The Island of Worthy Boys: A Novel

(Paperback)

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The author has retained leading book publicity firm BookSparks for a multi-faceted national and local publicity campaign

Will mail advance readers copies to more than 75 trade review publications, newspapers, magazines and women's websites for reviews, interviews and inclusion in Fall Reading lists and roundups, including Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, O magazine, Redbook, More magazine, The Millions, Daily Beast, USA Today, Huffington Post and more

Planning a robust online book blog tour to include 40+ highly influential book blogs that review historical fiction

Local media outreach to Boston area media including Boston Globe, Boston magazine and bookstore events in the fall

Promotion via social media: Facebook, Twitter

Reviews

Connie Mayos fast-paced novel, The Island of Worthy Boys, transports you to the pungent gritty streets of nineteenth-century Boston where two unlikely delinquent heroes lurk. Fair warning: they will steal your heart. Mayos dramatic flair, psychological insight, and mastery of nineteenth-century Boston make for a remarkable debut novel that reads like the work of a seasoned pro. Unforgettable. Katherine Keenum, author of Where the Light Falls An accomplished debut novel with intriguing characters and vibrant dialogue, The Island of Worthy Boys takes readers on a fascinating journey through the streets of late-nineteenth-century Boston and into the little-known world of Thompson Islands Farm School for Indigent Boys. With sparkling descriptions and a well-paced plot, Mayo tells the tale of Charles Wheeler and Aidan Sullivantwo boys on the runand their escape to the farm school, where secrets abound and the boys friendship endures the ultimate test. The Island of Worthy Boys will captivate both fans of Boston history and lovers of historical fiction. Kristen Harnisch, author of The Vintner's Daughter A poignant and moving tale of two boys who fall on hard times in nineteenth-century Boston. Hunger and desperation help to forge a bond between the two that is nearly indestructible. When the unthinkable happens, they go into hiding, living in constant fear that the ghosts of their past will return to exact revenge and seek justice. A thoughtful and enlightening story filled with historical appeal and an ending that is both unexpected and satisfying. Tamar Ossowski, author Left Mayo renders a historically rich tale that will not only capture readers of historical fiction, but a wider audience for its humanity, compassion, and spirited prose style. Sarah Anne Johnson, author of The Lightkeepers Wife Connie Hertzberg Mayo has written a wonderful novel about the tensions and rewards of friendship, in all its guises. With her two fascinating protagonists, Charles and Aidan, and her portrait of the extraordinary real-life figure Charles Bradley, head of the Boston Farm School, Mayo has called up a vivid world of delinquents, school life, adventure in the streets, and unexpected mercy in a harsh world. Her book is an engrossing and exciting tale of late-nineteenth-century New Englanda marvelous addition to Bostonian literature! Ursula DeYoung, author of Shorecliff From the first pages of Connie Mayos The Island of Worthy Boys, I found myself caught up in unlikely friendship between Charles Wheeler and Aidan Sullivan, the first a street-wise ruffian, the second a thoughtful, desperate boy, and the things they must do in order to survive. The book is rich with historical details, and the promise of trouble keeps the pages turning. Its full of heart too. Michelle Hoover, author of The Quickening and Bottomland Mayo transports us to nineteenth-century Boston, giving us the street level cacophony of street markets and teeming crowds in a way that offers a refreshing perspective on a beloved urban geography. Tim Weed, author of Will Poole's Island Hertzberg Mayo turns all this unusual material into a thrilling and often quite moving narrative about youth and second chances in an age with fewer social safety nets to catch boys like Charles and Aidan. The novel brings an alien world vividly to life. Historical Novel Society

Author Bio

Connie Hertzberg Mayo came to Massachusetts to get a literature degree from Tufts University, and never left. She first learned about Thompson Island shortly after graduation and immediately knew it was a great setting for a work of fiction, but it took twenty years and the rise of the Internet to make her feel like she could start researching and writing. She works as a Systems Analyst and lives in southern Massachusetts with her husband, two children, two cats, and her heirloom tomato garden.