“Why is it,” Jeffrey Sitwell asks, “that you want to become a guard?” Under the desk, my steel-toed boot taps against the floor. Unsteady fingers smooth my ponytail, they tug my blazer straight. The past two hours were spent celebrating; Emerald is now a professional fighter, though it was never in question, and Maggie is a writer for Compound Eleven’s paper. I am happy for my friends, but now it’s my turn. I take a steadying breath and glance around the small office where I sit, one located on the fourth floor where the guardship is housed. A concrete room, no decoration or ornament whatsoever. Nothing to distract me from the two men sitting across the table. One of them has black hair and black skin, and his name is Dirk Nkrumah. He wears the uniform of a guard, but he is no regular guard. He is the most senior guard of the compound, and I loathe him for this reason alone. Beside him is Sitwell, a man much older, a Preme, one dressed in a navy-blue suit with gold cufflinks, one with white hair and a sharply cut nose. The one in charge of Compound Eleven’s security. His skin…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Amber Mitchell! Writes: I write young adult fantasy with cinnamon roll boys and determined teen girls, who understand the power of good female friendships! ROOTS OF RUIN is the final novel in the Garden of Thorns series, featuring sixteen-year-old Rose’s struggle to escape a slave dance troupe, take revenge on those that enslaved her, accept her destiny and fight alongside the current emperor of a foreign land to free her people in a neighboring kingdom. About: An amateur cooking enthusiast, travel addict, and history junkie author with a passion for stories in all forms, whether that be books, t.v., online gaming, or tabletop gaming. I met my husband as a teen and begin taking writing seriously which led me to realize that teenagers can do anything. When I’m not gushing about my newest fandom or latest book crush, I’m looking up pictures of future destinations I plan to explore. Must love to hear about the “stories” behind each travel site and constantly be willing to answer if…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match,” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Laura Kennedy! Writes: Young Adult/New Adult and Chick Lit, my latest release from Melange Publishing being Suddenly Singapore, the third YA in my Coral Cove series. About:  Author reluctant to admit her age seeking adventurous teens and twenty-somethings who love adventure, romance and intrigue in faraway places.  Join irrepressible seventeen-year-old Floridian Brooke Bentley who is forced to navigate the beautiful but repressive city/state Singapore when her father is transferred to Malaysia for a year.  Enrolled in tony Marlborough Academy, Brooke is immediately forced to contend with the infamous Chameleons (aka Cammies), the snottiest, wealthiest girls in her Senior Class. Brooke finds friendship in Mu and Tai (Toy), which helps her survive.  Giving her additional will to live is her tentative romance with Raffie Desai, the hottest, yan dao guy at Marlborough. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: .  Readers who identify with someone like Brooke who tries to do the right thing but sometimes finds herself making less…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Katie Delahanty! Writes: I write both adult women’s romantic fiction and YA. My latest novel INCOGNTIO, is the second book in my dystopian YA “Keystone Series” about a teenage Influencer who fakes her death to join a secret society of thieves who are stealing analog history before dark forces can forever alter the past. INCOGNTIO reunites teens-with-a-crush Elisha and Garrett when they are both asked to steal the same object from Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules. Pitted against each other, they must figure out who they can trust—and if they can trust each other—as they unravel a conspiracy that has the power to re-set history. About: I’m a former fashion and lingerie designer who’s career almost came to a crashing halt when Google accused me of selling “Mail Order Brides” (long story, we can talk about it over dinner on our first date). Having been banned from AdWords for life, I started a fictional blog as an alternative way to drive traffic to my employer’s website. That blog…

TO WHATEVER END is a contemporary love story with a small paranormal twist: What happens when you’ve found the one only for the future to show he dies in your arms? Quinn Easterly is cursed. With one touch, she can see the end to someone’s life. Everyday deaths, and ones that haunt her in her daydreams. Ones that have always proven impossible to prevent. She has finally learned to go about life as usual until she meets Griffin. With one touch, she sees a death she simply cannot ignore. Not this time. Not when, dying in her arms, he whispers three simple words that change everything. Even if Quinn can’t change the future, can’t save him, she at least has to try. Even if it means taking the bullet meant for him. T is for time: something that is quickly running out for Griffin and Quinn. O is for Ohio: the story is set in Dayton, Ohio. * W is for who: who’s behind Griffin’s fated death? H is for how: how will Quinn break her unbreakable family curse? A is for arrows: on a whimsical outing, Griffin has Quinn draw chalk arrows on the sidewalk, leading to… (You’ll have…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Jerri Chisholm! ESCAPING ELEVEN: Eve Hamilton has learned to survive the cruelty of Compound Eleven life by becoming a fighter. But her latest match is different. Her opponent is a mysterious boy from an elite section of the compound. And there’s something about him that says he could be her salvation…or her undoing. Because she’s no longer content to just survive in Eleven. She’s ready to fight for her freedom, and this boy may just be the edge she’s been waiting on. About: Fitness-loving badass with a keen sense of justice looking for readers with a similar passion for upending the status quo, pursuing freedom, and—yeah—punching things. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Must have an innate sense of right and wrong Must be willing to break rules Must believe in equality Adrenalin-junkies preferred What to expect if we’re compatible: High stakes and a fast-moving plot Forbidden romance that gives you all the feelings An emotional rollercoaster – buckle-up! An author that loves to interact…

Confession time: I’m a big ol’ scaredy-cat. I’ve been to one haunted house in my life and never want to go again, and I’ve been known to sleep with the lights on after seeing a trailer for a scary movie.  But I love Halloween. Weird, right?  I have been known to dip my toe in what I’m calling “spooky” reads, though. They aren’t really scary per se, but they definitely have an atmosphere. My #romancelandia pal, BandHerBooks, and I like to say we’re “pastel goths,” which I think just means we like skulls and cozy sweaters and idolize Morticia Addams, but that’s a topic for another blog post.  I gravitate toward spooky reads around this year especially, but my supernatural-lite obsession lasts year-round–does my skull soap dispenser stay in the powder room even if it’s weeks past October 31st? Yep. Do I wear all black pretty much every day? You bet. Will this lovely typewriter with a “heartwarming” message have permanent residence in my office? MOST DEFINITELY!  Here are a few spooky reads for the rest of the pastel goths out there–enjoy them at Halloween or whenever you want to do your best Lydia Deetz impression. . . *** THE…

Tell us a little about your latest project, the upcoming YA science fiction novel, DEVASTATION CLASS.  EM: The book is set in the distant future, with seven military cadets and seventy civilian students aboard a starship on a mission of science and learning. When most of the adults are off-ship, the ship is attacked by the Kastazi, a vicious enemy alien race thought vanquished. Our protagonists–best friends and cadets JD and Viv–are forced to make an impossible choice that will change their lives forever: obey their superiors and die, or mutiny to save the ship and the lives of everyone aboard. But that’s just the beginning. What at first looks like an obvious re-invasion by a former enemy turns out to be something much darker and shocking, and a mystery eons in the making will have to be unraveled for them to have any hope of surviving. GZ: Devastation Class is a multi-POV story, so we get to spend time in the heads of more than one character. Viv and JD are trying to succeed under the weight and long shadows of their war hero parents. There’s Nicholas, a cypher whose intentions and motivations are shrouded in mystery, and who…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Janella! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your debut novel, WHERE DREAMS DESCEND. Thank you so much for having me! I’m Janella and my debut, WHERE DREAMS DESCEND, is the first in a YA fantasy duology that is pitched as “Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge with a twist of The Night Circus”–and in it, we follow a powerful, ambitious showgirl named Kallia whose pursuit of fame, glory, and freedom leads her to a magician’s competition that becomes a risky game behind the scenes as contestants start disappearing, and all is not what it seems. It’s got a ruined city, a fierce circus, glam aesthetics, romance, magic, and dazzling performances–which in my opinion, make for a perfect escape. The world you’ve built feels so vivid and alive – it’s fresh and detailed, but still feels “lived in.” How did this magic world develop for you? What were some of your inspirations for it? Thank you, I’m so glad it feels that way! I’ve always been a fan of cities that come off as forbidden or shrouded in a bit of mystique, places that feel as if they were built more by stories and legends…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Pintip Dunn!  Writes: DATING MAKES PERFECT is an #ownvoices Thai YA rom-com that includes heartwarming family dynamics, fake dating, and an enemies-to-lovers romance. The Tech girls have never been allowed to date in high school. But when Winnie’s college-aged sisters declare that they won’t marry for 30 years –not until they’ve had lots of practice dating, their parents decide that their youngest daughter, Winnie, must date in high school in order to gain the necessary relationship skills. They’ll pick the boy and design the dates around classic rom-com movies. The only problem is… their first candidate is Winnie’s sworn enemy. About: First-generation Thai-American author seeks devoted reader who loves to laugh and swoon. From small-town Kansas to Harvard University and Yale Law School, I’ve lived in lots of places and have had many diverse experiences. Maybe that’s why I love writing within different genres of the YA category. I’m proud of my accomplishments (NYT bestselling author, two-time RITA® Award winner), but even prouder of my stories….