Reading Age: Young Adults 16+
How the Story Ends by Tory Gates.
“We are vessels … and sometimes we have to empty them.”
For years, Jhana has traveled the country in search of the stories of people from all walks of life had to tell. Now, after more than a decade away, Jhana has come back to set the record straight about her hometown … and for once to tell her own tale.
Revisiting the small town of Sorel, Jhana regains contact with the people and places that shaped her life. Jhana knows that change is inevitable, but now she must recall everyone and everything that she left behind.
Jhana has been the vessel for those most dear to her and all with whom she has crossed paths. Now, Jhana must empty her own vessel and find out if one can go home again.
Product Details:
Paperback: 217 Pages
Publisher: Brown Posey Press (July 1, 2024)
Language: English
Small Town & Rural Fiction
Coming of Age Fiction
Literary Fiction
Searching for Roy Buchanan by Tory Gates.
Book 1 of 3: Sweet Dreams Series.
Aki Sato is not your typical teenager. She has weathered the loss of her parents and joined her brothers, Kenji and Hiro in a struggle to keep the family business, and themselves together.
Aki has also inherited the Amida Syndrome, the power of time travel. Without her mother to guide her, Aki has no experience in its use, nor can she defend against the terrifying nightmares that haunt her.
A chance breakdown leads the siblings to Kazu, an eccentric retired blues musician. In a series of misadventures, Aki must guide her brothers through time, space, and the world of the blues. In time, Aki not only discovers her own voice, but the power of music.
The journey through time and life is just getting started in “Searching for Roy Buchanan.”
Five Stars: The Power Of Music!
Fascinating time travel, action adventure involving teenage characters who discover the power of music.
As an avid listener to classical and jazz, I admit, I had to google the late great American guitarist and blues musician Leroy “Roy” Buchanan. My husband plays professional clarinet and is very familiar with this pioneer of Telecaster sound.
As a broadcaster for more than thirty years, Author Tory Gates has found his new calling, as a vivid fantasy story teller.
Book One, Searching for Roy Buchanan (Sweet Dreams), begins with teenage Aki experiencing something between a night mare and night terrors, as she “cried out one long, agonized scream”.
As a grandmother and book reviewer, my heart went out the kids. I am awe of the mystical and musical experiences that touched these young lives. A story of tragedy and triumph. A compelling journey into art, music appreciation, Japanese language, wrapped in healing mystical time travel that brings acute self-awareness and an adventure that brings unexpected maturity in time when Aki and her brothers should still be children.
Let me draw you into the story line in Chapter 5.
“Aki sat on her bed. Naked but for the T-shirt she slept in, Aki sweated, but was cold. She drew her comforter about herself in the dark room.
She looked up through her tousled hair, at the sun, which fingered its way through the blinds. Fingers slipped between one another, Aki rested them against her forehead and breathed. She wanted to stand but could not.
Thoughts, random and specific, passed through her mind, and though she tried to set them free again, she could not. When I was young, my mother called me a dreamer. She meant it with affection.
The truth is, while I may have at times imagined myself as someone else, I have no dreams. Those things I might have wished for were cast aside when Mom and Dad died. I am no longer a girl; all of us grew up that day.”
I invite you to see for yourself what happens to Aki and her brothers. What is Amida Syndrome? Is it a gift or curse?
Now we wait for book two in this series.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Review by Anastasia Cassella, Author (February 2024): Searching for Roy Buchanan by Tory Gates is such a sweet surprise in the YA category. Full of fun, banter, adventures, all the while you follow Aki, Kenji, and Hiro through young adulthood which is difficult at times for anyone who has lost their parents. This reader joined in on learning the musical history during the time travels of the young ones. The idea of the Amida Syndrome is a magical surprise in the storyline. I may be one of few but felt like a little on the anime side. One can learn about the music and its origins and how it connects our history in this novel all the while laughing and crying, yes, I cried. I laughed out loud often. I can’t wait to read further adventures written by Tory Gates. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book and caught myself smiling. Kudos Tory Gates.
Review by LogCabinKat: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Stellar Adventure. Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021. Anyone can create characters, but it takes a keen mind to imagine the central figures in a novel in such a way that the reader is certain said people truly exist in the world away from the pages. Tory Gates is such an author and does so masterfully in each of his books, including Searching for Roy Buchanan.
Set in contemporary Japan, Searching is, on the surface, a tale of love, loss, and really excellent music. But on a deeper level it’s about the healing power of music, the lasting bonds between family and friends, and the importance of remaining true to oneself.
Aki and her siblings, Hiro and Kenji, have endured the unthinkable with the sudden deaths of their parents. And yet, the trio persevere, with a little help from friends, and an eccentric aging blues musician who offers them an incredible gift by introducing them to a new style of music.
But there’s more to Aki than a strong singing voice and a determination to help her brothers heal in the wake of tragedy. She is also the recipient of a unique ability, passed down through generations. Known as the Amida, this ability allows Aki to travel through time, though without the guidance of her mother, from whom she inherited the ability, Aki struggles to understand how best to use it.
What I love best about each of the people we meet in Searching is how real each is. At multiple times throughout the inventive and engaging story, I was certain I could hop on a plane, end up in their home city, and find each one.
Gates has a way of endearing his characters to you, so much so that you become invested in their lives, their dreams, and what might happen next. It is because of the depth in each that the overarching story becomes so compelling (and has me waiting excitedly for the sequel).
Don’t be fooled by the Young Adult label. While ideal for high school students, Searching isn’t limited to that age group. It’s been many moons since I last walked the halls of my alma mater, and still I found myself eagerly turning the pages, longing for another song, another trip somewhere in time, another moment with these vibrant folks.
There is another bonus to Gates’ story – if you don’t know the Blues, you will when you’re through with Searching. Throughout the book, I found myself pausing to look up a particular artist or band, each video expanding my musical horizons brilliantly. It was as if the book came with its own soundtrack. I find this especially exciting since many young readers aren’t familiar with the musicians that paved the way for the autotuned drivel that’s so popular today. My hope is that they’ll check out each of the legendary figures that play various roles in the story and expand their own musical horizons.
If you’re looking for something unique, engaging, and intriguing, this is that book. Enjoy!
Product Details:
Paperback: 191 Pages
Publisher: Brown Posey Press (February 20, 2019)
Language: English
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Roy-Buchanan-Sweet-Dreams/dp/1620061104
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Roy-Buchanan-Sweet-Dreams/dp/1620061104#customerReviews
Call It Love by Tory Gates.
Book 2 of 3: Sweet Dreams Series.
The Sweet Dreams Series returns…
Months have passed since Aki Sato discovered her time-traveling powers. Aki knows she cannot change the past nor can she solve her problems in the real world. Beset by fresh trauma, Aki feels there’s no way out. Her only hope comes from music and a voice that calls to her from her power of time travel.
When Aki agrees to help her brother Hiro start a new band, they are joined by two people that Aki can’t help but be attracted to: Kiya, a brilliant pianist and singer; and Zendo, a former monk and guitarist. Both bring their own musical skill and style, but Aki feels something from each that goes far beyond music.
Through friendship, trust, and new connections, Aki goes back in time to uncover a hidden past and to make an amazing discovery. Once more, she is reminded of the healing power of music, and people, in Call It Love.
Product Details:
Paperback: 251 Pages
Publisher: Brown Posey Press (September 23, 2021)
Language: English
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Shake Hands with the Devil by Tory Gates.
Book 3 of 3: Sweet Dreams Series.
Aki Sato is back…
Aki’s life has surpassed even her wildest dreams. In five years, Aki has found success and stardom in music, and more importantly, love in her partner and collaborator, Kiya.
But for Aki, the dream has become a nightmare: Kiya is lost in time, and a force Aki has never before encountered blocks her ability to time travel, the Amida.
Aki discovers a hidden enemy within the Amida, who seeks her power and leaves the thing most dear to Aki hanging in the balance. To Aki, there is no alternative but one dangerous, and desperate gamble.
The third volume in the Sweet Dreams Series, “Shake Hands with the Devil” finds Aki Sato at her most obsessed, even ruthless in her search for Kiya and to protect the Amida. Meanwhile, Kiya sails the Great Lakes in 1960s America, knowing she is on her own, until Aki can find her.
Tory Gates brings the Sweet Dreams Series full circle in “Shake Hands with the Devil,” available at SunburyPress.com, Amazon and wherever great books are sold.
Review From A Sunbury Press Books Reviewer. Shake Hands with the Devil, Book 3 Sweet Dreams Series on Oct 12, 2022. This third and final book in the Sweet Dream Series is a fast paced, tension filled finish to the first 2 books. I could hardly put it down. It could almost be read as a stand-alone, except the first two books give background to the characters as well as time and place. If you are looking for something a little different, this is it.
Product Details:
Paperback: 233 Pages
Publisher: Brown Posey Press (September 21, 2022)
Language: English
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
A Moment In The Sun by Tory Gates.
Sixteen-year-old Rei Murata appears to have everything: good looks, brains, artistic skill and admiring friends. But Rei is a survivor—of loss, neglect and of self-isolation. Locked away from a world where she felt unwanted, Rei was one of the millions known as the hikikomori.
A chance meeting leads Rei to discover the online world of the Dwellers. Astonished to find her former classmate Sho among their number, Rei is determined to rescue him. Rei learns she must come to terms with her past before she can face her future. For her peers, the barriers of class and society must fall, so they too can move forward.
No one is ever lost, Rei believes. She hopes to lead Sho, and the rest to their moment in the sun.
Review by Richard Warnock: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. YA book with a cultural spin. Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020. Verified Purchase.This is a young adult book that I greatly enjoyed. It places us in a culture most of us only know from the movies, anime, and manga. The book takes us through stages in Rei’s life via flashbacks and current day references. This has lighter and darker moments and doesn’t pull punches on the seamier side of this society. I enjoy books that bring me into their world and this book does that; it is important to me to care for the characters in a book and this is indeed handled quite well. Some of the issues touched on are love, the lack of love, the love of friends and of romantic love, loss of family, not having a support system of any sort, and distancing from society for personal reasons as a coping mechanism. These young people are in many ways better people as teenagers and are more mature and caring than I myself am. One sidelight that hopefully will not be a spoiler: the scene late in the book where the center group sings and chants struck a chord in me. In short, this book affected me emotionally by making me happy, sad, and proud.
Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. I loved this book. Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2016. Verified Purchase. I loved this book! The story holds your attention. It moves right along, and takes some unexpected turns along the way. Although the story line deals with the frailty and complexity of human relationships, it is also about discovering courage, hope, and even love. It’s a lot to pack in a small book! Incidentally, I am 68 years old!
Product Details:
Paperback: 196 Pages
Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. (February 26, 2016)
Language: English
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1620066327/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1620066327/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2#customerReviews
Live from the Cafe by Tory Gates.
“What did you dream today?”
Harlandsville, Quebec—look up the definition of small town in a dictionary, and you’ll find its picture.
A one-stoplight village, Harlandsville doesn’t have a lot to offer, or so it seems. Old homes, an abandoned mill, a gas station, one Chinese takeout joint, and a former pub turned into a coffee shop. For the latter, one learns never to judge a book by its cover.
One step through the doors of Le Cafe, and you enter a world where the coffee is brewed one pot at a time through a strange machine, the pastries are homemade, and the music is a roadmap of Canada’s history.
Presided over by Luc, the son of one of Harlandsville’s most loved residents and his partner Emily, the cafe is home to natives and visitors alike. Where the coffee is strong, the spirit of friendship stronger, and occasional strange (and famous?) characters show up to hang out, and play music.
Small-town life, love, change, prejudice, pasts and futures are examined and experienced. The heartbeat of Harlandsville is right here. You never know who’ll show up, or what will happen next, Live from the Cafe…
Review by LogCabinKat: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Visit Le Cafe! Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021. It is said that you can’t go home again. Well, in Tory Gates’ Le Café that’s exactly what the main characters did, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions each made.
Set in a small town in Canada, a little more than a stone’s throw from Montreal, Le Café is a tale, ultimately, of redemption and healing, with a fabulous soundtrack to boot. While there isn’t much to Harlandsville, Quebec beyond its one stoplight, an abandoned mill, a gas station, and a Chinese restaurant, there is one venue in town that’s the place where magic is made, partly in the form of strong, rich coffee.
Like many of his peers, Luc Bedard left Harlandsville in his rearview mirror when he set off for college. But a strange pull found him returning to the little village, where a shuttered pub beckoned for reclamation. Who better to help with such a project than Luc’s dear friend, and now partner, Emily, who left the town for her own deep reasons. Together, they’ve created a coffee shop and music venue that has become the heart of Harlandsville. Visited by a unique cast of characters, and some noteworthy musicians, Le Café is a truly singular place.
The work is Gates’ third book, and masterfully brings to life a small town in the middle of nowhere, proving that even in the tiniest of towns, wondrous things can and do happen. But it’s not all sunshine and perfectly frothed milk atop a steaming cappuccino. While the town seems trapped in a time long forgotten, the world has been moving forward around it, and it’s time for Harlandsville to catch up, in its own way.
Once again, we meet characters that are relatable and real, each one sure to cement a place in your heart. Along with Luc and Emily are a gathering of high school friends that learn, with the help of those around them, how to navigate life’s challenges, even when it seems impossible.
Woven among each character’s story, as well as the collective and compelling plot, is a soundtrack as soulful as it is diverse. On various open mic nights, musicians from all walks of Canadian and American life visit the humble café to play a tune or two, and to sit back and watch the next generation take the stage. Though readers are left to guess at exactly who is performing, clues are given in the form of apt descriptions and song lyrics, so that by the time you reach the final performer, you can’t help but cheer as you realize just who is gracing the stage.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of these people, each bringing their own depth and personality, is that conflict, for the most part, is resolved peacefully and through words and deeds, rather than violence and shouting. When things do go south for certain characters, and damage is done, space is made for healing. Given that this is a YA title, it’s an excellent way for younger readers (and even their adult counterparts) to learn the beauty of solving problems with compassion.
Though it might be a Young Adult novel, it easily appeals to the older folks through the music and the artists behind the tunes. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to guess at who was playing at open mic night and was pleasantly surprised by the “final act.”
Gates hits all the right notes with this book, so much so I found myself wistful for the actual existence of this cool little coffee shop. Pour yourself a cup of your favorite java and settle in for a simply marvelous visit to Le Café.
Product Details:
Paperback: 328 Pages
Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. (July 3, 2017)
Language: English
Fiction (Dystopian and Utopia)
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Live-Cafe-Tory-Gates/dp/1620067145/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Parasite Girls by Tory Gates.
Aidan Connor is a globetrotting American photojournalist.
Burned out from a disastrous assignment, he turns up on the Tokyo doorstep of his old college friend, Mima. He soon learns that Mima’s past (and his own) have become present. A talented artist, Mima is struggling to make it on her own. Two of her oldest friends, Sora and Eko are also battling a peculiar form of social injustice: they are branded “Parasite Singles” because both still live at home despite being in their early thirties.
Aidan knows everyone has a story: a brilliant painter, Sora suffers from mental illness. Eko, who appears to be the poster child for the term also has a dark past. As he remakes himself, Aidan is reminded of what kept him close to Mima all these years.
He also sees what keeps Mima, Sora, Eko and Mima’s old love so close as well…one thing never dies.
Review by LizBeth: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Good read, great characters. Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021. Verified Purchase. A well-written novel with strong and interesting characters that I really enjoyed getting to know.
I appreciate the story treatment of a sensitive topic which I am all-too familiar with, as it is not downplayed, dismissively made light of, or made into a character flaw.
I feel this book can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike, and for any person who is interested in learning how difficult life can be to navigate if one suffers from depression or PTSD.
Review by Kristen l. Carn: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Amazing! Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014. Verified Purchase. A fantastic book. Please read! You won’t be sorry. Mental Illness is never an easy topic to discuss. Mr. Gates handles it flawlessly.
Review by chrissirogo: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Riveting, must read. Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2022. In this book, you are taken on a journey through the eyes of many different characters. The way that it is written helps to place you in those very moments and make you see and feel the excitement, pain, lust…I commend Tory Gates for the beauty of the story of which forms such a palpable connection between friends and the importance of them. Parasite Girls is a book that takes one into deep, dark places…one that opens doors to new things and concepts and the ‘why?’ that we in everyday life can be so curious to know. Truly a great read.
Product Details:
Paperback: 256 Pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st Edition (November 11, 2013)
Language: English
Fiction (General)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Girls-Tory-Gates/dp/1494401975
More Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Girls-Tory-Gates/dp/1494401975#customerReviews
About The Author: Tory Gates has produced books for the Young Adult and Contemporary Fiction world since 2013. He takes readers to exotic locales, everyday places and brings to life characters that are relatable and real, while addressing real-life issues.
Tory is the author of the Sweet Dreams Series, a trilogy of works that combine time travel, Japanese culture and the power of music. “Searching for Roy Buchanan,” “Call it Love” and “Shake Hands with the Devil” are all available on Brown Posey Press, the fiction imprint of Sunbury Press Books. He is also the author of two other Brown Posey releases, the award-winning “A Moment in the Sun” and “Live from the Café.” Tory’s first book, “Parasite Girls” was released on Amazon and Smashwords.
A broadcaster with more than thirty-five years’ experience, Tory is a journalist, a presenter, producer. He can be heard on the Radio Pennsylvania Network and The Brown Posey Press Show, an interview program for independent and self-published authors. Tory is also known as “DJ`Riff,” host of “The Music Club,” a blues program for the London-based Radio-Airwaves Station.
A native of Vermont, Tory lives in Harrisburg, PA with a cat named Kao, and can be found anyplace that serves good coffee!
Amazon Author’s Page:
https://www.amazon.com/Tory-Gates/e/B01LXQ5YSQ/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Twitter: (@ToryGates)
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tory.gates
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/tory-gates