RRBC Book & Blog Block Party

Hello everyone! This is my stop on the RRBC Back to School Block Party. The prize I'm giving away is one ecopy of my new young adult novel, To Be Honest. 

           

I’m a mom of three teens and an elementary teacher, so back to school time hit me fast! Participating in this event is a fun break for me.

  I’d like to introduce you to the main character of my new young adult novel, To Be Honest. I enjoyed getting this character interview ready and hope you like it.

To Be Honest made it to number 2 on the Hot New Releases for Teen/Young Adult Fiction in the topic of bullying. 

Character Interview: Starla Emerson

Where do you go to school and what is your favorite subject?

  I’m a junior at Centerville High School in Indiana. Being a new girl that is different from everyone else hasn’t been easy. Luckily, I’ve made some new friends.

My favorite subject is English. I love classic literature and my partner in that class is a pretty amazing guy.  

What hobbies or interests do you have?

 Photography. I like to find the beauty in things that are easily overlooked and capture it. I also collect memories and keep them inside my memory boxes in my room.

Who do you most admire?

 My new friend Chase. He adores his handicap brother, devoting his time and talents to help him. My sister and I watched him perform in a BMX competition to raise money for Cerebral Palsy research. He rocked that competition!

 He also got me to step out of my fear and play the piano again despite not having all of my fingers on my right hand. I couldn’t have performed a piano solo in front of the whole school if it wasn’t for him. He believed in me.

Do you believe in God?

Yes, I do. He brought the right people into my life during a time I needed support the most. I thank him every day for them all…my family, friends, and Chase.

Do you have a motto?

 Be Brave. Chase and his brother have drilled this into me. They told me I was brave over and over until I actually started believing it. Chase gave me a bracelet with the word engraved on it. I also wrote a poem about my new motto that I read in English class.

 I made it through a lot in my life. Losing my fingers, moving away from my friends and to a new school where I was a target of a bully online. I had to be brave.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Starla. I think she’s a strong girl and I had fun creating her character.  

To Be Honest Book Trailer

 Too Be Honest Playlist

Steal My Girl by One Direction

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

Heroes by Alesso and Tove Lo

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

To Be Honest Book Release

 Today is the day! I'm so excited about the release of my first teen/ya adult novel, To Be Honest. You finally get to meet Star and Chase.  To celebrate the release, Lola Blog Tours organized a week long Book Blitz and Giveaway.  You may enter below to win a signed digital copy of the story or an Amazon gift card. The full blitz schedule can be found on Lola's Website.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five Things I Learned From my Character Part II



Tomorrow is the cover reveal for my debut young adult novel, To Be Honest. To say I'm excited is an understatement.  I've been bursting inside to introduce to you Starla and Chase.  You learned a little about Chase in my first post of Five Things I Learned From my Character. Now I'd like to tell you what I learned through the main character, Starla.




Starla lacks self-confidence due to a deformity in her hand. Teens in general fear embarrassment in front of their peers, so the physical difference compounds this fear for Starla. She suffers from anxiety at a level that exceeds the norm and has had to learn ways to cope. The list below is what I learned through Star's character.




1. Tapping is a technique to lower anxiety. This method operates much like Chinese acupuncture without the needles. You use your fingers to locate tapping points on your body that trigger emotional balance along with focusing on words to bring you back in balance. I found it interesting and much more involved than my brief little snip of information here. Starla uses this technique in the story when her anxiety rises.




2. Photography is another outlet for Star that she enjoys. I learned about different types of lenses used in photography. The coolest thing I found out was that night vision lenses use infared light not visible to the naked eye in order to illuminate an area.




3. Starla loves to quote classic literature and apply it to her life. I added some classic literature titles to my 'want to read' list as a result of the quotes. I admit to never having read "Little Women". After reading some quotes from this classic, my interest is piqued.




4. Internet bullying is a means to target a victim in today's technology world. I've posted on this topic while writing the book. The information I learned was too valuable not to share. You can read my posts on this topic by clicking the titles: Big Hair and Bullies  & Her Hair is Full of Secrets


5. I learned to let Starla lead the story. Of course I started this story with an outline of where I wanted it to go. As Starla's character developed and she experienced things in the story, I allowed her to take over and lead. She turned into a much stronger girl than the one from the beginning of the story. I hope you enjoy her journey!

• Cover Reveal is July 7th with Lola's Blog Tours.
• Book Trailer Reveal is July 14th with Double Decker Books.
• Book Release is July 21st with a Book Blitz event through Lola's Blog Tours.
• Fire Side Mocha Book Blast starts on July 30 with Double Decker Books.