PeachHam-Beach Publishing

Book cover for UK edition September 2012
The UK edition of Crush is now available in paperback from our publisher in the UK,  Beaten Track Publishing!
http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/shop/products.php?cat=21 

For the very latest on what's going on with "Crush", visit our new site at:

http://crush-the-book.snack.ws

Click the link below to watch the new book trailer for Crush:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieN2xLMIPcY

Book cover August 2012

Original book cover, pencil drawing by Laura Susan Johnson, April 2011




 

Praise for "Crush":

"A fantastic read. The characters have so much spirit and presence that it feels like you know them...I felt a connection to each of the characters as they try to survive their personal hell...I couldn’t imagine not finishing the book..."  Leslie Purkey,  the first advance review, July 12, 2011.

"Vastly emotional...the deceptively simple premise conceals an astonishingly complex and intricate odyssey through the heartbreak of child abuse, the loss of identity, the miracle of love, and the recovery of self...the characters are alive and beautiful..." Rebecca Baron, Boise Bookiee, August 14, 2011 

"I could feel the emotional energy instilled in this work..." Sean Jones, Inkwater Press, Portland, Oregon, Sept. 21, 2011

"Devastatingly confronting...erotic, emotional...written in the simple, no-frills voices of two lonely, searching souls..." Joel and Patsy Moran, San Francisco, CA, October 11, 2011

"Harrowing, thought-provoking...funny, sad, and shocking all at the same time..." Tracy Hibbert, Beaten Track Publishing, Lancashire England

"Tragic, beautiful and compelling...wonderfully written..." Debbie McGowan, author of No Dice and Champagne, March 27, 2012

"Very bold...beautifully done..." Leigh Jarrett, author of The Stars On My Arm and The Circle Trilogy , July 2012

"A modern masterpiece....bold, stunning, hard-hitting, yet delicate and tender..." Andrea Harding, Amazon.com, August 2012

"An exceptionally well-crafted work of fiction...challenging, difficult...highly recommended..." Nigel Paice, Goodreads.com, August 2012

"Painfully honest...deeply disturbing...wrenchingly hopeful...a love story I won't soon forget..." Heidi Rose, Lulu.com, September 2012

"A touching memoir-style novel that evolves into a tense and unpredictable nail biter. It has elements of romance, erotica, crime drama and psychological drama." Mario Legaspi, Sony eBooks

"I have never read a book like this...[the author's prose is] simply spoken, yet richly detailed and intimate...[written] with a caring touch..." Michelle MacIssac, Smashwords.com, October 2012 

"More than anything, Tammy and Jamie story is about love...they'll get under your skin and you will LOVE them. You will cheer for their victories, and cry with them in their hurt...I feel like I just ran an emotional marathon, but IT WAS COMPLETELY WORTH IT." Lauraadriana, The LL's Word: A Blog For M/M Romance Readers

"A work of immense emotional depth that has touched my soul. ❤" Jane E. Wilkinson, Twitter"

"****" MsMiz (Goodreads)
"*****" Fiona Goodman, (Goodreads)
"****" Edina Rose (Goodreads)
"*****" Silvio (Goodreads)

"An amazing book, great writing...made my heart ache and my soul shudder..." Thomaidha Papa, Goodreads

"A MUST READ...*****"  (Camila) Bookwatcher~Mary, Goodreads

Simply Beautiful....Johnson’s writing style struck me as Palahniuk-ish in that most of her sentences are terse, abrupt with little to no purple prose, and yet so powerful, speaking beyond the words." April Moone, author of FALLEN SAKURA and STRAWBERRIES & THE BEAST

"I want to tell every person how much this book moved me and how very much I think that they should read it. I want, with my whole heart, to beg them to read it."  Laddie, Goodreads.com

"***** This book is GREAT..." Cindy Smith, author of VOICES IN MY HEAD

"*****" Urbanista, Goodreads.com

"My heart is broken! It made me laugh and cry and angry..." Leaflitterlady, Goodreads

"Beautifully and vividly written...[Crush] is not only a gem among fictions, but it is also a light of hope for all those gay boys out there looking for love and acceptance..." Jay Chih-Yu Hsaio, Goodreads

"A beautifully written book, one that I know will stay with me forever. I don't know if I can recommend this book to anyone...but at the same time I feel that this book should be read by everyone...a hopeful story, one of survival, forgiveness, redemption..." Aimee, Goodreads

"****" Laurie, Goodreads

"***** What an amazing book!" Nan Greenwald, Goodreads

"**** A really good book...a solid 4 star read..." Purplegirl, Goodreads

"This book is soul shattering and heartbreaking...I will forever remember this book." Trisha Harrington, Goodreads

"The writer created [Tam and Jamie] with a lot of love, thought and reality...4 stars..." Suilan Lee, author of LOVE (AI) and BOVIAN IMAGE

"*****" SueM, Goodreads

"***** powerful, emotionally-charged gut-wrenching and painful...The author tore me apart emotionally for the first 3/4 of this story, expertly and efficiently as she revealed what had happened to them. However, she spent the final 1/4 gently putting me back together as I got to see the full story of these two wonderful young men unfold...Kudos to Laura Susan Johnson for this amazing work of fiction." Barb, Goodreads Librarian

"***** A beautiful love story..." Madison Parker, author of PLAY ME, I'M YOURS

"*****" Kristy Maitz, Goodreads

"**** This book points out everyone's greatest fears even if they are never admitted out loud and teaches us that love truly is stronger than anything." Sherry Holley, Smashwords.com

"**** An intense read..." Letti, Goodreads

"The most horrifying, hardest book I've ever read about two souls that wont be crushed by the evil in the world. Hard read but worth every tear. 5 stars." HunterAngel, Goodreads

"*****" Cassie, Goodreads

"4.5 ~ I'm not sure I have the perfect words to describe how much I enjoyed Jamie and Tammy. I will just say worth taking the ride with these two special guys." lee sc, Goodreads

"***** The most heart-shattering book I've ever read..." FallenAngel, Goodreads

"*****" freeze, Goodreads

"3.5 stars...A deeply passionate love story..." Elizabetta, Goodreads

"***** Harsh, grueling...it's good...if it doesn't kill you." SyFy, Goodreads

"**** I'd give it 4.8 stars...it's harsh for a coa story, but worth it for the grand finish." Bonny Knox, Goodreads

"**** This book reminded me of just how evil humanity sometimes is and just how strong the human spirit equally has to be..." Anya, Goodreads

"****" Peggy, Goodreads

"*****" Grazie, Goodreads

"3.5 stars" Dreamer, Goodreads

"****" Clerky, Goodreads

"*****" Caroline Brand, Goodreads

"A very sad and sexy story...I am speechless..." Therese, Goodreads

"****" Jax Desmarais, Goodreads

"Jamie was just so sweet, I ached for him, and wanted him so badly to be free from his childhood trauma. Tammy's journey is well done too, from angry kid, to brash and almost narcissistic teenager, to a man passionately devoted to protecting animals." Erica, Goodreads

"****" Zeh, Goodreads

"****" Geek, Goodreads

"***** Beyond excellent." Denise, Goodreads

"Vivid, realistic and heartbreaking...It spans from the most grotesque and inhuman situations to the sweetest quiet moments of intimacy." I.Am.Reader, Goodreads

"*****" Rossella, Goodreads

"*****" Darina, Goodreads

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Submitted to:  The 2012 Hackney Literary Awards Competition, the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition

"Crush," penned by Laura Susan Johnson, is the first book from Peachham Beach Publishing. It is the story of two young men in the fictional town of Sommerville, CA, which is in the Davis/Vacaville area of Northern California.

Thames "Tammy" Mattheis is a tall, handsome, athletic senior in high school when he meets Jamie Pearce, a shy, undersized freshman who was recently adopted. Before long, Tammy recalls having met Jamie many years before, at a supermarket in Sacramento. As teenagers, they are attracted to each other, and drawn together by an inexplicable force, yet neither boy is truly aware that the other shares his feelings. On Graduation Night, Tammy and Jamie share a happy, memorable evening getting to know each other, then Tammy leaves for college in L.A. the very next day, without saying goodbye to Jamie. Heartbroken, Jamie tries to forget Tammy and move on. Sixteen years later, circumstance reunites them and they finally embark on their long overdue love affair, which proves to be both a beautiful and a very difficult journey, marred by Tammy's childhood molestation by an uncle and the resulting anger and guilt, along with the hellish incest and abuse Jamie suffered when his birth parents forced him to appear in pornographic videos. When Jamie's horrific secret is suddenly unearthed, hateful forces conspire to separate Tammy and Jamie forever.

 "Crush" is currently available as an eBook on Smashwords.com, as well as Diesel eBooks,  Barnes & Noble, Sony eBooks, Apple iTunes, Kobo, Indigo Chapters (Canada) and W. H. Smith (United Kingdom).