First Word

YOUNG ADULT (YA) ADDRESSES TEEN DEPRESSION, BULLYING, AND ANGST Depression is a serious medical issue that millions of teens face; a riveting, new book titled Rocket Queen takes on the topic to help others. Sacramento, CA—Rocket Queen written by a new and emerging novelist named Julianna Morgan takes on an theme that many modern teenagers face and can identify with—teen depression, bullying in high school, and general angst trying be one's self in a complicated world. Morgan knows firsthand the experiences in the book, as she is a freshman in college writing about high school years that are not so far in her past. Rocket Queen goes deep into the state of mind of a 16-year-old teen named Wren who has recently faced some emotionally crippling traumas in her life. Not atypical of many young teens in the U.S., she has faced some tough issues arising for the consequences of being unjustly kicked out of her dance school. This emotionally intense story d...

Since we have to stay home and weather this "storm" it's time to get to things you can do without leaving the house (and two of them benefit our industry) - write and read. You can treat this indoor lifestyle as an opportunity to get caught up on those things you can't always focus on.   Time to get back to writing, especially if you're accustomed to flying by the seat of your pants. Take this as an opportunity to lose that commute time to write. Most industries are asking their workers to work at home. When you lose that commute time, you'll find more time to do other things. How about using that extra time to finish your book?   I like to write in the late afternoons after I've finished my main project work. I used to commute at least 60 minutes total a day. Why not use those same 60 minutes as time just to sit down and work on your book. You can do it in the morning or late afternoon like I do.   If you already write as a ca...

7             Darian Masterson was a troubled teenager with a long history of shoplifting. She started doing it when she was 13 and wanted to wear makeup to school. Since her mother was an Evangelical Christian she wasn’t about to let her young daughter smear makeup on her otherwise gorgeous and naturally beautiful face. So Darian got very good at swiping eye shadow, mascara, cover-up, and a sundry of chic lipsticks at the local pharmacy. Having grown up in the neighborhood and become friendly with the counter ladies, nobody suspected the gorgeous blond girl with the incredible developing figure of doing anything wrong. Darian though was also hiding a dark secret – she had begun to turn tricks with her older brother Robby’s friends. Robby was 20 and his friends horny. Being a resourceful entrepreneur and seizing the idea he could pimp his younger and innocent-looking sister out for some pretty good dough, R...

As a traveling publisher, I meet all kinds of readers and people in general. So for your entertainment, we're going to use our Friday Morning Musing to quote the funniest things or comments I hear from readers. "I don't like books." -- book festival patron(s) "Do you read a lot?" -- someone wondering about my love of reading (I'm a publisher and editor) "Is this a real publishing company?" -- I am inevitably asked this in my booth space with about 50 books in my display. Now here are the funniest things authors say. I want to give you a preemptive strike. If you get the actual publisher on the phone, don't say any of these things. It will be a huge strike against you, and a publisher's time is precious. It's a deadline-driven business. "My first chapter sucks." "I don't know what my book is about." "I don't think it will sell." "It's not very good." I realize you prob...