A Winner! Also, Why You Should Participate in Contests Like These

Happy Monday, Secret Lifers! First things first: thanks to everyone who  participated in our spooky flash fiction contest--both the ones who entered, and the ones who read the final entries and voted. And without further ado, the winner is....

Entry #1! Which would be A MAN SCORNED, written by Rebecca Barray. Rebecca, please send your choice of books (from the ones featured here)  along with your mailing address to secret.life.of.writers@gmail.com, and I'll get your prize in the mail!

So at this point, I know a lot of you are probably in the throes of NaNoWriMo (hooray! go you! write write write!) and so contests may be the last thing on your mind, but I figured as long as we were on the subject, I'd give you my top three reasons or so for entering contests like these. We had a great turnout for this last contest, but for those of you still hanging out in the wings, undecided on whether to go for it or not (no shame there; that used to be me), here are said reasons: 

1: You learn to lose. I'm guessing most people don't enter contests with the intention of losing. Actually, the thought of losing is probably what keeps most people from hitting the send button on a contest entry email. Generally that was my excuse too: publishing is so full of rejection--why invite more? (Hint: this is one of those times when the answer is in the question). Because that's just it: publishing is full of rejection, so contests are a fantastic way to build up that tough skin you're going to need. And what's great about building it through low-stakes contests as opposed to, say, query rejections, is that you aren't necessarily burning any bridges with agents or editors you might want to work with. 

The important thing to remember is that we're all losers at some point--myself included. Want to know a secret? You guys know this fantastic blog over here? There's a big, annual contest that I'm sure a lot of you have heard of. I entered it in the months prior to writing the manuscript that landed me an agent, and then a book deal, and I didn't even make it through the first round. I remember waiting for the "you've been picked!" email, and waiting, and waiting...and then it didn't come. And I was pretty sure my career as an author was over and all was lost (I'm also pretty sure I'm overly dramatic sometimes). But I survived. And this morning I got an even cooler email from my publisher that told me my book would be up for sale in about 8 weeks. So. Yeah. Life goes on even after you lose. It's pretty awesome like that.

2. You meet people. Quite often, really cool people. And many of the people that I remember making the contest rounds with are now soon-to-be-published authors, in case you needed any more proof that contest-enterers is a crowd worth running with. I know a lot of people, too, who have met CPs, beta readers, and just generally awesome and encouraging writing buddies through contests. Writing can be a very lonely endeavor, but it doesn't have to be. And having walked both the lonely road and the surrounded-by-the-warm-fuzzy-writing-community road myself, I have to say that I prefer the latter (this coming from someone who's still a pretty hardcore introvert). 

3. You gain experience. Didn't win this time? Maybe pay attention to the ones who did. What are they doing that readers, voters, judges etc... are responding to? Can you bring more of that into your own writing? Assuming you want to, of course. Because I'm in no way trying to say that the people judging contests are always right, or that you should give up your own unique style to create a more "crowd-pleasing" one--if that's not what you want to do. But I personally feel like my own style is always changing and evolving, and I think contests provide a great opportunity to see clearly what readers like and don't like, and ways I might be able to grow my own writing to at least somewhat account for these things. 

So, there you have it--three quick reasons. What about you guys? Do you like entering contests? Why or why not? What are your favorite types of contests? Do you dislike the word contest? Because I'm starting to. I think it's because I've typed it too many times and now it looks like it's spelled wrong. Anyway, leave your thoughts in the contest comments!

Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary, and her debut novel, FALLS THE SHADOW, is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2014. You can add it on Goodreads here!

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/stefaniegaither

Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com 

Spooky Flash Fiction Contest Finalists!

Happy Halloween, Secret Lifers! We've been getting in the creepy holiday mood ourselves by reading through some of your awesome entries for our Spooky Flash Fiction Contest. Thanks so much to everyone who submitted a story! It was incredibly difficult to pick just three to showcase on the blog, but we finally did, and they're listed below!

So, fabulous readers, if you would be so kind, show some love and support to these writers who have shared their work with us. Read through the entries, and then be sure to VOTE on your favorite in the fancy little poll thing at the bottom of this post. Votes will be accepted through the weekend, and the winner will be announced on Monday!

Entry #1

A MAN SCORNED

“I never meant to hurt you. Please, believe me.” Joe ignored Marcy’s pleading. “I’m sorry. It was only the one time. No more secrets, I swear. And it will never happen again.”

Joe looked through her.

“Joe, I’m sorry. Please, say something.” Marcy stepped forward, her hands moving toward his shoulders. But when he still didn’t respond, she stopped just shy of contact, her arms falling back to her sides. “I love you,” she whispered, “so much.”

Then, he stepped right through her. Confused, she turned to see him kneel beside her body and start to clean up the blood.

Entry #2

UNEARTHED

Being the new guy in school always sucked at first, especially when everyone asked where you'd transferred from and why. From Pick-A-City, USA. Mom's always wanted to live here. I'd mastered the art of lying—psychiatric wards were like prisons: highly educational. No more hallucinations, Dr. Fields/Mercer/Kravock. Well, practice makes perfect, and after years of study I'd graduated with a clean bill of mental health. Now the only thing locked away was my file, and the secrets it contained.

Nightmares I hoped stayed buried this time.

Eight months in Savannah and things looked good. Normal. Like tonight's kick-ass party at the abandoned Bouchard Mansion. Booze flowed, music raged, and Stacey's hand slid to the bulge in my jeans and squeezed. I groaned against her neck.

“Let me tell Mac we're leaving,” I said.

“Okay, but hurry.”

I took the stairs two at a time, hoping they wouldn't collapse. Fucking things were dry rotted. I passed Jake and Alissa in the hall.

“Where's Mac?”

Jake pointed to the room at the end. I opened the door and froze, icy shards of terror pricking my skin. Mac's body lay face down in a sea of blood. Oh, God, please, not again.

My murdered sister sat at a small table decorated with plastic tea cups. “Anna did it,” she said, pointing to the doll sitting next to her.

Anna fixed her glassy black eyes on my face.

You left us behind and now look what happened.

Entry #3

BODY AND SOUL

It wasn’t hard to imagine their eyes following her.

They weren’t, of course, that would be ridiculous. The shrunken stoat frozen and crouched on its tree stump, the fox with its dried black mouth stretched over fake yellow teeth, the hare with its glassy eyes and stiff brittle whiskers. They stared at her from inside their display cases, and that was just the smear of children’s fingerprints on the glass, not the fog of angry, living breath.

It was just the hospital next door that gave her the creeps. She hated it, its sour-faced NHS nurses and cold, impatient doctors. Her mum had died in that hospital, alone and shrivelled with cancer. The nurse’s voice on the other end of the phone had been dry and empty. She’s dead, it had said. Your mother. And we need the bed. 

A siren wailed in the distance. The stoat gazed at her, the dull museum lights making white starpoints in its dead empty eyes.

The siren screamed, getting closer and closer. Louder. Louder. The sound of it made her feel sick, her heart choking inside her chest. Then in at the gates next door, its scream so loud and intimate she could feel it shaking inside her bones. The museum lights flickered, and the spark in the stoat’s eyes danced and blinked. Its tail twitched.

She stared blindly out the window at the paramedics rushing the body inside the doors, and the stoat glared at her, showing its tiny yellow teeth.

A Spooky Secret Life Contest!

Happy Monday Secret Lifers! I can't believe it's almost Halloween already!

This movie is basically my favorite part of October

Since it's only ten days away, I thought I would do something a little fun and festive for today's post. So we're going to have a little writing contest! The rules are simple enough: you just have to creep us out. And you'll be doing that by writing a short little horror scene (250 words or less!). Extra points if you can somehow tie something "secrety" into it! Once finished, email it to us at secret.life.of.writers@gmail.com by no later than Wednesday, October 30th. Then, we'll pick our top three entries and post them to the blog on Halloween, at which point all of our readers will be invited to vote on their favorite.

So, what's up for grabs for the winner? How about some free books to get you in the mood for Halloween? Sounds good, right? Right! So, the winner of this simple little contest gets to choose any TWO shiny new books from the ones listed below, which are just a few of my favorite creepy YA and MG reads. There's also a good chance that some other fun Halloween treats will end up in the winner's prize package, too (trick-or-treat candy, anyone?)

The Books:

 

To recap: one creepy 250 word short, emailed to us by Wednesday, October 30th, could land you two of the awesome books above plus some other awesome spooky and fallish gifts! So get to writing! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with :) 

Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary, and her debut novel, FALLS THE SHADOW, is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2014. You can add it on Goodreads here!


You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/stefaniegaither

Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com 

Game of Secrets: THE WINNER!

Hello readers!

First off, thanks sooo much to everyone who participated in our Game of Secrets Event, and to The Mod Podge Bookshelf for playing hostess to us :) Choosing a "winner" was definitely not an easy task, but in the end we managed to come to a consensus. So congratulations are in order for....*drumroll*....

Courtney Washburn!

Courtney, please email your address to us at secret.life.of.writers@gmail.com so we can get prize stuff sorted out.

And now for the winning entry!

Ha! Simon Roberts, love Isabelle Stone?

Give me a break.

It was almost too easy, manipulating these sheep. Flash some puppy eyes, stutter a few oh-so-helpful words, spilling secrets like breadcrumbs, and they do exactly what you’d expect.

So predictable.

Behind these thick black frames, I see so much more than people think. Just because my vision’s 20/400 doesn’t mean I’m blind. You don’t think I know they use me? Bat their f***ing spidery lashes, stick out their Wonder Bras, ask me to do their homework like I’m some chump who’s deluded enough to think Miss Ice Bitch herself could actually be interested in a bona-fide nerd?

Not likely. I have an I.Q. of 163. It’s f***ing insulting.

I didn’t do it for me, though. I did it for her.

They call her ‘Mouse,’ when they’re not even worthy of licking dog sh*t off her Mary Janes. They pull her hair. Shove her in the hall. Even that ball-buster Emery can’t protect Amy from the constant attacks. Last month, Is-a-bitch Stone snapped a cell phone pic of Amy changing in the locker room and posted it on Facebook with the caption: Country Mouse wears granny panties. Now, a month later, people still call Amy ‘grundy-undies’ and pants her in the hall between classes.

Something had to be done.

It was almost too perfect when two days later I caught that skank Haley slipping in those extra ballots. A month of planning, of doing Isabelle’s Advanced Calc homework and following her around like a spineless, lovesick dope, and I’d scored a pity invite to her party. Like I said—predictable.

All it took was a few concerned words about Haley’s cheating to separate Isabelle from the herd. My knowledge of circuit design and electrical engineering—courtesy of a few summers at MIT robotics camp—did the rest. I overrode the electricity without having to trek through the mansion to the basement and back. Some flickering lights and darkness and those drunken morons stayed right where they were, allowing me to sneak past unnoticed.

And Isabelle…well…she didn’t know what hit her.

Well, I did.

When Amy touched my shoulder and stared at me with those big, beautiful eyes, it was almost like she wanted me to do it. Was begging me to do it.

For her.

So yeah, I confess. Ding dong, the bitch is dead.

Does Amy know I did it for her? Maybe. I watched her afterwards to see. Maybe I wanted her to figure it out, to know. Because I love her. 

Turns out, love hides all manner of sins. Like motive. Getting close to Isabelle gave me the perfect cover—after all, I loved her. Why would I kill her?

And my “confession” to the police? Well, let’s just say they bought the nerd-in-love sh*t just like all the brainless masses that make up public education’s student body. I even got to say, I confess; it’s my fault, right to their faces. The little needle on their lie detector didn’t so much as flicker.

As for Amy, well, no one at school is going to be yanking down her pants on Monday. Maybe the rest of these jokers will think twice before choosing their next victim. Before tormenting the meek and defenseless. After all, they’re the ones under fire now. They’re the ones with the motive. The vendettas and scores to settle.

Isabelle found out the hard way—live as a bitch and then you die.

A Game of Secrets: IT'S ON

Five characters. One murder. Plenty of secrets.

So who's telling the truth? That's up to you to figure out. Start by reading the posts over on The Mod Podge Bookshelf blog, each of which represents a different character's side of the story:

Caelyn's Story 

Hayley's Story 

Simon's Story (coming 3/15!)

Mouse's Story (coming 3/18!)

Emery's Story (coming 3/20!)

You can also learn more about each of the character's at the links below:

Caelyn

Hayley

Simon

"Mouse"

Emery

And by following us on twitter (click on our names below if you aren't already following us!). Look for the hashtag #GoS.

Stefanie

Andrea

Leah

Kelsey

Heather

and https://twitter.com/LifeOfWriters

Why follow along? Because it's going to be a ton of fun, and because once our posts are done, YOU will have a chance to write the ending to this story. The most convincing, creative, well-written entry will win a SECRET prize pack, containing an Amazon gift card, awesome things like a Moleskine notebook for writing your own secrets in, awesomer things like this mug (because everyone knows mustaches are essential to a good secret disguise), and other fun stuff.

A Game of Secrets

So if you came here expecting today's Creative Writing prompt, then sorry. But not sorry. Because it's not here, but we've got something BETTER to tell you about. And it's still creative and writerly. EXCEPT BETTER.

Oh yes.

A while back, the lovely Gabrielle Carolina graciously invited us to do a series of guest posts on her fab blog, The Mod Podge Bookshelf--an offer which we were of course thrilled to take her up on. So for the past month or so, we've been working hard behind-the-scenes here to put together what we think is going to be an awesome event that we hope YOU are going to participate in. Here are the basics.

The six of us-- Andrea, Stefanie, Heather, Kelsey, Leah, and YOU-- are going to be writing a story together. The story will be unfolding from multiple povs (one post for each of us, who have created a character specifically for this event). Each person's character will tell their part of the story on the following days, over on Mod Podge:

Monday 3/11: Stefanie
Wednesday 3/13: Andrea
Friday 3/15: Leah
Monday 3/18: Kelsey
Wednesday 3/20: Heather

Friday 3/22: YOU will be completing the story

You'll have a chance to get to know our characters over the next week and during the event, and then it will be up to you to decide how their story ends. Which means you'll have to decide which of said characters is telling the truth, which of them are telling lies, and which ones are keeping some dangerous--possibly deadly-- secrets to themselves.

So what is their story about, you ask? Well, that's a secret too, of course. Are you sensing a theme here? ;) Some of these secrets--details about the events leading up to our story, that is-- will be revealed in bits and pieces throughout the week here on the blog, on our individual blogs, and through our twitter account.

And why should you participate in our event? Well because A.) it's going to be a crazy amount of fun B.) there's going to be trash-talking of each other's characters involved and C.) OH YEAH, PRIZES. As in, a huge, fun, awesome secret prize pack for the person who writes the most compelling, creative, awesome ending to this story (as judged by us). Excited yet? GOOD.

And we're just getting started :) Watch this space for more updates, which will be coming soon! For now, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments!

~The Secret Life Team

Valentine's Day Make Us Swoon Finalists!

Update: Entry #5 is the winner! You should have received an email from secret.life.of.writers@gmail.com by now; if not--please contact us! Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the contest. Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered our contest! We had LOTS of fabulous entries, and narrowing it down to just five was definitely not an easy task. But here we are, five wonderfully swoon-worthy scenes for you to read a vote for! Leave your votes in the comment box, and please only choose one entry! Voting ends at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!

The winner will be announced first thing tomorrow morning, and will soon be followed our second round of SeCrits! (So in other words, be sure to come back and see us tomorrow too!)

And without further ado...

Entry #1

She always arrives late and even when he's not looking, he can sense her through a curious magnetism, a pole invisible inside of him realigning to match the one in her, electric fields shivering when she gets close. 

He can't keep doing this, not for seven more weeks. When she moves to get the voltmeter, she litters the air around her with the stray sparks of her scent and he's gone. They're assigned lab partners, and he's probably just static to her anyway, a one-second hush on the radio band she sometimes dances to when she thinks he's not paying attention. 

She asks for the ruler. He tries to hand it to her, but when his fingers brush hers the electricity turns his spine into a live wire and he jolts, dropping it. 

"My bad." Her lips quirk into a half-smile and she picks it up. This is how she crackles herself into his daydreams class after class: he'll replay this in his head until he's worn the memory raw. "Sorry! That's like the third time I've staticked someone today." 

He waves it off and doesn't realize he sounds like a total idiot until after he finishes saying that it's totally fine, really, and that she should feel free to shock him whenever she wants. Then the words race back to him and he shudders, face flushed, trying to conceal the fact that he is being slowly consumed from the inside out, even as her laughter singes into his skin.

Entry #2 

Setup: 17yo Marilla and her boyfriend, Chris, who are both wizards, have been discussing college plans. Since Marilla wants to study engineering while Chris wants to study magic, they would have to go to different colleges.

“Me? An accountant,” Chris laughs and pulls me into his arms, brushing his lips across my forehead. I try but fail to concentrate on his words, my attention zeroing in on the touch of his lips. “Thank you, Marilla. I’m glad to know you’d be there for me even if I was something so boring. But trust me when I say being a wizard is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Hmmm,” I respond, enraptured by his fingers tracing my shoulder blade. “That’s good.”

“Yes, it is,” he says. “And you know getting a foundation at a first-rate Norm engineering school isn’t a terrible idea at all. And maybe, you could come here for grad sch…” I cut his sentence short, leaning up and kissing him hard.

He staggers back into the wall. I press against him, not letting up. I slide my hands up his chest, feeling the strength of his muscle beneath his t-shirt. A part of me wishes it wasn’t there, that I could feel the smooth skin underneath, but the other half of me is focused on his lips, on the taste of his mouth, unable to comprehend that anything could ever be so sweet. 

“Get a room!” Someone shouts, and I jump back, my face flushing. Chris doesn’t move away from the wall, staring at me with wide eyes as he tries to catch his breath. My flush deepens. I did that. I literally took his breath away. I’m somehow proud and embarrassed at the same time.

Entry #3

From my Upper MG science fiction, thirteen-year-old Gary, who has been abducted by aliens and gifted the power of telekinesis, has just used his ability to retrieve a pillow tucked tightly inside the hand of his teenaged, alien trainer, Esther.

Esther sucked in a breath, opened her hand, and stared at the red burn mark on her palm.

Before she could say anything, Gary spoke up, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rough.” He took her wrist and inspected the red marks in her palm. With his free hand he touched the tips of his fingers to his lips then laid them gently in her palm. He folded her fingers over his and gazed into her eyes. “All better.” He smiled.

Esther blinked, a look of surprise forming on her face. “Yes, that feels much better now.” Her shimmering lips curled upward causing a dimple to appear on her right cheek.

Her happiness made Gary feel like he was floating, like nothing bad could ever change this one moment. Though he didn't know why, he leaned in closer and closer, time crawling by. Her exotic, floral scent filled his nose and intoxicated him. His mouth went dry as he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

When Gary regained control of his frozen muscles, he pulled back immediately and looked away from Esther, cheeks burning. His stomach knotted with regret. Did I just ruin our friendship?

Her hand lightly touched his shoulder. Calm washed over him, his nerves eased, and the knot in his stomach untwisted. He turned to her, surprised to see her still smiling. It was infectious. He tried to hide the giant grin erupting. She's happy, so maybe I didn't mess anything up. What does this mean?

Entry #4 

This is from my WiP, and it's after Merrin and Elias have gotten in a fight. He's gone off to his room alone,  fallen asleep, and had lots of freaky dreams.

“Shh. Elias, it’s okay.” Her soft voice is sweet and warm but oh, God,
how did Merrin get into this dream? Cool fingers trail down the side
of my face, and my breaths slow. 

“There. There. It’s okay.” 

My eyes drift shut. “Merrin.” I croak in a whisper. “How did you…” 

“Daniel’s hack, remember?” 

Her body presses flush against mine, and I vaguely wonder how she got

in here without me noticing at the same time that I know I don’t
actually give a shit.  

My eyes have adjusted to the dark, and now I can see gray-on-gray in
relief. The delicate outline of her nose, her dark eyelashes blinking
at me. She props herself up on her elbow, keeping her body against
mine, letting her other hand trail down my neck and rest on my chest.
She is so sure, so steady. So definitely here, with me, despite what I
said to her. 

My eye trains down to her her shoulder, perfectly round and starkly
white. My brain wraps around one overwhelming thought - I hate the
thin strap that runs between her shoulder and her collarbone more than
anything else in the world right this moment. Somehow, I nod my head
in answer to her question. 

She leans down and kisses my forehead. She’s never done that before,
but God, I never want her to stop. The way her throat curves down over
my lips… 

She pulls back, looking down at me again. “We’re going to be okay.”

Entry #5

My chest heaves from the run, my shirt soaked on both sides. I catch my breath and weigh my options. He approaches: ten feet away, then five. At three feet, I fling my last balloon and fall to the ground, hoping to take him by surprise, hoping his return throw sails over my head. My balloon hits, bursting just above his collar bone and spraying up against his neck.

He laughs. His balloon? Still in his hand.

"Oh, you've asked for it now."

"Oh shit," I say, rolling into a ball and covering my head.
The grass rustles as Eric steps toward me. He's right over me, waiting for me to move.

"Come on. Get it over with. I surrender.”

"You do?"
I uncurl and nod. He kneels and reaches for my hand, pulls me up to my knees. My chest brushes against his.
My skin shivers, and I don't even try to pretend it's from the wet T-shirt. I let my body fall against him, press against him. He drops my hand and puts his arm around me. I feel his pulse through his fingertips on the small of my back. I fight the need to blink.

Then there's a pop. A fresh cold drips down my face, my shoulder, my back.

"You dirty rat. You tricked me.”

"Payback," he whispers.

His hand finds my face, pulls me closer, tips my head back, slides over my cheek. His lips are there. Right there.

Alright readers, take it away! You have one vote, so choose wisely! :) 

Friday Fun: Valentine's Day Make-Us-Swoon Contest!

Happy Valentine's Day lovelies!

Okay, so it's a little early, but we've got so much awesomeness already planned for next week (SeCrits! Awesome Author visit!) that we thought we'd go ahead and start spreading the love a little bit early.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVEEE

I hope you all have someone special to spend this Valentine's with, but if not--hey, that's what our secret book boyfriends (or girlfriends!) are for, right? Right. With that in mind, we thought we'd have a little contest to celebrate YOU and your most swoon-worthy creations. So here are the details:

-You have until SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10th at 10:00 P.M. EST to submit up to 250 of your most swoon-worthy words. They can be from a completed manuscript or a WIP, and they can feature a kiss, a spark, a declaration of love--whatever you think is most likely to make your fellow blog readers sigh longingly or perhaps need a cold shower after reading. 

-Send said words to: secret.life.of.writers@gmail.com. Feel free to include a line or two of summary to lead into your 250 words, if you feel it's necessary (but ONLY a line or two!)

-We'd like to keep this blog suitable for readers of all ages, so please consider that when submitting 

-On Monday, we will anonymously post up to five of the entries. If we get more than five entries, which I suspect we will because you all seem like a bunch of lovely romantics, then we will narrow it down to our top five choices and post those.

-Now, here's the fun part: THE PRIZE! On Monday, everybody gets to read the smexy and then vote for their favorite entry! The one with the most votes will win a SECRET VALENTINE'S DAY PRIZE PACK filled with lots of goodies, including this useful little book for your writing shelf:

And there's a good chance that chocolate of some sort will be involved as well ;)  So polish up those words and submit, submit, submit! I can't wait to read!

Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary, and her debut novel, FALLS THE SHADOW, is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2014.

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/stefaniegaither

Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com