Jenny Han Book Signing Event #JennyHaninPH

Last Saturday, June 21st, we were lucky enough to have met the lovely NYT best-selling author Jenny Han in her PH book signing tour that kicked off in Manila. We here at Teen Readers’ Diary have been certified Hanny Badgers since The Summer trilogy came out a few years ago, so you can bet we’ve been counting down the days towards this event!

Mary Ann and I (Dea) arrived at the venue for a Q&A session with Jenny with 30 minutes to spare. What better way to wait for it to start than to catch up with some wonderful PH book bloggers?  

At 10 am, Jenny Han arrived and we were ready to know more about her and her books. We got to ask her one question each and she graciously answered all of them. We learned a lot of cool things about Jenny that ranged from her writing process to love letters and celebrity crushes! 

Read on for the summary of the Q&A.

Dea: If you would be asked to write yourself into any one of your books, which book would you choose and what role would you play?

Jenny said that she would be in The Summer I Turned Pretty because of the beach house. She'd be playing the role of a nanny and will just hang out with the moms while Conrad, Jeremiah and Belly do their thing.

Mary Ann: If you were Lara Jean, who would be your top five celebrity crush that you would write a letter to and who would be Peter Kavinsky for you? 

Jenny answered that one would be Alexander Skarsgard from True Blood, Daryl in The Walking Dead (in a dirty way. LOL) Joel Kinnaman from The Killing, Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, Jo In Sung, and Seo In Guk. For Peter Kavinsky - the young James Marsden

Other things we learned about Jenny Han:

• Jenny and Siobhan Vivian have been friends since they met in graduate school in David Levithan’s class in New York. They became best friends and then lived in the same neighborhood. When asked of the difference between writing her own novels and collaborating with Siobhan, Jenny said they helped one another by trading pages of each other's work and giving feedback. She shared that they have different strengths;  Siobhan is good at storytelling because of her screenwriting background and she went to film school, while Jenny’s strong suits are more in character and dialogue. The big difference when they are writing books together – they are equally a thousand percent in it because they both had ownership over the story and thus they can both "discipline" it. 
• Siobhan and Jenny did it differently than most collaborations by planning the whole book out. They have a 20-page outline of the story and they divvied it up according to what they’re excited to write about. The three main characters show up in each other's scenes so much that they had to know each character equally well.
• In the first book, they both wrote the characters equally. For Fire with Fire, however, Jenny did most of the Lilia's, Siobhan did most of the Mary's, and they split up Kat in the middle.

• When she was asked if The Summer Trilogy was based on her first love, Jenny said there are pieces that are there. She said that as a writer, it’s one of the best things when she has personally experienced some things. She use those emotions to fuel the story and hopefully make it feel real. 
• She gets asked a lot if she ever considered writing a spin-off for Jeremiah. The answer is no. Jenny said Jeremiah got left in a good place as well. He’s an upbeat guy and he bounces back. One of the key differences between Conrad and Jeremiah is that Conrad is more sensitive and kept it all in him, while Jeremiah is a lot more emotive with his feelings. She doesn't worry about Jeremiah and she’d be more worried about Conrad if things hadn't gone the way things went. She adds that he’d be in a dark place for a while if that happened.

• Jenny also used to write letters to the boys she loved when she’s ready to get over them, but these letters were for her eyes only. For Jenny, writing a love letter is more of a personal experience of you exploring your own emotions and she would have been mortified if any one of the letters she wrote get sent out. Just like in Lara Jean’s case, they were not meant for other people to see. She still has the letters. 
• Jenny has a little sister whom she get closer to as they get older. She’s inspired by her sister as she’s making her stories, and Kitty is most like her.

• In her experience, it’s harder to write stories for young kids. It’s akin to painting on a smaller canvas since you have to be careful having such a small space to express yourself. Writing Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream was the biggest challenge for Jenny and it took her longer to revise and polish it up. 
• Jenny’s usual day involves: waking up mid-morning but staying up late writing. She checks emails and social media, converses with her editor and publicist and then writes for a few hours in the afternoon. If she’s having a minor writer’s block she checks in on Twitter.

•  Her American and Korean heritage inspire her writing very much. As an example, she related the limitations of the MC’s high-functioning alcoholic mother in her first book, Shug, and the limitations of her parents because of the language and cultural barriers. She used a lot of her personal experiences in that story even though it doesn't appear that way on the page. In TATBILB, she’s inspired by the dynamic of big sister and little sister in Korean culture [little sisters always listen to the unnies (big sisters)]
• When she was asked if she meant to have similar plots in Shug and TATBILB, Jenny said that thematically there are certain things that she just really want to write about and there’s always going to be sisters. Almost all of her books have some sort of sister relationship because it is an important piece of her life, and so she will always write about that and first love. 
• Jenny has a nail blog to keep track of what she’s done. You can check it out and follow it here: Just Another Mani Monday
• When asked if she ever felt like running out of story ideas, Jenny said no. She has three other books in the back of her head that she wants to write and have been thinking about over the ten years. She shared that it really is a matter of having all the time to do all the stories she wants to tell so not yet, and hopefully never. 

• Jenny was asked: what makes contemporary novels stand out for you and have you ever thought of branching out to New Adult? Jenny answered that personally, she loves to read Fantasy as well and would love to do one if she has a great idea. For Jenny, the big difference between Fantasy and Contemporary is the world building. She tends to write smaller stories and said it takes a different kind of gift to be able to write those big, world building kind of books. She would love to do it if she got something amazing, and adds that perhaps smaller is more intimate. Emotions and experiences are pretty universal whether you are in contemporary or fantasy. As far as NA goes, she hasn't read a ton of it. She doesn't think she would be branching out to NA anytime soon because her stories tend to be warmhearted and a little innocent. She doesn't know if she’d ever do NA since YA can also be sexy. She also said she doesn't think there need to be a delineation between the two things because a lot of adults read YA, teens read adult, and they all crosses over. 
• Her first book, Shug, is always gonna be special to her as well as the newest book. The middle ones are also special but usually it’s the first and the last.

After the Q&A, Jenny obliged us by giving a message to all her Filipino fans! 

*sorry for the shaky cam! :)

She also signed our books along with the ARC of Ashes to Ashes that Jenny surprised us with (!!!), and posed for pictures with us.

Jenny with her fans over at @jennyhan_ph



Me (left) and Mary Ann (right) with Jenny



PH YA book bloggers with Jenny Han



Selfies!

We then went to National Book Store Glorietta 1, where fans gathered for the public signing at 2 pm. We weren't surprised at all by the big turnout, but hearing that some fans lined up at 11 pm the night before totally did!

Crowd of Hanny Badgers waiting for Jenny Han and the event to start


At 2:30 pm, Jenny was warmly welcomed by hundreds of fans. Check out this very brief video of her entering the venue.

Signed books!

HUGE thanks to National Book Store and Jenny Han for an amazing and fun event! For other recaps, check out these posts from our fellow PH YA bloggers

Kai @ Amaterasu Reads

Precious @ Fragments of Life

Jesselle @ The Lifelong Bookworm

Kazhy @ My Library in the Making

Blog Tour: Ex-Factor by Elisa Dane (Excerpt + Giveaway)

“Ahh... Mr. Scott!” My gaze automatically swept to the front of the classroom, Keltar’s loud, obnoxious voice almost impossible to ignore. “So good of you to grace us with your presence today. I trust you’ve learned something during your time away from school? Violence is never the answer, young man.” Frowning, the surly Santa wannabe begrudgingly swept a pink slip of paper from a tall, muscular boy dressed in dark clothing.

My heart jumped a little in my chest as I surveyed the colossal mass of male student at the front of the class. What the hell were the people of Indigo Falls feeding their sons? Some type of über growth hormone? Over half the guys in the school looked as though they belonged on the cover of a weightlifting magazine—chiseled, as if cut from granite. And what was that about violence, and time away from school? Had he gotten into a fight? From his size, he looked like someone who could deliver massive amounts of pain with ease.

The new guy stood in complete silence as Keltar continued on, delivering the same tired speech he’d given me upon entering the room. The same nervous feeling that had plagued me when I entered the school just a short time ago returned with a vengeance, and I caught myself struggling to breathe. What the hell? The new guy, whoever he was, had a bizarre effect on me, and to be honest, it was freaking me out a little. I mean, hell... I hadn’t even seen his face and I had butterflies whirling in my stomach. How was that possible? What kind of person had that type of effect on people?

He turned around then, and the answers to my unspoken questions all but slapped me upside the face.

Holy Mary, Mother of Pearl...

If boys were classified into two shades: light and dark, my Paper Thief, Eli would hover somewhere in the realm of ivory or beige. But this new guy was dark. We’re talking black down to the very pit of his soul type dark.

Ebony eyes void of emotion swept over the room before finally settling on his seat: the empty chair next to Erin. Short, dark hair hugged his skull, bringing attention to the chiseled line of his jaw. His features were strong, hard, and entirely masculine—beautiful. No joke, he looked like an avenging angel hell bent on mayhem and destruction. Bad. The boy was bad to the bone.

Heat scorched my neck and cheeks and my pulse ratcheted up another notch.

Electricity arced through the air as he neared the table, and the oxygen in the room seemed to thin even more. Incapable of speech or movement, I sat open-mouthed, gaping at him like an imbecilic fool. The black T-shirt he wore stretched across his broad chest like a second skin, and revealed a set of arms, one of which sported a wicked tribal tattoo. His gait was confident, yet lazy, and clearly shouted “I don’t give a fuck. I’m only here because I have to be, so stay the hell out of my way.”

Erin cleared her throat and cast me a knowing “Well, well, well. Look who thinks the bad boy is hot” smirk.

The boy’s most stand out feature was a jagged scar which ran from the center of his skull, down along the top of his left ear. It ended just below the left half of his jaw. The skin was thick, raised and silvery pink making it obvious that whatever trauma had placed it there hadn’t happened that long ago.

Heat scored the base of my skull, and I reached, as if on autopilot, for the fat, rigid bump that crawled across my hairline. How had he gotten his scar? A hundred different scenarios played out in my head, none of which included the circumstance that had earned me mine.

_________________________________________________________________

Ex-Factor by Elisa Dane

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Release Date: April 14th 2014

Blurb:

Nevaeh Evan’s life is uprooted after her father’s death, when she moves in with her aunt and cousin, Livvie. Her plan to lay low at her new high school isn’t working. Her friend’s jerky boyfriend keeps asking her out, the guy she likes treats her like garbage, and the thought of tumbling again makes her want to hurl. 

So when her aunt pushes her into joining the elite X-FACTOR cheer leading squad, Navaeh goes along with it. 

But Nev feels she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Not after what happened the night her father died. 

Bodie Scott knows about grief all too well. Critically injured in an alcohol related accident the year before, Bodie struggles with the fact that he’ll never play football again, and he’s so far behind in credits he can’t see straight. That is, until he meets Nev. Haunted by their bloody pasts and wary of a shared future, Nev and Bodie turn to one another for comfort and support, and realize they’re not so alone after all. And when the party scene at school threatens the life of a loved one, the two stop at nothing to keep the past from repeating itself.

You can purchase Ex-factor at the following Retailers:

    

  

Author Bio

I'm a lover of books (YA & Adult romance), chocolate, reality television, and am a proud mother to three All Star cheerleaders. Woot! I write Contemporary YA romance with cheerleaders. Yep. I write what I know, and it's my hope that my stories will not only take you on a romantic journey that will warm your heart, but that you'll find a new respect and interest in the sport of Cheerleading you may not have had before.

Follow her on these sites
TWITTER||INSTAGRAM||FACEBOOK||YOUTUBE||WEBSITE

 2 winners - e-copies of Ex-Factor and Unbreakable 

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HARP’S VOICE Release Day Launch

Happy Book Birthday to Cassie Shine's HARP'S VOICE (Harp's Song #2)! I'm so excited (and a little sad) to take part in the release day launch for the conclusion to the HARP'S SONG duology. Check out the book and excerpt below, and then be sure to enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter.

CHAPTER 19: BROWN-EYED GIRL

Emma: Good morning sunshine???!!!!!

Me: Thanks for the wake up call.

Emma: Be there in 20. Be Ready. XOXO

I crawl out of bed and shuffle toward the smell of coffee to find my mom in the kitchen reading the paper.

“Good morning,” she says. “I know you got home late last night so I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Well, Emma texted me and is going to be here in about twenty minutes,” I relay to her. “We’d better get ready before she walks in and explodes when she see’s us still in our pajamas.”

My mom laughs, “Ok, I’ll go get ready. Catherine should be here at the same time.”

We’re still in limbo waiting for my mom’s results from her last scan, so Emma and Catherine decided a girl’s day was in order.

“Helloooooo!” Emma screams exactly twenty minutes later.

“In my room!” I yell back.

Emma throws my door open with gusto, taking one look at me, “That’s what you’re wearing for girl’s day?”

“Good morning to you too, dear friend.”

“Harp, I love you, but seriously, you cannot wear cut offs and a T-shirt … especially that T-shirt.”

“Morning Emma.”

“Morning Anne,” she hugs my mom. “See, Harp, look at your mom, she knows what the appropriate attire is for girl’s day.”

My mom and Emma look like twinsies about to walk a mother/daughter catwalk in similar floral sundresses with strappy sandals, and compared to my chucks and ‘I love treble’ T-shirt, I feel very out of place.  

“Fine,” I sigh. “Pick ….”

Emma doesn’t wait for me to finish, already rummaging through my closet, scraping hangers across the bar quickly dismissing things, until she holds out a lavender sundress, “Here wear this.”

I shrug out of my clothes, throw the dress on and then grab the pair of sandals she’s holding in her hand.

“Does this meet your approval?” I twirl with my hands out to my sides.

She claps her hands in rapid succession grinning like it’s Christmas morning and she’s four years old.

“Ok, let’s go get manis and pedis ladies,” she announces as she walks through the hallway to where my mom and Catherine are waiting for us.

The three of them talked the whole way to the nail place while I texted Jayden and Harmony, working out the details of our trip next week.

“Emma, have you declared a major yet?” Catherine asks, handing my mom a bottle of fire engine red nail polish.

“Communications Studies,” she answers dipping her toes into the bubbling water. “They have a solid journalism program and a student-run fashion magazine. I’d love to work in fashion doing PR or writing fashion columns.”

“That sounds perfect for you.” Catherine agrees.

“Are you sure about this color for me, Catherine?”

“That color is perfect, Anne,” Emma insists.

“Did you have a good first year, Emma?” My mom asks sitting in the pedicure chair next to Catherine, across the aisle from Emma and me. 

“Yeah, it was good. I didn’t luck out with an awesome roommate like Harp did, but other than that I really liked my classes and made some good friends.”

“Did you miss being home?” Catherine asks.

“Honestly, no,” she laughs. “My parents are more interested in their social lives than they are in me or Ethan.”

“You totally missed Ethan,” I call her out.

“Fine, yeah, I missed him. Before we left for school we’d always been together … it was kind of weird not seeing him every day, even though he annoys the crap out of me.”

“Well, honey, he’s a boy, so that’s a given,” Catherine laughs.

“And, that’s just what siblings do,” my mom adds. “Push your buttons like no one else can.”

“Anne, you have brothers or sisters?” Emma asks curiously.

“Yeah, I do—a sister,” my mom sighs. “We haven’t talked since I moved away, but we were really close as kids.”

“What’s her name?” Emma asks.

“Ginny.”

“Well, Ginny’s loss is our gain,” Catherine says enthusiastically.

“For realz,” Emma agrees holding her fist out. When my mom actually bumps fists with her, I can’t contain myself.

“Harp, you did not just snort.” Emma states stunned.

“Sorry.”

“OMG! What are we gonna do with you?” She teases.

“Love her just the way she is,” my mom answers smiling at me.

****

“Hello,” my mom answers her phone waving her hand in front of our faces. We’re in the dressing room at Anthropologie with half the sale rack surrounding us.

“Yes, this is Anne Evans.”

“Ok … uh huh … yes, ok. Thank you, Dr. Morris. Ok, I will.”

She hits end on her phone and the three of us watch her every move. I’m trying to decipher her facial expression but there’s not really one to decode.

“Anne?” Catherine breaks the tension. “Were those your results?”

“Yeah,” my mom clears her throat.

“And?” I ask feeling my muscles tense in preparation for the bad news that I’m certain she’s going to deliver.

“Clear,” she blurts. “I’m all-clear. Clean as a whistle.”

“EEEEEEEEEK!” Emma shouts clapping her hands.

I catapult myself toward my mom, my force knocking her into the wall.

“Oh my God! I’m so glad!”

“Me too,” she laughs, hugging me back. “Me too!”

“This calls for an extension on girl’s day!” Catherine announces. “Who’s in for girl’s night?”

I pull away from my mom and shrug my shoulders.

“I think a night on the town is exactly what I need,” my mom smiles, hugging her friend.

“Ok, then we’ll need new outfits.” Emma announces.

“Seriously?” I groan.

“Yes, seriously.” Emma sticks her tongue out at me.

****

“These strawberry margaritas are delicious!” Emma says for the tenth time.

She and Catherine are sucking down their second round at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

“You’d better slow down there,” I tease. “I’m not holding your hair back tonight.”

“Don’t worry so much,” Emma waves her hand dismissively.

“Fine!” I pull the margarita toward me and take a large gulp.

“Woohoo!” Emma cheers garnering stares.

“You know,” I whisper. “You might want to stop drawing attention to our table considering we’re underage.”

“Oh, yeah,” she giggles. “Good idea!”

After we’ve stuffed ourselves to the brim, we get back in the car and my mom drives us to the small downtown area where there are some bars.

“Seriously, mom?” I lean forward from the back seat. “You’re taking us to a bar?”

“Yeah, girl’s night out isn’t complete without dancing,” she says as Catherine and Emma cheer.

I’m slammed with a wall of cigarette smoke and loud music as I walk in and follow everyone to a table.

“The band’s really good,” Catherine says waving the server over. “I love this song! It reminds me of college”

“Harp, let’s dance!” Emma squeals, pulling me to the middle of the dance floor. Catherine and my mom join us and we laugh, dancing to a lineup of 80s and 90s songs until I’m soaked in sweat and my mouth is so dry I can’t speak.

I motion to my mom that I’m getting something to drink and she nods, getting Catherine and Emma to follow me back to the table.

“Will you come to the bathroom with me?” Emma asks as I suck down my replenishment.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I hop off my stool.

“Anne is so cool!” Emma says with a high-pitched, wavy voice.

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” I chuckle.

“And she’s so young and pretty,” she rambles. “She’s not all stuffy and old. My mom would never be caught dead in a place like this. She’d be mortified. But your mom, is just so … so … I dunno … fun!”

“Come on,” I laugh at Emma as she washes her hands. “Let’s go dance off more of that margarita.”

“Ooooh! More dancing … yay!”

“Excuse me,” I say to the man with salt and pepper hair sitting on my stool.

When he turns his head, my jaw drops to the floor.

“Doc … doctor Stewart?” my voice ratchets an octave.

“Hi Harp,” he laughs at me. “Looks like you’ve made a full recovery.”

“Must have been the terrific doctor she had,” Catherine says in a flirty voice as she winks at him. I look at her—completely horrified—and then at my mom whose face is really pale, a sign of her embarrassment.

Dr. Stewart graciously shrugs off the blatant one-liner, stands and gestures for Emma and me to sit down, so we do.

“What are you doing here?” I ask confused because the last time I saw him I was laying in a hospital bed after getting punched in the face.  

“I was just telling them,” he says pointing to mom and Catherine. “I play in the band. I saw you guys dancing and thought I’d come say hi during the break.”

“You’re in the band?” I ask dumbfounded.

“He plays the drums,” Catherine pipes in.

“Your mom said that you’re going to school at Oberlin,” he addresses me.

“Uh, yeah.”

“That’s great, I’ve heard you’re an amazing cellist. I’ll have to keep tabs on you.”

“You know, Anne plays the violin and the piano,” Catherine shares.

“Is that so?” he raises his eyebrows.

“She also sings,” Emma says. “You should hear her sing in the car … she sounds better than the actual people on the radio.”

“Well, then, maybe you’ll join us for a song tonight?” Dr. Stewart suggests.

“That’s a great idea Anne!” Emma squeals.

“I agree,” Catherine smiles at her with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

If looks could kill, Catherine and Emma would be dead right now from the death rays shooting out of my mom’s eyes. 

“Only if Harp sings with me,” she tells Dr. Stewart.

What.Did.I.Do?

The compassion I felt for this woman a moment ago disintegrates when Catherine and Emma in unison start chirping about what a good idea that is.

“So, Harp, I guess your mom’s fate is in your hands,” Dr. Stewart jokes. “What’s it going to be?”

Ugh.I.Hate.Them … All.

“What song, Dr. Stewart?” I ask giving my mom the evil eye.

“Call me Dylan,” he says obviously amused by the four of us.

“So, Dylan,” Catherine purrs, “What song do you suggest for these two lovely ladies to sing?”

Dr. Stewart—Dylan—thinks about it while looking at my mom, “How about Brown Eyed Girl?”

Emma gasps and I whip my head to her. “Sorry,” she whispers. “It’s just so sweet—you know, that he picked that song.”

I roll my eyes.

“Harp, you know that song?” my mom asks.

“Yeah, I know it,” I snap.

An older man, who I recognize as the lead singer appears at Dr. Dylan’s side. I watch them like a detective, narrowing my eyes when the guy laughs and smacks Dr. Dylan on the back before walking toward the stage.

”Well, ladies, I’ve got to go,” he smiles that George Clooney ‘I know all your secrets smile’ and turns to my mom. “Third song in, Anne. See you up there.”

She nods her head and we all watch him walk to the stage, climb the stairs, and position himself behind his drum kit.

When I return my focus to my mom, her head is bowed, her face illuminated by a blue-ish glow.

“Ow!” she screeches, jerking her head up from her phone.

She gives Catherine a glare that would rival Elizabeth Taylor, but Catherine isn’t fazed. She raises her eyebrows and keeps her eyes on my mom.

Finally my mom gives in and rolls her eyes. “Ok, fine … say whatever it is the two of you are dying to say,” she points between Catherine and Emma.

They both start talking at the same time and we all laugh. Catherine proceeds first, “Anne, that man likes you … like likes you.”

“OMG Anne, he’s so dreamy … and he’s a doctor … and he plays the drums,” Emma coos. “Dr. Dylan is hot!”

“Well, thanks to you two for being so obvious,” my mom says sarcastically.

“And you,” she scowls at me. “You weren’t supposed to agree to sing, you were my sure way out of this, so even though I’d like to blame those two, I can’t. I blame you for this.”

Out of nowhere, the waitress slides fresh drinks across the table. Before Catherine can take a drink of her cheap chardonnay, I grab her glass and take a gulp. There’s no way I’m getting on that stage without some liquid courage.

After I set the almost-empty glass down, my mom hands me her phone and my angst fades because she’s pulled up the lyrics to Brown Eyed Girl.

“You good?” I ask handing her the phone back after scrolling through the lines. She nods, downing what’s left of the wine. “This is the second song in the set … we’d better look alive.”

I glare at Emma and Catherine, whose faces are plastered with Cheshire cat grins, before following my mom to the center of the dance floor where we sway to the beat of the music.

Before I know it, the lead singer announces a special guest performance-our cue. We climb the stairs on the right side of the stage and walk in front of the bass guitarist.

My mom glances over at Dr. Dylan, and hands him a napkin. He looks at it before giving her an appreciative head-to-toe once-over that I’d like to erase from my memory. 

I’ve performed in front of hundreds of people before, but not only that, I’ve also performed in front of the toughest critics. None of that has me feeling the amount of nerves I’m feeling right now, on a stage, in front of fifty people in this hole in the wall bar.

My mom leans into me, and whispers the key in my ear. I swivel my head around left to right … the guys in the band all look the same—middle aged yet young at heart.

When my head stops dead center, in front of the dance floor, my mom weaves her hand into mine. Her eyes are twinkling, and the corner of her mouth curves into a slight ‘give ‘em hell’ smile.

On this stage, with her … it’s miles—no light years-from where we were a little over a year ago when there was no balance in our lives or our relationship with each other. 

The band begins and it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. The bass guitar reverberates with such power that my normal heartbeat punches an irregular rhythm inside my chest. The drums hammer the beat, and then my mom’s voice enters the mix. My whole body is wired physically and emotionally.

She sings the first verse, eyes closed as she hits each note with perfect pitch and when her eyes open, the raw strength of her voice mesmerizes me so much that I miss my cue. She looks at me, nods her head and I jump in and harmonize the rest of the bridge.

Our individual voices complement each other, neither one overtaking the other. Instead, as we listen to each other, we adjust our tone … our dynamics … rolling and dipping to enhance each other’s voice.  

    

HARP’S VOICE (Harp’s Song #2) by Cassie Shine

Publisher: Bird Street Books

Release Date: June 24th 2014

Blurb:

Single-minded to the point of near seclusion, Harp Evans’ only goal was to move away from her abusive mother, and start a new life at college. Now a freshman at a prestigious university, Harp continues to struggle letting people in, including her ex-boyfriend—Connor Williams—who has always stood by her, especially after her mother exposed a devastating secret about Harp’s origin.

While Harp figures out how to navigate her relationships, especially with her mom, Anne, she will have to exorcize her own demons and face challenges with uncompromising courage, including reuniting her broken family—the family that was shattered by the acts of one man.

After almost twenty years, is it possible for people to change their minds and open their hearts? More importantly, is Harp strong enough to pull them all back together?

Harp's Song: Goodreads | Amazon

Author Bio

Cassie Shine released her debut young adult novel, Harp's Song in November 2013, finally finishing the short story she started in her college creative writing class … many, many moons ago. She has always been an avid reader and lover of music (yes, she was in the high school marching band). While she has a weak spot for all things teenybopper, especially boy bands, she also loves classical, country, rock and well, pretty much everything. 

After living in St. Louis for more than ten years, she and her husband packed up a U-Haul and headed west. They currently live in Orange County, CA with their furry kids Finnegan and Molly. 

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | Goodreads

HARP’S VOICE Release Facebook Party!

Let's Celebrate! You’re invited to Cassie Shine’s HARP’S VOICE Release Facebook Party on Saturday, June 28^th at 5PM PDT (8PM EDT). Join Cassie for a fun-filled celebration with a lot of giveaways and special guests!

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/773630852657150

Enter to win a signed set of the books, HARP’S SONG and HARP’S VOICE! (US/CA only) ***Any contestant that uses dummy or contest only accounts to enter will be disqualified.***

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