Today, I have author Robert J. Halliwell in the interview chair. We’re discussing his latest release, And Then He Pressed Play: Track One, a young adult, m/m contemporary romance.
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1. Hi, Robert. First off, readers have an idea of the writer you, but what about the everyday you? Can you share about your personal life?
Robert: I’m a pretty normal guy who’s lived a somewhat interesting life I suppose. I lived in the same small town, Moose Jaw, for the first 19 years of my life. After high school, I moved down to Oklahoma to go to school with my then long distance boyfriend. He’s my husband now, so it was worth the trip.
I’m a pretty introverted, nerdy guy which, from what I’ve come to learn from author communities, puts me in pretty good company. I’ve got a bunch of hobbies I tend to fixate on in bursts: Soapmaking, fermenting my own foods, vermicomposting, knitting, planted aquariums. If it catches my interest, I’ll pick it up and put it down throughout the rest of my life. Writing is going to be a permanent fixture though!
2. I’ve been perusing your Goodreads page and see you are drawn to writing young adult romance. Can you tell me what draws you to writing in this genre?
Robert: I feel like the YA genre is so much fun to right in. Feelings are so much more intense then, and it’s such a transitional time in everyone’s life in one way or another. I can’t say all of my books will be romance-y, but I’m sure that love and change will be themes in everything I write.
3. Let’s talk about the main characters. What do you love most about A.J. and Bren?
Robert: I love how they complement each other despite being such opposites in so many ways. I also worked hard to make them actually talk things out in what I hope is a realistic way for guys their age. They’re silly sometimes, but have more emotional maturity than to break up for a day over a simple misunderstanding.
4. And what makes you want to shake these two?
Robert: A.J. needs to be more confident and Bren needs to be maybe a little more direct with his deeper emotions. It was also a bit funstrating to go back and read the early chapters when they thought the other guy was being a dick on purpose. Ugh, boys.
5. What made you decide to set your story in Ireland?
Robert: I have Irish roots in that one of my great great (maybe one more great?) grandparents came from Ireland. There’s been little holdover traditions in my family that I’m sure are from there, and I grew up hearing about how much my mom always wanted to go visit (she did!).
I knew this was going to be a love story where there’s an ocean between the MC’s homes. I felt like A.J. would blend in/be accepted too easily in England and stand out too much in France or Germany too hard (Hello entire new language). With the distant connection to Ireland, I got into research mode and it just felt right.
6. How is your novel different from other LGBTQ+ young adult romances?
Robert: Other novels do this too for sure, but I tried to lean into and then subvert some of the genre expectations/cliches a bit. Misunderstandings that actually get talked through, an ex that isn’t horrible or jealous.
7. What can we expect from you in the future?
Robert: I’m currently working on ATHPP: Track Two for late summer/early fall 2026. Its going to follow Bren and A.J. in their senior year! After that, provided the story goes where I think it is, and people enjoy it and want more, there’ll be a Track Three that follows them in college (I’d really like to go to Ireland using money from the first two books first though).
Apart from that, I have a standalone/novella and then a four part series that are still very queer YA, but with a stronger fantasy lean than even my debut!
8. I enjoy doing random questions, so humour me:
• What’s your favourite movie?
I’m not sure I’ll ever get sick of watching Hocus Pocus or Fried Green Tomatoes.
• What book is currently in your e-reader?
Sadly, my e-reader got misplaced in the shuffle of moving, but I’m reading The Art of Racing In The Rain at my mother’s suggestion and, after that, Snow Boys by Simon Doyle.
• Who’s your favourite musical group?
She’s not a group, but I adore Ado! Her’s was the first concert I ever went to! She also spawned the group Phantom Siita, so kind of answered the question properly in the end.
• What song puts a smile on your face?
Most songs honestly. I love music deeply. Lately, New Genesis by Ado or Babbling Brooke from the Goosebumps Musical (It’s super cute) have been making me smile a lot.
9. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Robert: Thank you so much for featuring me!
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Title: And Then He Pressed Play: Track One
Author: Robert J. Halliwell
Tense/POV: Past tense, third person limited, dual POV
Genres: YA coming of age, MM Contemporary
Tropes: Fish out of water, Shy-Sunshine, Idiots in love, exchange student
Themes: Found family, bisexual awakening, first love
Heat Rating: 1-1.5 flames
Length: 338 pages/80,000 words
Release Date: February 28, 2026
Publisher: Triple Scale Publishing
Blurb: It’s 2006 and Sixteen-year-old A.J. Walker is openly gay, painfully Canadian, and very much out of his depth. He’s wanted to do his school’s exchange program for years, but now that he’s landed at an all-boys school in Glenbridge Ireland—an ocean away from Moose Jaw Saskatchewan—he’s starting to question his decisions. Armed with nothing more than his trusty Discman and an accent that makes him stand out, A.J. has one goal: get through the Irish school year.
Born and raised in Glenbridge, Bren O’Shea has never known how to sit still or keep quiet. He’s also never known a day without laughter. Even when things get bad, Bren always knows how to get a smile out of someone, whether they asked him or not. His mam always says he needs to think before he acts, but as long as his heart’s in the right place, what’s the harm in a bit of impulse?
Glenbridge is the sort of town where everyone knows everyone—and unfortunately for A.J. once someone thinks they know you, it’s hard to change their mind.
After a rocky start that ends in disaster, Bren and A.J. need to decide if it’s worth reaching out to someone who’s so different from you—especially when one of you has to leave in June.
Note: It is part 1 of a duology. It has a HFN ending with some heartbreak mixed in since the exchange program ends.
Available at:
Amazon | Website | Kobo | B&N | Indigo
Save me!
The chorus to “Bring Me to Life” rang in A.J.’s ears as he leaned against the damp, moss-covered wall at the far end of Glenbridge Secondary School. Even though the volume on his whirring Discman was cranked to the highest setting, it wasn’t enough to drown out the absolute bedlam that roiled around him. He’d thought his eleven years of attending school had shown him all the shades of feral guys came in, but standing to face the churning sea of testosterone before him, those years of experience all but melted away.
He couldn’t say for sure whether it was the fact Glenbridge had no girls to act as a buffer, or if his new classmates just didn’t come with volume knobs. Whatever the reason, he was doubting the wisdom of signing up for the exchange program with each passing second.
The main attraction stood at the end of the yard farthest from his wall. At least twenty guys, ranging throughout all the grades by the looks of them, were playing some sort of game A.J. had never seen before. Everyone carried strips of wood that looked like a cross between stubby hockey sticks and baseball bats. As far as he could tell, the goal was to balance, hit, or otherwise carry the baseball-sized ball from one end of the field to the other and get it past the goalie, all while being as loud as possible.
Separate from this unknown sport, groups of students stood in clusters throughout the yard. This wasn’t much different from what he was used to at first glance, but on closer inspection, each group was in a state of constant motion. Guys were speaking with their hands, elbowing their friends or slapping each other on the back with every other word. They seemed to communicate exclusively by shouting, with accents that A.J. had trouble understanding—even without the music thudding in his skull.
There didn’t seem to be another quiet person for him to approach. Not one other guy off on his own, reading a book, listening to music, or acting like they hadn’t downed about five cans of Monster.
A.J. rolled his shoulders, and the fabric of his uniform bit into his neck. He’d thought by making sure his clothes were in pristine condition before setting out that morning, he was applying a layer of camouflage. A uniform made things easier—or at least it should have.
To his dismay, it looked like everyone else had shredded the handout without looking at it. Shirts were rumpled, sleeves were rolled up, and despite the leaflet’s mention of neutral footwear, he spotted more than a few pairs of brightly coloured Nikes milling about.
In the brief lull between songs, his eyes fell on one of the worst offenders of this near-universal breach of dress code. Flame-bright hair stuck out at every angle across his head, like he’d rolled out of bed and walked straight out the door. His blue and silver striped tie was so loose the knot thudded against his sternum whenever he was in motion—which seemed to be his default setting.
He laughed as he peeled back the top of a yogurt lid and flung it with a casual flick towards one of his friends. It landed with a good stick on the boy’s breast pocket—right over the school crest.
A.J. was wondering how hard the first boy was going to get punched when the second one’s lip twitched. He grabbed hold of the lid and, with surprising dexterity considering the size of him, flung it back at the first boy. It landed between his eyes with a splat that A.J. thought he heard above his music. The rest of the group exploded with laughter as the redhead peeled the lid off, still wearing his crooked smile.
Without warning, the yogurt-covered boy turned from his group to toss the lid towards a nearby trash can. A.J.’s eyes darted away and came to rest on a patch of clover. Had the other boy seen him staring? Classes hadn’t even started yet, and he was already acting like a friendless loser.
He was a friendless loser.
His fingers found the dial of his Discman again, yearning to crank the volume up past its limits.
He’d all but decided to cut his losses and head inside early when he heard it. The sound of a muffled voice, far too close to be there by accident.
Shit.
A.J. let his eyes linger on the clover before dragging his gaze upward. Sure enough, there stood the boy from before.
A stray streak of pinkish yogurt clung to his fire-spun eyebrows where the lid had landed. Tiny beads of moisture glistened on his pale skin, shining among the freckles spread across the bridge of his sharp nose. It was impossible to tell whether it was sweat or not. If A.J. had learned one thing about Ireland in the two weeks he’d been there, it was that the humidity never dropped below chicken noodle soup.
A.J. fumbled with the dial while the other boy’s head tilted to the side, like he was trying to figure out the plot of a show he’d dropped into mid-season. With his music humming instead of roaring, A.J. shifted his gaze to meet the boy’s hazel eyes.
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Robert J. Halliwell was born in the magical land of Canada during the age of butterfly clips and jelly sandals. He spent his formative years watching spooky movies and being jealous of Belle’s library from Beauty and the Beast. Many people don’t know Robert is married to an American Cyborg or that he’s secretly in possession of the two cutest cats in the world. He can often be found playing Dungeons and Dragons, knitting, or struggling to keep his garden alive.
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Maggie Blackbird 