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Showing posts with label Young Adult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Adult. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2014
Debut Release - Saffron Crocus by Alison McMahan
I am thrilled to spotlight author Alison McMahan as she talks about her young adult novel, Saffron Crocus! I'm especially excited because she is a friend and fellow member of my local writer's group, Florida Romance Writers.
~ Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author of
the Wicked Saga
About Alison
Blurb:
Venice, 1643. Isabella, fifteen, longs to
sing in Monteverdi’s Choir, but only boys (and castrati) can do that. Her
singing teacher, Margherita, introduces her to a new wonder: opera! Then
Isabella finds Margherita murdered. Now people keep trying to kill Margherita’s
handsome rogue of a son, Rafaele.
Was Margherita killed so someone could
steal her saffron business? Or was it a disgruntled lover, as
Margherita—unbeknownst to Isabella—was one of Venice’s wealthiest courtesans? Or will Isabella and Rafaele find the
answer deep in Margherita's past, buried in the Jewish Ghetto?
Isabella has to solve the mystery of the
Saffron Crocus before Rafaele hangs for a murder he didn’t commit, though she fears
the truth will drive her and the man she loves irrevocably apart.
Excerpt:
Who knew a singing career would be this
much trouble?
“Rafaele!” She flew into the garret. “Piero, it was so
wonderful, wait until I tell you!”
The stool next to the bed was knocked over. The tray with
the genepy bottle was on the floor, one of the cups broken. The fat candle that
had been burning next to Rafaele’s bed had been flung to the other side of the
room.. Canvases were strewn all over the floor, some of them slashed, and many
of Master Strozzi’s jars of paint elements were broken.
Did Piero and Rafaele have
a fight? She quickly
suppressed the thought. Who would get
into a fight with a man who was already injured?
Something else must have happened.
She
walked across the garret. “Piero? Rafaele, are you here?”
Rafaele was not in the bed. The sheets and blankets she had
piled on top of him were strewn everywher. Blood-stained sheets spilled over
the edge of the pallet. There was a pile of clothes on the floor.
She walked around to get a closer look.
Not clothes. It was Piero. Face down, one arm stretched out
before him, as if in supplication.
A puddle of blood under him.
KUDOS
for The Saffron Crocus
"I adored this beautifully written,
passionate book. The
Saffron Crocus is a glittering,
thrilling opera of a novel that plucked my heartstrings and kept me reading at
fever pitch. Brava, Alison McMahan! Encore!"
WINNER: 2014 Rosemary Award for Best Historical
for Young Adults
About Alison
Alison McMahan
chased footage for her documentaries through jungles in Honduras and Cambodia,
favelas in Brazil and racetracks in the U.S. She brings the same sense of
adventure to her award-winning books of mystery and romantic adventure for
teens and adults.
She
loves hearing from readers. Contact her at...
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Author Spotlight - True Colors by Krysten Lindsay Hager
Tagline: A little
competition can really bring out people’s true colors.
About the Book:
Every day I walked down the sidewalk to
school and wished I were one of the interesting popular girls who ran up with exciting
news. Just once I’d like to be one of those girls instead of the being the one
who didn’t get invited to things because people “forgot” about me.
Landry gets pushed into trying out for the American Ingénue
reality show modeling competition with her two best friends. She doesn’t think she stands a chance, but
she advances to the next level in the competition and her friends ignore her
when they get cut.
Enter the gorgeous Devon, who also makes the first cut and
includes Landry in her clique. Devon becomes the perfect best friend, but can
their friendship survive the competition?
Landry hopes her big break could come at any moment, but
soon sees there’s much more to modeling. She begins missing out on being with
friends and has the chance to have a boyfriend when she meets a boy named Vladi
from another school.
Part of Landry wants to be famous (and have her hair look
good for once), but part of her just wants to be accepted. She learns about
friendships, being true to yourself, and that a good hair conditioner doesn’t
hurt.
Excerpt:
The competition was for girls between the ages of thirteen
and seventeen, but it felt like Ericka, Tori, and I were the youngest ones
there. I only saw a couple of girls from school, and the lineup looked more
like something you’d see on a music video set. All the girls were gorgeous, and
they had these curvy womanly bodies. I looked like a skinny little kid next to
them. The first girl walked out, and I heard the judges say she “owned the
runway,” and, “walked like a gazelle.” I was starting to feel ill. I wasn’t
sure which way it was going to come, but I knew I had to find a bathroom —
fast. I started to get out of line when Ericka grabbed my wrist.
“It’s almost time,” she said. A tiny bit of spit flew out of
her mouth and hit my cheek.
I wasn’t sure why she was so intent on me going through with
it, but she had a death grip on my arm, so I didn’t have much of a choice. Her
number was called and she walked out to the stage. One of the other girls said
she walked like a kid with sand bucket stilts on her feet, but she came back
with a smirk on her face like she knew she’d get chosen.
“They said they had never seen such long legs,” she said.
Tori was next.
“She walks like a gorilla at feeding time,” said the girl
behind me.
I went next, and I tried to focus on not tripping over my feet. My
mom’s pumps had a rubber sole on the bottom, which probably wasn’t the
brightest idea seeing as my shoes were making squeaking noises as I walked. I
was so nervous I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked. I looked like the plastic
clown who blows up balloons with its mouth at the Pizza Palace. When I got to
the end of the runway, I tried to cross my feet to turn like the other girls
had, but I over rotated and ended up doing a full spin which made my kilt fan
out and gave the mall walkers a view of my blue underpants. I tried to act like
it was intentional and did an extra turn. One of the judges put her hand up to
stop me, and I held my breath as she started to speak.
Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble
About Krysten:
Krysten Lindsay Hager is an author and book addict who has
never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and also
writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. TRUE COLORS is her debut novel from Astraea Press. She is originally from
Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and currently resides in
Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not
catching up on her favorite shows.
Connect with Krysten:
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