Thanks so much for supporting Kassandra and Katie's time in the spotlight. Enjoy these excerpts from their releases.
Smiles
Moderator Steph
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EXCERPT FROM BURNING BRIDGES:
"It wasn't that easy, Kirin."
He knew her better than anyone with the exception of Mackenzie. She was strong enough to handle just about anything so there was no way she would allow her uncle to do this without a reason. She slid her hand across the bed to him and he took it, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her until their foreheads were leaning against each other. Rose took a deep breath before looking into his eyes and starting what he assumed would clear the air of confusion.
"I had to keep Josie safe..."
"Rose--"
"Just listen. I don't pretend to understand their sick minds, but Jonathan and Shawn got off on my rebellion, I guess you could call it. I figured that out quick, and I knew if I could keep them coming at me they'd leave her alone."
"So you took the brunt of it for her?"
Rose tipped her head to look him in the eyes. "Wouldn't you? To protect Evan or Lauren, wouldn't you." He wished he could argue with her logic, but he knew she was absolutely right. If there was a chance one of his siblings could be hurt, and he had any way to stop it, he'd do it.
"But, when your Nana reported the abuse, why didn't both Jonathan and Shawn go to prison? Didn't she tell the authorities both of them were involved?"
"My mother," she answered simply, and Kirin arched an eyebrow. She chuckled, just a little. "She threw him under the bus more than the media ever could. She wasn't going to let him damage the perfect family image she had worked so hard to form. Shawn tried to turn state's evidence against Jonathan, take him down with him, so he could strike a deal with the D.A. But with the amount of money Jonathan could throw at a team of lawyers, and the control he had over media and various other connections, Shawn didn't stand a chance."
Kirin looked into her eyes as she spoke, wondering how she ended up so amazing when she had this kind of childhood. She paused long enough to catch her breath and look at him. Did she think he would judge her?
"Keep going," he said gently, touching her cheek. "I'm listening. I want to hear, but understand this, nothing will change how I feel about you. I just need to know."
REVIEWS FOR BURNING BRIDGES:
From Barnesandnoble.com :
“Sometimes love means you go above and beyond...and Emmaline Rose certainly does that in this novel by Kassandra Cooper. And she finds that same depth of love with her boyfriend Kirin, and Mack, her best friend. I was so into the story I found myself wanting to jump right into the book and help Emmaline Rose too.
Everything about this story showed Kassandra Cooper clearly understands sometimes you have to burn a bridge in your life if it will stop you getting dragged back into your past, but can Emmaline really do that?
I believe this novel has a message for us all, teens to seniors, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.....and I will be "electronically" in line for the next novel by this new young author.”
From Amazon:
“Everyone should have someone in their life who loves them to the degree Emmaline Rose loves and protects her sister Josie in Kassandra Cooper's novel. The story line grabbed me as I followed Emmaline Rose's journey. I found myself pulling for her and Kirin, and loved the depth of friendship between Rose and Mack, her BFF. Kassandra certainly seems to have amazing insight for such a young author to the ups and downs of overcoming a trauma in your life, and that each positive step Rose made also gave a possible opportunity for Jonathan to drag her back into her past. There was quite a cast of interesting characters in this book, and just a few of their "stories" still left to tell, so I hope Kassandra is going to bring us some of their stories in the future. Although I am not a young adult anymore :( I completely lost myself in Rose's story. Awesome first novel.....”
BUYING LINKS:
BN.com :
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burning-bridges-kassandra-cooper/1105070466?ean=2940013522398&itm=1&usri=kassandra+cooper
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006G5F0QC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_g351_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0EYDSKDM3TNPJVZW7HBD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
DesertBreezePublishing.com:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-231/Burning-Bridges-Kassandra-Cooper/Detail.bok
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EXCERPT FROM LAND OF MISFIT TEENS:
They walked to the gate and handed the man one of the tickets. He smiled and opened the gate and they walked into the pen. Baby deer, not even big enough to have antlers, where jumping around and playing with each other, then scampering back to the people inside the pen to nuzzle and beg for nibbles of the pieces of fruit and vegetables available to feed them. Drake let go of Amelia's hand and dropped to his knees to pet one of the baby deer. Amelia smiled watching him make of the little animal, then looked around the pen. One deer lingered on the other side of the pen against the wall, away from the others, lying on the hay-littered ground with his legs curled under him. No one pet him or fed him, and he didn't play with the other deer.
Something tugged at her, and she brushed her way through the prancing deer to where the lonely deer kept himself separate from all the others. She spoke softly, making little cooing sounds as she approached, and lowered to her knees in front of the wide eyed deer. She stuck out her hand for the deer to smell.
"What are you doing?" Drake asked behind her.
"Petting the deer. He's all alone," she said softly so she didn't frighten him. The deer shoved its head in her hand and she pet it.
"Why this one?"
"Because it's alone," she said again, looking up at him. "He reminds me of Rudolph, minus the red nose."
Drake came beside her and crouched. "How do you figure?"
"Rudolph was alone. He was made fun of and left out. Like this guy," Drake reached out his hand to pet the deer as well. Amelia smiled, watching him. "He's the misfit."
"So he's the weird one?" Drake said. Amelia nodded. "But weird is such a harsh word. Think of the deer as us." "How are we like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer?"
"Goodness, Drake. It's a metaphor. The deer is left out because he is not like the others. Like us. I'm not saying we're left out, but we don't fit in. I'm fine with that, I personally would rather be who I am and not fit in than change who I am and fit in, but the deer here isn't."
Review from Amazon:
This is an amazing book that perfectly captures the teenage condition. The characters are highly believable with all the insecurities and angst that is a reality of the high school experience. I read the book straight through and couldn't put it down. Ms. Charles' main character Amelia not only has to deal with losing her mother, but also the upheaval of moving to a new school and basically a new life. Her new friends help her adjust but the horror of going to the worst school in the state along with the gang trouble that seems to dominate their school doesn't make it easy.
Review from B&N:
Before I read this book, I heard Katie Charles was a teenager herself and that both interested me and made me wonder what I'd read. I can't express enough how impressed I was with Ms. Charles. Her book packs a punch from the beginning, and hit me on an emotional level that drew me in immediately. Her entire message comes down to four words "Be who you are." When she finds herself the 'new kid' in school, add to that she's the daughter of the geeky, quirky English teacher, she could have tried to fit in and be like everyone else. But that's not who Amelia's parents raised her to be. By the end of the story, she's found a group of friends -- the misfits -- who would be her friends forever and a great boyfriend, too. :-) I loved the dialogue between Amelia and her friends. Overall, a quick but emotionally satisfying book. I found Katie Charles has a short story in an anthology and I'm going to go hunt that one down next.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-misfit-toys-katie-charles/1107819010?ean=2940013522442&itm=1&usri=katie+charles
(Barnes and noble)
http://www.amazon.com/Land-of-Misfit-Teens-ebook/dp/B006G5N7WQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328819794&sr=8-1
(Amazon)
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-253/Land-of-Misfit-Teens/Detail.bok
(Desert Breeze Publishing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVTwKjbPgU
(Video trailer)
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