Melissa Bennight
The Bronze Mirror by Melissa Bennight
Now he’s a demon with horns, fangs, red skin, and a red hot temper to match, and it’s only thanks to the sacred jewel given to him by a Buddhist priest that Ryu is able to appear human and resume his normal life.
If you can call fighting demons in your free time normal.
As Ryu learns to live with his curse he finds himself facing off against a variety of creatures he had thought existed only in folktales, including cucumber loving kappa, fierce tengu, and beguiling snow women. Their master, Ka-an, is after the mirror, and the Buddhist priest who has taken Ryu under his wing believes that Ka-an wants it for nefarious reasons. But when Ryu discovers Ka-an’s true identity and purpose he wonders what side he really belongs on, and if his curse will ever be broken.
THE BRONZE MIRROR is a 46,000 word middle grade fantasy heavily influenced by Japanese folklore and religion.
I lived in Japan for four years. Originally hailing from Idaho, my husband and I moved to Nagoya, Japan three years ago. Prior to living in Nagoya we lived in the rural prefecture of Shimane, an area famous for being the place of origin of many Japanese gods and monsters.
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Hannah Carmona Dias
Nitza and the Chupacabra by Hannah Carmona Dias
The monster of Nitza’s nightmares is on the loose, but outrunning it may not be an option!
After Dad returns home from Iraq, eleven-year-old Army brat Nitza is forced to go on a daddy-daughter RV trip to re-bond with her father.What they don’t know is that a ghostly woman in white has sent Chupacabra on an ancient, secret mission. Yet, when strange events such as dead goats, frightening howls, and a missing child occur, Nitza begins to suspect that the bloodsucking beast may be on their path. If her suspicions are correct all hope of bonding with Dad may be lost as they will become Chupacabra’s next meal.
NITZA AND THE CHUPACABRA is a completed 37,000-word middle grade, spooky contemporary. Told from the duo point of view of both the monster and Nitza, it is the first in a planned series. As a Hispanic-American and Army brat this own voices manuscript combines Hispanic folklore with a present-day setting. Comparable tiles include SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS by Guadalupe Garcia McCall and THE JUMBIES by Tracey Baptiste.
I am the author of BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, STRONG LITTLE ME (Eifrig Publishing/Fall 2018), a member of SCBWI, and owner of Collective Art School of Tennessee. When I am not writing, I am vlogging on my youtube channel or posting way too many gifs on Twitter.
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Moe Shalabi
The Prince of Little Palestine by Moe Shalabi
Adam Husayni is going home. Ten years ago, his fundamentalist father found him with another man and nearly killed him, sending him fleeing the Virginia suburb of Little Palestine where he was raised. Now, following the news of his father’s death, Adam returns to reclaim his inheritance and possibly even his place in the tumultuous and traditional Palestinian-American community. But his father’s will comes with a catch: to inherit his fortune, he must not only marry a woman but one of his Uncle Saleh’s choosing. Adam finds himself broke, helpless and defeated. But when he begins to unravel the truth, which materializes in the form of letters, photographs, and tales sent to him by a mysterious figure, he uncovers a conspiracy spearheaded by his very own uncle. Something sinister is brewing in Little Palestine and someone is trying to warn him of an impending doom that could tear the community apart. With the help of his cousin Farrah, and the clues he acquires, Adam discovers that he is at the center of a rebellion simmering amid Little Palestine for years, within the Husayni family, and without. Uncle Saleh, the catalyst who is driving this rebellion, wants an Islamic awakening that threatens the nearby Jewish neighbors so as to distract his people, including his nephew, from fulfilling his plan to become the new ruler of Little Palestine. Only Adam can stop him. But uncle Saleh is hiding a dangerous secret…and it could destroy Adam.
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Alastair Luft
Jihadi Bride by Alastair Luft
Erik Petersson is a rising star on the High Risk Traveller Task Force, an organization that prevents radicalized individuals from joining extremist groups. Disciplined and dedicated, cracks appear in Erik’s carefully controlled world when his daughter, Arielle, leaves university to join the Islamic Caliphate, a brutal terrorist regime in Syria. Erik rallies a desperate effort to stop her, but when he fails and is subsequently removed from the task force in a bid to compartmentalize the investigation, he resolves to bring her back, whatever the cost.
Driven by a secret she can’t outrun, Arielle’s dream of a more purposeful life is confronted with the brutal reality of life in the Caliphate. When she attracts the attention of Abu Noor al-Kanadi, a converted American soldier bent on punishing his birth country for its actions in the Middle East, Arielle must choose whether to sacrifice her ideals to survive or risk a frantic bid to escape. Torn between rival agendas, father and daughter must choose between family or country, love or fear.
I currently serve as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and have spent the majority of the past twelve years in counter-terrorism. JIHADI BRIDE is my second novel and it will appeal to fans of Ausma Zehanat Khan’s Esa Khattak series, and also to those who enjoyed AN ISOLATED INCIDENT by Soniah Kamal. The literary equivalent of TAKEN meets THE TERRORIST, JIHADI BRIDE delves into family relationships, extremism, and a search for meaningfulness that spans societal and geopolitical borders.
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Clare Vaterlaus Bird
The Cost of Silence by Clare Vaterlaus Bird
“Moments like this define who you become. The full weight of Allen’s unwanted body on top of me. My vocal chords paralyzed with fear. Every move of his body pushed me closer to a vow of silence. No one would believe me. A star football player raping a nobody sounds so far from the truth. How could I convince the police, my mom, or friends? As I lie mute and numb on the ground, I decide the only solution would be to take things into my own hands. This would never happen to anyone else. Tonight, would be the beginning of the end – not for me, but for Allen.”
Recovering from the scariest night of her life, Charlotte spends the next few months of her junior year playing golf, binging Gilmore Girls, and plotting a fool-proof plan to murder her rapist. Everything seems to be falling into place until her younger sister starts dating Allen. Charlotte knows Allen is a ticking time bomb and she is racing against the clock before he hurts the person closest to her, will she choose to protect her or follow through with her plan?
The “Cost of Silence” is a cautionary tale of remaining silent, where boundaries of right and wrong are tested, and bonds of sisterly love are formed and broken. Shame and fear are now the catalyst in Charlotte’s life, how long can Allen keep her silent?
This YA Contemporary Fiction Novel discusses society’s biggest secret, rape and its repercussions.
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Mary Jo Talbot
Watching Wilhemina by Mary Jo Talbot
Wilhemina O’Meara lives for science class, rock guitar riffs and spying on the boy that sits across from her in 1st period. But when Wilhemina is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes her overprotective mother insists on homeschooling her. Wilhemina tries convincing her mother to let her go to school while secretly praying for a cure. When neither happens, Wilhemina’s only hope for going to school may be a discipline-challenged dog named Daisy, who has an innate ability to alert when Wilhemina’s blood sugar drops or rises-if her mother agrees. However, Wilhemina isn’t keen on taking Daisy to school, because she wants to keep her diabetes a secret and having a dog at school would be like wearing a flashing sign. But it’s her only hope, until the principal says Daisy must be a trained service dog to be allowed in school. With her family short on funds, Wilhemina takes on training Daisy over the summer with the help of her twin brother, while desperately bargaining with God for another option. Training Daisy proves to be a challenge and with no other alternatives, Wilhemina must decide if attending school is worth exposing her secret.
Watching Wilhemina is a middle grade fiction novel that explores the clash of living with a chronic disease and the desire to live a normal life based on my experiences as a diabetes educator and school nurse. I am the recipient of a McClatchy Newspaper President’s award and a SC Press Association award for science writing.
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Emma Burns
Landslide by Emma Burns
The summer after high school graduation has ended and all of Annamarie’s friends have gone off to college, leaving her staring down a bleak future in her tiny Maine ski town, driving Appalachian Trail hikers to and from town and living under the thumb of her paranoid Mama. When Annamarie decides to take control of her life at last, she finds the daredevil snowboarder father she had always been told was dead. Unraveling the mystery of her family’s past opens up a whole world to Annamarie and leads her to make choices about her future that change her and her family forever.
LANDSLIDE is a 81,000 word young adult novel set in contemporary rural Maine, where the past is everywhere and the modern world sits uncomfortably nearby, where backwoods backpackers walk through town like ghosts and wealthy outsiders swoop in to ski and party, both groups tended by locals who are barely scraping by. The tensions between these groups drive this novel, as does the moment when every young person must decide which of the many worlds to choose.
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Anna Downes
All The Stars Are Gone by Anna Downes
When aspiring actress Emily finds herself auditioning for the role of a piece of cheese, she realises how much her life sucks. She’s jobless, penniless, essentially homeless and a massive disappointment to her adoptive parents. Oh, and she’s a magnet for sexual harassment. In short, things couldn’t get worse.
Enter Scott Denny, a multi-millionaire who seems to offer all the answers to Emily’s problems. But Scott has his own problems, much darker and more terrible than Emily can imagine.
When Emily accepts a job working at Scott’s remote estate in France, she finds herself living at close quarters with Scott, his wife and their six-year-old daughter. As her relationship with each family member grows and her feelings towards them become more complicated, Emily falls down a rabbit-hole of wealth and extravagance and cuts ties with her former life. But soon she has questions. Why do the Dennys live such an isolated life? What is the mysterious illness from which Scott’s daughter is suffering? And what has Scott done that makes him drink and cry and harm himself?
Emily is about to uncover a devastating secret and soon she must make a choice. Will she destroy her own happiness to protect the people she has come to love?
ALL THE STARS ARE GONE is Liane Moriarty meets THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS. A literary/commercial fiction novel of 85,000 words, the story is based on my experiences working as a housekeeper on a French estate in 2009 and 2010.
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Heather Ryder
The Cyber Trials by Heather Ryder
“Give a man a mask, and he will show you his true self” – Oscar Wilde
It’s been two months since Alicia Farrell’s body was found dumped in the woods and Elaine Thompson isn’t sure the town of Patriot, Indiana will ever recover. Grief has given in to anger as the FBI task force tracking the Midwest Strangler remains empty handed and the case grows cold. Then Elaine gets a call from her best friend’s lawyer. Tristan has just become the primary suspect in the investigation and Elaine is his only alibi.
Except none of that makes sense. Tristan lives in Texas, and he and Elaine have never physically met.
Brought together in their early teens by a love of online video games, Elaine and Tristan have spent the last fifteen years sharing their lives virtually. Now, they have to convince the world of their friendship or Elaine’s testimony won’t hold weight. But as the trial unfolds and the evidence against him starts to stack up, Elaine begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Caught between an overzealous prosecution desperate for a conviction, a town out for blood, and her loyalty to Tristan, Elaine struggles to separate fact from fiction. The State says she was either willingly blind or naïve, but Elaine’s can’t believe the story is that black and white. To reach the truth, she must dig into painful memories she had long since hidden away, but what she finds may shatter their friendship forever.
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Daniel T. Moore
Godsblood: Book one of the Shatter Spire Symphony by Daniel T. Moore
The gods are dead. Change is coming on wings, heralded by three women:
The girl of fire and sunshine will become the ache in the heart of the world; will weep a trail of tears which burst into blooms of flame for a sister that could not be saved; will hunt through the streets of a shadowed city for a father and a brother, to save one and kill the other; will stand on a grave marked with no stone and look out on a world of her own making. But she is young yet.
The surgeon of Artisan’s Alley, whose criminal enterprise is built for the triumph of the poor over the tyranny of the rich; who breaks the knees of nobles unable to meet the terms of their loans, and turns over the profits to the sick and the poor; who, for love, will find herself elsewhere entirely.
The gunslinger is the restless daughter of a man murdered by his best friend. A woman out of love with her life, out of love with her man, and on a collision course with those who put her father in an early grave.
GODSBLOOD is a 140 000+ word PG-13 story that won’t stand still. It’s an epic sci-fantasy about three young black women ages nine, twenty-seven and thirty-four.
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