Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome

Episode I: Bad Boy

by Chris Orcutt

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Book 1 of Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome

Pub Date Jan 20 2026 | Archive Date Feb 15 2026

Chris Orcutt | Have Pen, Will Travel

Historical Fiction | New Adult | Romance

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Description

Coming-of-age and teen romance collide in a bodacious and authentic journey through the 1980s…

In February 1986, once-invisible sophomore Avery “Ace” Craig suddenly becomes the most magnetic guy at Hancock High. Armed with a Walkman and mixtapes packed with everything from A-Ha to ZZ Top, Avery charges toward manhood with confidence, charisma, and a genius IQ—but has no clue how to handle what’s next.

During a school trip to D.C., Avery shakes hands with President Reagan, gets a glimpse of his future, and has a sexual awakening, setting off a chain reaction. Girls notice him, his hormones detonate, and his friends are clueless. With no adults to turn to, Ace must navigate the thrilling, terrifying terrain alone—with only a Boy Scout Handbook, his instincts, and a Princess Leia poster to guide him.

Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode I: Bad Boy, the product of ten years’ relentless craftsmanship, takes an immersive, sensual and unflinching look at teen experience and relationships. A saga about the freedom, romance, and epic adventure of suburban life in Cold War America, Bodaciously is for readers seeking a time machine back to the last great American decade.

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Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome offers readers a truly immersive experience: in the music, culture, fashion, lingo, customs, and everyday details of teenage life in the ’80s.Through these nine books (or episodes), Orcutt offers readers a time machine back to this magical but challenging era.

Bodaciously tells the story of Avery and his high school friends against the backdrop of seminal events of 1986-87, including the return of Halley’s Comet, the Challenger disaster, the Chernobyl meltdown, the Reykjavik conference, the “Garbage Barge” fiasco, and President Reagan’s Berlin Wall speech. Over the course of two years, Avery goes on adventures across the United States and to Europe; crosses paths with ’80s celebrities and political leaders; navigates the perilous, tempestuous seas of sex and romance; learns the nature of true love; endures death, loss, and hardship; and transforms from a boy into a young man.

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Episode I: Bad Boy launches an epic 9-book episodic novel, with new episodes every 12 weeks:

True Blue - 4/2026

Danger Zone - 7/2026

Secret Lovers - 10/2026

Yankee Rose - 12/2026

Invisible Touch - 3/2027

Modern Woman - 5/2027

True Colors - 9/2027

Big Time - 11/2027

Coming-of-age and teen romance collide in a bodacious and authentic journey through the 1980s…

In February 1986, once-invisible sophomore Avery “Ace” Craig suddenly becomes the most magnetic guy at...

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A Note From the Publisher

* THE NOVEL'S AUDIENCE: Bodaciously is a 9-book episodic novel *about* teens in the 1980s, but written *for* adults. The language, mature themes, and intimate situations make it unsuitable for younger readers. Bodaciously is *not* YA. While the teen romance themes of the 9 novels will make it of interest to Gen X women readers (and women of other generations), the novel's male teen protagonist and its elements of adventure will appeal to a readership that has long been ignored: Gen X men.

* PUBLISHING SCHEDULE: A new episode will debut every 12-15 weeks—between January 2026 and November 2027. For a preview of the Episode 2-9 covers, visit Chris Orcutt's Media & Contact Page below or check out the Media Kit Flipbook.

* BOOK CLUB CATNIP: The books are controversial and will undoubtedly prompt debate on a range of subjects including life in the '80s, teen behavior and sex, the presentation of teen sexuality and illegal activities in literature (even if it's not for written for young people), and the differences (good and bad) between today and 40 years ago. Orcutt's website includes a host of book club discussion prompts and questions.

* FORMATS: Ingram (Hardcover & Paperback, 6x9), Amazon (Paperback 6x9 and Kindle ebook). An ePub will be available on other platforms as well, including Google Books and Kobo. Ingram copies will be discounted 55% for libraries and retailers, and the Amazon Paperback will be priced $2.00 higher to give the Ingram Paperback a competitive edge.

* SOUNDS OF THE '80s: Check out the Spotify Playlist (Mixtape) for Episode 1—link below. Every episode has a customized soundtrack. Listen to the music before, during, or after reading.

* FOR REVIEWERS: Once you've reviewed Episode 1, if you would like to review Episodes 2-9, contact the publisher (Have Pen, Will Travel) to receive print ARCs of subsequent episodes.

* THE AUTHOR'S JOURNEY: For over a decade, the author, Chris Orcutt, immersed himself in ’80s teen culture and shunned the internet in monastic devotion to his 1.25-million-word magnum opus (twice the length of Tolstoy's War and Peace). Writing drafts on typewriters and vintage computers, blasting everything from A‑Ha to ZZ Top, and drinking enough coffee to fill a swimming pool, he set out to craft an authentic and fearless exploration of the suburban teenage experience in 1980s America.

* THE NOVEL'S AUDIENCE: Bodaciously is a 9-book episodic novel *about* teens in the 1980s, but written *for* adults. The language, mature themes, and intimate situations make it unsuitable for...

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Advance Praise

“Readers of coming-of-age stories will find this exploration quite different from the norm, which makes it a standout. … Another note about why this novel comes across so startlingly realistic is the mixtape culture and musical notes that invite readers to set their own stages for the story by playing the 1980s music referenced throughout as a way of turning printed word into a quasi-musical. … Replete with student assemblies, trysts and field trips, musical notes and footnotes, and the return of Halley’s Comet, the 1980s comes to life in a way few other novels could achieve…. Libraries looking for coming-of-age stories that bring the 1980s to life, adopt literary devices atypical of the traditional Catcher in the Rye style of social inspection, and are filled with ‘you are here’ moments that will spark those growing up during those years to relive the past, will find Bodaciously … an outstanding choice. Highly recommended … a different coming-of-age novel that simmers with discovery.” —D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“A comical teen coming-of-age novel set in the 1980s from author [Chris] Orcutt. … Ace is cool. He works out every day, has the latest music on his Walkman … and, at least lately, teen girls seem to throw themselves at him. … [Ace] must navigate the intricacies of teenage crushes and fooling around while also pulling off seemingly impossible stunts such as making President Reagan laugh. … But the fun comes … in the fast paced, steady action on the page. The question that always hangs over the narrative is what sort of situation Ace will get himself into next…. A light-hearted, swift adventure that sees its young protagonist woo just about everyone he encounters.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Immersed in 1980s popular culture, Bodaciously True and Totally Awesome is a fun and nostalgic novel.” —Foreword Clarion

“[Bodaciously] is a coming-of-age story, a love story, an adventure story, and an odyssey; it’s what you’d get if you put War and Peace, The Odyssey, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High into a supercollider; it’s an epic-length tale about an age group that has seldom been taken seriously in literature—teenagers—and it’s written for the routinely disregarded generation of adults who lived it.” —Summer Jensen, Ph.D., from the Foreword

“…the book might seem just a parody of every adolescent boy’s fantasies. But it’s so well-written that the near-sexual encounters lend depth to Ace’s adolescent struggles. Avery can be disarming one minute, disingenuous the next as he tries to resist the sirens’ call…. … At the end, readers are left on a cliffhanger, like those of ’80s soap operas…. … As Ace himself might say, ‘Awesome, Dude.’” —Blueink Review *Starred Review*