Guest Post: Rites of Passage by Joy H. Hensley

Hi lovelies! Today Joy N. Hensley is visiting the blog to talk about the setting of her fabulous debut novel! Read on to know about the preparations and research that went into creating the world of Rites of Passage below.

Creating the setting for Rites of Passage was a labor of love, and in saying that, there wasn’t much labor at all. I’m not sure many people know this, but once upon a time, I went to a military school on a dare (Norwich University in Vermont). I lived in the barracks, I climbed up the mountains, and I swam through the rivers. The key, though, was taking what I was familiar with in Vermont and making it work for Denmark Military School in Virginia.

I used campus maps from Norwich University and Virginia Military Institute to design the DMA. I took what I needed of both and put them where I needed them to be for the DMA to be as accurate as possible. I also included the tunnels, which may or may not have existed at Norwich University. I think with any old institution like this, even created ones, there are rumors and mysteries that help the place keep a feel of power about it. The tunnels I made for the DMA were just maintenance tunnels in the original plans of General Denmark, but over time they became a great meeting place for a group in the book, known as the Society.

The armory, the chapel, and the library were also very real in my mind and very much based on those same buildings at the military school I went to. I especially remember the chapel being my sanctuary, a very real place I could escape to when I needed a break from all the yelling. In the chapel, you see, no one had rank. So even if upperclassmen were in there, they weren’t allowed to yell at us lowly freshmen in there. We could eat, play guitar, chill, and even sleep on the pews, which I only felt slightly guilty about.

A lot of scenes take place in the barracks themselves, and with this part of the setting, I made sure it was as much like a “normal” dorm room as possible. These kids are still in high school, even though it’s a boarding school. It couldn’t be a big house, though—not for the DMA—because the Worms still have things they must accomplish. Living on the top floor and having to run up and down stairs is a very real event in military schools. Cadets have to “earn” their place on the first floor—and that’s reserved for seniors. The fire doors that close at the end of the halls make things private enough that, if needed, bad things can happen—smoke shows (though I’m not sure if these were done with or without adult knowledge and consent), company time, motivational training. All of these things happened at my school and were very important to the company building aspect of military school.

I did take as much care as I could to making sure it was as “real” as possible with regards to my town setting of Lexington, Virginia. The runs they go on were marked out on real maps, thanks to my author-friend, Jodi Meadows, so the lengths of the runs were probably a bit longer than reality for a military high school, but I wanted to be as true to my surroundings as I could. I did take liberties where necessary, though. The river used on Dedication Day, the waterfall later in the book—all these were built in my mind and used without apology.

I hope that gives you a bit of insight into creating the setting for Rites of Passage—part real, part blended, part made up. That’s the beauty of fiction, though!

I hope you enjoy reading the setting as much as I enjoyed creating the setting. The DMA, itself, is very much its own character in the book!

 

Rites of Passage

by Joy N. Hensley

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: September 9th, 2014

Blurb:

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

You can purchase Rites of Passage at the following Retailers:

    

  

About the Author 

Joy N. Hensley is a former middle school teacher. She used to spend her twenty-minute lunch breaks hosting author Skype chats for her students. Once upon a time she went to a military school on a dare. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, finding as many ways as she can to never do another push-up again.

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CINDER & ELLA by Kelly Oram Excerpt+Giveaway

     Hey everyone! I’m excited to be here today on the Teen Reader’s Diary to share an excerpt from my new book with you. The book is Cinder & Ella. It’s a contemporary retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. I love Cinderella. It’s always been my favorite, and I always knew that eventually I would write my own adaptation of it.

In my version “Prince Charming” and “Cinderella” (Cinder & Ella) are old online buddies. They met through Ella’s book blog when she wrote a review about Cinder’s favorite book that he felt compelled to argue with. What she doesn’t know is that in real life Cinder happens to be Brian Oliver, the famous actor whose been cast to play the lead in the movie adaptation of the book. You can figure this out from the summary of the book so I’m not spoiling anything, I promise! Part of the fun of the book is knowing who Brian is and waiting to see what will happen when Ella finally figures it out.

In the beginning of the book tragedy strikes and Ella disappears from the online world. When that happens Cinder & Ella lose contact. The excerpt I have for you guys today is part of the fist conversation they have after they reconnect. Hope you enjoy it!

    

EllaTheRealHero: You were on a date???? Cinder! I can’t believe you ditched her. What a jerk.

Cinder458: Eh, she was too high maintenance, anyway.

EllaTheRealHero: Cinder!!!  

Cinder458: Get over it, woman. It was a stupid date. You were more important. That e-mail almost made me cry. Effing tears, Ella! Why are we even talking about me? I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. I know how close you were with your mom. And you had to move in with your dad? You haven’t seen him in years!!! How are you? Is there anything I can do? You want me to fly out there and steal you away from him? Or at least punch him in the face? I can’t believe he got rid of your books.

Already the world seemed brighter. Life wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been half an hour ago. My overwhelming loneliness was gone. There wasn’t really a light at the end of the tunnel yet, but at least I wasn’t in the dark by myself anymore.

I should have known Cinder wouldn’t have changed. I should have e-mailed him months ago in the rehab center once I could move again. Oh, well. No use dwelling on the past. I had him back now, and that was all that mattered.

EllaTheRealHero: No punching. My dad is a big, bad U.S. attorney. He would bury you in court, get you thrown in jail, and probably even take your fancy talking car.

Cinder458: Whoa, whoa, whoa, not my precious! Okay, okay, so no punching him or kidnapping you. But seriously, Ella, what can I do? I feel helpless here chica. Talk to me.

EllaTheRealHero: I don’t want to talk. I am so sick of talking. The only people I talk to anymore are doctors, and all they do is make me talk. I don’t need another doctor. I need a friend. I need someone to make me laugh and help me take my mind off everything. Don’t treat me like I’m going to break. Yell at me and don’t let me get away with anything when I start acting like a brat.

Cinder458: Would I ever miss an opportunity to call you a brat?

EllaTheRealHero: No. That’s why I need you. My life is upside down right now, and I really need something familiar. I need normal.

Cinder458: I can do normal.

I laughed a genuine, happy, lighthearted laugh. It was the first real laugh I’d managed since my accident. There was nothing forced or awkward about it. I hadn’t done it because I was nervous about anything or trying to hide my real feelings. I just laughed because I was in a good mood (and because what Cinder said was ridiculous).

Dr. Parish was going to be happy. Maybe, if I was lucky, she’d stop hounding me about spending time with my dad and the stepwitches, but I doubted it.

EllaTheRealHero: Sure you can, rock star. You wouldn’t know normal if it bit you on your ridiculously good-looking face.

Cinder458: You’ve never seen my face. How do you know it’s good-looking?

EllaTheRealHero: Because no ugly person could have an ego as big as yours.

Cinder458: You’re right. I’m gorgeous. I’m also probably way too amazing to accomplish normal, but I can definitely handle familiar. You’ve seen the cast for The Druid Prince, right? I’ve been going crazy not being able to talk to you about it.

I laughed again. This was familiar. My mind drifted back to the early months in the hospital. The doctors kept me in a medically-induced coma for three weeks because my pain was too much and I was having so many surgeries. After they brought me out of it, there were still a number of weeks where I was groggy and incoherent—in and out of consciousness. The hospital staff told me that for weeks I would call out for my mom and Cinder.

One day, one of my nurses recognized the name Cinder and brought me an entertainment magazine. The cover boasted an article about Hollywood’s leading It Boy landing the role of fantasy’s most cherished prince. I guess the thought of teen sensation Brian Oliver playing Prince Cinder was so horrifying it brought me right out of my stupor and sent me into a tizzy, as my nurse called it. And that was before I learned who was directing.

EllaTheRealHero: Ugh! Don’t remind me!

Cinder458: ?

EllaTheRealHero: Why does Hollywood always have to ruin everything?

Cinder458: You think it’s going to suck?

EllaTheRealHero: Kaylee Summers as the Princess Ratana? She’s not even an actress! She’s a supermodel!

Cinder458: Who knows, maybe acting is her calling.

EllaTheRealHero: And maybe Max Oliver just thought she was really hot. They don’t even have her in a dress in the movie. She’s decked out in some slutty, tight, leather getup like Xena: Warrior Princess. It’s disgraceful. And forget any chance of them following the story. With Max Oliver directing, you know it’s going to be nothing but a bunch of over-the-top mindless action.

Cinder458: Wow. So you’re really not a fan of Max Oliver, then. I thought you were joking all those times you wrote scathing reviews of his movies on your blog.

EllaTheRealHero: I thought you were joking every time you defended him. Max Oliver is your go-to director if you want flashy car chases, big explosions, and half-naked women—which I know is your favorite kind of movie—but even you have to admit he is so wrong for The Druid Prince. And of course he just had to go and bring his son on to play Cinder! Why??? Why are they doing this to me???

Cinder458: What!!! I thought you’d be happy about that. Brian Oliver will make an excellent Cinder. That dude is awesome.

EllaTheRealHero: LOL! I never knew you had some big, gay celebrity crush on Brian Oliver.

Cinder458: Remember what we said about you being a BRAT??

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cinder & Ella

by Kelly Oram

Release Date: October 1th, 2014

Blurb:

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.

…

Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

You can purchase Cinder & Ella at the following Retailers:

 

Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen—a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat named Mr. Darcy. 

Follow her on these sites

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Burying Water by K.A. Tucker Release Day+Giveaway

   

Holy cannoli, y'all! It's finally here! We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for K.A. Tucker's BURYING WATER! BURYING WATER is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel, published by Simon & Schuster and it will blow. You. Away! Check out the excerpt, teasers, and giveaway then run--don't walk--to your nearest retailer!

Burying Water

by K.A. Tucker

Publisher: Atria

Release Date: October 7th, 2014

Blurb:

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away. 

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him? 

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried. 

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.  

You can purchase Burying Water at the following Retailers:

  

Prologue

Jesse

Now

This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . .

The words cycle round and round in my mind like the wheels on my speeding ’Cuda as its ass-end slips and slides over the gravel and ice. This car is hard to handle on the best of days, built front-heavy and overloaded with horsepower. I’m going to put myself into one of these damn trees if I don’t slow down.

I jam my foot against the gas pedal.

I can’t slow down now.

Not until I know that Boone was wrong about what he claims to have overheard. His Russian is mediocre at best. I’ll giveanything for him to be wrong about this.

My gut clenches as my car skids around another turn,the cone shape of Black Butte looming like a monstrous shadow ahead of me in the pre-dawn light. The snowy tire tracks framed by my headlights might not even be the right ones, but they’re wide like Viktor’s Hummer and they’re sure as hell the only ones down this old, deserted logging road. No one comes out here in January.

The line of trees marking the dead end comes up on me before I expect it. I slam on my brakes, sending my car sliding sideways toward the old totem pole. It’s still sliding when I cut the rumbling engine, throw open the door, and jump out, fumbling with my flashlight. It takes three hard presses with my shaking hands to get the light to hold.

I begin searching the ground. The mess of tread marks tells me that someone pulled a U-turn. The footprints tell me that more than one person got out. And when I see the half-finished cigarette butt with that weird alphabet on the filter, I know Boone wasn’t wrong.

“Alex!” My echo answers once . . . twice . . . before the vast wilderness swallows up my desperate cry. With frantic passes of my flashlight, my knuckles white against its body, I search the area until I spot the sets of footprints that lead off the old, narrow road and into the trees.

Frigid fingers curl around my heart.

Darting back to my car, I snatch the old red-and-blue plaid wool blanket that she loves so much from the backseat. Ice-cold snow packs into the sides of my sneakers as I chase the trail past the line of trees and into the barren field ahead, my blood rushing through my ears the only sound I process.

The only sign of life.

Raw fear numbs my senses, the Pacific Northwest winter numbs my body, but I push forward because if . . .

The beam of light passes over a still form lying facedown in the snow. I’d recognize that pink coat and platinum-blond hair of hers anywhere; the sparkly blue dress that she hates so much looks like a heap of sapphires against a white canvas.

My heart freezes.

“Alex.” It’s barely a whisper. I’m unable to produce more, my lungs giving up on me. I run, stumbling through the foot of snow until I’m on my knees and crawling forward to close the distance. A distance of no more than ten feet and yet one that seems like miles.

There’s no mistaking the spray of crimson freckling the snow around her head. Or that most of her long hair is now dark and matted. Or that her silver stockings are torn and stained red, and a pool of blood has formed where her dress barely covers her thighs. Plenty of footprints mark the ground around her. He must have been here for a while.

I know that there are rules to follow, steps to make sure that I don’t cause her further harm. But I ignore them because the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me I can’t possibly hurt her more than he already has. I nestle her head with one hand while I slide the other under her shoulder. I roll her over.

Cold shock knocks the wind out of me.

I’ve never seen anybody look like this.

I scoop her limp body into my arms, cradling the once beautiful face that I’ve seen in every light—rage to ecstasy and the full gamut in between—yet is now unrecognizable. Placing two blood-coated fingers over her throat, I wait. Nothing.

A light pinch against her lifeless wrist.Nothing.

Maybe a pulse does exist but it’s hidden, masked by my own racing one.

Then again, by the look of her, likely not.

One . . . two . . . three . . . plump, serene snowflakes begin floating down from the unseen sky above. Soon, they will converge and cover the tracks, the blood. The evidence.Mother Nature’s own blanket to hide the unsightly blemish in her yard.

“I’m so sorry.” I don’t try to restrain the hot tears as they roll down my cheeks to land on her mangled lips—lips I had stolen plenty of kisses from, back when I was too stupid to realize how dangerous that really was. This is my fault. She had warned me. If I had just listened, had stayed away from her, had not told her how I felt . . .

 . . . had not fallen wildly in love with her.

I lean down to steal a kiss even now, the coppery taste of her blood mixing with my salty tears. “I’m so damn sorry. I should never have even looked your way,” I manage to get out around my sobs, tucking the blanket she loved to curl up in over her.

An almost inaudible gasp slips out. A slight breeze against my mouth more than anything else.

My lungs freeze, my eyes glued to her, afraid to hope. “Alex?” Is it possible?

A moment later, a second gasp—a wet, rattling sound—escapes.

She’s not dead.

Not yet, anyway.

About the Author 

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader, and currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.  

Follow her on these sites

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