You guys! I’m so excited to be able to finally shout some things from the rooftops. This is going to be an amazing year in publishing, and a lot of people I love and respect are being published for the first time. Some of those were people I learned from when this blog was brand new, back when I was an even bigger bumbling idiot than I am now. Others are people who were learning along with me from the wonderful authors who were kind enough to share their knowledge here on Adventures. Still others are folks I am just now meeting on OneFour Kidlit as I start my “debut” year. I am thrilled to be able to share this year with each and every one of them.

ADVENTURES ALUMS AND FRIENDS GIVEAWAYS

     

These Broken Stars
by Meagan Spooner & Amie Kaufman
Hardcover Giveaway
Disney-Hyperion

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

A timeless love story, THESE BROKEN STARS sets into motion a sweeping science fiction series of companion novels. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about These Broken Stars?

Meg: I’d have to say my favorite thing about THESE BROKEN STARS is the alternating points of view. It was my favorite part of writing it, definitely. I loved opening up the document to see what Amie had written, because sometimes she’d go places I didn’t expect. And often, I’d get to see Tarver’s perspective on something I’d just written from Lilac’s point of view, which was tremendous fun. I think the dual POV is also my favorite thing about it as a finished book, from a reader’s perspective. I love that you get to see both sides of this tense relationship as it changes and develops over the course of the book, and that you can understand where both characters are coming from. I think it makes their relationship all the more hard-won, and satisfying.

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Run to You: First Sight
by Clara Kensie
Digital Giveaway
Harlequin Teen
Released 2/1/2014

Part One in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Sarah Spencer has a secret: her real name is Tessa Carson, and to stay alive, she can tell no one the truth about her psychically gifted family and the danger they are running from. As the new girl in the latest of countless schools, she also runs from her attraction to Tristan Walker—after all, she can’t even tell him her real name. But Tristan won’t be put off by a few secrets. Not even dangerous ones that might rip Tessa from his arms before they even kiss…

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Run to You: First Sight?

Besides the romance, my favorite thing about RUN TO YOU is seeing people’s reactions to the huge plot twists.

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Run to You: Second Glance
by Clara Kensie
Digital Giveaway
Harlequin Teen
Released 2/8/2014

Part Two in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Tessa Carson has unlocked her heart and her secrets to Tristan Walker—but Tristan has secrets of his own, and his might just mean the end of Tessa’s family. Unaware, Tessa embraces falling in love and being herself for the first time since she was attacked when she was only eight years old. But secrets can’t be run from forever, and sometimes love is too good to be true…

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Run to You: Third Charm
by Clara Kensie
Giveaway
Harlequin Teen
Released 2/15/2014

Part Three in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Betrayed, heartbroken, and determined to save her family, Tessa Carson refuses to give in to Tristan Walker’s pleas for forgiveness. But her own awakening psychic gift won’t let her rest until she uncovers the truth about her family and her past. And Tristan is the only one who can help her sift through the secrets to find the truth hidden in all the lies…

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JODI MEADOWS has been a staple with us here at Adventures. I’ve followed her on Twitter for years and fell in love with her books the moment they came out. (She is also Jan’s all-time most squeeworthy author.) Jan and I have both been thrilled to have Jodi join us to judge contests and write one of our first Wish I’d Written posts. I’m so sad to see her series come to a close!

Infinite

by Jodi Meadows

Hardcover Giveaway

Katherine Tegen Books

Released 1/28/2014

DESTRUCTION

The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT

Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE

The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Infinite?

I love the the relationship (romantic and friendship) between Ana and Sam. They have so much to learn from each other, and they treat each other with respect and compassion.

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Scintillate

by Tracy Clark

Paperback Giveaway

Entangled Teen

Released 2/4/2014

A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.

Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective, and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself—instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.

As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.

There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.

Scintillate is the first book in this lush and exciting new trilogy, full of romance, adventure and metaphysical mystery.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Scintillate?

What personally fires me up about SCINTILLATE is what excited me to write this story in the first place. I created a mythology to explain something we experience in real life when certain people “drain” us or “uplift” us. It’s energy. A vibe. The metaphysical element of this story is what I love best. If people, especially teens, read it and start thinking about how certain people make them feel, or even how their own energy affects others, then it’s a win. We are all transmitting and receiving. What are we getting? What are we giving? That’s the driving heart of the series for me.

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JULIE MUSIL is one of the most respected KidLit bloggers. Whatever you need in terms of advice, she’ll have it on her blog. Her knowledge of craft comes from meticulous analysis and sheer hard work, and at the same time, I know of no one who is genuinely kinder and more inclusive of everyone in the writing community. I have been waiting for her book to come out for years, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to introduce it to you. Ta da!

The Boy Who Loved Fire

by Julie Musil

Paperback

Create Space

Released 1/22/2014

Manny O’Donnell revels in his status at the top of his high school food chain. He and his friends party in the mountains on a blustery night, sharing liquor and lame ghost stories around a campfire. The next morning, as a wild fire rages in those same mountains, Manny experiences doubt. He was the last of the drunken crew to leave the cave, and he’s uncertain if he extinguished the flames. Within hours, he becomes the number one arson suspect.

Santa Ana winds + matches = disaster. You’d think he would’ve learned that the first time he started a fire.

As he evades a determined arson investigator, Manny, a modern-day Scrooge, is visited by ghosts of the past, present, and future. He’s forced to witness the fate of his inadvertent victims, including Abigail, the scarred beauty who softens his heart. Manny must choose between turning around his callous, self-centered attitude, or protecting his own skin at the expense of anyone who gets in his way.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about THE BOY WHO LOVED FIRE?

The love story. Manny, the main character, falls for a burn victim. He and Abigail connect because they’re both scarred in different ways. Abigail’s scars are in full view, but she’s fought hard for the peace she feels inside. Manny’s outward appearance is enviable, but his internal scars run deep. I love the idea that scars can be seen or hidden, raw or faded with time, but when you truly care for someone, those scars become endearing.

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LEE BROSS (aka Lanie Bross) is a relatively new friend, but I’ve followed her at YAHighway.com just about forever. It’s been one of my goto blogs since the beginning. I am excited to have her as part of our little band over at YASeriesInsiders.com, and I’m looking forward to having EVERYONE read FATES, her new book. I’m even more excited to have her other series pub next year. 🙂 She is one busy, busy woman!

Fates

by Lanie Bross

Hardcover Giveaway

Delacorte Press

Released 2/11/2014

Lanie Bross’s debut FATES is perfect for fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Julie Kagawa, Rachel Vincent, and Sarah J. Maas, and for girls who love all things pretty, romantic and inspirational.

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people’s fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again–this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Fates?

I think what I love most about Fates most is that at it core, its about a girl who starts to question everything she knows, everything she’s been raised to believe. She’s told to do things without explanation, and she has done them her whole life, but a boy makes her finally wonder if things have to be a certain way. She wants to trust that her beliefs are real, but could there be more? Could she really have a choice in all of it? As a questioner of everything, thats what I like the most in this book.

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* * * 

LISA GAIL GREEN really needs no introduction around here, but I’m going to give her one anyway. She has been a fixture here ever since we started blogging, and she and I have run the First Five Pages Workshops together for years. Since we are both getting busier, we’ve been lucky to bring in new mentors like Julie Musil, Stasia Ward Kehoe, Mariam Forester, Kimberly Sabatini, Susan Dennard, and a host of others who will form a permanent support system for writers to back up our stellar cast of guest mentors. Lisa has been a trusted first reader for me, a great friend, and someone whose dedication, kindness, knowledge, and incredible creativity has always left me awed. This is kind of cheating, because her book came out last year, but I love it so much I have to share it again. (And isn’t Lisa Amowitz’s cover GORGEOUS?)

The Binding Stone 

(The Djinn Series Book 1)

by Lisa Gail Green

Paperback

Fuzzbom Publishing

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she’s seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Binding Stone?

I loved creating a powerful character who was at the same time vulnerable and all too human.

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INTRODUCING YOUNG ADULT DEBUTS FROM OneFour Kidlit

ROSAMUND HODGE is a new acquaintance from OneFour Kidlit, and while I’ve been very remiss at meeting all those wonderful people while I’ve been in my editing cave and traveling, I’m going to go ahead and use Rosamund as a guinea pig to introduce you all to the fabulousness and talent that you have in store for you this year. One lucky winner will get to take home her amazing book. 

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge
Hardcover Giveaway
Balzer + Bray
Released 1/28/2014

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl’s journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Cruel Beauty?

My favorite part of Cruel Beauty is that the heroine, Nyx, is not a nice person. She’s angry. She’s jealous. And though she tries to do the right thing, sometimes she’s honestly cruel.

When I was a teenager, I struggled a lot with my temper. So I sympathized with every Mean Girl character I ever read about, even the really awful ones you were supposed to hate, because I felt like I was pretty awful too sometimes. And I was desperate for stories about girls like me. When I started writing Cruel Beauty, I was determined to create a heroine who was genuinely ugly inside—who would sometimes say or do awful things—and who still got to fall in love, and tell her own story, and become a hero.

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MORE YOUNG ADULT OneFour Kidlit NOVELS

The rest of these novels are coming out in January and February from debut authors. The list is incredible and varied, so there’s something here for everyone. Check them out! And come back on the last Sunday each month to check out the next installment of upcoming books!

No Surrender Soldier
by Christine Kohler
Hardcover
Merit Press
Released 1/1/2014

A young man, an old soldier , and a terrible injustice. Should the punishment be death?

Growing up on Guam in 1972, fifteen-year-old Kiko is beset by worries: He’s never kissed a girl, and he thinks it’s possible he never will. The popular guys get all the attention, but the worst part is that Kiko has serious problems at home. His older brother is missing in Vietnam; his grandfather is losing it to dementia; he just learned that his mother was raped in World War II by a Japanese soldier. It all comes together when he discovers an old man, a Japanese soldier, hiding in the jungle behind his house. It’s not the same man who raped his mother, but, in his rage, Kiko cares only about protecting his family and avenging his mom – no matter what it takes. And so, a shy, peaceable boy begins to plan a murder. But how far will Kiko go to prove to himself that he’s a man ? Based on a historical incident, No Surrender Soldier is the story of a boy grappling with ancient questions of courage and manhood before he can move on.

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Salt
by Danielle Ellison
Kindle Edition
Entangled: Teen
Released 1/1/2014

Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find “her” demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

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Where You’ll Find Me
by Erin Fletcher
Kindle Edition
Entangled: Teen
Released 1/1/2014

When Hanley Helton discovers a boy living in her garage, she knows she should kick him out. But Nate is too charming to be dangerous. He just needs a place to get away, which Hanley understands. Her own escape methods (vodka, black hair dye, and pretending the past didn’t happen) are more traditional, but who is she to judge?

Nate doesn’t tell her why he’s in her garage, and she doesn’t tell him what she’s running from. Soon, Hanley’s trading her late-night escapades for all-night conversations and stolen kisses. But when Nate’s recognized as the missing teen from the news, Hanley isn’t sure which is worse: that she’s harboring a fugitive, or that she’s in love with one.

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The Promise of Amazing
by Robin Constantine
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 1/2/2014

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who’s always done what she’s supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

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Phoenix Island

by John Dixon

Hardcover

Gallery Books

Released 1/7/2014

The judge told Carl that one day he’d have to decide exactly what kind of person he would become. But on Phoenix Island, the choice will be made for him.

A champion boxer with a sharp hook and a short temper, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He can’t seem to stay out of trouble, using his fists to defend weaker classmates from bullies. His latest incident sends his opponent to the emergency room, and now the court is sending Carl to the worst place on earth: Phoenix Island.

Classified as a terminal facility, it’s the end of the line for delinquents who have no home, no family, and no future. Located somewhere far off the coast of the United States and immune to its laws, the island is a grueling Spartan-style boot camp run by sadistic drill sergeants who show no mercy to their young, orphan trainees. Sentenced to stay until his eighteenth birthday, Carl plans to play by the rules, so he makes friends with his wisecracking bunkmate, Ross, and a mysterious gray-eyed girl named Octavia. But he makes enemies, too, and after a few rough scrapes, he earns himself the nickname “Hollywood” as well as a string of punishments, including a brutal night in the sweatbox. But that’s nothing compared to what awaits him in the Chop Shop: a secret government lab where Carl is given something he never dreamed of.

A new life. . . .

A new body. A new brain.

Gifts from the fatherly Old Man, who wants to transform Carl into something he’s not sure he wants to become.

For this is no ordinary government project. Phoenix Island is ground zero for the future of combat intelligence.

And for Carl, it’s just the beginning. . .

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about PHOENIX ISLAND?

My favorite thing about PHOENIX ISLAND is that Simon & Schuster / Gallery books didn’t force any revision to dovetail with INTELLIGENCE, the CBS TV series it inspired. The book and series have diverged — a good thing, with books and television being such different mediums — and while had fun, working on that transformation, I’m thankful that I could also preserve the characters, plot, and tone of the story I set out to tell.

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Fake ID
by Lamar Giles
Hardcover
Amistad
Released 1/21/2014

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight…

My name isn’t really Nick Pearson.

I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia.

I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin color.

And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever.

But I’m going to.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about FAKE ID?
  
My favorite thing about FAKE ID are the two leads, Nick and Reya. An African-American boy and a Latina girl teaming up to solve a mystery. They appeal to me so much because they are like the people I grew up with. They represent a world I’m used to seeing (multi-colored/cultural) in real life, but have rarely seen in the pages of books (or on TV and movie screens) throughout the years. There’s a certain homogeny in YA fiction (or maybe just fiction) that tends to exclude people who aren’t the default, widely accepted protagonist. Growing up among the excluded, and wondering quite frequently and painfully why only certain people–those who looked nothing like me–could be heroes in the tales I loved, well, it sucked.

So, I’m super excited to present characters who don’t fit the mold. If somewhere there’s a kid who picks up my book, and breathes easy because he or she gets to read a story about people who seem a little more familiar than what they’re used to in other books, then my dreams have come true. And further, should I have children one day, and they get to read books that are more diverse and inclusive than what has been the norm, I can proudly say I (with some help from Nick and Reya) did my part to change the status quo, so they wouldn’t know the pain of exclusivity I felt growing up.

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A Mad, Wicked Folly
by Sharon Biggs Waller
Hardcover
Viking Juvenile
Released 1/23/2014

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
    
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

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Faking Normal
by Courtney C. Stevens
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 2/25/2014

An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Faking Normal?

Hmm. That’s a tough question because Faking Normal hits on so many levels for me. I believe it’s the book I was meant to write, and there’s some triumph in the fact that I ever wrote the first sentence. But my favorite part is the character of Bodee.

He’s very real to me, and I’m thankful for him. I suppose that sounds funny or a little crazy to anyone who isn’t an author. When I was writing Faking Normal, I re-experienced so much personal healing through his character. Characters, while they obviously come from the writer’s brain, don’t often manifest like a personal creation, but rather as their own entity. Bodee waltz into my life, and as he reintroduced himself, I wrote down everything he told me, everything he said that was true about me and others who have experienced pain.

Faking Normal is fiction, but I tried to be true to pain, but also to hope. Bodee is dressed in hope and speaks with healing. And I believe for every pain in the world, there is a Bodee. He will always be the boy who loved Alexi anyway, and that’s a powerful message in my own life.

One of my favorite musicians (Andrew Peterson) has a line in his song Lay Me Down that I come back to all the time. He says,
“And all of the death that ever was,
if you set it next to life
Well, I believe it would barely fill a cup.”

Pain is the common denominator of the human experience. See, the tricky thing about pain is that we all have it, but we rarely share it. What if we did? What if we chose vulnerability over shame? What if we chose honesty over secrets? What if we chose to channel our brave instead of letting fear rule us? That’s what Bodee does. He decides to tell Alexi his story, his pain, and that makes all the difference.

I’d like to be a Bodee.

And if you have pain, I hope you find your Bodee.

(If you’re interested in how Bodee became Bodee, check out The Blue-Haired Boy, a Harper Impulse story that releases 3/4/14.)

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