Cover Art by Sean Harrington
(Let’s have a round of applause and comments for special guest, C.S. Boyack!)
Thanks for having me over today, Charles. You usually get a visit from Lisa, my assistant and spokesmodel, but today it’s me. There is a bit of a personal story behind this book, at least as far as inspiration goes.
One of the common topics for a blog tour is what inspired this book. I’m going to address this here, but it isn’t easy for me to talk about. My own son helped inspire this story, and not in a good way.
There is a whole generation of young people who appear to be lost. We coddled them when they were young, and protected them from anything distressing. This includes the use of participation trophies, defending them to school administrations, and making sure they had the latest and best technological devices growing up. This generation has never been told no.
My son is one of these people. I admit my role in all of this, and my wife’s role too. He is one of the people hooked on opioid painkillers, and lacks any ambition or desires whatsoever.
It’s possible The Yak Guy Project was my attempt to reach a happy ending here. Somewhere along the line my son, and the Yak Guy, never got life’s lessons the first time. Yak Guy was given a second chance, but he has to learn many of these lessons the hard way.
At the beginning of the story, Yak Guy is a parasite upon his friends. He has been sleeping on their couches, eating their food, and not providing one iota of assistance back in return.
The story takes place in an alternate world, and Yak Guy has to learn the basics like food, water, shelter, he has to learn to take care of his personal possessions. There is a scene where he learns to interact and show a bit of gratitude to someone who helped him.
This may sound kind of mundane, but it takes place in a harsh environment. Learning these things is one way to survive heat stroke, abandonment, predation by animals, and starvation. His actions have consequences, and some of them are life and death consequences.
When he is deemed worthy by his mentor, a talking yak, he rejoins society and starts learning even bigger lessons. Things like brotherhood, friendship, sufficiency, and even love.
The Yak Guy goes from a parasitic lifestyle to someone worthy of respect and becomes a valid leader. He learns how to value those less fortunate than himself, and to help them survive the harsh realities of this world.
It’s also one of my stories, so it has some warfare, a few swords, and the occasional lighthearted moment. I hope you’ll join The Yak Guy on his journey.
Add it to your Goodreads ‘To Read’ List!
Blurb
Imagine waking up in the desert with no idea what happened to you. You have clear memories of situations and places, but a complete loss in personal matters… like your own name. This situation is bad, and you have no idea how to get home.
When you’re rescued by a talking yak, the situation gets exponentially worse. You’ve obviously lost your mind. The immediate needs of a ride off the salt pan and searing heat, along with a drink of water, outweigh the concerns about your mental state.
This is exactly what happened to the Yak Guy. In fact he’s been placed in an alternate world and given a chance to start over in life.
Can this selfish, almost parasitic, young man learn to start over in a world where charity is hard to find? Life is brutal and short here, but he’s going to have to adapt or perish.
The Yak Guy project is loosely based around The Fool’s Journey from the Tarot. Those with experience in Tarot will spot people and situations from the Major Arcana.
Pick up your copy by CLICKING HERE!
I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.
I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.
I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.
Social Media
Legends of Windemere 
Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Charles is hosting my first stop on this blog tour. I give some deep insight into where this story came from. While you’re there, check out his wares. Now is the time to jump on his new War of Nytefall series.
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Thanks for hosting me today. I’ll check back tomorrow to participate in any comments we get.
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Happy to help. 😁
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks for the reblog
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Thanks for sharing this post too.
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I have been waiting for this one to be released!
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Me too. Hope you enjoy it.
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Your personal connection tells me readers are in for an emotional rollercoaster — the best type of ride! Sorry to hear about your son, Craig. Substance abuse is rough on the entire family. {{{hugs}}} Added THE YAK GUY PROJECT to my Goodreads.
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I don’t talk about it much, because there isn’t much to say. My mind somehow made up a story with similar connections. Thanks for adding the book, it helps.
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this new release, The Yak Guy, by C.S. Boyack from this post on the Legends of Windemere blog.
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Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome.
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Appreciate the help, Don.
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My pleasure. Can’t wait to read it.
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This is one I look forward to. Thanks for sharing the story behind it. You are not alone!
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Thank you, Deby. hope you enjoy the journey.
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Really enjoyed the interview, Craig. And I’m adding YAK GUY to my Goodreads list. Best of luck with it! By the way, looking at your bio, I see you were born in Elko. Another lifetime ago, when I was a Mass Comm major, I had a show on the college’s radio station. My radio name was Elko Nevada. Just thought I’d share. Thanks again, and please say howdy to Lisa for me.
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You’ve been everywhere, Jeff. Appreciate you adding it on GR. All that stuff really helps.
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Excellent post, Craig. Loved the excerpt and the premise. I’d venture to say the Yak Guy has lots of lessons to learn. Wishing you the best success!!!
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Thank you, Jan. He has many lessons to learn.
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I just ordered Yak guy and Listed it as a want to read on Goodreads. I’m so sorry about your son and his addiction. I hope he determines he has had enough at some point. Best Wishes on the book.
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Thanks, John. I’m pretty sure that kind of change has to come from within. We can’t give him the desire to change. Hope you enjoy the story.
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🙂
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I’m so sorry to hear about your son. The opioid epidemic is out of control in my state and frequently in the news. I touch upon it in my latest WIP, but I have no family connection, which surely makes it difficult.
I’ve purchased my copy of Yak Guy. As a beta reader on this one I’m going to be a cheerleader. All of your stuff is good, but this one is on a different level, incredibly unique. I love this story and can’t wait for others to discover it, too. Congratulations!
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Thanks, Mae. Those testimonials really help. The family issues are something I dwell upon frequently. With my mind, things turn into stories. Can’t help it.
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I think it’s great that you were able to take something so personally difficult and channel it into something positive. Wishing your son and your family a safe, healthy, positive outcome. And wishing you much success with the release.
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It is difficult. I fear that Yak Guy’s outcome will be better than my son’s.
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I’ll be praying that isn’t the case.
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I didn’t realise it was already available, Craig. I just got it. I didn’t realise you had an older son; raising children is scary in this modern world of ours.
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Thanks for taking a chance on it. I have two sons and a daughter. We’re telling ourselves two out of three ain’t bad as to how they turned out.
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The Yak Guy Project reads like an amazing book. I’m sorry about your son. You never know what the future holds. He may still come out of this like the Yak Guy––stay positive, although I know it’s easier said than done. Thanks for sharing this difficult situation with us. This opioid addiction thing has gotten completely out of hand. I wish you and your family lots of strength, tolerance, and optimism to get through this. I’m going to add your book to my Kindle. 🙂
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That means a lot to me. We’re hoping the best for our son, but change has to come from within.
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That is completely correct. He has to want to change and make the effort to do so. ❤
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