Seven Jane's Blog, page 3

COVER REVEAL: GENES by MARY TING

Format Paperback | 376 pages
Publication date 21 Apr 2020
Publisher Vesuvian Books
Language English

Praise for ISAN Series

"Addictive and impossible to put it down!" —Addison Moore, New York Times Bestselling Author

“Captivating from the very beginning, this sci-fi novel explores issues of autonomy and survival in a world where there are few remaining citizens after meteors crashed into Earth … this thrilling dystopian drama has a splash of romance and tons of action. The fast-paced chapters will engage reluctant readers and fans of postapocalyptic scenarios.” — School Library Journal

"ISAN will leave readers breathless with anticipation as they race through each exciting page." —Tiffany King, USA Today Bestselling Author

Allegiances will be tested. Identities will be revealed. No one is safe.

While searching for the HelixB88 anti-serum on the black market, Ava uncovers valuable intel that may help the rebels in their fight to bring down ISAN—the location of a hidden facility. But first, the insurgents must find the female citizens unexpectedly displaying powers without use of the Helix serum before ISAN captures them. As the rebels join forces with other sectors, ISAN plans their destruction by using someone they don’t suspect at the rebel home base: a traitor within.



AWARDS
2019 WINNER BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AWARDS IN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
2018 WINNER AMERICAN FICTION AWARDS IN SCIENCE FICTION: POST-APOCALYPTIC
2018 WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS IN SCIENCE FICTION
2018 WINNER READERS' FAVORITE AWARDS IN YOUNG ADULT ACTION

You can purchase Genes at the following Retailers:  
Photo Credit: Michelle England Delavara

Mary Ting is an international bestselling, award-winning author. She writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers around the world. Her books span a wide range of genres, and her storytelling talents have earned a devoted legion of fans, as well as garnered critical praise.

Becoming an author happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she had in high school. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, Mary retired from teaching after twenty years. She also had the privilege of touring with the Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book: No Bullies Allowed.

Mary resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two little dogs, Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Being a huge Twilight fan, Mary was inspired to make book-themed jewelry and occasionally gives it away as prizes to her fans.

           
*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*a Rafflecopter giveaway

COVER REVEAL: THE DROWNING BRIDE (LEGENDS OF HAVENWOOD FALLS)

A Legends of Havenwood Falls Novella
Prequel to the #1 Amazon LGBT Fantasy Bestseller, OF SALT AND STARS
Dark Fantasy
Release Date December 6, 2019 ABOUT THE BOOK Before there was a curse, there was a wish.
For generations, Noelani has lived in the forest of Havenwood Falls, bestowing blessings and good fortune on all who drink from the waters of her well. Over the years, she has been visited by hundreds of blushing brides and aging widows who crave her magic, but never has she met a heart as pure as that of Stella Malloy—or as dark as that of her fiancé, Peter Heilen. When the couple arrives in Havenwood Falls in the autumn of 1993, the warm waters of Noelani’s well begin to run cold, and a bitter chill sets into the naiad’s heart as the forest darkens around her.
When Stella and Peter receive a postcard from the picturesque town of Havenwood Falls with an invite for Stella to sing at the Haven Saloon, the couple decides to skip the big wedding and elope. The more Stella falls in love with the town, the stranger Peter begins to act. After hearing stories of the magic, love-imbued waters of Noelani’s well, Stella believes it may be the only way to save her love from his dark path and return Peter’s heart to her. Little does she know that the wish she casts at the water’s edge may doom them all.

Amazon US: http://havenwoodfalls.com/tdb-zon

ABOut HAvenwood Falls The Havenwood Falls Collective is the group of award-winning and USA Today bestselling authors writing in the Havenwood Falls shared world, a universe that includes four series in the paranormal fantasy genre. Our authors have been featured in USA Today, on Good Morning America, and in the Emmy's Gifting Suite. Discover more about the Havenwood Falls world and see the full book list at www.HavenwoodFalls.com.

FILM REVIEW: Pearry Teo's THE ASSENT

There are scary movies, and then there are horrifying ones—not the kind that jump out in the dark to frighten you, but the kind that are already there, burrowed under your eyelids and waiting for you to blink.
 
The Assent, starring Robert Kazinsky (Captain Marvel, Pacific Rim), Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist), Peter Jason, and Florence Faivre is a new film written and directed by Pearry Teo (The Curse of Sleeping Beauty, Cloud Atlas), which debuted October 23rd 2019 at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada. A movie that traverses the space been real and imagined horror, The Assent tells the story of widower Joel Clarke (Robert Kazinsky) who is struggling to make ends meet and keep it together for his son, Mason (Caden Dragomer). Joel is also presumably suffering from a sort of grief-induced schizophrenia after losing his wife two years prior. As Mason declines, he can no longer differentiate the world around him from the new reality that exists in his head and haunts him in the form of harrowing, nightmarish visions. Worse, he worries his son might be displaying the same markers of mental fragmentation that manifests every bit as gruesomely as demonic possession, requiring the assistance of both Joel’s therapist and a recently-disgraced priest, Father Lambert (Peter Jason), who believes an exorcism is the only path to the Clarke’s salvation.

On the surface a demonology film, the true horror of The Assent lies between the blurred lines of supernatural horror and psychological terror, both of which provide fertile ground for experimenting with the dark and often ominous concept of possession. This is exactly what Teo—known for his ability to bend and entangle fantasy and the bleakest of reality—intended. “I think The Assent, under the context of exorcism, is really about my view on mind versus soul,” says Teo. “It’s religion versus science, and inception versus perception.”

“I think The Assent, under the context of exorcism, is really about my view on mind versus soul,” says Teo. “It’s religion versus science, and inception versus perception.”

True to his vision, The Assent is indeed one part a story of possession, both of the biblical kind and also that of the self-inflicted, and one part a parable of the penalties of free will and the power of choice. It provides a compelling narrative on the dangers of living in a mind that is no longer your own, and the crumbling consequences of absolutism—theological or scientific—as well as the incredible power of assent. This makes the film’s title all the more poignant: it’s not ascending out of darkness, but Assenting to its consumption.

This poignancy is one that weaves itself through every aspect of the film through Teo’s spectacular knack for visual cinematography that adds another dimension to the story that is worth mentioning in itself. From shifting hues and deteriorating settings that color the stages of possession and provide a backdrop to the emotional state of the characters, to the intentional inclusion of analog technologies that reflect Mason’s disconnect, to hidden Easter eggs of quintessential horror movies past, nothing about The Assent is accidental. It’s a cinematic cornucopia of subtle and yet totally intentional world-building that make one of the film’s most powerful lines—“demons leave traces of the hunger”—come, for lack of better word, alive.
 
If you thought Halloween was over October 31, just wait until November. The Assent will lead the weekend on opening night at Shockfest Film Festival Las Vegas on November 22, 2019.
 
About The Assent (IMDB):
 
After a series of disturbing supernatural events in his home, Joel a young single father, comes to suspect that his young son may be possessed.

Book Review: Sun & Moon ACademy Book I: Fall SEMESTER (HAVENWOOD FALLS)

The Havenwood Falls universe is expanding, this time with a whole new type of supernatural creatures: college students.
 
This semester launches the introduction of Sun & Moon Academy, a College of Supernatural Guardians that acts as an elite training program for a covert army charged with protecting the world’s supernatural community. Students are offered acceptance by invitation only, and after passing a series of grueling trials to test their worthiness, the top tier are admitted to the hidden college under the mountain. This semester ten students will find themselves “marked” in a series of personalized trials that require them to defeat monsters and mayhem that threaten to destroy campus before time runs out. This is not your typical classroom exercise either. The longer each marked student takes to succeed, the higher the body count grows.
 
The first collection in the new Sun & Moon Academy spinoff features ten paranormal tales from some of the Collective’s award-winning and bestselling authors, including Kristie Cook, Tish Thawer, Belinda Boring, Rose Garcia, Victoria Flynn, EJ Fechenda, Amy Richie, Victoria Escobar, and Justine Winter. In addition to the collection’s variety of authors, the diversity of supernatural creatures you can expect to find in attendance at SMA runs from vampires to shifters, to angels, and even Valkyries. The students themselves, when they're not practicing magic, include a host of new faces, familiar family names, and an inclusive student body that takes care to represent the diverse voices of a true university campus. SMA, with its Norse mythology flair and an under-mountain campus that makes Hogwarts Castle look plain by comparison, is truly a home for all furred, fanged, and feathery.
 
As with any collection, some stories are stronger than others, but all remain true to the unique voice of Havenwood Falls, proving again publisher and Universe-creator Kristie Cook’s unquestionable talent for collaborative world-building and visionary storytelling. Personal favorites in Sun & Moon Academy Book 1 include EJ Fechenda’s “Time to Live”, a story about a time-spinning witch who finds herself torn between the ghost of a boy she visits in a netherworld and her love interest in real time, and Rose Garcia’s “Chasing Time”, wherein Infiniti Clausman (a recent addition to Havenwood Falls High, the universe’s YA fantasy line) finds the power within herself to overcome her challenge.
 
Whether it’s a supernatural love-triangle you’re interested in or something a little darker, it’s impossible not to fall in love with these characters and their world. As for this reviewer, I’m still holding out for my Hogwarts letter, but if a wooden puzzle box with a star and moon etched on top shows up on my doorstep, I might trade in my wand and head to Havenwood Falls and Sun & Moon Academy instead.
 
Synopsis (Goodreads):
 
Ten paranormal tales and one page-turning supernatural academy story in this spinoff from the award-winning Havenwood Falls universe.

The brand new Sun & Moon Academy College of Supernatural Guardians is an elite training program for a covert army that protects the supernatural community around the world. After a series of grueling trials to test their worthiness, only the top tier of applicants are admitted to the hidden college under the mountain.
 
We are ten of those students.
 
We’re a powerful mix of shifters, witches, vampires, demigods, angels, and more, making SMA no ordinary university. Throw in classes about healing potions, inter-dimensional exploration, and combat training, and college life here is a bit . . . well, unusual. But we still must juggle studying, obnoxious roommates, and killer parties. And, of course, we always make room for romance. How can we not? No other place in the world teems with such a sexy fusion of brains and badassery.
 
But classes haven’t even begun when our campus is terrorized, and the dangers continue throughout the semester—a hacker who threatens to publicly expose our school, a string of vampire attacks, invisible beasts with deadly bites, cursed classrooms that devour those who dare enter . . . What the hell kind of place is this, anyway?
 
For some reason that not even the Board of Regents has been able to figure out, it’s up to the ten of us to defeat these monsters and mayhem—before the sands in the big courtyard hourglass run out. Yep, we’re being timed, and the bodies are dropping almost as fast as the crystals. If any of us fail, this first semester of SMA just might be the last one ever.
 
In this unique anthology of over 750 pages, you not only get ten paranormal fantasy novellas, but one sweeping story that will have you flipping pages until the end. Learn more at http://havenwoodfalls.com/.

Author Interview: Monique Snyman (The Night Weaver)

This week marks the release of one of my favorite new YA horror stories/series by one of my favorite new ladies of horror fiction: The Night Weaver by Monique Snyman. (If you missed my review, read it here or here.) To help celebrate the release of the book, I invited Monique to do a guest interview here on the blog and share some of her writing pearls of wisdom, as well as talk about what's next for her new Harrowsgate series. Welcome, Monique!

Simultaneously refreshing and deeply unsettling, The Night Weaver weaves together small-town horror with an intricate otherworldly fairytale to deliver a blend of horror and fantasy that captures the essence of young adult terror seasoned with the stuff of grown-up nightmares. - Seven Jane

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
​You don’t need to be the next J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, or J.R.R. Tolkien, so stop measuring yourself by their standards when you’re contemplating your future and career. Be the first Monique Snyman. Be you, no matter what, and also, don’t be so impatient with yourself.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
​Oh, I’ve always known that language had power. Growing up, I had to force myself to speak a certain way in order to “blend” in better. If I didn’t, I was bullied by my peers. Even today, when I go to my childhood home, I change my dialect and the words I pick are wholly different to when I’m not there. So, language has a lot of power, especially if you need to survive adolescence.
What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
​Lies like Love by Louisa Reid. I read that book quite a few years ago, but it was such an impactful tale and beautifully crafted book that I still find myself thinking about it.

The Night Weaver doesn’t only prey upon the flesh of children, but on grief, fear, and pain—making her both the monster under the bed in a scared child’s bedroom and a fitting personification of the dark shadow that lives in the back of the mind of anyone who has experienced tragedy. - Seven jane

How do you balance making demands on the reader with taking care of the reader?
​I’m a Libra, so balance, in general, comes naturally to me. I do, however, take into account what readers enjoy/despise, and allow their preferences to sometimes guide me on my journey.
Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
​I wouldn’t call it spiritual per se; it’s rather cathartic for me to write. I have all these characters living inside my head, an unlimited amount of stories that need to come out, and everything battles for my attention when I’m not writing. So, although I have my writing rituals, and for some it could even feel spiritual in a way, but it’s more of a therapy session for me.
And of course, what's next for Rachel and clan?
Well, in The Night Weaver, readers got a taste of the horrible things Shadow Grove often attracts, but in The Bone Carver we get to see what happens when those nasties hone in on a single target and the lengths they’ll go to when they feel … rejected. There are also some new characters being added into the story, but the old ones make an appearance, too. The sequel is a different kind of scary, but scary nonetheless. Interior artwork courtesy of Monique Snyman. Illustrated by Luke Spooner from Carrion House. Connect with Monique You can keep up with Monique on her various social channels. She also has a spectacular blog!

​Website – www.moniquesnyman.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/moniquesnyman.author
Twitter – www.twitter.com/moniquesnyman
Instagram – www.instagram.com/therealmoniquesnyman

And, don't forget to stay tuned for the sequel. The Bone Carver is coming September 2020 from Vesuvian Books.
Monique Snyman lives in Pretoria, South Africa, with her husband and an adorable Chihuahua. She’s the author of MUTI NATION, a horror novel set in South Africa, and the Bram Stoker Award® nominated novel, THE NIGHT WEAVER, which is the first installment in a dark fantasy series for young adults

Author Interview: Liana Gardner (Speak No Evil)

Today is release day for one of my favorite new YA novels by Liana Gardner: Speak No Evil. (If you missed my review, read it here.) To help celebrate the release of the book, I invited Liana to do a guest interview and tell us more about a story that reminds us all that silence does not equal consent, and that the truth, even (and perhaps especially) when it hurts, must be spoken. Speak No Evil is a powerful reminder to today's young women to speak up, speak out, and never lose their voice.

Dark, delicate, and masterfully written, Speak No Evil will make you cringe and cry in equal measure as it pulls your heart through the muck of humanity’s worst evils in every page before depositing you at the end feeling uplifted, empowered, and—most of all—grateful." - Seven Jane

​Most authors would avoid such serious subject matter (such as abuse, abandonment, and sexual assault), but you've brought them front and center. What made you want to convey this story for a younger audience? This is such a HUGE question. To be honest, my gut reaction is, “How can we not?”
 
So, I’m going to start by answering with some facts. Every 92 seconds another American experiences sexual assault. Every 9 minutes that person is a child. Over 60,000 cases of sexual child abuse are documented each year—and those are only the cases that have been reported. Of those cases, 67% of the victims are aged 12-18 and 34% under the age of 12. One in nine girls and one in 53 boys have experienced sexual assault. For every 1,000 cases reported, only 5 perpetrators will be incarcerated.
 
The majority of child sexual assault cases involve someone known to the victim; parents, siblings, other relatives, friends, teachers, etc. Most are authority figures. There are some commonalities to the occurrence:
Most victims believe they are in some way to blame. They may have been told it is their fault.The perpetrators will threaten the victim with what will be done to them or their loved ones if they tell anyone what happened.In recurring cases, the perpetrator uses isolating tactics so the victim believes they are alone and no one else can help. 
By not talking about weighty topics such as abuse, abandonment, and sexual assault, we are perpetuating the isolation the perpetrators have created. We need books like Speak No Evil so those who have experienced or are experiencing these things know they are not alone. So they realize it is not their fault. And hopefully it gives them an opportunity to find their voice and speak out.
 
We need those who have not experienced the issues to know that they exist and can happen. And hopefully, they can be a better friend to those who have experienced, to be patient and listen to what the survivor has to say and to say those words the survivor most needs to hear—I believe you.
 
Because, bearing in mind the statistics, in a classroom of 30 students three or four have experienced or are experiencing sexual abuse. If we don’t provide a safe ground for talking about these matters, then who will?
 
There are those who will argue that the topics in this book will strip away some of the kids’ innocence. I’d rather provide a kid with the framework for awareness and a platform for discussing such heavy topics than have them find out their reality first hand. And please, let’s stop denying such things exist, negating the experience of so many, demeaning their self-worth.

Like Melody’s voice that could calm snakes, Gardner’s storytelling displays the same sort of sinister charm as she unravels Melody’s past to tell the story of her present. Speak No Evil is at once hypnotic, vaguely sinister, and decidedly beautiful, with sharp, poignant prose that handles the heaviest of issues with grace and delicacy." - Seven Jane

​What gave you the idea to frame the story around a protagonist who won't speak?  ​Some stories come a little at a time, slowly building up the framework, while others burst into being almost fully formed. Speak No Evil was the latter kind. I didn’t decide to frame a story around a protagonist who doesn’t speak, it hit me like a lightning bolt.
 
On my way to work one morning, I had the radio on and an emotional song came on, and I had the idle thought, as I had many times before, that sometimes songs conveyed feelings better than we are able to say them. Then BAM! the story hit … I nearly had to pull over and probably would have if I had been able to. In the same moment, I felt very strongly the urge to speak, but knowing if I opened my mouth, nothing would come out. And more than anything, I knew I had to write this story and give Melody a voice.
​How does the book's title relate to the deeper message? ​The title immediately brings to mind the three wise monkeys and the message they convey of turning away from evil. But the underlying meaning is how society silences survivors. Do not speak of the evil that befell you because you will be blamed for allowing it to happen. We are so good at turning our heads away from evil, at pretending it doesn’t exist, that the automatic response is to wonder what the victim did to bring their fate crashing down around them.
 
We don’t want to face the truth; we don’t want to believe evil exists because if it does, and the victim did nothing wrong, then it could happen to me. Facing the truth means we all lose a little of our security—our feeling of safety. 
​What do you hope readers take away from your work? ​Understanding. Empathy. Hope.
 
In many ways it depends on the reader. If the reader has not experienced the types of situations Melody has, then what I’d like them to take away is understanding and empathy for those who have. A recognition that it is not the fault of the victim, but that of the perpetrator.
 
For those who have experienced the abuse, I’d like them to recognize they are not to blame, it isn’t their fault, and they did nothing wrong. And if they have been rendered silent, my hope is that they can find a safe haven where they can find their voice and with it peace.
​What was your biggest challenge when writing this piece? Framing the story from the point of view of a main character who doesn’t speak. :) It would have been much easier to change point of views and give other characters a chance to share the story. But I wanted the reader to share in Melody’s experience right from the beginning, where the wall of silence is palpable. And if the character was non communicative, then I wanted to show that on the page, so felt that going into her thoughts was taking a liberty I shouldn’t. Of course, as she became comfortable and started opening up, I was able to go deeper into the skin of the character.
 
The other challenge I had to overcome is my deep and abiding fear of snakes. With her background of having been raised in a snake-handling church, the snakes were there throughout the story. So, I had to do my research and have watched more video than I’d care to say about snake-handling churches. One of the scenes deals with Melody caring for and nursing back to health a sick snake. It created an odd place in my head because I’m one of The only good snake is a dead snake. crowd, and the sympathetic feeling for the book snake was a weird thing.
Connect with Liana Author Website: www.LianaGardner.com
Book Site: www.SpeakNoEvilNovel.com
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lianakgardner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liana.gardner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lkg
Liana Gardner is the multi-award-winning author of 7th Grade Revolution, The Journal of Angela Ashby, and Speak No Evil. The daughter of a rocket scientist and an artist, Liana combines the traits of both into a quirky yet pragmatic writer and in everything sees the story lurking beneath the surface.  

​Liana is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Book Review: Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner

Dark, delicate, and masterfully written, Speak No Evil will make you cringe and cry in equal measure as it pulls your heart through the muck of humanity’s worst evils in every page before depositing you at the end feeling uplifted, empowered, and—most of all—grateful.
 
Raised in a snake-handling church where indigenous belief systems mix with modern Christianity, Melody Fisher is a half Native American, quarter Scottish, and quarter black orphan. Before her parents’ deaths—one by accident and the other, arguably, by grief—her daddy caught and handled rattlers and other venomous serpents for the church where Melody sang with her parents. Melody’s voice is God’s gift and music is in her soul; she can even charm the snakes her father catches through her songs—a curious and seemingly divine feat considering snakes have no ears (at least not in the traditional sense). But Melody's voice is also her greatest burden, because when she asks her mama about the strange man she saw walking with her along the river, her mama is almost immediately struck down by one of her father's rattlers. From there, tragedy follows in the wake of Melody’s voice until, eventually, she stops speaking altogether.
 
After years in the system and a series of foster homes that have gone from bad to worse, Melody Fisher has lost her voice. At sixteen, she’s survived more trauma and tragedy that many people experience in a lifetime, and now she’s on trial for stabbing a classmate. But, even faced with losing her freedom, she cannot find the strength to speak after being silent for nearly two years. She can’t speak, because every time she has told the truth something terrible has happened. Now, Melody won't even use her voice to clear her name—or tell the truth about why she stuck a pair of scissors in Troy Alexander. Even so, music still lives in Melody’s soul, and with the help of her court-ordered therapist, she learns to communicate through a massive song library on a portable music player. Through the restorative power of song, Melody eventually finds her voice and speaks the truth that has weighed heavy in her heart.
 
Like Melody’s voice that could calm snakes, Gardner’s storytelling displays the same sort of sinister charm as she unravels Melody’s past to tell the story of her present. Speak No Evil is at once hypnotic, vaguely sinister, and decidedly beautiful, with sharp, poignant prose that handles the heaviest of issues with grace and delicacy.
 
The terrible tragedies and stifling trauma that Melody has experienced are enough to make the reader want to reach through the pages and gather the poor girl up in our collective arms. And, while younger readers should certainly be forewarned of weighty topics like grief, abuse, and rape that rear their rattles in this story, all are tactfully and mindfully done, proving Gardner’s ability to convey emotion and complexity without catering to shock and surprise. Likewise, Gardner’s technical execution is flawless as she alternates between multiple timelines to piece together Melody’s story, giving just enough information to keep the story moving without bogging itself down in exposition.
 
In fact, you might say that, like the music that lives in Melody, Speak No Evil is itself something of a song bound within the pages of a story. With powerful lyrics, perfectly paced prose, and artful cadence, Gardner gives voice to a character that has become disconnected from her own, while reminding us all that silence does not equal consent, and that the truth, even (and perhaps especially) when it hurts, must be spoken.

Synopsis (Goodreads):
 
TRUTH IS THE HARBINGER OF HELL

What if every time you told the truth, evil followed?

My name is Melody Fisher. My daddy was a snake handler in Appalachia until Mama died. Though years have passed, I can still hear the rattle before the strike that took her from me.

And it’s all my fault.

Since then, I’ve been passed around from foster home to foster home. I didn’t think anything could be as bad as losing Mama.

I was wrong.

But I will not speak of things people have done to me. Every time I do, worse evil follows. Now, the only thing I trust is what saved me years ago. Back when I would sing the snakes calm ...

Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day

Suicide is not an easy topic to talk about. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it. In fact, the very fact that suicide is such a difficult topic to talk about openly means it's one we should be talking about.

Probably everyone has been touched by suicide, whether you've know someone who's taken their own life, read about recent celebrity deaths like Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, or perhaps even have had suicidal thoughts or attempted yourself. Or all three. Author Elizabeth Isaacs provides some staggering statistics in her blog post:
Every 40 seconds we lose a life to suicide in the world.Every 12 minutes we lose a life to suicide in America.For every 1 suicide, there are around 25 attempts.There are twice as many suicides than there are homicides.The suicide rates for children 10-14 doubled from 2007 to 2014.More Men have died by suicide yet more women have attempted.More young people die from suicide than from Cancer, AIDS, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, heart diseases all combined.There is an estimate of around 3,041 attempts per day by young people grade 9 – 12.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. I am joining with many other authors and book lovers to unite, spread awareness, and reach out as a source of support in the conversation about suicide. But, truth be told, I am almost didn't write this post--and for the very same reasons that people don't want to talk about it.

It hurts.

I have reached a point in my life where I have had to say goodbye to many loved ones, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and so on. But, the number of people that I have lost to disease and age and even tragedies like drunk driving accidents and brain aneurisms in total barely sum to the number of people I've lost due to suicide. And, I lost someone else only a little over a week ago to suicide on such a tragic scale that I can't even put it into words. This week, someone I know had to be put on suicide watch. That's two people in two weeks. Even saying that out loud hurts.

I've contemplated suicide myself once or twice, too. Probably never too seriously, but I've been there, in the dark, unable to find a way out.

If you have thought about suicide you are not broken. You are not weird or selfish. You are not being dramatic. And you are not alone. Suicide doesn't just show up on your doorstep one morning with some grand offer that you can't wait to take advantage of. It's a vine. It buds and begins to grow inside of you, taking its time as it wraps around and suffocates you, blocking out the light until you barely have the strength to draw breath. It's distressing, intolerable, and gradual.

And it hurts. I know. I've been there.

But even in our darkest, most despairing moments, there are reasons to stay alive. To hope. To persevere. To cut the vine. To keep going.

If you are struggling with or considering suicide, know that there are resources and help lines. There are people who can help. There are ways you can overcome.   The first annual Book Lover's Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day Tour will kick off on Sunday, September 1st and will culminate in a twelve-hour Facebook Live Event on World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th.

​For more information, and to add your name to the giveaway, click here.

Join us on Facebook September 10th, 8am-pmCT.

The Adventure Continues...

It's finally happening! Book II in the Daughters Jones Trilogy is coming in 2020!
A NEW CAPTAIN HAS RISEN Merrin’s journey to the mythical Isle of Bracile was only the beginning. On the seas between one world and the next, she uncovered the secrets of her past and took her rightful name, arising as Merrin Jones, daughter of the infamous Captain Davy Jones and the sea goddess Melusine.

Merrin also discovered the truth of the curse that binds her—and those she loves—to the Sea.

Now, as the Caleuche sails in hopes of reclaiming the Riptide, Merrin will find herself torn not only between two worlds, but also between the love of Tom Birch and Claudette Abobi. When the ocean splits as wide as her heart, Merrin will be forced to choose between the part of her that belongs to the land and that which belongs to the water. Her loyalties will be questioned and the fate of all she loves tested when the Sea calls Merrin home.

With the same blend of history of fantasy that brought the sea to life in The Isle of Gold, the Daughters Jones Trilogy continues as Merrin explores the very depths she will go to in order to save herself, her family, and both the man and woman she loves in The Sea of Glass. I am so, so excited to continue Merrin's journey. While The Isle of Gold saw Merrin come into her own, she'll confront some tough decisions as she continues to grow in The Sea of Glass. She'll face choosing between the world of her father (land) and her mother (sea) and navigate issues of her own heart with Tom and Claudette and decide where her loyalties like and the type of Captain she'll be.

It's going to be a wild adventure--and since the sea is fickle, there's no telling where Merrin will end up.

Stay tuned for more news AND the cover reveal very soon!

Booktrail Reveal: Of Salt and Stars (Havenwood Falls)

It's finally here!
Two women, one love, and a curse
​lurking beneath the water​
For as long as she can remember, Maris Heilen has been haunted by dreams of a beautiful woman beckoning to her from beneath the water. These dreams have been Maris’ only constant; she’s lived her life like a leaf caught in the rushing tide: no rules, no commitments, and no long-term lovers, either—just a string of broken hearts that have tried to anchor her unwilling heart to the earth. When, following the mysterious death of her estranged father, her dreams take on a new sense of urgency and her boyfriend Graham proposes, Maris knows its time to uproot and keep moving, though the only direction she can think to go is west, toward the water—toward her.
 
When instead Maris finds herself drawn to a surreal little town high in the Colorado Mountains, she can’t shake the feeling her dream might be much closer to reality than she could have imagined. But, when she discovers her past is linked to a legend even more haunted than her dreams—and that the woman she’s been dreaming about is not only real but in danger of being lost to an unfathomable darkness—Maris becomes determined to outshine the evil that has crept into a small corner of a forgotten forest of Havenwood Falls.Learn moreGiveawayExclusively on Amazon