Today we have two of Summer Crush's authors
Please welcome guest posts from Melissa Frost and Diana Stager
* * * * *
Melissa Frost
Where My Pen Name Came From – For my young adult titles, I
wanted to use a pen name to separate them from my more adult works. It was
something I deliberated over for quite a while. If I was going to write under
another name, I wanted something I still felt an attachment to. I’d thought of
using my maiden name, as my mother always said she wanted to see that name on a
book cover because I’d been writing since I was very young. My maiden name
seemed hard to remember, though. In the end, I went with something very special
to me – my son’s middle name.
So when you see Melissa Frost on the cover of my stories, it
is in honor of my little prince, Marshall Frost Hosack. It is a name that
definitely holds meaning for me and makes me smile every time I see it. I don’t
think I could have picked a better name!
Here is a little bit about my story, Forbidden, which is
featured in the Summer Crush Anthology (under the name Melissa Frost):
The new guy in town has a bad reputation and a bad boy
demeanor to go with it. Even so, Olivia can’t help feeling drawn to Gavin. Can
she convince her mother he’s not the delinquent everyone believes, or will his
past tear them apart?
Excerpt:
“Looks
like you could use some help.”
Olivia gave a yelp of surprise and spun toward the yard behind her where the voice had come from. Through the dim lighting from the house’s front porch, she could see a dark figure leaning up against the porch’s railing.
The person pushed away from the railing and started in her direction. Taking a nervous step backward, she spoke to the approaching stranger. “I-I’m fine. Really.” Her mother had taught her to be cautious around strangers, and it was a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget.
“You don’t look fine.” The person stepped into the light from the street lamp, and Gavin Meyers came into view. She didn’t know if she should feel relieved it wasn’t a strange adult or frightened that it was the troubled teen who already made her nervous.
“I … I …”
Gavin sent her a dry look and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You want me to change that tire or not?”
Oliva hesitated. She wasn’t sure why. He hadn’t done anything but offer to change her tire. Still, his reputation made her nervous. He’d brought a weapon into a fight. He was dangerous.
With a sigh of annoyance, he moved forward and dropped to a crouch next to her blown tire. “Do you have a spare?”
She bobbed her head. Then, realizing he couldn’t see her, she said, “Y-Yeah. In the trunk.”
He climbed to his feet and made his way back to the trunk. Smacking his hand against it, he said, “Pop it for me.”
Doing as he’d asked, she watched warily as he tugged out the spare tire and the jack. She wasn’t sure why he was helping her, or what he expected in return. That last concern had her extremely on edge.
Leaving the trunk open, he made his way back over to the rear tire and began jacking the car up off the ground. “Let me guess,” he said, voice conversational. “You heard what a bad dude I was, and you’re too much of a conformist to form your own opinion. The way rumors spread and multiply in small towns, I wouldn’t doubt if you thought I killed someone.”
As he spoke, he began loosening the bolts on her tire. “Do I about have it right?” He looked up with an amused grin before returning to the tire. When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Bet I could peg you easily enough, too. Captain of the cheerleading squad, everyone loves you, and you have a whole flock of preppy boys following you around drooling at your feet. In a nut shell, your life is so damn perfect.”
Olivia scowled, not liking him turning things around on her. She was vice-captain, not captain. And her Biology teacher last year hadn’t seemed to care for her much if her B- was any indication. “You don’t know me,” she said darkly.
“And you don’t know me.”
Author Bio:
Melissa grew
up loving young adult novels and continues to immerse herself in the current
authors on the market. In the fifth grade, she won a writing competition to
work with children’s author Colleen O'Shaughnessy Mckenna, and it inspired her
to write stories of her own. She never looked back.
* * * * *
Diana Stager
Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in
their shoes.
I’m not sure where the saying came from but I think
most people have heard it. The sentiment is relevant to so many situations and
that’s partly what inspired me to write Taking
the Plunge about a teenage mom. Though I have not walked in those shoes,
I’ve known others who have and I’ve seen the way they are treated. People make
assumptions all the time without ever knowing the full story.
Jessica, the heroine of my story, finds out how people
judge her from the moment she gets pregnant. Her parents assume she’s a sinner;
the women in the swim class think she’s trying to scam the system; even the
hero makes the mistake of presuming too much. Jess hasn’t had an easy time of
it but she’s doing the best she can while struggling against what other people
think of her.
I wanted to create a story that was realistic, with
realistic characters facing everyday challenges. A teen mom isn’t your typical
protagonist. In fact, many readers probably won’t be able to identify with her.
But telling this story gives the reader a chance to walk in those shoes and
maybe understand the world a little better.
Everyone deserves a happy ending.
Blurb
Overwhelmed and
alone, Jessica is a teenage mother struggling to give her son the best possible
life. Erik, a lifeguard at the local pool, never expected the girl of his
dreams to have baby in tow. They have issues, but will it keep them from
pursing the relationship, or are they willing to take the plunge?
Excerpt
The smell of chlorine was giving me a headache. Too
late, I remembered why I hadn’t been to an indoor pool in years. I hovered at
the side of the pool with Emmett clinging to me as his gaze darted around. I’d
never taken him swimming before so the whole experience was new for him. We had
to wait while the classes ahead of ours finished up and there was a small group
of women standing near me, each with a child clutched in her arms.
Glancing at the other moms, I guessed that the one
closest to my age was still around ten years older than me. One woman looked
almost old enough to be my mother. Assuming she’d had me at the same age I was
now. That made me stop for a moment. When I was thirty-four, I’d have a
seventeen year-old at home. A seventeen year old who would be well schooled in
birth control because I damn well would not be a grandmother before I turned
forty at least.
The oldest mom looked me up and down and then turned
away in disgust. Two of the others were eyeing me and whispering. The knot in
my chest tightened and I wondered if I should just leave, but before I could
make a decision, the current occupants of the pool started to exit in droves.
Maybe I could just follow them out.
Just as I was about to turn away, I saw him.
He strode toward me with the most adorable lopsided
grin, his wiry arms clutching a clipboard to his chest. His muscular, hairless
chest. I glanced away as heat flared throughout my body and my cheeks burned.
“Hi ladies.” Oh God, even his voice was sexy. “My name
is Erik and I’ll be your instructor for Moms and Tots Swimming. I just have to
take attendance and then we can get those munchkins into the pool.” He started
to rhyme off names and I gave a feeble wave when he called mine. Then he set
the clipboard down and led us down the pool ramp and into a shallow pool just
off the main one. The water was warm, but it still helped to cool me off,
especially since I had to focus on not letting my kid drown.
We gathered in a circle and he led us through a couple
rounds of “The Wheels On The Bus” punctuated by blowing bubbles into the water
and babies crying. I got a perverse thrill from watching the lady who’d been
giving me dirty looks try to wrestle her screaming child into the water. Emmett
was smiling and gurgling his happy little baby sounds. Score one for the teen
mom.
As we played around, I continued to shoot glances at
Erik. And I could have sworn he was checking me out, too. It had been a long
time since I’d gotten any attention from a guy and remembering the last time brought
me down like a lead balloon. After that I tried to ignore Erik and the way my
insides fluttered whenever our eyes met. Fluttering insides led to trouble.
Bio
Diana has been telling stories all her life and she
finally figured out how to get them on paper after her education, family, and
career pushed those writing dreams to the backburner. She lives in southern
Ontario with her husband, 2 kids, and 2 fur babies.
* * * * *
Summer
Crush
A
Multi-author YA anthology
Sasha
Hibbs *
S.D. Wasley * Melissa Frost
* Diana Stager *
Deanna Dee * Bridie Hall
Summer
Crush: A wonderfully romantic boxed set of Upper YA short stories by today's
hottest authors.
Summer is
the time for lazy days at the beach, sun-kissed hair, flip-flops, and sizzling
nights with a new crush. Those stolen glances and first kisses can
quickly spark a flame. However, the road to love isn’t always a smooth ride.
Every
Summer has a story, whether it’s a second chance on love, seeing a friend in a
different light, or taking a step in a new direction with someone
special. Love and long days create endless possibilities, but can a summer
crush really last?
Follow the tour HERE
About
the Stories:
Sutton
Summer by Sasha Hibbs After breaking
Dylan’s heart last year, McKenzie returns to Sutton Lake for another summer.
McKenzie realizes love was in front of her the entire time, but is it too late
for Dylan to forgive her?
Exquisite
Torture by S. D. Wasley Stuck at his
Gran’s house in a deadbeat town for the entire summer, things suddenly don’t
seem so bad when 16 year old Ryan meets gorgeous Connie. But why is she so
cagey about where she lives? Is there something more to Connie than he first
thought?
Forbidden by Melissa Frost
The new guy in town has a bad reputation and a bad boy demeanor to go with it.
Even so, Olivia can’t help feeling drawn to Gavin. Can she convince her mother
he’s not the delinquent everyone believes, or will his past tear them apart?
Borderline
Love by Deanna Dee Nearly drowning
wasn’t part of Dalya’s vacation plans. Neither was being rescued by a guy with
a perfect six pack and a haunted look in his eyes. Mason reminds Dalya too much
of her over- protective older brother, but when he offers to teach her to surf,
she can’t say no. Can Dalya get past her frustration with her brother to
realize how much Mason means to her?
An
Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall Lola spends her
days trawling the sand dunes in search of the perfect subject for her art. She
finds it in a solitary, beautiful girl. Sarah doesn’t just fill the pages in
her sketchbook, she enchants Lola’s heart too. But how can Lola tell her family
about Sarah?
About the Authors
Sasha Hibbs is a nurse living in mountainous West
Virginia with her husband, two daughters, and lives in her own imaginary world
where she’s plotting her next story.
Diana Stager is a teacher who writes in her spare
time and lives with her husband and kids in Ontario, Canada.
Deanna Dee is a full-time writer living in sunny
North Carolina, where she takes full advantage of the beach whenever she
can.
S.D. Wasley is an author, copywriter and
daydreamer living in Western Australia where she wrangles chickens, cats, dogs
and children on a daily basis.
Melissa
Frost is a young adult
author who lives near Pittsburgh PA with her husband, their son Marshall, and
their soon to be daughter Adalynn.
Bridie Hall is a translator and editor who spends
every free minute writing and reading.
Giveaway: $25 Evernight Teen Gift Card
Thanks for hosting us today!
ReplyDelete