Author of Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction



Published by Guardian Angel Publishing December 2014:

Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel
Jeremiah needs a little help and he gets it with the sudden appearance of his guardian angel. Chapter book for ages 7-10.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com

Jeremiah Lucky Finds Puppy Love
Jeremiah dodges a kiss from a princess and falls head over heels for a lost puppy. Chapter book for ages 7-10.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com

Watch for these titles coming soon:

The Whispering Chimney
Eleven-year old Bethany finds a stone chimney and discovers a beautiful but terrifying past. (upper middle grade)

(Beyond the) Stone Eagle Gate
David, age fifteen, flees a false accusation and takes refuge in a haunted, abandoned mansion. (YA, historical fiction ghost story)

The Interplanetary Adventures of Yan Sunnara: Book I Rescue on Lato
Cultural scientist Yan Sunnara rescues an unusual child on the planet of Lato with the help of an exotic and beautiful Uvian archaeologist. (Adult, soft Science Fiction, Rescue on Lato is the first of a series of four novellas.)

Cross Over
Three teens are connected by a mysterious and sometimes frightening ability to cross over from one dimension here on earth to another. This YA novel placed in the top three in Florida Writers 2013 RPLA competition. Speculative Fiction.





Monday, July 23, 2012

A Challenging Summer

   As some of you know, I started off summer by breaking my left arm at the top of the radius: two places. I was out for a morning run on Memorial Day and was surprised by an aggressive dog. As I whirled around to confront him, I fell. He ran away happy. The bone was set and put in a cast but two weeks later it had shifted and surgery was needed. I am now five weeks post surgery and can now type for short periods of time. Needless to say, much of my day is spent with therapy exercises. I also know a few more things about pain than I knew before. One surprising tidbit is when my life partner was driving me to the E-room, I lost my vision for a brief amount of time. Everything went white, not black. It was an eerie sensation. My writing is somewhat stalled although I have managed to plug away at book three of my trilogy. I need a few good things to happen to get cranked up again. I have placed all my eggs in the basket of a top agent who has my entire manuscript for book one, entitled Cross Over. He's the one, I am sure, but he's going to have to find time to read my story before he knows this. I also hope to hear some good news from Florida Writers RPLA competition. I entered three full novels: one Middle Grade and two Young Adult. I'd love to hear one or all three are designated finalists for this year's awards in October.

Here are some great YA books that have kept me happy and inspired.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
     I love a good story and this one has climbed to the top of my list. In a dystopian future eighteen-year-old Saba is on a quest to find her twin brother Lugh. He has been kidnapped, their father killed. Emmi, their nine-year-old sister complicates her search when she disobeys and follows Saba after being stowed at a friend's place. Emmi is unloved and resented by Saba whose only thought is to reunite with her beloved twin. I loved all the characters, especially Saba and her sister Emmi. The action was compelling and fast-paced. Also loved the first person voice that Moira Young gave Saba. Best book this summer!

Nation by Terry Pratchett
   This story gripped me from beginning to end. So much so that I woke in the morning thinking about it! All of Terry Pratchett's books are wonderful reading and now, for me, NATION is one of his best. I loved the "almost realistic" setting, the growing love story, the jump into "today" at the end. When God gave out imagination Terry Pratchett must have been at the head of the line. More than just a fantastic story, NATION is a beautifully written and supremely well-executed tale.

  On Little Wings by Regina Sirois is a sensitive and truly lovely literary novel for YA. If ratings on Goodreads could go above five stars, this intriguing and heartwarming story is a full "10" in my judgement. Growing up surrounded by Nebraska wheat fields, sixteen-year-old Jennifer finds an old photo of a young woman hidden in a book in her parents library. The woman is her Aunt Sarah, her mother's older sister, a woman Jennifer did not know existed. Angry at the lies that have been told by both her mother and father, Jennifer contacts the aunt she so resembles, then insists her parents allow her to visit the tiny town of Smithport, Maine. Once there, Jennifer unearths the secret that her mother had buried. I found the story interesting but the exquisite writing, the real and appealing characters, the subtle love story were threads that wove this story into my heart.

Some Great MG and YA books

  • Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
  • These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
  • Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
  • Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
  • Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
  • Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
  • Red Blood Road by Moira Young
  • On Little Wings by Regina Sirois
  • Nation by Terry Pratchett
  • Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
  • Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley (Printz 2012)
  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Fire by Kristin Cashore