call me him

THE BOOK: call me him

PUBLISHED IN: 2020

THE AUTHOR:  River Braun

THE PUBLISHER: Self-published

SUMMARY:  Fight. Sleep. Repeat. That’s life for 14-year-old SoCal skate-punk Wylie Masterson. Like most teens, Wylie struggles with authority, puberty, and family. But Wylie is transgender, which brings up a whole range of struggles that his body, family and community are not equipped to help him through. An #ownvoices story, call me him is by trans author River Braun who has worked with teens at The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project, along with The Human Rights Campaign and Trans Law Center will receive all royalties from sales of call me him.

Born Willow, Wylie wants nothing more than to escape his oppressive SoCal hometown and live the life he was meant to live – as a man. But his extremely religious mother has other plans for her “sweet, lovely daughter.” As we follow Wylie through call me him, we are witness to the stigma, transphobic behavior, bullying and addictions that too many trans youth still face today.

THE BACK STORY: My first novel was about Wylie as an adult. I enjoyed creating the backstory of Wylie and Alex’s friendship so much, and because there is a dearth of YA books with trans protagonists, I decided I would write that story. It started as a chapter I submitted to some contests and evolved from there. All-total, it took about a year from first word to submission to agents in 2019. 
I had a great deal of interest in call me him., and ultimately signed with Eric Myers of Myers Literary Agency. He spent a year submitting to publishing houses who received the book well, but many felt the time for publishing trans coming-of-age stories had come to an end. I disagreed. While that genre may not be the most profitable for traditional publishing houses, my goal was to tell stories, not make money. That’s why I decided to go the non-traditional route and donate all proceeds from book sales to The Trevor Project, Human Rights Campaign, and Trans Law Center.

WHY THIS TITLE?: Wylie is an FTM transgender teen who is frequently misgendered by his family, some teachers and administrators, and others. “Call me him” is Wylie’s demand to be recognized and respected for who he is.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO READ IT? Call me him. can appeal to a variety of audiences, some that actually took me by surprise. It is my hope that trans and non-binary young adults will find the account relatable and empowering. While society has made great strides since the time this book was set, there are still far too many trans and non-youth who are misunderstood and rejected for who they are. Being able to read about trans characters who had to fight to live the lives they were meant to live can help alleviate the sense that one is alone in this struggle and know that there is hope.

WHERE TO BUY IT: Amazon, Barnes & noble, etc. 

PRICE: $14.99

CONTACT THE AUTHOR: Connect with River Braun at RiverBraun.com, Instagram/River.Braun, and Twitter.com/RiverBraun.