Saturday's Blurbs - Books by Ann Herrick #MFRWauthor #YAfiction

BLURBS

Also Known as Lard Butt

Laura discovers that Ricky, the boy who created her horrible nickname, "Lard Butt," has moved back into town--and immediately schemes to keep him quiet. After all, she can't let her new swim teammates, especially drool-worthy Noah, hear the horrible name! No way!

She's determined to put a million years between grade school and junior high--even in the face of a father who drives an éclair, a would-be-movie-star mother who suddenly moves back home, and a past that comes back to haunt her with the dreaded nickname.

Although Laura's embarrassed about how she looks in a swimsuit, she tries to stay true to her vow to take risks. She even lets Maria talk her into going to the school dance, where she braves negotiating a truce for a quarreling couple. New friendships form, Laura's mother starts getting too domesticated for Laura's comfort, and hints of romance start to develop--or do they?

The Perfect Guy

Can Rebecca turn her new stepbrother into her new love?

When Rebecca's mother marries Pres's father, Rebecca is sure that living in the same house with the guy of her dreams will have its perks and it will be just a matter of time before Pres sees her as more than a kid sister. Even though her best friend, Celeste, warns her to face reality, Rebecca doesn't listen. She thinks Pres is the perfect guy for her. But Celeste's brother, Josh, has been friends with Pres for years, and Celeste thinks she knows what she's talking about.

Rebecca's not so sure about her relationship with her new stepfather. She knows he can't replace her real dad, but she thinks she can break through his cool surface by helping him with the school play.

But things don't go as planned, and as friendships start to change, Rebecca faces surprising truths about herself and her friends. Will she find happiness in her new family and find The Perfect Guy?

My Fake Summer Boyfriend

Sun, surf, sand and Alex--Katie was swept away! Katie eagerly agrees to pretend she is Alex's girlfriend for the summer in order to protect his job. Amid sundrenched waves, they develop a friendship that is on the verge of turning romantic, when who should arrive but Nicole, Alex's old girlfriend. In three days, Nicole ruins Katie's relationship with Alex. So Katie gets involved with Logan, Nicole's handsome older brother, though Alex is the one for her. Soon enough Katie learns that fake romances can get out of hand and lead to complications she never imagined.

Hey, Nobody's Perfect

Things were complicated enough for Sivia before a guy with no legs came into her life.

Her parent's divorce did not wipe out their traditional family values. Dad is still way too self-centered, Mom is still resentful, Russ is still shoving food in his mouth and Sivia doesn’t need any more drama. But when the new student, obnoxious and legless Keeley, becomes her project partner, her life becomes even more complicated. Family friction, peer pressure and her overly controlling father are threats her budding relationship—but prejudices she never knew she had and doesn't want to acknowledge are the biggest hurdle of all.

The Farewell Season

A story of how love heals and love endures.

Eric and Glynnie go from butting heads to grudging friendship to something more ....

Eric used to think he'd live forever, but not anymore. As football season starts, he hopes he can live normally again after the death of his father. But his refusal to face his grief results in anger at his coach, fights with his sister, resenting added responsibilities, and disillusionment with football. It takes a special relationship with Glynnie, who is struggling with the divorce of her parents, to open his heart to love again.

Trading Faces

A Popular Beauty wind up trading faces—and lives—and the situation is not what either one expected!

When 15-year-old Darcy Doane wakes up as Cybil Sheffield, she is thrilled. Cybil is everything Darcy has ever wanted to be. Pretty. Popular. Only… all the attention isn’t exactly what Darcy expected. Especially when her own brother, Joey, is crushing on her. Gross.

Cybil is shocked when she looks in the mirror and sees a face she totally doesn’t recognize. She thought not always being the center of attention might be a good thing, but being invisible is hardly bearable. Even her boyfriend, Devon, looks right through her! How can she survive when the only people (except a family of strangers) who even know she's alive are three dipsticks she can't remember ever seeing before?

With the school play and an A-List party coming up, Darcy and Cybil have a lot to work out. There’s a learning curve for both of them, especially after they are caught fighting at school and forced by the principal to help her at a Return-to-Work project for displaced women.

Trouble is, how do they get their own lives back?

Friday - Ann Herrick - Talking About Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor #teens

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms?

I write mostly Young Adult novels, and some Tween novels. Though there is at least a hint of romance in each book (more in some, less in others), they are not all straight romances.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

Yes, I read a lot of young adult and some middle grade novels, but many novels for adults as well, and biographies too.

Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

I would probably not attempt to write anything that took place in any year before I was born—too much research for me!

2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?

 I enjoy writing about all three, but I think heroes are my favorite. It's fun to conjure up a new perfect (or almost perfect) guy with each book.

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love?

 It's a combination of real life and imagination. I take bits and pieces of real (and really nice) guys I've known, and pump them up somewhat for stories.

Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

After I have the idea for the story. The first draft is really where I get to know my characters.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for?

Again, both real life and imagination. To some extent I put myself in the heroine's shoes, but none of the heroines are me. We might share a trait or two, but the characters evolve as I write.

 Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

 Except for any trait that the heroine might share with me, they come after. I get into their heads as I go.

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

My villains are not true, mustache-twirling heavies. They are usually standing in the way of something my hero/heroine wants or out to get something (or someone) the hero/heroine wants, but they have their good qualities as well as their flaws.

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is a tween novel, Also Known as Lard Butt. The heroine is Laura Butler, who vows to take risks in high school and overcome her dreaded nickname, Lard Butt. The hero and villain are to some extent the same person—Ricky, who gave Laura her hated nickname in the first place. He agrees to a bargain to not use that name and Laura will tutor him in Spanish. Along the way he makes some changes, and Laura makes some surprising discoveries about Ricky.

7. What are you working on now?

I'm working on a tween novel about a young teen who is nearly struck by lightning and wakes up with a great singing voice—and an inflated ego that causes a rift with his friends and fellow band-mates.

8. How can people find you?

My website is http://annherrickauthor.com

Facebook: Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ann.herrick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ann_herrick

Blog: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewblog.asp?AuthorID=841

Goodreads Author Page:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/507620.Ann_Herrick

Saturday's Excerpt from Trading Faces by Ann Herrick

[DARCY]


Brrrr. It's cold in here. I must've left a window open. Uuuuh. I hate to get out from under the covers. One, two, three, fling.

My teeth chatter as I hunt for my slippers. Where’s the carpet? It feels like … like wood under my feet. Maybe I'm still dreaming that I'm in Silas Marner's cottage. I pinch myself.

Ouch!

What's going on? Why is it so dark in here, anyway? Did the hall nightlight burn out or something? Where's the lamp?

Where's the nightstand?

What's this? The wall? Okay, I follow the wall and find the light switch. Ack! I've run out of wall. Did I leave my bedroom door open?

Where am I?

There’s a nightlight here reflecting off a mirror. Somehow, I find myself in a strange bathroom with a granite floor. I flick the light switch on and see myself in the big, full wall mirror. I take a good look.

Cybil Sheffield?

I lean in close and blink. Cybil blinks. I smile. Cybil smiles. Her smile is dazzling.

I nod. Cybil nods. I touch my nose. Cybil touches her nose.

Wait a minute. I can feel my nose, and it is cute and round and small enough to fit under a dime! I've morphed into Cybil! Wow! Is this for real? Maybe I should pinch myself again. Ow!

I take another look. Yes! I am Cybil. Even in the morning, without makeup, she looks beautiful. Her hair's barely even messed up.

I look at my hands. Instead of large hands with thick fingers and clipped fingernails, I've got little hands and oval fingernails painted with Cybil's trademark Pink Opal Glaze nail polish. Hey, my toenails are painted Pink Opal Glaze, too. Who knew?

Upon further examination I also detect a pair of pointy, perky breasts, way bigger than mine even when I'm bloated, peering through the semi sheer nightgown I'm wearing instead of my over sized T-shirt. Wow, I'm not even sure what to do with these babies. I'll have to learn to use them wisely.

What am I thinking? Okay, for some reason, I look like Cybil, and I’ve been transported to some bedroom that must be hers. But how? Why? And, anyway, even if I look like Cybil, can I possibly pull off being Cybil? I don’t know how to act popular. I don’t even know to talk to most people. It’s not as if I grew up looking beautiful and wearing great clothes, which must make everything much easier.

Clothes! Maybe I should get dressed. Maybe I could think better with clothes on. I certainly can’t run around in this … this nightie all day.

What day is this, anyway? Friday? Yikes! I've got an algebra test—

No, wait. Darcy has an algebra test. Wait, a few days ago Cybil was moved into the class. Does she study? Huh? Why am I even thinking about algebra?

What am I going to do? What about Mom and Dad and Joey? Do they think I'm missing? Am I missing? Are they frantically searching the house and the woods for me? Or am "I" still home? Maybe "I'm" sitting at the breakfast table eating Grape Nuts, as usual. Maybe "I" have turned into an android.

Or. Maybe Cybil has been turned into me?



[CYBIL]

I peer into the mirror over the dresser. The light is not great in here, so everything looks a little blurry. Ack! I slap my head with both hands. I went to bed great looking and woke up … yuck! Total nerd! Dull, stringy hair—definitely not my color—close set eyes … and this nose. I run my fingers over the bridge of it. Where's my perfect little nose?

Where did this wide one come from? Did I bump into the bedpost in my sleep or something?

What happened? Whose face is this? Maybe someone from school? Why is it suddenly my face? I try to think. Is this a nightmare? Well, of course, looking like this is a nightmare, but, I mean, am I really awake? If I’m asking myself that question, I must be! Wait. Maybe I’m just … just not completely awake yet. I close my eyes, count to ten, yawn, stretch, open my eyes and look in the mirror again. Eeew! That face is still there.

And my room. What's with the log cabin walls, braided rugs and country kitch décor?

I run around the room. Where's my four poster queen sized bed? I open doors. Where's my walk in closet? Where's my bathroom?

Okay, calm down. Think! Maybe I can look this up on the internet. Ack!

Where’s my computer?

I sit on the edge of the bed. Hmm, a quilt bedspread. How department store. Wait a sec. This looks like a genuine hand made quilt—

I take a deep breath. Maybe … maybe Mother worked her decorating witchcraft in here. I mean, she is a "Consulting Interior Designer; Residential; Designing Space for Your Lifestyle; Over Twenty Years Experience; Evening Appointments Available; Member ASID."

She put herself through design school with the piles of beauty pageant scholarships she won. Everything from Miss Grass Seed Queen all the way up to Fourth Runner¬ Up in the Miss Most Beautiful Teen of America pageant where she also won the Talent Contest with her piano rendition of Footloose. So she also knows makeup. Maybe she gave me and my room some kind of reverse makeover in my sleep.

But why would Mother do such a sick, cruel thing? There's only one way to find out.

I find the closet. Ack, what a dinky closet, and the clothes—yipe, what a mess! I grab a robe to cover the graying T shirt draped over my—eek! Where are my boobs?

I've got to find some answers before things get any worse.

I peek out into the hall and find the same cabin look out there. This is so not good. I tiptoe down the hall and creep down the stairs. I see light spilling through a doorway to my left. Maybe that's the kitchen?

It is.

Problem. There are three people sitting around a scrub top kitchen table. I have zero clue who they are and no idea where I am.





PURCHASE LINKS:

Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009JQFO7K

Kobo - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Trading-Faces/book-I7WnQNYrQ0izXb9rlbR6sw/page1.html?s=Gi45r3KRHEWtc5Mopb9ykw&r=1

Barnes and noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trading-faces-ann-herrick/1113074092?ean=2940015537055

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240648

Friday's How She Does It with Ann Herrick

Ann and I are both Books We Love authors.

I believe there are six elements in writing fiction and often fact. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. I believe the first five lead to the sixth which for me is the plot. What's your take on this?



I hadn't thought of this specifically, but I know when I first get an idea for a story, it always starts with Who and What, and then the other factors follow.



1. How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific process?



In a way, I think of my characters as starting out as actors and then turning into real people. I usually get to know them as I write the first draft, and by the second draft I have a clearer picture of who there are.





2. Do your characters come before the plot? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?



I have a vague idea of a character and a small kernel of a plot when I start out. I think my books are character driven, as the plot in many ways follows their wishes, hopes and/or dreams.



3. Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?



I know in general how a story will end, but I don't usually know exactly how I'll get there! The characters, as I get to know them, lead the way.



4. Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?



My books are set in Oregon, where I live now, or Connecticut, where I grew up. I have magazines with different kinds of houses and interiors that sometimes I use as guidelines for homes in the stories.



5. Where do you do your research? On line or from books?



Both. And sometimes I ask people questions in person, or watch a sport, performance, whatever, to find out more.



6. Are you a draft writer or do you revise as you go along and why?



A little of both. I write a first draft, but each day I re-read what I wrote the day before, in order to jump-start the current day's writing, and I revise a bit what I have re-read. Sometimes when I get an idea later in a draft that requires changes earlier in the draft, I'll go back and make those changes. Other times, I'll just make notes and make the changes in a later draft. I probably write four drafts, saving each one, but there are several "mini-drafts" within each of those.







WEBSITE: http://annherrickauthor.com