Timely Novel for Uncertain Times

​I'm not adept at writing series and sequels that stick with one major character.  All of my novels differ from one another.  I like focusing on people, themes and situations as varied as the memories that pop into my head:  artists in crisis, race relations, crime and violence,  horse racing, sports, and smart people who still require luck to survive.  

My new novel (my seventh young adult book) centers on American politics. The year is 2025 and Washington D.C—shaped by lobbyists and hypocritical politicians who have been creating chaos for fifty years,  are the target of public rage, including from high school students tired of their leaders’ ineffective polarization. The "guide" in

​The Beginner's Guide to Winning an Election is nothing less than history itself--or perhaps it's Mr. Wilson, who exposes his AP class in an Indiana high school to the intricate patterns of history.  Those who run for student office, like my heroine, Brit Kitridge, may lack an outgoing personality and charisma, but their knowledge of the past leads them to understand where the future is going. Novice and “science brain”  Brit takes on a popular incumbent, a boy whom everyone loves but no one really knows well.  His secrets, she eventually learns, are tied to the agenda of a mysterious lawyer with his own agenda for public education.  Brit knows her chances of winning rest on sorting through the shadows of her117 year old school, the hidden life of her opponent, and developing a strategy to withstand the lies of  his team of supporters.      Available on Amazon