Guest Post from Author Scott Gordon

 Guest Post from Author Scott Gordon

Where did the idea for Head Fake come from? 

The idea for my novel, Head Fake, grew out of my time working as a Youth Advocate for juvenile offenders with mental illness—a life-altering seven years. The county needed males to work with the boys, some of whom were violent offenders. They were so desperate that they recruited me, someone with no experience with psychology, children, mental illness, or the prison system.

I was a short story writer who made his living carrying bags at a local hotel. It was there that I met Susan, the Head Psychiatrist for the county mental health center. She was picking up cousins from out of town. After speaking in the driveway for fifteen minutes, she told me she had an opening for a Youth Advocate, and how it was an incredibly rewarding job. At first, I thought, nope. There was no way I could help kids experiencing mental illness. Sure, I suffered through the occasional bought of depression, but I knew nothing about bipolar, schizophrenia, or suicidal ideation. These boys needed someone trained in psychology to help them. What they didn’t need was a writer who could barely pay his bills.

“What these boys need is a role model,” said Susan. “Someone to show them that there is another way, one that won’t get them arrested.” Then she stopped talking and bit her lip. “They need someone in their corner who cares about them.”

I could do that, I thought. I could care about them. 

My training consisted of shadowing some very qualified Family and Youth Advocates with degrees in Adolescent Psychology, Counseling, Child Development, Cognitive Process, and various other important-sounding education. I majored in theater. After a week of training, I picked up my first client, a fifteen-year-old boy with bipolar disorder and a history of violence. Upon entering my old Nissan, he slammed the door and glared at me. “I could make you disappear,” he threatened, holding my gaze. He was clearly testing me. I knew if I showed any sign of fear, it would be impossible to earn his trust. I clapped my hands together and proclaimed, “Wonderful. I love magicians.” My response caught him off guard, and he cracked a smile. I had found my way in. Humor. I knew that if I could make these kids laugh, I could reach them.

I ended up with a full caseload and some of the hardest cases in the county. Head Fake is inspired by the courage of the kids I worked with, who taught me much more about life than I ever could have taught them.

Synopsis (from Amazon):

Mikey makes everything a joke, even the clinical depression he’s struggled with for years. After a run of failed jobs, he becomes the unlikely basketball coach at a high school for high-risk offenders who are experiencing mental illness. The position becomes suddenly available after the team tried to strangle their last coach.

Every instinct tells Mikey to get as far away from this school as possible. Coaching these kids, who have been arrested for who-knows-what, would be difficult for a normie. For Mikey, it could cause another breakdown and force him right back to living on the street. But he knows that if he has any chance to make his twenty-sixth birthday, he needs to keep this job, even if the school board wants him fired, and the students would rather fight each other than play ball.

This poignant, hilarious, and sometimes uncomfortable novel proves that even the most damaged of us can emerge victorious.

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KJsjzE

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212338254-head-fake

Author Bio:

Scott Gordon’s fiction has appeared in the Green Hills Literary Lantern (GHLL), Modern Times Magazine, Pennsylvania Literary Journal, The Satirist, and Mobius Magazine. In addition to writing fiction, he has written and directed films and television series, including A History of Black Achievement in America, Great American Authors, and more.

Originally from New Jersey, Scott lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Samantha, and their two rescue pups, Mel Brooks and Khaleesi Bee.    

Website: https://scottgordonbooks.com/

Facebook: @ScottGordonBooks

Instagram: @scottgordonbooks

 

Praise:

“Head Fake is inspiring, moving, and meaningful. It made me laugh all the way through. A great story - a great piece of work.”– Gil Bellows, Actor and Emmy Award Winning Producer of the film, Temple Grandin

 “Head Fake is like a jab in the ribs, reminding us that even in our worst hour, laughter and connection can be the flashlight in the dark, guiding us toward healing and redemption.”– Chris Rock

 “Scott Gordon weaves an absolutely brilliant and authentic tale that set me on a roller coaster (the thrilling, yet frightening, upside down kind) of emotions. It’s been ages since I’ve read a story that can have me cackling one second, then bawling my eyeballs out the next.”– Eve Porinchak, Bestselling Author of One Cut

 “Head Fake made me laugh and cry in equal measure—sometimes simultaneously. More than an underdog sports story, this gut-wrenching and ultimately uplifting novel will have you cheering in ways you never imagined.”– Doug Kurtz, Story Coach and Bestselling Author of Mosquito.

 "This is one of those books that you will think about and wonder how it will end, and then when it does, you will miss the characters as they will have found a place in your heart. A novel I won’t soon forget."– Leslie A. Rasmussen, Award-winning author of After Happily Ever After and The Stories We Cannot Tell

 “An absorbing, uplifting tale of finding light and self-worth in adversity’s darkest depths.”– Kirkus Reviews