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Boy Queen

9/8/2020

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​Fall wig first into a world of big hair, high heels and even higher stakes in George Lester's debut novel Boy Queen.

Life's a drag until you try . . .

Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart.

While his friends prepare to head off to University, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it’s ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.

Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realizes there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .

With a mother who won't stop talking, a boyfriend who won't acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter make up, there's only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway.

Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

WATERSTONES
AMAZON




FAVOURITE DRAG NAMES FROM BOY QUEEN
Thank you so much for having me! Okay, this is a really cool thing to write about because, honestly, one of the most fun parts of this book was coming up with the names of the drag artists. From when I was trying to decide my own drag name, I had lists all over the place, in notebooks, on scraps of paper, on my phone, because it was such a struggle. I never dreamed I would actually get to use some of them! So a few of the names in the book were ones that I nearly used for myself (my drag name is That Gurrrl because I couldn't decide on a name so just started referring to my drag self as that girl. I added some letters and HERE WE ARE!) and the others are ones that I either came up with for fun or that I found online. There are quite a few in the book so I can't talk about them all but, here are a few of my favourites!
PRISTINE GLEAMING
After watching a lot of UNHhhh (Trixie and Katya's youtube web series), anytime I hear something that sounds even remotely like a drag name, I will say 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage insert name here!' My boyfriend and I were walking past a Jo Malone shop and, in the window, were the words "Pristine" and "Gleaming" far too close to one another to not be read as a name and, because I'm super irritating, every time we walked past it I would say 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Pristine Gleaming!' And the name was born.
DORY ANN SLAY
Thank you to my gorgeous friend Katy for this one! When I was trying to come up with a drag name, I wondered if something slightly literary would be the way to go, hence this rather gorgeous take on Dorian Grey. I didn't go for it in the end, but it felt fitting to put it in the book!
DAWN RAID
The product of a really boring meeting back when I worked in publishing. There was talk of their being a "dawn raid" by some compliance board, I can't remember what. And I was so delirious from sitting in a three hour meeting that I was cackling at the back of the room whispering to myself "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage DAWN RAID!" It's honestly a wonder I was never fired...
JULIE MANDREWS and ANGELA MANSBURY
Look, I am a massive homosexual and idolise both of these women in a very big way. Dame Julie Andrews for her many many roles, most specifically Mary Poppins, Maria Von Trapp and, her best role, Queen Clarisse Renaldi. This last one is not a joke, The Princess Diaries is perfection and you should all watch it. Dame Angela Lansbury I love for her role of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, one of the greatest TV shows ever made, but also for Eglantine Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Using their names was my little tribute to two stars of the stage and screen who I love quite dearly. I doubt they will ever find out, but if they do I hope they're not offended!
KAYE BYE
Okay, this is the ultimate fave for a series of reasons. This was nearly my name, so I wanted to make use of the name and give it pride of place in the book. Kaye plays a massive part in this story. She is pretty much what sparks Robin to do drag in the first place and it is through her guidance that he learns and develops and...well I'm not going to say too much else or else I'll spoil it for you. Another reason this is my favourite of the names in the book is because I will never forget getting a text off my friend Lucy when she was reading the book that just said "Kaye Bye. I am dead!", which sort of sealed it for me that I had done the right thing!



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    Hi! I'm Beth, 25 and from the UK. I love, love, love reading. This is a blog to share my love of books and my thoughts on books etc!

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