.

  2. I have Date Me, Bryson Keller on hold from my library after all the great reviews I saw! I’m so excited to read it, and I just hope that I get a copy soon!

    Kai sounds amazing since I love awkward, blushing, soft boys! And I can’t wait to read the amusement park scene now! Plus, I absolutely love how Kevin and his parents reacted to the news that his book was getting published!

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.