Free books - so many ways to win!

I'm part of a 16-author Halloween giveaway. Now through October 31, join us for fun goodies, giveaways of books, and the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

As part of the Trick-or-Treat fun, I'm giving away a print book; one winner will choose between a hardcover of The Possibility of Somewhere, a paperback of Whisper Falls, or an ARC of Fade to Us.

So check out the details on my Trick-or-Treat blog hop page.

Also, for a limited time, Wishing for You (e-book) is free at most online retailers. Download it today at: Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, or B&N.

Always there in my books

In 2017, I've written a series of posts with titles that begin "Always there...". The posts feature story elements that I always include in my books.

I introduced this set of posts by saying, "when authors write young adult novels, there are many aspects that we're all trying to achieve: a well-written story with a good plot, sympathetic characters who struggle with relatable problems, and interesting settings. I have other elements that will always be there. Some appeared without me really thinking about. Others--I [intentionally] decided to include in every book or series..."

There are 9 Always There posts now. I'll list them here, so that you can see the elements that I want all of my books/series to have.

• diversity
• military
• no violence
• Norah and Charlie
• North Carolina
• realistic parents
• research
• satisfying ending
• technology

Something that seems to be in all of my books is Sports. This is an interesting choice for me, since I am really not much of a participant or spectator of sports. I do watch the Olympics, and I occasionally watch a pro football or baseball game on TV. But really, sports is not important to me or my immediate family. It's kinda strange that it's featured in my books:

• Whisper Falls - Mark is a mountain bike racer.
• I Wish - Eli and Scott are soccer stars. Kimberley and Sean are ballroom dancers (and dance IS a sport.)
• The Possibility of Somewhere - Eden was on the track team until it became too expensive for her to participate. Ash is involved in all kinds of sports, like surfing and golf.
• Fade To Us - Micah is into fencing and swimming. Brooke and Micah love to go running and hiking (especially together). And, of course, there is baseball. They are both huge fans, and Brooke's mom is a lady umpire.

So, yeah, lots of sports. I like researching it and writing about it. I'm just not interested in sports outside of fiction...

Free this week - Wishing for You

If you haven't had a chance to read Wishing for You, it's free this week at most e-book retailers.

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Kobo
• iBooks
• Smashwords

About the book...

This is the second book in the I Wish series, but it can be read as a stand-alone (although there are, obviously, spoilers for Book 1.)

She’s a girl who can’t remember. He’s the guy she can’t forget.

It’s her final semester of high school, and Kimberley Rey is curious about what will come next. She needs to pick a college, but her memory disability complicates the choice. Will her struggles to remember make it impossible to leave home?

Help arrives through an unexpected and supernatural gift. Grant is a “genie” with rules. He can give her thirty wishes (one per day for a month) as long as the tasks are humanly possible. Kimberley knows just what to ask for—lessons in how to live on her own.

But her wishes change when a friend receives a devastating diagnosis. As she joins forces with Grant to help her friend, Kimberley learns that the ability to live in the moment—to forget—may be more valuable than she ever knew.