The Diseased Ones Danielle Harrington (The Hollis Timewire Series, #1) Published by: Acorn Publishing Publication date: February 8th 2020 Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
On the morning of her 16th birthday, Hollis Timewire receives the worst possible news. She can’t become a citizen of the world. She’s a Diseased One.
Born with a biomarker that bestows dangerous, brain-altering powers, Hollis is forced to hide underground with other Diseased Ones, who believe that the government falsified history to cover up their genocide.
Now Hollis must discover the truth, and is willing to risk anything, including her powers, to go back home.
My Thoughts: The Diseased Ones starts out with action and I got so involved with Hollis and everything that was happening to her that I just couldn't put the book down until I had completed it. I was/and would have been mortified to find out that not only was I a "diseased one" but to have my parents just hand me over so easily as hers did. So much for family virtue and all that.
This was such an interesting and fast moving story finding out about all the lies and other diseased folks and their "powers" and a debut to boot! I can't wait for the next part of this story to come! plus I am in love with that gorgeous cover! Love Love Love
Author Bio:
Danielle Harrington is a high school chemistry teacher with a passion for the pen and a knack for storytelling. She got her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Biola University, and although she’s a hardcore science nerd, she’s always been a lover of the arts.
She grew up acting and singing and has turned her love for drama into writing. Danielle lives vicariously through her characters and considers it great fun because she “gets to play all the parts”.
Danielle lives in LA with her husband, Steven, and her two cats, Moose and Turtle. She is working on a four book young adult dystopian fiction series, and she’s beyond thrilled to be launching her debut novel, THE DISEASED ONES, through Acorn Publishing.
To Make a Witch by Heather Hamilton-Senter
(Sword of Elements #1.5)
Publication date: October 1st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
At her old school, Lacey found herself on the wrong side of a conflict between Celtic gods. Making a new start in an exclusive boarding school in New Orleans, she hopes to forget that she was once on the verge of becoming a powerful witch—and everything she has lost since then.
When a gruesome murder occurs in the very heart of Westover Academy, Lacey senses a connection between it and the desecration of the tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo queen. Haunted by a trauma in her past and the resulting OCD, Lacey must solve the mystery before she becomes the killer’s next target.
Circumstances beyond her control may once again make Lacey McInnis—cheerleader, scholar, and all-around good girl—a witch.
Heather grew up in a family where books of myth and legend were used to teach the ABCs and Irish uncles still believed in fairies. Raised with tall tales, she has always told stories too- first as an actor and singer, then as a photographer, and now as a writer.
Heather lives in rural Ontario, Canada happily raising three children ranging in age from 6 to 18 with her biggest fan, her husband Steve.
When eighteen-year-old Laurel Harris discovers she’s pregnant four weeks into the start of her freshman year at prestigious Colman College, she has all intentions of telling her father. But being away at school makes it too easy to hide. And while she can’t explain to her friends, or to herself even, the reasons why she doesn’t want the baby’s father to find out about the pregnancy, the rest of her world begins to unravel.
Review:
About this author:
Christine Duval has been writing creatively since the fourth grade when she penned her first short story entitled "London Terror," about the murder of a cat in London.She grew up on the North Shore of Long Island and lived in Italy twice as a teenager.
College was spent in the Finger Lakes: the inspiration for Colman, Milton, and Kashong Lake in Freshman Forty. It really is cold, wet and grey there - OFTEN! But when the sun comes out, boy is it pretty.
Life eventually took her to New York's Upper West Side, the place she'll always consider home. Though for now she resides in New Jersey with her family and a very spoiled love bird who can't decide if he's a boy or she's a girl.
Eighteen-year-old Katie Allred is socially awkward and unpopular at school. The only child of parents who had her right out of high school, Katie is herself about to leave the nest, even though she hardly feels ready.
Katie’s new after-school job at the Zimble Box Corporation draws her into the complex social strata of high school cliques and backstabbing friends in ways she never imagined. Katie soon discovers there’s something very strange about the “in” crowd at school---and about her employer, too. Shortly after starting her new job, the Contagion breaks out, plunging her town and the entire nation into chaos as zombie shadow forces come out into the open, ravaging the streets. Katie goes into hiding and her parents disappear, along with almost everyone else she knows.
But Katie soon discovers she has special powers that help her survive. She’s a Beacon, someone with the innate ability to help zombies produce children. It’s a power her employer — and what little remains of the U.S. government — both want to exploit for their own ends. Not only that, it runs in her family---which has a secret past Katie never knew about until now.
Enter Agent Morehouse of the FBI Special Zombie Control Unit. A reformed zombie working undercover, he suppresses his urge to eat human flesh in order to serve and save humanity. But Agent Morehouse can’t help but be attracted to a Beacon like Katie, and she to him. Even as they fight zombies the world over, they must fight their intense attraction to each other, hoping to keep Katie from suffering Agent Morehouse’s terrible zombie fate.
2. I'm always ready for a new episode of Breaking Bad.
3. When I'm alone, I read.
4. You'd never be able to tell, but I have a tattoo in a secret spot.
5. If I had a halo it would be orange.
6. If I could speak Swahili I'd move to Africa.
7. I can never be a beekeeper because I’m allergic to bee stings. (They can kill me!)
8. I wrote and illustrated my first horror story when I was in fifth grade.
AUTHOR BIO:
I'm an independent author of New Adult (mature YA, 18-26) fiction as well as a full-time freelance journalist based in Chicago. I've contributed to the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Chicago Reader and many magazines as a journalist over the past 15 years. And like most New Adult fiction authors these days, I've gone the self-publishing route for my work since most publishers haven't caught up to the readership trends in this emerging shelf category. My writing is usually laced with humor and also often has sexual and/or dystopian elements.
“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”
Grace Tate is a Protection Angel and Vampire Hunter, and she has always followed the rules. But some rules are made to be broken…
Until now the fight against evil has been simple, and falling in love was never part of the plan. So what happens when it’s beyond Grace’s control, and when she least expects it she falls for the wrong person?
All hell breaks loose, that’s what.
At Hopetown Valley High, not everything is as it seems, and the one person Grace thought was her enemy becomes her most important ally.
Blood will be shed, lives will be lost and friendships will be tested. It all comes down to one decision, and when Grace tries to save all those dear to her, she realises not everyone can be—or wants to be—saved.
Review: I've never been big on angel stories but this one had vampires mixed in as well so I picked it up and it was okay, better than I expected plus it had a lil Australian chatter in there and I loved that! It was a fairly quick read and I feel good enough about it to pick up the next in the series.
K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney with her parents and older brother when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. She now resides in a peaceful leafy suburb north of Sydney with her husband, their two children and a rabbit named Twitch.
In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market.
Thomas Christopher grew up in Iowa, where he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa. After living in Seattle and Montana, he received his MFA at Western Michigan University. He has published short stories in The Louisville Review, The MacGuffin, Redivider, Small Spiral Notebook, Cooweescoowee, and other places. He was also awarded an Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant and was a finalist for the Matthew Clark Prize in Fiction. Currently, he lives in Wisconsin with his wife Jessica and their son Holton.
The summer after graduation is supposed to be that first real taste of freedom - but not for eighteen-year-old Chloe Branson. Just as that breeze of freedom is making its way into her galaxy, her secret-service-agent dad drops a meteor-sized bomb of bad news on her and her sisters. An attempt has been made on the lives of Canadian boyband, Spaceships Around Saturn, during their USA tour, and the guys have to go into hiding ASAP. The only problem? In the midst of the crisis and media frenzy, their dad volunteered to hide the guys...in their house.
Six-year-old Emery is as ecstatic as any self-proclaimed Saturnite would be, but Chloe and her seventeen-year-old sister Aralie watch their summer plans crash and burn like a falling star. The SAS guys aren't happy with the situation, either. Bad boy Jules picks fights with Aralie about everything from his Twitter followers to his laundry, and heart-throb Benji can't escape Emery's fangirlisms for more than three minutes.
But after the super-cute Milo kisses Chloe during a game of hide-and-seek, she finally understands what Emery means when she talks about SAS being "out of this world." If this is what Saturn feels like, Chloe doesn't want to come back to earth.
Nikki Godwin is a Young Adult/New Adult author. She is a city girl who can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, Hawthorne Heights, and candles from Bath & Body Works. When not writing, she's not-so-secretly stalking her favorite bands. She may or may not completely love One Direction
There are two things you should know about Kalli Perkins.
1. She’d rather do it in public than be alone with a guy.
2. She loves her little brothers more than her mom does.
Kalli doesn’t pretend to be a good girl. At nineteen, she’s never been in love and doesn’t ever intend to be. She has her issues handled. She’s managed to keep the secret of what happened to her nine years ago from her mother, although her mother’s usually high anyway and barely notices Kalli or her little brothers.
One night at a party, Kalli makes a bet with her friend, Nate, that could change everything. Their friend, Scout, tells them there’s no uncrossing the friendship line once it’s crossed—even though they were both drunk. But Kalli can’t imagine how anyone could want her damaged self for anything more.
She didn’t count on Nate. Nate’s very capable of satisfying her not only under her clothes, but in her heart, too.
AUTHOR BIO
Rebecca Berto is a new adult contemporary romance author. She is also a freelance editor.
She writes stories that are a bit sexy, and straddle the line between Literary and Tear Your Heart Out. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.
Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.
Krishani always knew he would have to go to the Lands of Men, but he never thought it would be like this. Enemies everywhere, an ancestor he can't respect, elders he can't trust, a curse he can't stop and friends he can't help but hate. Desperate to end the pain, he sets out on a quest to find the other Flames and face the enemy that took everything from him.
Rhi was never a normal girl. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She studied at U of Sedona and MIMT, obtaining a PhD in Metaphysical Science and Parapsychology. She's married to a chef/comic book shop owner and has a fondness for architecture. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.yafantasyauthor.com
***This trilogy version contains all THREE installments of The Nevermore Trilogy. This Series is meant to be read in sequential order as the books are NOT stand alone.***
SUNDERED (Book One of The Nevermore Trilogy):
They were promised weight loss, the cure for Cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and infertility; they were promised hope.
The side effects were anything but hopeful.
Mara and Sebastian are young, in love and newlyweds. Far too soon, they will face tests to their love that most others won’t survive. Their bond strengthens with each loss, destruction and unbearable race against time. In each other, they find the will and hope to endure. Hand in hand, they will face the darkening of humanity with strength and integrity and an undeniable spirit to survive; together.
“Sundered is a story that will steal a piece of your heart as you cheer for both Mara and Sebastian in this unconventional love story. It is a story of love, hope, faith and the strength to carry on after the dark times come.” -Reviewer
BOUND (Book Two of The Nevermore Trilogy):
They were promised weight loss, the cure for Cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and infertility; they were promised hope.
The side effects were anything but hopeful.
Mara faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles and adversities as she works feverishly to free Sebastian from the holds which bind him. Her refusal to abandon him, and his refusal to let her slip away, keep them fighting to be reunited. Fears escalate and dangers destroy their beliefs, but they cling to their love and find strength in each other even when separated. Mara and Sebastian manage to face each act of violence, each tragedy, and terrifying sight with a strength which won’t bend to any confrontation.
“Gritty, violent, tragic and terrifying, this whole series also manages to be touching, romantic and at times, even sexy…..” -Jess the Romanceaholic
DAUNTLESS (Book Three of The Nevermore Trilogy):
They were promised weight loss, the cure for Cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and infertility; they were promised hope.
The side effects were anything but hopeful.
Surrounded by the most obstinate of madness, Mara will use the strength within herself to free both she and Sebastian once and for all. As Sebastian slips further away from her, Mara will have to fight as she never has before--alone. The bonds of love and friendship will be stretched to their breaking point as the world around them spins out of control, and the dangers continue to mount. Can she carry them both through the obstacles ahead and find a way to heal Sebastian? Can she accomplish all of this in time?
This final chapter of The Nevermore Trilogy will leave you breathless, sitting on the edge of your seat screaming out loud for love to overcome and the goodness of human nature to prevail.
"I was completely blindsided by events in this story. Even now, I can't stop thinking about it."
Author of "Until Dawn: Last Light", Jennifer Simas
About the Author
Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.
She is the author of the The Nevermore Trilogy, The Rylee Adamson Novels and the Celtic Legacy series. Her first New Adult Romance, High Risk Love, is scheduled for release July 1, 2013.
The door opened behind me and shut with a soft click. I kept my back turned to Sebastian, my spine rigid and my breathing slow and deliberate as I tried to rein my anger in. A whine from the bathroom and I stomped down the hallway and swung the door open. Nero tried to scamper between my legs but I scooped him up and held him tight. A minute passed and the anger started to drain out of me. Taking one last deep breath I carried Nero into the living room. I stared at the TV and came to a sudden stop, unable to take my eyes off the screen.
Dan leaned forward. “I’d hoped they’d have gotten it under control in the bigger cities at least.”
“I don’t think that’s the case,” I said, my hands trembling as I stroked Nero. Lists of major cities that had been overrun and were considered uninhabitable flashed on the screen in no particular order: Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Brisbane, New York, Atlanta, Ottawa, London, Perth, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Glasgow, Mexico City, Venice, Lima; the list went on and on, scrolling for a solid two minutes.
“Every continent has been hit by this catastrophe, though some obviously worse than others.” The male announcer’s voice blared to life on the screen and I jumped involuntarily. Nero gave a squeak and I kissed him on the top of his head.
The camera panned to a reporter in what looked like a bare-bones room, cement walls, and shelves of strange scientific-looking paraphernalia.
“Dr. Josephson, what can you tell us about the events? Will the drug wear off? What can we do about this situation?” the reporter asked, turning to the camera every few words, as if to gain permission from the viewing audience to ask the questions.
“It’s simple, even for a nincompoop like you, Blaine,” Dr. Josephson said.
“It’s Bruce.”
“Whatever. The drug was skipped through the FDA testing as well as Health Canada; money greased the wheels to hurry it to market. In the two months since it’s been out, it made over 1.6 trillion dollars. You can imagine how that would make a company eager to get it to the public.”
Bruce leaned in. “Those numbers can’t be right.”
Dr. Josephson snorted. “337 million people, give or take a few thousand, get the shot through legal means. That’s in North America alone. Five thousand dollars shot, one hundred people a day per clinic. You should do your research before you go on air Bruno.”
The doctor sat down on a ratty old stool and looked up into the camera, as if Bruce were no longer worth speaking to.
“There is no cure. There is no chance it will go away. It won’t wear off, it is designed to link permanently to the molecular structure of human bones, organs, and most importantly, brain. It cannot be transferred by a bite, as the modern movie culture would have you believe. These are not zombies, these are people gone feral, wild. They are acting as packs, not unlike a pack of wolves with an Alpha male and female, and the rest working as a group for food and protection.” His pale blue eyes seemed to bore into me and I shivered with the intensity. “To the public who have not taken Nevermore I will say only one thing,” He paused, dropped his head and shook it slightly before looking back up into the camera.
Sixteen year old Loki Blackstar is no Prince Charming. His mother is a ghost. His only friend is a red Cadillac that talks to him through the radio. He looks like an Angel but acts like jerk. No wonder he has been banned from Heaven, which is the least of his troubles. Loki needs a job to pay for school and support himself.
Still, Loki has a rare gift: He is a Dreamhunter. One of the few in the world who can hunt and kill immortal demons in their dreams so they never wake up again.
When Loki is sent to kill a sixteen-year-old vampire girl the locals call Snow White Sorrow, he is pulled into a magical but dangerous world. The locals believe the monster to be Snow White.
The real Snow White... living in the ruins of an ancient castle in a small town. She is described as horribly beautiful, terrifyingly enchanting, and wickedly lovely.
What he finds instead is a beautiful monster girl filled with rage and hurt, who has an epic untold story to tell of things such like why the Brothers Grimm altered the fairy tale, who the Evil Queen really is, where the mirror came from, and who possessed it.
Snow White has killed every person who has dared come near the castle where she once lived with the queen. Mysteriously, she lets Loki live, and whispers two words in his ears; two words that will change his life forever.
Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV - it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales. I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.
She is not that giddy, naïve, and helpless princess she pretends to be. Please don’t let her fool you with her innocence if you see her sing to the birds in the forest. Resist her charm from bringing joyful tears to your eyes, and shield yourself from her devious beauty before she deceives you into wanting to kiss her awake. It'll be a kiss of death. Your death. That’s how she fooled the Huntsman, Prince Charming, and me, her birth mother.
I still remember the original script of the fairy tale, the one you wrote in 1812. It clearly stated that she was my own flesh and blood daughter. I don’t have the slightest idea why you altered it fifty years later.
What was the point of turning me into an evil, narcissistic, and heartless stepmother, blinded by jealousy and envy of the young princess?
For years, I have been looking forward to telling you the truth about her, but you were impossible to reach.
I am glad I found your brother, Jacob. He told me that you wanted to tone the stories down so children could sleep better at night, instead of having nightmares about the Queen who sought to eat her daughter’s heart and liver.
Shame on you, Wilhelm.
You, of all authors, knew why I wanted to kill her. My actions were justified. I was trying to save my kingdom from her
wrath, before everything we loved was destined to an end. The same way you had to rewrite the true fairytales after cursing us, so the War of Sorrows would end forever after.
Night after night, and year after year, parents fed their children false bedtime stories, until your lies grew into
inescapable memories. Your happily ever after lies, Wilhelm, shaped the so called fairy tale world.
I wondered why you didn’t burn the original scripts, instead of rewriting them. You must have figured out that sooner
or later someone would dig up the truth and expose you. Altering it was the smarter solution. You let children believe that the bites were resurrecting kisses, and that torturing glass coffins were made for sleeping beauties, waiting for a prince to come and kiss them awake.
A wise man once said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he was someone else. You did the same with us, Wilhelm. You turned us into pastiches of the immortals that we really are, and made it harder for us if wanted to persuade the world otherwise.
I know that you did it to save us from her. And I appreciate how you concealed our real names, or we would have ended up like Rumpelstiltskin, tortured by those who knew of his real name.
But sometimes, I can’t help but wonder why no one ever questioned why I was called the Evil Queen, and why I was never
given a real name in the books.
Was I so superficial to the world, so stereotypical and mundane? Why was I treated as if I were the monster of the week?
You know what I think? I think that the world never got the time to hate me. It just wanted to hate me long before it met me.
If I tell those who detest me about the true nature of their little princess, would they ever care about me half as much as they care about her?
I know that deep inside, they adore me. They like the way I talk, walk, dress, and even the way I kill.
They are just afraid to admit how much they love me. I am the Snow White Queen, strong enough that I don’t need anyone’s pity or love, because I am loved by the greatest and most majestic heart in the world:
Synopsis:
How far would you go to betray everything you've ever known?
Kaliel didn't think second chances came with this much turmoil. Exiled from her home, surrounded by strangers and in love with a boy she barely recognizes, she can't take it. She has her best friend, a new mentor, and a chance to win the war against the Valtanyana, but it's all wrong. Desperate to salvage some semblance of her former life, she makes a deal that shatters everything.
Rhi was never a normal girl. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She studied at U of Sedona and MIMT, obtaining a PhD in Metaphysical Science and Parapsychology. She's married to a chef/comic book shop owner and has a fondness for architecture. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.yafantasyauthor.com
Arianna Grace is about to turn seventeen and her life has been very complicated lately. She is the leader of four clans of night humans: dearg-dul, baku, tengu, and lycan. While the four clans seem to get along better with each other, there is internal conflict on both sides of her family, not to mention the three boys vying for her attention.
Edward Lucan is making a chase for the power to lead the baku clans and is playing his cards by using his nephew Andrew to lure Arianna into a trap. Unfortunately for Lucan, Andrew has his own plans. He has spent the last year waiting for Arianna to see him as more than a friend, and he now finds it necessary to make a move for her affection, despite his uncle.
In the dearg-dul estate, Arianna discovers that the ambitious Lord Seeger has been laying his own strategies for power and is slowly poisoning her. After getting away with her grandfather's murder, he is setting his sights on her. Luckily for Arianna, her team is on to all of the plans and is making some plans of their own. Will it be enough to keep Arianna safe? Several people close to Arianna have been keeping secrets. If Arianna is to take power and control of the night, she will need to know the truth. Will someone finally tell her what it truly means to become the legend everyone is waiting for, before it is too late to turn back?
AUTHOR BIO
Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, two small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in Biology working as a scientist. In her free time she is hard at work on multiple novels; as each day passes, she has more ideas for both current and future novels.
Excerpt: I do not want to miss a chance to see Chris walk across the sand, so there’s no reason for me to be on time when I can be early.
I park on Taraval Street along Ocean Beach, get out of my car, and wait. I try my best to look busy, fiddling with my phone, and checking compartments in my purse, but when Chris appears on the horizon, surfboard in hand, wet suit tucked under his arm, I freeze.
And then I blush, remembering what he did to me in my mere imagination yesterday. I’m sure he’ll be able to tell, to read it in my eyes. I really should pretend I’m not watching him. But it’s impossible not to. I didn’t look away during that scene in Casino Royale either when Daniel Craig emerged from the water. He wears board shorts, low on his hips, and a pair of flip flops. I watch him as he walks through the sand, closer, closer and there, now I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I would like to lick all those water droplets off his chest and his abs and then run a hand down his body to sear into my memory the feel of that kind of firm outline.
About the Author:
Lauren Blakely is an unabashed fan of clever jokes, toast, and good guys in novels. Like the heroine in CAUGHT UP IN US, she thinks life should be filled with movie kisses and coffee drinks. Lauren lives in California with her husband and children, and spends her days writing both true stories and make-believe ones. Lauren's Website / Goodreads / Twitter
Finding your unique voice in a noisy world can be hard—very hard. But not if you have a great guide! The Girl Guide: Finding Your Place in a Mixed-Up World is a must-read for girls in grades 6–8 as they enter the tumultuous world of adolescence. Packed with fun worksheets and quizzes, as well as stories from older girls and women, The Girl Guide covers everything a teenage girl needs to know on the journey toward her own identity. Proven strategies for dealing with stress management, confronting relational aggression, being safe online, navigating the changing mother-daughter relationship, and more make this the ultimate guide for any girl to get through the teen years and discover her unique point of view in the world.
Interview:
1) What inspired you to write a book to help young girls find their individuality?
My first and primary focus has been my girls. I want to do anything I can to help them embrace their unique nature and grow up to be strong, vibrant women. Additionally, I have the opportunity to work with young girls every day in my role as a school psychologist. More and more I see girls struggling with identity, resiliency, and authenticity. I wanted to do something to change that. The Girl Guide is a result of that effort.
2) Is it challenging writing advice books like this? Do you think girls will take the advice?
Yes, it is challenging and boy, I HOPE they are interested in the advice! I know that every quiz, worksheet, tip sheet and activity has been tested on the children I work with. I can also tell you that I conducted many focus group online and in person as I researched the book, so I am confident in the strategies presented.
3) How long did it take to complete The Girl Guide?
The research took a few months, and the writing took about a month or so. This book was hard for me. I was going through a lot in my day job, and my writing time was suffering. I am sure I drove my friends and family a bit crazy as I tried to get this book written!
4) Do you believe that you've found you're unique voice in this noisy world?
Some days, yes. I know that I am a unique person and definitely march to my own drummer. As the years pass, I have grown very comfortable with who I am and what my interests are. But, like anything, remaining in touch with the authentic part of our nature requires work.
5) What project are you working on now?
I am finishing up a new parenting book titled Quiet Kids that I am THRILLED about. After that I will be finishing Dominus, book #3 and the final installment in the Requiem Series. Then...who knows! I have some special things in the works, but nothing I can talk too much about right now.
About the Author:
Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great way to explore humanity. Using her training and expertise as an educational psychologist, Ms. Fonseca is dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. Her titles include Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students and 101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids and delve into the often misunderstood world of giftedness and emotional intensity. May, 2013 will bring the release of the much awaited The Girl Guide: Finding Your Place in a Mixed-Up World, a book for girls in grades 6-9 that focuses on developing strong resiliency skills. In addition to her nonfiction titles, Ms. Fonseca is the author of several YA novels including Lacrimosa (the Requiem Series) and the critically acclaimed YA thriller, Transcend. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can be sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter.
The night before high school graduation changes everything. Lies are told. Mistakes are made. Secrets tucked away. Lives are changed in the span of a few hours.
A year later, Haley is still reeling, numb with the constant ache of guilt. She's in a place she never expected to be: lost without her friends and Seth. Until he enters her life again, dredging up everything she's trying to forget. Everything about that night.
Seth returns to his hometown determined to share his truth, his side of the story. He desperately needs to make things right with Haley, even if it means losing her forever. Because the truth will ruin any chance of her ever loving him again.
Except neither of them are prepared for the shock of what really happened the night before graduation.
Excerpt:
The door opens and a draft of cooler air rushes through as another flood of customers enter. I sigh, grab some menus and greet them with a smile.
Then I see him. My hearts hammers and I force air in and out of my chest. Time stops, like we said our goodbyes just a few days ago when really it’s been almost a year. He looks the same but different. Shadows haunt his face and the bright part of his blue eyes that used to light up my heart seem faded, like they need a good polish.
He steps closer. My heart hurts and a lump forms in my throat. Emotions I’ve locked away push at the edges.
“Hi, Hales.”
Two simple words and I almost come undone. I seem to have lost my ability to speak and move as I stand there taking him in. His black hair hangs a little over his ears and his eyes draw me in just like before. But there are little changes too. His face is pale. Tattoos swirl around the top of his arm. Truth invades and real life comes crashing in. My knees
shake, and I sway a bit.
“Are you okay?” He holds out a hand to steady me.
I jerk away like I touched a live socket. I can’t go back. The memories are too strong. Sometimes no matter how much you love someone, the past is stronger, and mistakes make love impossible.
A girl with blonde hair flounces in with a bright sparkle to her eyes. She hooks her arm through Seth’s and gives me a suspicious look. “Who’s this?” she asks.
“An old friend,” Seth says without taking his eyes off me. I see forever in his eyes and it squeezes my chest.
I tear my gaze away from him and study her. Adoration simmers off of her. She loves him or is close to it. Jealousy floods my heart. The happy times they probably spent together in the past year, the smiles, the touches, the laughter. The kisses, gentle and sweet, that used to be mine. I want to grab a butter knife and cut the smile off her face.
Synopsis:
“One Night is all it took to change everything between Barbie and me. One night to potentially lose the girl of my dreams forever. How do I prove to her that she can trust me? That all I want to do is protect her carefully guarded heart. I need to prove to her that I want to be a part of her world. But How? ”
Dylan lost Barbie once before, now he is determined more than ever to win her heart and trust back. Easier said than done, especially with the new hot guy in town who is in a rock band and is the complete opposite of Dylan.
Barbie has been hurt beyond repair or so she thinks. It would be easier for heart to decide if she didn’t have to protect her little brother. And if Dylan would just put on a shirt! Dylan is not making this easy on her. It helps to have the distraction of the new guy in town cute bad boy Kai. But even though her heart is damaged it still knows what it wants.
When Barbie learns she has a family and with the help of Roxie and Kai, oh and Third and Dylan. They embark on a journey to help bring Barbie closer to a past she never knew existed.
Heidi Acosta brings you the heart felt story of friendship, love and heartbreak in the second book in of the Baby doll series Barbie World.
Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home.
Heidi started writing as soon as she could spell. When she was three, Heidi’s mother gave her a copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods; thus beginning her lifelong love affair with literature.
Writing soon also became a form of therapy for Heidi, when she realized that no matter what was happening in her life, she could find emotional escape while writing. Some of her earliest stories featured her as a princess who explored new worlds with her horse Buttercup. If it sounds romantic, it wasn’t, there was no prince charming in those fairy lands (boys where yucky).
Heidi now resides in Florida with her husband, very active daughter, one hyper Chihuahua, two sweet cats, and one very fat moody cat.
Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She's escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother's career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can't tag along.
Instead, she's forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she'll have to attend a full year of public school. It's Tabitha's greatest nightmare, because despite all her adventures, she has no practical experience with the one thing that frightens her the most - other teenagers.
Her math teacher is her mom's old high school boyfriend, she can't tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can't trust. And just when she thinks she'll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet?
I've been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. I co-run DarkSide Publishing, am a member of SCBWI, and I blog about writing while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life. I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzer, Ace.
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