Brian D. Kennedy Talks Debut Novel ‘A Little Bit Country’

Living in New York City with his husband and very photogenic dog, Brian D. Kennedy released his debut novel, A Little Bit Country, in early June.

A heartfelt and funny young adult romance inspired by Dollywood, the book centers on two boys who fall in love against the backdrop of a country music-themed amusement park. Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet, and they become inseparable until a long-lost secret comes to light and threatens to unravel everything. Will the boys be able to get past the truths they discover, or will their relationship go down in history as just another sad country love song?

Kennedy says A Little Bit Country has been a long time coming, and he is excited to finally release this project out into the world. When not writing, he can be found working at an LGBTQ nonprofit or seeing a Broadway performance.

OFM caught up with Kennedy to talk more about the book, what gravitated him toward writing for young adults, and what we can expect from him next.

Can you begin by talking more about the concept and inspiration behind A Little Bit Country?

Dolly Parton is definitely the inspiration. I’ve been a Dolly fan since my 20s, and I really got into her music after I first came out. Before that, I didn’t like country music, and I feel like she was sort of my gateway to loving country music. I like Dolly because she’s very big and boisterous, but her music also tells a deeper story. So, when I wanted to write a book about country music, I’ve always wanted to go to Dollywood, I thought it’d be sort of a fun setting for a story. A world similar to that, and what it meant to want to be a gay country singer in an industry that isn’t always gay friendly.

Do you know if Dolly has taken notice of the book?

(Laughs) Not that I know of, and honestly, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle that.

What about the readers? How has the audience response been?

I try to stay off Goodreads and not read my own reviews, but on social media, I’ve found a lot of people who are very happy and excited by the book, which I obviously love. It’s nice to hear that, and I’ve heard from quite a few queer, Southern readers who are excited to have that representation in young adult novels.

Ultimately, what do you hope they take away from it?

It’s sort of a book about learning how to be your best authentic self and how that looks different for everyone. I have one character who is from Chicago, and he’s very out and proud of his sexuality, and then my character who’s from Tennessee is not out yet because he doesn’t feel like he’s in a safe environment. So, I would hope people can see that it’s OK to be whoever you are in whatever way works best for you. There’s not one right way to be out.

Will A Little Bit Country be a standalone, or can we expect a sequel?

It is a standalone, as of now. I do have a second book coming out with the same publisher next summer that’s going to be another YA rom com, but it’s not based in country music or with any of these characters.

How did your love and passion for writing begin?

I’ve always loved writing and storytelling. I did very bad poetry in my grade school, which I think is how I started, and I was in theater in high school and college. I wanted to be a playwright for a while, so it was always something. Then in my 30s, I picked up writing again, and I actually had an instructor who told me my writing reads like young adult, and I don’t think she meant that as a compliment.

That prompted me to pick up my first young adult novel because when I was growing up, we didn’t really have that much young adult. It’s definitely a different kind of category now, but after I read my first young adult novel in my 30s, I just fell in love with the voice and the stories they told. I decided that’s what I wanted to pursue.

That was my next question. Why did you specifically want your first book to be a YA rom com novel?

What I love about young adults is, first of all, I’m someone who needs a lot of distance from what I write about. I’m 42 now, so I don’t think I could write a book about what it’s like to be 40, or even 30. As a teen, I feel like I’m far away enough where I can talk about it. Then I just love writing for teens because when I was a teen, I wasn’t out, and I think I didn’t deal with a lot of those emotions or process what my characters go through at that age. Now, it’s kind of fun to revisit that and have more agency or be able to actually grapple with some of the stuff that I just pushed out of my brain.

You live in New York, and I read when you’re not writing, you can be found working at a LGBTQ nonprofit. Care to tell us more about that?

Yeah, I work at the LGBTQ Center, which is a nonprofit community center in Manhattan. I work in the finance department, billing for our mental health and behavioral health services. It’s such a great, great place to work at. They have a very strong youth program, and I’m very proud about being a part of that.

What are some future goals you hope to achieve with your career as an author?

Honestly, I just hope they keep letting me write more books (laughs). That’s the main goal right now, and I would love to stay in the YA space and keep writing books for teens.

Circling back, is there anything you can tell us about the new book that you’re writing right now?

We don’t have an official title or synopsis yet, so I don’t think I can say too much, but I will say it does deal with another type of music. If people read my bio, they can probably tell what kind of music it is.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

No, I think that’s it. I’m staying pretty busy with working on my second book and promoting the first.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Kennedy by following him on Twitter and Instagram @bdkennedybooks, or visit his official website, briandkennedybooks.com. A Little Bit Country is now available at all book retailers.

Photos courtesy of Sylvie Rosokoff and Brian D. Kennedy