DEAD GIRL TO LIFE

BRINGING DEAD GIRL TO LIFE
By Linda Joy Singleton

Have you ever had rejection after rejection for a book and wanted to give up? Maybe you have a book you’ve loved for years but it just won’t sell and you’re thinking of shoving it in a drawer or through the shredder. Well hold on a minute. Maybe you can’t sell this book now but there’s hope for the future.

I started writing young, submitting my first short stories when I was 14. I even applied to a writing school but was told to wait till I was 17. But I got discouraged and gave up until I was in my 20’s. Then I joined a local writing group, critique group and learned how to write synopses, query letters and how target my submissions to appropriate publishers.

In 1988 I had this idea for a girl with a bad sense of direction (like me) to have a near-death experience where she meets her grandmother but is told it isn’t her time and to go back—only she makes a wrong turn and lands in the body of a wealthy, popular girl who just tried to commit suicide. I called it TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY (disclaimer: I did not choose this title because Milky Ways are my favorite candy bar).

The first version of this book received rejections. I won’t deny that I was discouraged. I loved this idea SO much, had never read anything like it, but in retrospect I needed to develop my craft to deepen the story. So I put the story away, sold other books, brought this out again every five years or so, rewriting but still not quite there yet.

Then in 2007, I rewrote again, changing the title to DEAD GIRL WALKING. I mentioned this project to my Flux editor (Andrew Karre, now with Carolrhoda), and he liked the idea but he suggested making my main character more likeable, adding paranormal aspects, dangerous villains and turning this single-title into a short series.

Now making a book where the heroine’s body dies at the end into a series offered a serious challenge. I mean, if her body died, what sort of happy ending could she have?

So I thought and thought, until I came up with a new ending and additional plots. After rewriting, here’s what I emailed my Flux editor:
I appreciated your suggestions. Including a villainous character is a great idea and added some interesting plot-twists. Readers seem to enjoy a twisted romance so I included that, too.

A week later he offered me a three book contract.

The book that begun as TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY was published 20 years later by Flux as DEAD GIRL WALKING.

Even better—it’s not just one book, it’s a trilogy with DEAD GIRL DANCING and DEAD GIRL IN LOVE. And my editor’s brilliant suggestions for villains really added wicked fun to the books—especially DEAD GIRL IN LOVE where my heroine risks her heart and soul to a Dark Lifer.

If you want to see the subtle difference twenty years writing can make, compare the original TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY first page and the published first page of DEAD GIRL WALKING here: http://ljsingleton.livejournal.com/5371.html .

So my advice to writers: Never Shred a Manuscript. Go ahead, put it away and when you look at it next time some new magic inspiration may strike then many rewrites later, like me, you may hold the published book in your loving hands. Good luck!

www.LindaJoySingleton.com author of DEAD GIRL and SEER series and NEW RELEASE: BURIED: A GOTH GIRL MYSTERY http://www.amazon.com/Buried-Goth-Girl-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0738719587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349106956&sr=8-1&keywords=BURIED+by+Linda+Joy+Singleton

I MUST BE A MASOCHIST—A WRITER'S LIFE: FRIDAY FEATURES—INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LINDA JOY SI...

I MUST BE A MASOCHIST—A WRITER'S LIFE: FRIDAY FEATURES—INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LINDA JOY SI...: Welcome to  Friday Features ! This is where you'll find interviews and guest blogs with and by other authors of juvenile fiction. If you're ...

My favorite childhood mystery is

How many readers can say that they've co-written a book with their favorite author?

I can. 

When I was around 8 years old I discovered the delicious mysteries of vintage girl detectives - Nancy Drew, Ginny Gordon, Trixie Belden,  Judy Bolton and many more. My favorites were Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton. When I was 13, I wrote fan letters to both authors, not knowing that Carolyn Keene was a syndicated name and not a real person (I later met Mildred Wirt, the original Carolyn Keene, but that's another story).  So I did not hear back from Nancy Drew's "author." But Margaret Sutton, author of the 38 Judy Bolton mysteries, published from 1932-1967 did write back, a long single-spaced typed letter that I still treasure decades later. I wanted to be a writer and she encouraged me, even showed some of my work to a college class she taught a few years later. She helped me complete my Judy Bolton collection so I was able to read every mystery.

When I was in my 20's, I visited Margaret (she was in her 80's). She told me of other fans who had started a newsletter called The Whispered Watchword, and I enthusically became part of this group. Through serendipity, I was given the opening chapters to a new Judy Bolton mystery, THE TALKING SNOWMAN, which I was told I could finish if I wanted - and I wanted! I wrote 100 pages in less than 3 weeks, and later edited with Margaret's advice. I self-published this book in 1997, just 4 years before Margaret died at 98. 

Next week I'm flying to PA for the annual Judy Bolton Days event in Coudersport, where the books were set; fictionaizing a quaint, lovely mountain town. The real events of the town are featured in each Judy Bolton Mystery, and we will be touring the sites, including a broken dam, private homes and a stately mansion. Margaret's family will be there, too. All of the Judy Bolton books have been reprinted by Applewood Books (they did some Nancy Drews, too). It's now possible to own the entire collection in paperback. A new Judy has been written as a project of Margaret's daughter, one of the co-writers my a dear friend and former sister-inlaw. I have already ordered my copy.  The only Judy Bolton book not reprinted by Applewood is the one I still have copies of in my closet, THE TALKING SNOWMAN. 

We'll get together each evening and share Judy Bolton fun, like a quiz based on the book selected this year, #13 THE NAME ON THE BRACELET, a mystery about switched babies that was published in 1940. Life was much different then, and as I reread this book, I'm struck by how women stayed in the hospital for days after giving birth and the fathers weren't allowed to even see the babies except through glass.  

While Judy Bolton is my favorite mystery series, I love many other vintage girl series books, and I had fun weaving in titles and references in my THE SEER series. 
How many can you find? I can make a contest out of this and award the one who finds the most a free book.  Just email me with your answers. I'll keep it open for a few weeks.

What is your favorite childhood book or series?

NEW BOOK SALE!!

A NEW BOOK SALE!!!! IN A NEW GENRE FOR ME!


From Publisher's Marketplace:.

September 20, 2012
Children's:
Picture book

Linda Joy Singleton's SNOW DOG, SAND DOG, in which a a girl's imagination does not stop her from loving a dog, well actually 4 dogs, of her very own, to Kristin Ostby at Albert Whitman, by Jill Corcoran at The Herman Agency (World).


Excuse me while I do a happy dance! Yay! This book was inspired by a photograph of Verla Kay building a snow dog with her sister. The words came quickly, the rewrite slowly and the trip to an offer for publication feels amazing!

Community Bookstop: Buried by: Linda Joy Singleton

Community Bookstop: Buried by: Linda Joy Singleton: Title: Buried Author: Linda Joy Singleton Publisher: Flux Pages: 257 Format: ebook Source: NetGalley Series: Gothic Girl Mystery#1 D...

SCBWI 2012 CONFERENCE NOTES

SPEAKER NOTES FROM AUGUST 2012 SCBWI CONFERENCE.

This was my 21st SCBWI LA Conference & and the organization's 41st


I took my notes on my iPad, which is soooo convenient. Love this device!


Lin Oliver says there are 1,234 attendees; full conference. 46 states. 15 countries.


Keynote was ARTHUR LEVINE who is always witty and sincere. He said, “Children's books are a reflection of everything I value most dearly.”.


Also mentioned quote about anticipation being a better tool than surprise.
He spoke of Harry Potter, saying he won't talk about hype but of the good writing. He made an appearance at a week long Harry Potter camp. Now reading the 2nd book to his own 8 year old son. He published it because of his connection to Harry and how it made him cry when Harry stood in front of the Mirror of Erised.

TONY DITERLIZZI opened with, "Always have a logjam of ideas...tons of ideas." He showed photo of Albert Einstein, his favorite say, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales." The importance of imagination, that's key to me.

"Dungeons and Dragons introduced me to a lot of fantasy writing" He drew lots of fantasy creatures. SPIDER & FLY was his first NYT bestseller and Caldecott Honor. Asked himself "What would 10 year Tony want that 40 year old Tony can make?" He has a collection of toys from when he was a kid to remind him what it felt like to be a kid. Trying to make books for the kid version of himself.


SARA SHEPARD opened with, “I'm going to be talking about murders, scandals and lying." Author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, book and tv series.

She was a ghost writer for Alloy, writing books under other names. Wrote about 6 ghosted books. Then she was told to write her own series and created PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Was sold as 4 books, then another 4. TV show made it go beyond 8 books. Resurrected book with new plotting; reinventing.

She has rules about how to keep a mystery series (that's what she consider PLL) going.
You always have to know who your murderer is before you start out.
Always incorporate the "red herring."
Leave a bit to chance.
Be willing to change like when she had new book offers.
Outline. Outline. Outline.
Creates material that will never make it in the scenes (background)

"I definitely had secrets in my family, and used that."

Got book deal at age 28, and when PLL came out it wasn't that successful at first, and she was humbled. Although it was optioned nothing happened at first but then she heard people cast and script written. She was like "OMG" because some of the lines are straight from the book. "Whole experience has been kind of bizarre...suddenly on TV." Monday she is going to the set based on the town she made up. "It's a wonderful thing to see the characters on the scene, and pushes me to create better story lines." Sara Shepard, author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS


PATRICIA MACLACHLAN opens with, "I'm so sorry I have no scandals or murders...in my books." She added that she’s never written an outline.

She went on to talk about her life as a writer, including stories of her granddaughters and imaginary friends. Humorous, lovely talk! She says, "Even though we look like adults, we're children."

DAN GUTMAN admitted he was a reluctant reader and didn't like classics and wanted to write books for kids like himself. He gave a list of tips, mostly humorous and he seemed very comfortable talking, his humor corny in a cute grown-up-kid way. I liked him.

KAREN CUSHMAN: Pubbed 1st book at age 50. Written 7 books.

Opens by saying "Use me...stop me in the halls...don't think you're bothering me."
Collects blogs with helpful hints.
Karen says to have no rules.
Be open to surprise. At times stray from our outlines, ask ourselves questions that we don't already know the answers. If you were to respond differently, how would that change the story? When writing our characters we undoubtedly write more than we know.
"I've often been surprised by something I've written." Karen Cushman,
She hadn't noticed her birth metaphors in MIDWIVES until others pointed it out.

Karen says: Read and reread your drafts looking for the surprise...what your story is really about...what you really want to say."
I am not satisfied with lousy first drafts...go over and over, looking for the surprise.
"Inspiration often strikes when I am far from my chair and I have to run home to write."
She reads other writers while writing and she learns a lot (like me!)
"I suggest you read 100 books like the one you want to write. Read what you love and ask yourself why you love it." Karen Cushman


CLARE VANDERPOOL won Newbery for Moon Over Manifest Oct/2010 which I got from library and read. Liked it.

She said: Some highlights in a year and a half, like sitting by Sara Shephard yesterday which impressed her daughter. Took Clare 16 years to be published.
Then: started writing at 1994, quit job and raised 4 kids. Had no agent and many rejections.
Now: Kids out of school for summer & kids in house with friends. She sits at the table with headphones on with rain sounds to muffle sounds. Showed video of her daughter singing while she's trying to write. But school will come. Now she has agent and editor and published book soon to come out, plus a nice medal.

RUTA SEPETYS, DIFFERENT SHADES OF GRAY award winning novel.
Amazing talk, like no other I’ve ever heard.

Ruta Sepetys who was blond and attractive and opened with her work for American Idol, helping the finalists to pick songs. Then she spoke of how she had a wake-up moment when a finalist asked her about herself and she said she was from Lithuania. But she didn't know anymore, so she researched and found out when her grandfather fled before he would have been executed by Stalin's people, his family left behind was punished, 12 of them sent to Siberia and only 2 surviving. She interviewed, traveled and asked more questions. She got emotional and determined to learn what it was like to survive a prison in Siberia. Then she paused and said she'd been encouraged to tell the rest of her story.

She heard about a group of college kids researching for a documentary. They wanted a real reenactment and were there for only 24 hours, but they couldn't wear them down over time. She wanted to experience this but was refused. So she offered them money and they agreed. She had to sign papers, and did much to her husband's concern. When she got there, there were lined up and suddenly the first men were beaten. She was terrified and it got worse because they came to her and beat her to, so she fell to the ground and they kicked her, rupturing her disk. She wiped off her tears with her wrist as she continued, admitting how she thought she'd be brave but it took only seconds for her to become terrified and a coward, ignoring a man's gesture for help, just wanting to get away, and glad to be put in a box away from the violence. But when she was put back with the others, one guy reached out to her and offered to help, and this gave her courage to help him, too. She didn't say much more, but obviously she got out and used all this for her book which won awards.

Afterwards we listened to Deborah Halverson talk about the market, which has improvement with picture books, which I knew already with my agent's sales.

Northern California Publishers & Authors - Supporting and Encouraging Independent Publishing in Our Region

Northern California Publishers & Authors - Supporting and Encouraging Independent Publishing in Our Region

Australia's "Katniss" is named Ellie

Years ago I read a thin paperback called TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGINS by an author I'd never heard of before, John Marsden. Something about this book intrigued me, and I've always loved reading about Australia. So I started reading...and didn't stop, so breathless by the action and captivated by the voice of a heroine who ripped into my heart. When I finished, it felt like my brain and emotions had run a marathon, and I had to have more books. But I quickly found out these were Australia books and it wasn't easy to get them in the US. After some research, I found all 7 books available in the US through Houghton Mifflin, the original copyright 1993 and first American printing in 1995. I'm guessing the series was a huge hit in Australia since there are 7 books then 2 addition featuring Ellie after the war. I didn't discover this series until 2003. The books were expensive in dj hardback, but I had to own them. (And to get the two Ellie ones later took some trading with an Australian friend). Now I've been a voracious reader since I was 8. So when I say that this series consumed me like no other, that is no small tribute. Each time I started one of the books, I could NOT stop reading till night turned into morning. My heart raced, my hands gripped the book, I forgot this world and lost myself in Ellie's Australia. I felt so fortunate to discover a series when it was completed at 7 (spin-off came later). I was waiting for Harry Potter still, praying that JK Rowling would stay healthy and avoid accidents. So to have all SEVEN books was heaven...and a little bit of hell when I read them and characters died in horrible ways. There's one death in that series that still haunts me. So imagine my absolute THRILL to hear there was a movie. I checked online and found it only available in Australia. I waited and checked again, and found it in DVD but not certain it would work on US DVD's. More time passed, and I saw it was listed on Netflix. I put it on que and it still hasn't come. I checked online again and it was like $30 to buy a copy, and I really just wanted to watch it, not necessarily own it. So I waited again -- and two nights ago I found it on our movie channel and set my DVR. Well I just watched the movie of TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN and I can not understand why US kids are not talking about this movie. It's very different than Hunger Games, but it packs a similar intensity, powerful teens and even small doses of humor. The characters seemed very much like how I remember them in the books, too. If it were released some some hype, it could be HUGE! I loved the cast and only hated when it ended and I'd already heard there wasn't a movie sequel. What's with the Australia movie makers -- get busy and film the second movie before those teens become adults. If you haven't checked out these books and the movie, do it NOW. Start with the books: http://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-When-War-Began/dp/0439829100/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342734149&sr=1-2&keywords=tomorrow+when+the+war+began Enjoy!

This is where I am: A tiny town at the edge of OR and Idaho. I've been visiting my picture-book-author-friend Verla Kay for a few days and we've been having a great time. Our hubbies get along great, too. The weather has been perfect, no hotter than 80 with cool breezes. And it's lovely here with rolling green hills and a friendly town right out of Mayberry. So far I've: * Took aa walk on a dirt road that used to be a railroad track * Road on a ferry boat ride on 4th of July * Walked a golf course while hubby played 9 holes & I found 12 lost balls (not his) * Played cards * Went to a casino where one of us won $300 on a piggy penny slot (not me) I also finished reading two books so far, both of them advance copies which I'll review later: SCARLET by Marissa Meyer (ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY LOVED IT!) and SPY AND LIAR by Rebecca Stead which was a quiet, enjoyable read with twist at end. I just started EVERY DAY by Levithan which has an intriguing story of a guy who wakes up every morning in someone else's body. Anyone who has read my DEAD GIRL trilogy knows I love books about body switching, and just a few pages in this book and I'm already intrigued and eager to read more. When I read YA books I enjoy and learn, always studying why something works. Writing is a continual learning process, and I consider myself lucky that my education (reading books!) is so much fun.

Books I got at ALA

I posted news of ALA and list of books here. http://lindajsingleton.livejournal.com/

TV: First Peek at Shirley MacLaine's Downton Abbey

TV: First Peek at Shirley MacLaine's Downton Abbey

I love Downton Abbey!

FREE on Kindle and Nook...mystery short

FREE on Kindle and Nook What happens when psychic sleuth Sabine needs out-of-body help from Dead Girl Amber? http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Lifers-Revenge-Short-ebook/dp/B006J9DENQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324187472&sr=1-1

Rae's Rumblings: May Challenge Buried

Rae's Rumblings: May Challenge Buried:   Buried is the story of a finder of lost items.  Thorn's mother is a minister and does not approve of Thorn (real name is Beth Ann) appea...

Cynsations new article by me!! http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-post-linda-joy-singleton-on.html

REGENERATION series is regenerated

Tihe first book in my REGENERATION cloning series is now an ebook for only $2.99, and a wonderful new illustrator created a new cover for this book. Check it out here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153744

Editors, Agents, Authors...Oh, my NOTES!

My SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference notes are up on my blog. Enjoy the editor, agent, author advice. http://lindajsingleton.livejournal.com/

Pens for Paws Auction: Teaser Tuesday: Auction Items as of 4/16/2012

Pens for Paws Auction: Teaser Tuesday: Auction Items as of 4/16/2012: In writing blog circles, we do a little thing called Teaser Tuesday, where we offer up short teasers from our work. I'm carrying that over ...

CubicleBlindness Reviews: Buried by Linda Joy Singleton

CubicleBlindness Reviews: Buried by Linda Joy Singleton: In a new school and determined to keep her secrets from being discovered, Thorn finds a mysterious locket that leads to a shocking discove...

Did you see this interview?

http://raychelle-writes.blogspot.com/2012/03/writers-block-interviews-linda-joy.html All about writing & my books! Check it out! Also don't forget that DARK LIFER'S REVENGE is still free on Nook and Kindle.

Trust Me...I'm a Writer: Is Your Character a Zombie?

Trust Me...I'm a Writer: Is Your Character a Zombie?: With the season finale of The Walking Dead still fresh on my mind, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the zombies vs. survivors dynam...

ADVERTISING THROUGH YOUR SYNOPSIS

ADVERTISING THROUGH YOUR SUBMISSIONS by Linda Joy Singleton While the writing process can seem magical and wondrous, one basic fact remains: Writing is a business. We sell our product to an editor, who (usually) then sells it to her associates, and then once purchased, the "book product" is sold to readers. As with most businesses, selling involves advertising. And for a writer, your first advertising tool is the query. A query can appear in many forms depending of the publisher and submission specifications. For a picture book, a short query will introduce you-the-author and your manuscript. For non-fiction, a query will describe the project and request permission to submit. And for middle-grade of young adult, you might send a brief cover letter, synopsis, and sample chapters. No matter what form your query takes, use it well. Think of your submission as a commercial. This is your chance to snag an editor's interest. Your cover letter/query/synopsis should be fresh, dynamic, and compelling. Editors read through hundreds of proposals, so make yours IRRESISTIBLE. Here are some guidelines: #1. KNOW THY EDITOR. Some editors prefer a short, breezy query or synopsis. They want the essence of the story without a lot of wordy explanations. But other editors demand scene-by-scene details. Study submission guidelines. #2. CHARACTERS. Characters are the breath and substance of a successful book. When you think of your favorite books, it's usually the characters you remember. Create a character trait chart and know your fictional people as if they were alive. Then write from your heart. Emotion is a key to strong, memorable characterization. #3. BE A PRO. This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Write professionally. Follow tip sheet rules. Don't send a picture book to a non-fiction publisher or middle-grade series to a hardback single-title publisher. And make the manuscript look GREAT. Use a dark ribbon, double-space, use proper margins, and check for misspellings and grammar problems. The quality of your product is a reflection on YOU. Strive for PERFECTION. #4. RAZZLE DAZZLE. Editors are people, too. But they are over-worked people who see similar plots and situations repeatedly. Don't be cute or silly (no pink perfumed paper or cute kid photos or stickers). Think past the ordinary and let your own natural style WOW the editor. Open your a query/synopsis with an irresistible hook, follow through with a suitable submission, and then wait for magic to happen; the kind of magic that starts with blank paper, grows with imagination, and then materializes into a book with your name on it. ---------------------------------------------------------------

Inspiration Blog

http://migwriters.blogspot.com/2012/02/thank-you-linda-joy-singleton.html?showComment=1331096114751#c495809901929644708 I am so honored and touched by this blog. I love my fans!

vvb32 reads: Spirited with Linda Joy Singleton

vvb32 reads: Spirited with Linda Joy Singleton: ~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~ by Linda Joy Singleton ~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~ SCENE FROM "PHANTOM OF THE PROM" short story in Leap/SPIRITED a...

Love this!

Some reviewers really get it -- check it out! http://fictionstateofmind.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-buried-by-linda-joy-singleton.html

Dark LIFER'S Revenge is free

FREE on Kindle and Nook http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Lifers-Revenge-Short-ebook/dp/B006J9DENQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324187472&sr=1-1

SPIRITED 13 Authors

A SNEAK PEEK: SPIRITED
Last year I was invited to contribute a short story with a paranormal them to an anthology from Leap Books titled SPIRITED. I was super excited, especially when I found out that some fantastic authors would be joining me.

Since my THE SEER has some amazing fans, I wanted to give them a new story with favorite characters Sabine and Dominic. So I wrote PHANTOM OF THE PROM; a ghost, prom, romance.

SPIRITED is out now online and in March a paperback comes out, too.

This book is split up in three different genres of stories: PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE. My story is in the PRESENT category. I thought it would be fun to share the titles and authors for each story:

SPIRITED paranormal Anthology, edited by Kat O'Shea

THE PAST

1. Strangeways vs. the Wraith by Judith Graves
2. The Senet Box by Jill Williamson
3. Stained by Mark Finnemore
4. Thread of the Past by Dawn Dalton

PRESENT
5. The Cold One by Candace Havens
6. Death becomes Her by Kitty Keswick
7. Oast House by Carmen Tudor
8. The New Girl by Maria V. Synder
9. Aftermath by Halli Dee Liburn
10.Phantom of the Prom by Linda Joy Singleton

FUTURE
11. Night Queen by John W. Otte
12. To Hell and Back by Shannon Delany
13. The Story of Late by Heather Kenealy

Hope you check out our stories!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dark-lifers-revenge-linda-joy-singleton/1107900048?ean=9780738734668&itm=1&usri=dark-lifers+revenge

DARK LIFER'S REVENGE Is FREE on Nook.

In this short story Sabine from THE SEER unites with Amber from DEAD GIRL WALKING to rescue Sabine's boyfriend Dominic from a Dark Lifer.

Also BONUS 3 chapters from HE SEER, DEAD GIRL and preview of BURIED: A GOTH GIRL MYSTERY.

POPULAR MUCH??

Doesn't it feel great when you're talking about music-tv-movies-books to someone and find out you have the same taste? "I love it too" -- four words that connect us with each other. Having something in common is a unversal Superglue that unites people.

Not having anything in common can be interesting, too, and sometimes you can convince a friend to try something new. Or by liking something unique, you feel unique, too.

So I thought I'd share my list of things I like that are POPULAR or SHOULD BE.

THINGS I LIKE THAT ARE TRENDING IN POPULARITY:

BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES:
Girl with Dragon Tattoo (Swedish translated to English) plus upcoming movie
The Help
HUGO
TWILIGHT

TV SHOWS
Terra Nova (not sure if this is popular or not!)
Glee
Two Broke Girls
Survivor, Amazing Race, Project Runway,Big Brother

MEGA-STAR BOOKS
Harry Popular...I mean...Potter
Twilight -- yeah, I liked them which is less popular now than last year
Hunger Games-soon to be as popular as Twilight once the movie comes out

BOOKS THAT ARE GAINING POPULARITY AND IF THEY AREN'T THEY SHOULD BE:
Ruby Red
Emerald Atlas
Liesl and Po
Drizzle
The Future of Us
Terrier trilogy by Tamora Pierce

And a picture book called PIRATE NAP by Danna Smith which is so fun to read that kids will beg "Again!"

Under the topic of "chocolate"...I love chocolate which is always popular especially at holidays.

Cats. Writers and cats, we just understand each other.

Music -- I have an odd mx of popular (Katy & GaGa) & Coldplay) and vintage (Beach Boys, Abba) on my Pandora app.

And I love musicals -- already have tickets for my family to go to see WICKED in June -- with a great song called "Popular."

A CHRISTMAS BOOK GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.....

A CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING....

A book, of course. But add a childhood story to the book and it becomes more than a book; it becomes a never-ending story (which was an amazing movie of the same title by the way...but I degress....)

The story of this Christmas-theme book begins when I was 13 years old. I was shy, unpopular, insecure and bursting with creativity that often came out in the inventive crafts and games my best friend and I created (but that's another story). When I couldn't hang out with my best friend Lori, I spent time with my other best friend: books. I loved reading so much and had discovered girl mystery books. My favorites were the Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton series (rivals in publishing, but best friends on my bookshelves). So I wrote two fan letters--the first went to Carolyn Keene care of Grosset & Dunlap. I never received a reply (ghosts can't write fan letters after all). So I wrote a letter to my other favorite author, Margaret Sutton, original creator and author of 38 Judy Bolton mystery novels. And Margaret wrote back.

I was SO thrilled to have a letter from my favorite author. I showed it off at school the next day and will never forget that thrill, especially when I get the opportunity to give the same thrill to a fan of my books. Well, my relationship with Margaret didn't end there. She recognized something in me, maybe passion for writing, and we kept sharing letters. I met her in person at my high school graduation party (just my family in the kitchen, with Margaret as the celebrity guest).

PHOTO: Linda (age 17) Margaret (age 71)


As adults Margaret and I kept in touch mostly through holiday cards but when she moved to Berkeley, just an hour away, I visited her. On one visit she gave me the address for a group of her fans who had started a newsletter, The Whispered Watchword. Meeting other Judy Bolton fans was amazing. Even more amazing, through serendipity, one of the other fans has been given the beginning chapters of a new Judy Bolton mystery by Margaret and told she could do whatever she wanted with it. She gave it to me.

Now to understand how HUGE this was, imagine your favorite series and how you felt when it ended. I'd read all 38 Judy Bolton mysteries many times and longed for more. Just one more mystery, I wished. And now I had the opportunity to make it happen. But I had no synopsis or outline to go by, only 3 chapters that ended dramatically with a ambulance siren. I knew these books so well, better than I knew my own writing style. And I was thrilled for the chance to finish this book. So I reread Judy's and studied the style. I typed like I was possessed, and in three weeks had finished the book which Margaret titled THE TALKING SNOWMAN.

Several months later, I met Margaret along with some of her fans in Pennsylvania at a Judy Bolton reunion. I showed Margaret the manuscript, and while she pointed out things that would need to be edited, she was very positive, even impressed that I came up with solutions to the mystery and also guessed much of what she had planned. Of course, I couldn't include her trademark "something that really happened to the author" so she took the manuscript from me and added this scene herself, making editing marks and returning it to me for completion. And years later, I self-published THE TALKING SNOWMAN, a new Judy Bolton mystery co-written by Margaret Sutton and me.

Fans were so thrilled to have this book that I didn't need to advertise. Word spread and they found me. It didn't feel right to profit from a work of love, so I priced the book low; enough to cover my expenses. The first 500 books sold out so next time I printed 1,000. And I continue to sell these books to fans who stumble upon the www.Judybolton.com website and are stunned to find there are more than 38 books.

I wrote an introduction to SNOWMAN which begins: THIS BOOK IS A GIFT.

THE TALKING SNOWMAN is a Christmas story that keeps on giving to readers who love Judy Bolton; the girl heroine who wasn't perfect like Nancy Drew which endeared her to readers like me who watched her age from 15 to mid-20's; a teen to a young married woman.

And the 38 books of the original series have all been reprinted by Applewood Books so new readers can fall in love with Judy, too. Go online and search for Applewood's reprint of the first Judy Bolton book: THE VANISHING SHADOW, based on a real flood.


WIN A BOOK!
Make a comment on this blog and I'll randomly pick a winner who can choose one of my books as a prize. I have copies of my SEER, DEAD GIRL, STRANGE ENCOUNTERS series, as well as TALKING SNOWMAN to choose from.

FOR KID-MYSTERY BOOK LOVERS

I have over 5,000 books in my (mostly girl mystery) series collection.

I love to find current books, aside from vintage titles like Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and Judy Bolton. Of course, Judy just came back in print in affordable paperback editions for a new generation of readers (and book collectors).

So here are some you may want to check out.

1. The JUDY BOLTON mysteries (38+ extras) are back in print from Applewood.
These are the mysteries that inspired my childhood love of books and my ambition to write.
Begin with THE VANISHING SHADOW and HAUNTED ATTIC: http://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Shadow-Judy-Bolton-Mysteries/dp/1429090219/ref=sr_1_12_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322238698&sr=1-12

I probably should add that I co-wrote another Judy, TALKING SNOWMAN, with Margaret Sutton before she died a decade ago, which I self-published for fans. (No Kindle on this one -- paper books only).

2. Not a series but a gem of a middle grade which I loved:
FROZEN IN TIME by Ali Sparkes. Time travel & mystery

3. TOMORROW GIRLS by Eva Gray
Paperback series for those who liked Hunger Games but hunger for younger with a cast of girl characters.
In this series, US is at war with Canada and girls are shipped off to a secret boarding school.

4. BUDDY FILES by Dori H. Butler
Very young chapter book series for starting kids/grandkids off with mystery.
For a short book, these are surprisingly well-crafted with building mystery & animal fun.

5. SAMMY KEYES -- This (Trixie Belden-like) series has gone from midgrade to young YA
with about a dozen titles. I consider it a must-have for any girl series collection, and I
buy them new. Love the "clue-styled" dust jacket.

6. EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens. Sort of Harry Potter-Narnia mix. One of my
favorite books of 2011, and I'm very eager for the next one.

7. RUBY RED by Kierstin Gier-- this one is my favorite of 2011. Time travel with a clever, interesting heroine.

8. WHITE CAT/RED GLOVE by Holly Black - mysterious, magical, intriguing. Feels like a detective novel in style.

9. POISON STUDY/MAGIC STUDY...everything by Maria V. Snyder

10. THE AGENCY, historical girl spy mystery by Y.S. Lee





Linda Joy Singleton www.LindaJoySingleton.com & www.facebook.com/lindajoysingleton
#1. DEAD GIRL WALKING/DEAD GIRL DANCING/DEAD GIRL IN LOVE (Flux/) YALSA Popular Paperback
Ghosts Whisper to Psychic Sabine in THE SEER series (Flux)
THE SEER #6 MAGICIAN'S MUSE (Flux)
BURIED - A Goth Girl Mystery March 2012 (Flux)
Follow me : www.twitter.com/LindaJoySinglet

I poster my first ever video on YouTube

With my iPod I've been playing around taking a few mini videos of mostly family.
This weekend I went to a retreat and had a wonderful sharing, encouraging time with 16 other authors. We did a few fun activities aside from writerly conversTions. We enjoyed a word game and also a few of us got crafty with collages.

So I filmed the collage fun and experimented with YouTube and it actually worked. Not great filmi,ing, I'm still figuring this stuff out. But it's fun and only 2 minutes. If youre in SCBWI you may recognize a few of us.

Check it out here: http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?feature=mhee&v=Lfr-LjVHgcs

Or just under my full name on you tube...still figuring this stuff out.

Win a free Don't Die Dragonfly and article on Ebooks

http://theelectricalbookcafe.blogspot.com/2011/09/bb-guest-post-contest-linda-joy.html

A decade of ebooks. Win a free book!

Reading a really cool fantasy

I'm reading ENCHANTED IVY by Sarah Beth Durst and loving it. It's set at Princeton University. It's cool how the author used the real setting yet turned it into a fantastical place where gargoyles and a key opens into a parallel world. Totally recommended!

Will Book Collecting Survive E-Books?

As an author whose books are selling more e-reader copies than paper copies, I wonder about the future of book collecting. Downloading a book doesn’t mean you own it. You can’t loan it to a friend. You can’t display it on a shelf. And how reliable are reading devices for protecting your e-library?

Read more here and see a photo of my vintage girl-series book library!
http://thespectacleblog.wordpress.com/

Why I don't post here more often

I would love to use this blog more, but even though I've had this blog for many years, I only have 48 followers, while on Facebook I have around 2,000.

But I will post when I have something to share.

Here's what's been happening lately. The biggest news is that I saw the cover for my next book. This book, BURIED, is a spin-off from THE SEER series starring Thorn. She moves to Nevada after her family loses their house. KC moves with her family and gets a job. Thorn meets a dangerous guy with a big secret who intrigues her. She has contact with Sabine by phone. And she solves a murder mystery. The cover is classy with a rusty background and the frame of a portrait with a Goth girl peeking out. I'll share it when I get permission.

I'm writing a futuristic book and am around 200 pages into it; 2/3rds finished.

Come back in May -- I'm going to announce which of my books will be a free Amazon download for the month of May.

Cloaked The Trailer.mov

FREE BOOK!!!

It's available! NOW! I have been hoping so much this would really happen -- a way to reintroduce my THE SEER series to readers.

THE SEER #1, DON'T DIE DRAGONFLY is a one-month-only FREE download from Amazon/Kindle.

And the cool thing is you don't even need a Kindle -- I downloaded the free app to my I-Phone. Lots of devices can get a free Kindle device. And for January, readers can get my book too -- the first book where Sabine is introduced, she rescues Josh, sees ghosts, talks to her spirit guide and meets Dominic.

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Die-Dragonfly-ebook/dp/B001KYEZRE/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

I would really appreciate it if you could repost this to your blogs. Thank you.

CSLA (CA Library Conference) Panel

CSLA (CA Library Conference) Panel

CROSSROADS TOUR goes on till Halloween - prizes!

A tour of blogs with clues hidden that can win you prizes.

http://judithgraves.com/events/the-crossroads-tour/

Lots of fun with interviews, too! I share secrets behind all of my books including the newly released, #6 THE SEER, MAGICIAN'S MUSE.

Want to win LOTS of book stuff?

What do 16 paranormal YA authors X 16 days mean for you? SWAG!: http://bit.ly/cBw36D

It's like a Halloween scavenger hunt online with MEGA prizes!!!

Interviewed by a cat!

http://petsandauthors.blogspot.com/

I've done many different types of interviews, but this is a FIRST where my cat interviews me!! Do NOT believe everything Snowy says!

MM & M (MAGICIAN'S MUSE & MOCKINGJAY both!) BOOK GIVEAWAY

M&MM (MAGICIAN'S MUSE & MOCKINGJAY) BOOK GIVEWAY!

WIN A COPY OF MAGICIAN'S MUSE!
Also a copy of MOCKINGJAY!

MAGICIAN'S MUSE, 6th THE SEER, finds Sabine haunted by the ghost of a century old woman stage magician while struggling to keep Dominic from leaving forever.

For each repost of this message on a blog, Facebook page, retweet on Twitter or review of a SEER book..., you win an entry in a drawing for MAGICIAN'S MUSE & MOCKINGJAY.

Leave your post info at ljscheer@yahoo.com and a winner will be drawn within a week.

ENTER SOON and OFTEN!

PICK A PAGE FROM MAGICIAN'S MUSE & I'LL SHARE IT HERE

With just a little over a month before MAGICIAN'S MUSE comes out (it's usually out earlier than the Oct. 1st pub date for pre-orders), I want to share something with fans.

The book has almost 300 pages but I don't want to give away the ending, so pick between pages 1-250 and the first two people who respond, I'll copy those pages to share here.

The opening of MAGICIAN'S MUSE has already been posted on this blog if you look back several posts.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738719579/ref=nosim/theplanningsh-20

DEAD GIRL Trilogy is being optioned for TV

DEAD GIRL WALKING, DEAD GIRL DANCING & DEAD GIRL IN LOVE have been optioned for television. More news as it develops.

My trilogy is about a girl who jumps into different bodies while being stalked by dangerous energy-stealing Dark Lifers.

If you haven't read the trilogy yet, the first chapter is up at www.LindaJoySingleton.com (under books).

GH News: Betsy Franco, Bruce Davison headed to GH | General Hospital @ soapcentral.com

Talented writer and friend, Betsy Franco, will be on TV -- playing herself (sort of).

GH News: Betsy Franco, Bruce Davison headed to GH | General Hospital @ soapcentral.com

Win an ARC of #6 THE SEER Magician's Muse

It's been nearly 3 years since the last THE SEER book came out (FATAL CHARM). That was the longest of all books -- before my pubisher limited my word count to around 60,000 words. I crammed a lot of characters and plot into FATAL CHARM because I thought it would be the end of THE SEER series.

Still I didn't want my SEER series to end and had this feeling it might continue. So I left the plot about Josh wanting to join a secret magician's cult open plus there are unanswered questions about Dominic's violent past.

I was soooo happy when my publisher Flux asked me to write one more THE SEER book. Yay! Finally I could really tie up all loose ends. And even better -- some characters will continue on in a spin-off book about Goth Girl Thorn probably called GRAVE SECRETS (2011 release).

HERE'S THE CONTEST:
I have one -- ONLY ONE -- advance reading copy of #6 THE SEER, MAGICIAN'S MUSE that I can give away.

To win this book and read MAGICIAN'S MUSE before the Oct. 1st release, all you have to do is guess which character is going to die. Yup. A teen character who has been in at least two books is going to be killed in the 6th book.

Which THE SEER character do you think is going to die?
I'll draw a winner from the correct answers.
Email ljscheer@yahoo.com with your guess for one entry.

BONUS ENTRY:
Reprint this contest blurb onto a blog or any other public online location (like Facebook or MySpace) for one extra entry.
Then email ljscheer@yahoo.com the URL where you've reprinted this contest information. For each URL this contest is reprinted, you will get an extra entry. More chances to win!!

COPY AND PASTE THIS CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT. PASS IT ON!

ARTICLE UP ON SPECTACLE BLOG about dystopian book comparisons

http://thespectacleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/trapped-inside-the-future/ ARTICLE comparing INCARCERON, INSIDE OUT & BIRTHMARKED.

I recently read these dytopian books and found their differences and similarities wonderfully intriguing. Check it out!

New interivew on blogspot!

Check out Elizabeth's blog for my new interview:
http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com/2010/05/interview-with-linda-joy-singleton.html

Also don't forget you have just over a week to enter my contest to win DEAD GIRL and THE SEER autographed series plus if you're a writer, a critique of a first chapter.

SNEAK PREVIEW FOR THE SEER fans

Openin scene of MAGICIAN'S MUSE

Hey SEER fans -- want to read the first few pages?
I may only keep these posted for a few days so enjoy now!
And don't forget you can pre-order now at Amazon or
by asking your local bookstore for #6 SEER MAGICIAN'S MUSE.


MAGICIAN'S MUSE
Chapter One








The phone was going to ring.


I knew this for a fact; the way you see dark clouds in the sky and know it’s going to rain. Premonitions were no big deal to me. But the flash of fear that came with this sudden knowing was scary. Someone was going to call and I wouldn’t like what they told me. It could change my life. Not in a good way.


My cell phone sat on my desk beside my keyboard. Only a few feet away. But I didn’t move from my bed where I sat cross-legged in a festive jumble of wrapping paper, tape and ribbons. Seconds ago I’d been humming to my holiday playlist while transforming gift-wrapping into art with glitter, foil paper and miniature golden angels. Now my holiday spirit was dead.


Usually my psychic vibes clued me in on who was calling and I often made a game of caller-guessing. I tried to guess now; closing my eyes to concentrate, picking up a masculine vibe. Someone close to my age and to my heart. Immediately I thought of Dominic. Oh, no, please, not him! Since breaking up with my last boyfriend, everything had been made of awesome with Dominic. We talked endlessly about hopes, dreams and our future together. But what if something bad happened to him?


My cell phone rang.


I jumped, knocking a roll of wrapping paper onto the floor. Then I stiffened like a statue; cold and frozen inside and couldn’t bring myself to answer.


Finally by the fifth ring, I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed the phone and flipped it open—stunned to read the Caller I.D.


Josh DeMarco. My ex-boyfriend.


Only when I flipped open the phone, it wasn’t Josh. It was his mother.


“Sabine?” Mrs. DeMarco asked in an odd anxious voice. “Are you there?”
“Yeah,” I managed through surprise. My phone vibes usually weren’t this far off.


“Sorry to call you so early,” she told me.


“No problem. I’m an early riser.” A million questions slammed into my head but I focused on the most important one. “Um…how is Josh?”


“I-I don’t know.” She spoke so softly, her voice edged in sadness. “I was hoping you could tell me.”


“What do you mean? I haven’t seen him at school and heard he was out sick with a bad virus.” The timing of his virus and our breakup was too coincidental. I’d suspected he was faking an “illness” to avoid seeing me. I mean, our breakup had been that bad. Worse than bad: apocalyptic.


“You’re into the occult, the work of the devil,” he’d accused after catching me summoning ghosts in a séance. “I can never forgive that.”


That was over three weeks ago. When Josh walked out that day, I knew it was really over for us. I should have felt sad…but I didn’t. Instead I was relieved and hopeful we’d both be happier now. Josh would hook up with a nice normal girl who applauded his magic tricks and didn’t see ghosts or have telepathic conversations with her spirit guide. And finally, I was free to give my heart to Dominic.


Still our break-up left me with an unfinished feeling, like walking out of a movie before the final scene. I wanted to explain to Josh that being psychic was an important part of me and had nothing to do with black magic. But he hadn’t returned any of my messages.


And now his mother was calling…..


“Josh isn’t sick—at least I hope not. He’s…he’s-” Mrs. DeMarco cut off with a sob. “Gone.”


“Gone?” I tensed. “For how long?”


“Over a week. He left a note telling us not to worry but there’s no word from him and I-” Her voice broke. “I-I don’t know what to do.”


“What about the police?”


“They wouldn’t even put out one of those missing kids alerts for him because he left a note. They say he’s a runaway.”


“Not Josh. He’s one of the most responsible, reliable people I know.”


“That’s what I told the police. But even my husband wants to wait for Josh to come home on his own. Only what if he’s hurt or sick and needs help? I’ve waited long enough. I have to try to find him so I’m calling his friends.”


As I wondered if Josh’s disappearance could somehow be my fault, I realized there was silence on Mrs. DeMarco’s end. Thinking I’d lost the connection—and feeling a teensy bit glad to bring this awkward conversation to an end—I was about to hang up when Mrs. DeMarco suddenly blurted out, “I-I understand you and Josh broke up.”


“Uh, yeah,” I replied cautiously. How much did she know? Had Josh told his mother I worshipped the devil and practiced black magic? I knew, from past experience, that some people weren’t cool with paranormal stuff.


“He didn’t say why,” Josh’s mother replied. “I-I realize this is none of my business, but was he upset when you broke up? Upset enough to-to hurt himself or--”


“Oh, my god, no! Josh would never do anything like that,” I insisted. Josh has been upset, all right, but he wasn’t suicidal. Especially since he’d been the one to dump me; not the other way around. Yet why did I feel so guilty?


“If you have any information at all, you must tell me,” Josh’s mother said firmly, almost as if she were the psychic one. “Even if things between you and my son ended badly, I know, deep down, you still care about him.”


“I swear I’d tell you if I knew anything.”


“You may know more than you realize. Would you come over so we can talk in person?”


“You mean…now?”


“If you don’t mind. Besides it’ll do Horse good to see you. That impossible dog won’t eat since Josh left. I’ve tried four vets and none of them have helped. Horse is always so excited to see you. Maybe you can convince him to eat.”


“He’s a great dog,” I admitted. “I’ve missed him.”


“So you’ll come over right away?” she asked hopefully.


“Well…okay.” A thought came to me. “I have this friend who is really amazing with animals and might be able to help Horse. Is it okay if I bring him?”


“Of course. Is he a vet?”


“No. But he understands animals so well that you’d think he was actually talking to them.”


Then I hung up, and went to find Dominic.


THE SEER #6 coming Oct. 1, 2010 -- preorder available on Amazon or ask your bookstore. By pre-ordering you stand a chance of getting the book in August.

Stay Tuned for COntest

For SEER fans who have been waiting nearly 3 years for a 6th THE SEER, MAGICIAN'S MUSE will be released Oct. 1st.

It's already available for preorder (which looks great to my publisher) from
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738719579/ref=nosim/theplanningsh-20 (or request preorder from any bookstore).

I'm planning a release celebration contest soon. Stay tuned!

SABINE MEETS DEAD GIRL - Complete Story!

Here it is!! The short story where THE SEER's Sabine Rose meets DEAD GIRL Amber Borden. Eventually I'll delete this and move the entire story over to my www.LindaJoySingleton.com site. Enjoy! I wrote this just for fans!!!
(PS -- This format wouldn't let me indent properly)

SABINE MEETS DEAD GIRL
For readers who want more of THE SEER & DEAD GIRL series
By Linda Joy Singleton

“Party of two: top deck,” Dominic says with a seductive tip of his pirate hat.
I lean against a rail on the Delta Diva, staring down at the silvery moon reflecting off the Sacramento River. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful. I could stay here forever.”
Dominic nods. A guy of few words, Dominic’s deep gaze says so much and promises more. We’ve been through a lot together--danger, grief and ghosts--to reach this moment. And he looks wicked sexy in the pirate costume I convinced him to wear: black buccaneer jacket over a long-sleeved silky shirt and a gleaming cutlass tucked in his wide black belt. With the bad stuff behind us, everything is perfect.
“We have to get back to the party,” I remind him.
“Sure about that?”
When he grins at me like this, teasing yet sincere, my heart goes a little crazy. I’m tempted to skip the party. But I can’t let my best friend Penny-Love and the other cheerleaders down. They spent weeks planning the Pirate Booty Bash fundraiser, and as the unofficial mascot for the squad, they count on my support.
So I stay strong and point to the exit door. My plastic sword, tucked at my side, tap-taps on the wall as I walk down the narrow stairwell. As I reach for the door, I hear shouts and screams.
Dominic and I rush into the room. Party-goers are frozen in horror, staring at a spiked-haired guy, probably in his thirties, his muscular arm pinning my friend Jill to his chest, a knife pressed to her throat.
“Jill!” I cry, starting for my sword until I remember it’s only plastic. I’m a trained fencer and wish so much my sword was real.
“Stay back!” Spiked-Hair warns the crowd, his expression dark and dangerous. “Anyone moves---she’s dead.”
No one moves, but beside me Dominic tenses.
“Tell me how to find Vance!” Spiked-Hair growls at Jill. His aura, glowing gray bleeding with dark hues, sizzles with menace.
“I don’t know! I already told you that!” Tears stream down Jill’s face and onto the lace collar of her sexy pirate maiden costume.
“You were at his house today!”
“No, I wasn’t! I’ve been working on this party all day! I don’t know anyone named Vance!” Sobbing, Jill looks around the room desperately. Do something! her gaze begs. But the crowd is too shock-still to move.
The only thing I can think to do is send a mental SOS to my spirit guide but before I can close my eyes, Dominic lunges forward. Flying through the air, he tackles Spiked Hair. He kicks at the knife which sails so high it splashes down in a punch bowl. Dominic shouts for Jill to get away.
My boyfriend holds his own, landing a gut punch. Spiked Hair groans but recovers fast, hooking back a leg and tripping Dominic. Both guys tumble around, arms flying, grunting and shouting. When they stop, Spiked Hair grips Dominic in a vicious choke hold.
Someone screams, “Help him!” and I realize it’s me.
Some of the school jocks rush forward. Only before they reach Dominic, there’s a blinding silver-white light flash and a wave of energy rocks the room like an explosion. Dizzy, I stumble back, my knees buckle. When my vision clears, others are rubbing their eyes, staggering in confusion. Penny-Love has comforting arms around Jill and other cheerleaders begin to crowd around them. But I don’t see Jill’s attacker or Dominic.
A door bangs.
Swiveling around, I glimpse Dominic disappearing through a back door. I hurry after him. I call his name but he keeps running. Finally he stops at the main deck, scowling at the spiked-hair figure running down the gang plank.
“He’s getting away!” I grasp Dominic’s arm. “Come on! We can still catch him!”
“He’s not important.” Dominic shrugs.
“How can you say that? He nearly killed Jill! Hurry!”
But Dominic doesn’t move. Instead he murmurs something about his “truck” then reaches into his pocket, pulling out car keys and his wallet. He flips through the wallet, his lips curving in an odd smile.
I stare at him, puzzled. “Are you all right?”
Dominic studies his arms with a thoughtful expression as if checking for cuts and bruises. “I’m better than all right.”
Then he starts down the gang plank.
“Wait! Dominic!” I catch up with him, grabbing his arm. “I’m going with you.”
He shakes me off. “Go party with your friends.”
“You’re the only friend I want to be with.” I point to his hands which shimmer with a bruised shade of gray. “You are hurt!”
“Back off! I told you I was okay.”
“But I want to help.”
“I don’t want your help.” He shoves me away, scowling. “Get lost.”
“Dominic!” Tears sting my eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Shut up! I’ve got to find him and you’re wasting my time! Leave me alone!” Glaring, he stomps off to the parking lot.
Stunned, I watch him click a remote. Red lights flash on his red truck then he climbs inside and drives away.
I can’t believe it.
He’s gone.
* * *
My friend and school newspaper editor, Manny DeVries, drives me home since my boyfriend ditched me. Manny tries to get me to talk, but I’m so miserable, I know I’ll cry, which would be too embarrassing. So I smile and pretend everything is fine. Dominic will be at my grandmother’s farm, waiting for me, I assure Manny.
Only Dominic isn’t there.
And the next morning, his truck is still missing from its usual spot by the barn. He works as a handyman for my grandmother and stays in a loft room in the barn. That room is empty, too—the bed never slept in. And when I see Dominic’s falcon Dagger fluttering by an open window, making shrieking noises as if he’s trying to tell me something, I shiver with a knowing of something terribly wrong.
“Nona!” I burst into the kitchen minutes later. “Dominic never came home!”
I quickly fill my grandmother in on everything that happened last night. “Dominic was so brave but the other guy was bigger. Then there were these weird flashes like an electric surge or maybe earthquake…I don’t know. All I know is that afterwards Dominic yelled at me to leave him alone then he-” My voice cracks. “-he left me.”
Nona looks up from her tea, her forehead creasing with worry. “Don’t take it personally, Sabine. If he went after the attacker, he probably thought you’d be safer staying on the ship.”
“But it was more than that…almost like he hated me.”
“I’ve seen the way Dominic looks at you. It’s obvious he loves you.”
“Not last night.” Fighting tears, I shake my head. “I just don’t understand.”
“Understanding will come later. For now, you need to trust him.” Nona sips her herbal tea. “Doesn’t he have a test in his farrier class on Friday?”
I nod. “Yeah, he’s been studying hard, too. He’s eager to start his own horse-shoeing business.”
“He’d never miss that test. He’ll be back soon,” Nona points out. “Count on it.”
I hold on to that hope the rest of the day. But that night when Dominic is still gone and he hasn’t returned my texts, I know he’s in trouble.
What should I do? I worry as I lie in bed, abandoning any hope for sleep.
You could expand your queries to the other side and invite answers from your eloquent and insightful spirit guide, a sassy voice speaks in my head. And when I close my eyes tight, I can see my spirit guide Opal; black hair coiled high on her head like a crown and a regal lift of her chin.
“Opal, can you help?” I ask in my thoughts. “Do you know where Dominic is? I’m so worried.”
As you well should be considering the dire circumstances of his disappearance.
“Where is he?”
Lost to the whims of darkness. Violence threatens his future and he may turn on himself with disastrous consequences unless the darkness is disposed to its rightful place.
“Opal, you’re confusing and scaring me. Just tell me where he is.”
I cannot speak of the workings of worlds beyond your knowledge. But there is one who can give you answers and aid your journey. “Who?”
One who crosses both worlds and has connections above my own. She is of an age similar to your own and attends an educational facility called Halsey High. “Halsey High? I’ve heard of it. About an hour away.”
Go there in the morning, Opal tells me. And find Amber Borden.

PART TWO!
* * *
The next morning I ask Nona to borrow her car. Squeezing keys in my palm, I pause to stare at the empty spot where Dominic usually parks his truck.
Armed with a Google map, I drive to Halsey High. It’s early and school hasn’t started yet, so I slip in like I belong. I only have to ask two people about Amber before finding her at a locker. I get the impression she’s kind of a school celebrity, which is surprising because she’s really ordinary with an average figure and too-curly reddish-brown hair. She has a really sweet smile, though, like someone you know you can trust.
But can I convince her to trust me without revealing too much? I mean, I can’t go up to a stranger and say, “Hi. My spirit guide sent me.”
Amber squints at me like she’s trying to remember if we’ve met before. I save her the trouble by admitting we’ve never met.
“I’m Sabine,” I add. “I was told you could help me.”
“Are you new?” Her aura brightens like flowers blossoming in spring. “I’m president of the Halsey Hospitality Club and will be happy to show you around.”
“Cool…but I’m not a student…at least not here. Um….does the name Opal mean anything to you?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “So how do you know me?”
“I’m…um…psychic.” I cross my arms over my chest, braving myself for laughter or scorn.
But Amber grins. “Cool! And who’s Opal? A ghost?”
“No, she’s my spirit guide.” I glance around to make sure no one else is listening. “Opal is over 300 years old and she’s always bossing me around, but she knows stuff and tries to help me out. See my boyfriend is missing and in trouble. I don’t know how to help him, but Opal says you do.”
“Wow!” Amber’s eyes widen. “I read this book once called A Guide to Spiritual Beings and there was a chapter on spirit guides. I’ve never met one but I’m sure my grandmother knows lots of them.”
“Your grandmother talks to the other side?” I ask, pleased that Amber and I both have intuitive grandmothers.
“Actually,” Amber says. “She works there.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Easy. My grandmother’s dead.”
Then Amber does this really strange thing. She touches a woven rainbow bracelet on her wrist, turns it back and forth and whispers something I can’t hear. She brings her wrist up to kiss the bracelet.
“What are you-” I start to ask but she shushes me.
Before I can finish I hear a bark and look up to see a chocolate-brown furry dog scampering toward us. He launches himself into Amber’s arms, licking her face.
But it’s the dog’s collar that fascinates me. It’s glowing and spinning with flickering colors, shooting off energy that sizzles the hairs on my skin.
“What’s kind of dog collar is that?” I ask.
“A Duty Director. Most people can’t see the collar or Cola.” Some kids cross the hall near us without even glancing at the dog. Amber leans close to whisper in my ear. “He’s not a normal dog.”
“Yeah, I kind of guessed that.”
“He was my best friend when I was little—until he died. He visits whenever he can to relay messages from my grandmother. I know this sounds strange but it’s true. He’s telling me that you see visions and have the mark of a seer.”
I touch the black streak in my blond hair. “What’s he saying now?”
Cola sniffs then barks.
“Don’t take this the wrong way.” Amber flushes. “But Cola says you stink.”
“Excuse me!” I snap.
“Not you personally,” Amber says in an apologetic tone. “He says you smell like you’ve been in contact with a Dark Lifer.”
“A Dark what?”
“Dark Lifer. They’re people who have--” The ringing school bell interrupts and around us kids hurry to class. But Amber doesn’t join them. Instead she puts her arm around my shoulder and says we need to talk somewhere private.
“I thought my being psychic would freak you out,” I admit. “But talking to a dead dog is way over the freak-factor.”
Amber laughs. “It’s not something I usually tell anyone, but since you see ghosts and chat with a spirit guide, I knew you’d understand.”
Cola nudges her knee and Amber translates that he has to go return to her grandmother. After he leaves, I offer to drive and Amber directs me to a nearby cemetery (after telling me two wrong turns). A locked gate bars entry to a cemetery that’s covered in weeds, broken concrete and crumbling ghostly gravestones.
We stay in the car, slipping off seat belts, and face each other.
“I don’t understand anything since my boyfriend left,” I admit, sighing. “I want to learn, though, anything you can tell me.”
So she tells me how a near-death experience took her to the other side where she reunited with a beloved grandmother and Cola. “Then I accidentally became a Temp Lifer—too complicated to explain now. Short version: a Temp Lifer is someone who goes into different bodies so troubled souls can take a rest. But some Temp Lifers go bad and steal into bodies without permission. Those disturbed souls become Dark Lifers.”
When Amber finishes, I tell her how being psychic runs in my family. “At first it scared me and I shut out ghostly visions. But now I realize it’s a gift that can help people. Unfortunately it’s not something I can control so I can’t help the people I love,” I add. Then I tell her what happened with Dominic.
Amber frowns. “When he yelled at you did you notice his hands?”
“Yeah, they were in bad shape--bruised so badly they looked gray.”
“Did they glow?”
I stare at her, my heart tightening. Then I nod. “How’d you know?”
“I’m so sorry, Sabine,” Amber reaches across the car seat to touch my arm. “But a Dark Lifer has stolen Dominic’s body.”
******************
NEW PART ADDED SEPTEMBER 29th!!! READ ON
**************************
* * *
Some creepy dark entity is living in Dominic’s body? I want to go after that body-thief right now and make him return Dominic! But Amber says that’s the job of the DDT (Dark Disposal Team). She assures me that Dominic will be fine and return when the Dark Lifer is captured.
Here’s the problem—we can’t contact the DDT without finding Dominic’s body.
I check my phone again but no messages from Dominic. Of course not, since he’s not himself. Literally. Ohmygod! How can I help him? I lean back in the car seat, closing my eyes to summon a vision of Dominic. But I get nothing.
Facing Amber across the seat, I frown. “I have no clue where Dominic is.”
“There are always clues,” she insists. “We just have to find them. What did he say to you?”
“Dominic yelled to leave him alone then he drove off in his truck.”
“Did he say anything before he stole your boyfriend’s body?”
“Huh? Oh, you mean the guy who threatened Jill?”
“Not just any guy—a Dark Lifer,” Amber says ominously.
“He held a knife to Jill and ordered her to tell him how to find someone named Vance. But Jill didn’t know anything.”
“Are you sure? Or could she have been protecting someone?”
“Jill had a knife to her throat—she wasn’t lying.”
But I wonder--what if Jill knows more? With Dominic’s life at stake, I immediately send her a text asking her to call me. A minute later, she does. Without wasting time on explanations, I bluntly ask if she was being honest when she told the attacker she didn’t know Vance.
“That monster had the wrong girl,” Jill answers. “He said he saw me at Vance’s house yesterday, but that’s impossible.”
“You weren’t anywhere except your house and the Delta Diva?” I ask.
“Yeah—except I’m not staying at my home. I’m house-sitting for a cute couple on their honeymoon. Before you ask, they’re Jessica and Mitch Barnett—not Vance.”
“But they might know Vance,” I suggest.
“Then it’s not over.” Jill gasps. “He might come back! And I have to stay there tonight—alone.”
“No you don’t,” I glance over at Amber and she nods like maybe she’s a little psychic, too.
By the time I hang up, we have a plan for tonight.
Amber and I are house-sitting.
* * *
When I introduce Jill to Amber, I can tell they like each other. But I notice crimson fear in Jill’s aura and thumbprint bruises on her neck. After she gives us a tour of the Barnett house, I tell her to go home, that Amber and I will stay. She argues but not that much; it’s obvious she can’t wait to get out of here.
There are reminder notes everywhere: Feed the fish. Turn off lights. Water plants. There are so many potted plants that the three-bedroom house reminds me of a jungle. One wall displays a collage of photographs. There are many showing a young black-haired girl embracing a husky shaved-head guy with a shy smile. In a large family photo there are a dozen smiling faces: siblings, parents, grandparents and even a wrinkled guy who looks over a hundred.
Nothing suspicious.
When Jill’s gone, Amber whispers, “You shared your secret with me, now I’ll share one with you.” Then she shows me a small red book titled simply: GEM. When she opens it, all I see are blank pages. She explains that GEM stands for Guidance Evaluation Manual. It offers advice and can report seeing a Dark Lifer to the Dark Disposal Team.
Amber speaks to the book. “Where is the Dark Lifer?”
To my surprise, a word curls across the paper: Nearby.
Shivers creep through me.
“What is he doing?” Amber asks.
Dark squiggles worm across the page. “Watching you.”
We both jump up and spend the next ten minutes rushing around to close curtains and check that doors are locked. When we’re done, I feel safe…almost.
We return to the GEM and ask it why the Dark Lifer searching for Vance.
“Revenge,” the book spells out.
Amber asks the book where Vance is but the pages stay blank. Amber shakes the book and demands that it answer her. In reply, the GEM flips shut like a slap.
“I don’t need you, Stupid Book,” Amber says. “Dustin can find out more anyway.” She tosses the GEM aside and grabs her phone.
Amber tells me that Dustin Cole, her second best friend, is a computer genius. “He has so many computers in his bedroom, there’s no room for a bed and he uses a sleeping bag. He already knows about Dark Lifers so he’ll understand what’s going on.”
She only talks a few minutes and he promises to call back soon.
We heat up a frozen pizza and watch a movie but it’s impossible to relax. I jump when the wind whines or a branch creaks. I sense the Dark Lifer soul nearby, stalking us. Knowing he’s in Dominic body makes me want to rush to him. But I don’t because my head knows he’s not really Dominic. I only pick at my pizza, hurting too much to enjoy food.
Tired of thinking and feeling so much, I curl up with a pillow on the couch and shut my eyes. Dark-cloud thoughts drift storms through my mind but I push them away. And I tumble, down, deep into darkness….

“Look what I nicked?” A tow-headed teen brags, holding tight to a brown bag.
“What you got there, Randy?” This boy is taller, almost a man with stubble on his chin. Both wear overalls and faded cotton shirts.
“Firecrackers.” Randy grins. “They’re beauts, Vance, and I got me a doozy of an idea how to use them. It’ll serve old Jenkins for saying I wasn’t good enough for Sarah Anne and threatening to shoot me if I didn’t get off his property. Well, I’m on his property now and he ain’t gonna find out till it’s too late.”
“Don’t do nothin’ dumb,” Vance warns “Or I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” Randy says with a fierce glare. “You gotta snitch on me?”
“I’d never do that. We’re pals.”
“Swear on your life you’ll stick by me. No matter what.”
Vance hesitates then nods. “I swear.”
Randy leads his friend to a barn, creeping between shadowy old cars. Randy says he’s going to set off the fireworks by Jenkins’ prized cow. “But she won’t be such a prize after I spook her.” Randy asks Vance to stand watch outside.
“I’ll warn you if Old Jenkins come round,” Vance promises.
Then Randy goes inside the barn and lights a match. Smoke sputters as colorful flame explodes. A cow kicks a wall, mooing. Randy flicks the lighter flame again, only a spark flies and a bale of hay crackles on fire. Randy laughs, pleased in his revenge and not caring if the whole barn burns down. But when he tries to open the door, his laughter dies. It’s latched from the outside. He shouts for Vance to open the door, over and over, till his words become coughs and bloody hands fall from the door…
Rap music shrieks.

My eyes snap open and I sit up from the couch.
“Sorry! Didn’t mean to wake you.” Amber picks up her cell. “But it’s Dustin.”
I take deep breaths to clear smoky fear from my mind. Amber is talking excitedly, writing fast on a notepad. When she hangs up, she gestures to the family photos on the wall. “Dustin didn’t have much to go on so he ran a search the Barnetts. Jessica’s maiden name is Vance. Her father is James Alexander Vance the Third.”
“Vance!” I exclaim. “So the Dark Lifer did have the right house!”
“Almost. The house has been in Jessica’s family for generations. But her father moved out after his wife died, giving the house to Jessica and moving to a condo downtown.” Amber shows me a yellow Post-It with the address.
I quickly tell Amber about my dream then grab her arm. “We need to go now!” I say. “And warn Mr. Vance.”
“It’s too late tonight.” Amber shakes her curly head. “But we’ll go early tomorrow. And we’ll finally find out why the Dark Lifer is after Mr. Vance.”
“I think I already know. I just had a dream—more than a dream. A vision from the past about the Dark Lifer before he died,” I say, shivering. “I saw him burn to death.”
* * *
PART FOUR (only one part left till The End!)


Amber and I talked for hours about my dream. We still don’t know much but suspect the Dark Lifer (Randy) blames Mr. Vance for his death. Could his revenge involve fire and death? Finally we’re so tired, we head to the guest bedroom.
I’m reaching for my pajamas when I hear a rattling sound—like someone’s trying to force open a door.
I glance over at Amber and put my finger to my lips. I mouth, “Where’s your GEM?” She mouths back, “Living room.”
I groan. My phone is there, too. And I don’t see one in our room.
A thump from outside…then silence.
“We have to find out!” Amber whispers. Then she jumps up and out of the room,
When I start after her, a voice hisses in my head, “Trouble awaits! Don’t go!” I recognize Opal. But I keep running.
When I reach the living room, it’s too late.
Trouble has grabbed Amber—and he’s wearing Dominic’s body.
For a crazy moment, my heart soars and I almost fling myself into Dominic’s arms. But the strange twist of lips that I have kissed and the hands which have held me gently now glow with an eerie grayness. And I can see an unearthly gray aura that sickens my soul. There’s no doubt this is the Dark Lifer: AKA Randy.
“Let her go,” I say as calm as possible.
“Why should I?” Randy taunts in Dominic’s voice. “A scrawny thing like you can’t hurt me.”
Now I’m just getting mad. I look around for something—anything!—to use against him. I spot a letter opener on a desk and dive for it. Waving it like a sword, unfortunately a very short one, I say, “I’ll use this if I have to.”
Randy laughs, but when I parry and then thrust forward, the letter opener’s sharp blade barely misses him and he stops laughing. I’m shocked to see real fear on his face.
“Cut his…his hands!” Amber rasps. “He…He’ll be…be ejected from…body.”
I don’t understand but it sounds like a plan. If all I have to do is cut him and he’ll leave Dominic’s body, I’d use every skill I ever learned in fencing class (even some of the dirty tricks we’re told not to do).
But as I lunge forward, Randy shoves Amber’s between us. “Go ahead—but you’ll cut her. Not me. Now drop that stupid toy,” he snaps.
I hesitate. He presses his hands tightly around Amber’s neck and she cries out in pain. I drop the blade.
“Stop!” Amber moans, flailing like a rag dog. “Your hands… burning me.”
“And why is that?” He stares down at her curiously. “Earthbounders shouldn’t have such delicious energy. Have you’ve been in contact with the other side recently? Is that why your energy feels so sweet? Who are you?”
Amber pants for breath, and her aura flickers with scarlet pain. The more she struggles, the more energy flows from her and into the Dark Lifer. I’ve never seen anything like it and guess this has to do with Amber’s work as a Temp Lifer. I look around the room for the GEM—it’s lying on the coffee table.
“Stop! Let her go!” I cry, inching toward the GEM. “I’ll tell you everything!”
“What do you know?” he demands.
“Where Vance is.”
He loosens his grip on Amber. She slumps to the carpet, unconscious.
I start for Amber but he grabs my arm. His touch is rough but doesn’t burn me like it did Amber.
“Where’s Vance!” he demands.
I’m so close to him now that my heart dies; the face I love staring down on me with hatred. Not my Dominic, I remind myself. But I can’t help but wonder--where is Dominic? If I call out to him, will he hear me? Oh, Dominic, if you’re here in any form, please come back. I need you.
“TELL ME!” Randy squeezes my arm viciously. “Where is he?”
“I-I can’t talk when you’re hurting me!”
He eases his grip and I take the chance to dive for the GEM. I grasp the cover but before I can flip it open, Randy slams into me. The book flies from my fingers and I’m tossed to the floor. My knee bangs into the coffee table. Pain shoots through me.
“Damned GEM!” Randy roars as he scoops the small book in Dominic’s calloused hands. “You think I didn’t know what this was? I was a Temp Lifer, before I went rogue. Since GEMs are freaking indestructible I’ll dump it later. First you’re gonna tell me how to find Vance.”
“I’m not telling you anything!”
“Your friend is a Temp Lifer, isn’t she? That’s why her energy is so sweet. Do what I say or I’ll absorb so much of her glowing energy that she’ll grow weak until she stops breathing.”
“No! Leave her alone!” I rush to Amber’s side, terrified because she’s so lifeless.
“She’ll die if you don’t tell me where Vance is.”
I don’t know what to say, staring down at Amber’s pale, still body. She doesn’t move.
The Dark Lifer advances and I try to protect Amber but he’s pushes me aside. He reaches his glowing hands for Amber. “I’ll finish her off now,” he threatens.
“Okay…okay!” I grab the yellow Post-It note off a counter and toss it to him. “That’s Mr. Vance’s address. Get out of here! Leave us alone!”
“Now that’s more like it.” He reads the note, grinning. But instead of leaving he grabs me by the hair. I cry out as he yanks me to my feet. “You’re coming with me.”
Then he half-drags me outside, shoves me into Dominic’s truck, and we drive off.

CPART 5 - the FINALE!

* * *
Being in Dominic’s truck brings back so many memories: his boyish grin when he showed off his new truck, the key ring shaped like a falcon I’d given him, and the wintry night when we were trapped in a snow storm, snuggling to stay warm.
But the Dominic beside me is only a physical shell. The soul inside is dark and deadly, hell-bent on murder. Call it intuition or a psychic vision, but I know he’s planning to kill Vance. No compassion, only vengeance.
And if I die, too, well that’s not his problem.
My best hope lies in the GEM. I watched carefully when he tossed it on top of Dominic’s black leather jacket in the back seat. But there’s no way I can reach it from the front seat.
The truck slams to a stop in front of dust-brown rows of condos. Randy jumps out and is at my door, dragging me out. He finds a bungee cord in the truck and wraps it around my wrists then pushes me in front of him. I notice a glint of silver from his shirt pocket. At first I think it’s a knife but up close I can see it’s a metal lighter.
Hot with terror, I mentally cry out for Opal’s help. I’m swept along like a brittle leaf in a wildfire. Everything happens too fast. Randy attacks the door with a metal lock pick, jiggling until there’s a click. When the door falls open, he warns, “Make a sound and you’re dead.” I believe him.
Stumbling down a hall, sounds of a TV intensify. We turn into a living room and I see him—a middle-aged man at a table, piecing together a puzzle. His aura is green and yellow; a gentle soul. His dark hair is receding and he’s pudgy with the pale complexion of a couch potato. I’ve seen his face before in the Barnett’s family photo: Jessica’s father.
A puzzle piece falls from his fingers as he gasps at us. “Who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me, Vance?” the Dark Lifer mocks.
“I’ve never seen you before!”
“Admittedly, I do look different. But I’ll make sure you remember.”
“You’re no friend of mine!” Vance argues, his voice quavering. “And why are that girl’s hands tied? Get out of my-”
The Dark Lifer cuts off Vance with a slap and I’m shoved aside. I stumble backwards, falling awkwardly to the carpet.
“The last time we were together you promised to watch out for me,” Randy says accusingly. “We were closer than brothers but you betrayed me!”
“You’re crazy! I don’t know you!” Vance pulls a wallet from his pocket. “Take my money then get out. I don’t want any trouble.”
“Why didn’t you think of that in the barn?” Randy ignores the wallet and whips out a knife from his back pocket. “You locked the door and left me to burn.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” the man insists.
“You killed me and now you owe me!”
I struggle to push myself off the floor, tugging at the cord tying my hands behind my back. I want to help Jessica’s father but I can’t even help myself.
“A life for a life,” the Dark Lifer says ominously to Vance, shoving a knife in his face with one hand and whipping rope around his hands with the other. “I won’t gag you because I want to hear your screams. Just like you heard mine.”
“I don’t even know you! Please…don’t do this!”
He sounds so convincing that I feel in my gut he’s telling the truth. But if he’s telling the truth, does that mean the Dark Lifer is lying? I think back to my dream; remember the old-fashioned way the boys spoke and dressed. Vance should be much older than this man—if he was still alive.
I’m overcome by an eerie chill—then I see the ghost.
At first it’s only a golden glimmer from the ceiling but then it grows and forms into a shape of a man. The face flickers from smooth to wrinkled, so I can’t tell if this ghost is young or old. Somehow he’s both—and I recognize him.
“It’s him!” I cry out. “The real Vance!”
All eyes turn toward me; both human and spectral.
“What are you staring at?” Dark Lifer Randy demands.
“Don’t you see him?” I point at the ghost who has grown young before my eyes, now looking exactly like the boy from my vision.
“What sort of con are you pulling?” Randy’s gaze sweeps the room. “There’s only you, me and Vance.”
“He’s not the right Vance!” I tell Randy. “He doesn’t know anything about the fire in the barn.”
“He knows all right! He locked the door and left me to die!”
The ghost shakes his head. “Tell him that ain’t what happened. It was Old Jenkins—he smacked me with a bat and I didn’t know nothing till I smelled smoke.”
“Jenkins locked him in?” I guess.
Randy stares at me. “What do you know about Old Man Jenkins?”
“Not me. Him.” I point. “Vance is a ghost. You have the wrong man.”
“Impossible. You’re trying to trick me. I don’t see any ghost.”
“He can’t see me while in an earthbounder body,” Vance-the-Ghost says. “He always did leap before he looked--like when he went joy-riding in my dad’s truck on a frozen pond and the ice cracked—he was lucky I was close by to pull him out.”
“You saved Randy from the ice?” I ask.
“We were pals. Ain’t nothing I wouldn’t do for him. That’s why I’m here now, trying to save him before it’s really too late. If the Dark Disposal Team catches him in that stolen body, his soul is doomed forever. But if he can’t see me, it’s hopeless.”
“I’ll tell him.” I turn to Randy. “Vance is here to help you.”
“Stop saying there’s a ghost! That’s Vance.” He points to the frightened man sitting in a chair with his hands tied.
“No!” I gesture to the ghost then repeat everything he told me. When I get to the part about the truck on ice, I can tell Randy is beginning to believe me so I keep talking. “Vance isn’t the one who left you to die—it was Sarah Ann’s father.”
“Vance promised to watch out for me. Why didn’t he open the door?”
I turn to Ghost-Vance then repeat what he tells me. “Jenkins knocked him out and when he came to the fire was burning. He tried to run in but Jenkins aimed a shotgun at him and told him to get out and never tell anyone or he’d kill him, too.”
“If Vance is a ghost, who’s this guy?” Randy points to his trembling captive.
“I think his son,” I say. “Didn’t you ever add up the years? You died decades ago. Vance passed on, too, and it took a lot of effort for him to come here now. But he did it because he’s your friend.”
“I-I don’t believe it. If he’s here, I should be able to see him.”
“You’re in a stolen body.” I speak calmly yet my words tremble when I say “body” because I’m fighting for Dominic.
“I’m not falling for your lies.”
“If I’m lying,” I say as I listen to the ghost. “Then there’s no way I could know about the time you kissed Sarah Anne in the hayloft or the poem you copied from a book and told Sarah Anne you wrote just for her.”
Randy narrows his gaze at me. “If you know so much, where was Vance’s and my secret hideout?”
“In a wood shack that used to be a chicken coop.”
His jaw drops. Then he lifts his arms and shouts, ““Show yourself, Vance. If you’re really here, let me see you!”
“You can’t when you’re blocked by that body,” I tell him. “And Vance says he has to leave soon. He wants to talk to you but he’s fading….”
I hold my breath, waiting. Then an electric current sizzles through the room. I stumble to the floor, my bound arms twisting painfully. But I ignore the pain and stare at a swirl of silvery mist rising from Dominic’s body. The mist solidifies to a gray figure with dark hair and a youthful face. “Vance!” he cries, reaching for his childhood pal.
Only before the old friends can unite, there’s a blinding light. Three figures in dark business suits appear: a woman with her hair pulled back in a bun and the two blond men with ordinary, forgettable faces. But the silver whips they all carry are far from ordinary, snapping like snakes, wrapping around Randy. The Dark Disposal Team, I realize, and I want to beg them to give us more time; that Randy wasn’t such a bad guy after all—only I hear someone call my name.
And I look into Dominic’s loving blue eyes.
He’s back.
* * *
The next evening my eyes are blindfolded and I’m being led up narrow stairs by Dominic’s strong yet gentle hands. It’s supposed to be a surprise but I can hear the soft lap of waves and feel the sway beneath my feet. A door creaks and a whoosh of sweet sultry air caresses me, and my guess is confirmed. We’re on the Delta Diva.
“Surprise,” Dominic says.
“Oooh,” I say, delighted by the covered table set for two and twinkling lights strung like Christmas. I’m so touched I can’t find the words to tell Dominic how much I appreciate this, knowing he’s done all this for me.
“Do you like it?” he asks as he very gentlemanly pulls out a chair for me. He’s cleaned up from his usual outdoor clothes, looking handsome in a sky-blue shirt and midnight-black slacks.
“It’s all so amazing,” I say in breathless joy. “I can’t believe you arranged all this for me.”
“It’s the first half of your surprise.”
“What’s the second half?”
“After our romantic deck-top dinner, we’ll go downstairs to hang out with some special friends.”
“Who?”
“Ah, but that’s a surprise. Just wait to find out.”
I stare into his blue eyes and instead of my own reflection, I see a flash of two faces close together: a girl slightly older than me with curly dark-auburn hair and a medium-height and friendly looking guy. Amber and Eli. And I know they’re waiting downstairs, enjoying their own romantic dinner.
But I hate to spoil my own surprise so I shake my head. “I can’t wait,” I say softly. “But you didn’t need to plan any surprise. I’m just happy being here with you.”
“You deserve much more,” he says with a catch in his throat. “You rescued me from doing horrible things. I don't remember much but I’m sorry for everything I did.”
“You didn’t do anything—it was the Dark Lifer,” I remind him for the zillionth time. “But Randy won’t bother us ever again. He’s getting a second chance on the other side. So everything’s great.”
“Better than great.” Dominic comes up and slips his arm around me, pulling me close to him.
“What about our meal?” I ask with a flirty smile.
“It can wait. But this can’t.” He whispers kisses across my cheek until they settle sweet and wonderfully on my lips.
I sigh happily, holding his body tight against mine.
Dominic and I are back where we belong.
Together.
The End.

SABINE MEETS DEAD GIRL coming soon!

SEER and DEAD GIRL fans -- check this blog soon for a short story uniting Sabine from THE SEER and Amber from DEAD GIRL (plus Dominic and a Dark Lifer). It'll be posted on this blog in five parts. This story was written for fans so it's free. After all five parts are concluded, the short story will move to my website.

CHECK BACK HERE SOON!

20 years to publication

DEAD GIRL WALKING: 20 YEARS TO PUBLICATION

By Linda Joy Singleton (in celebration of the release of DEAD GIRL IN LOVE)



Would you stick with a book if you knew it would take 20 years from idea to publication? In 1988 I wrote TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY. Every few years I would rewrite and submit again. In 2007, I changed the title to DEAD GIRL WALKING. Here are author-editor emails that followed:



June 22, 2007 (8:30AM): Emailing my Flux editor, Andrew Karre, on another project, I added:

I also recently reworked my YA suicide/switched body story, DEAD GIRL WALKING, if you wanted to look at it.



June 22, 2007 (10:30AM): From my editor:

If you d like to send DEAD GIRL WALKING (email, please), I d have a look, of course.



July 3, 2007 (2PM): From my editor:

Are you going to around on Thursday or Friday? If you are, I’d like to chat with you about this project. Let me know when you’ll have some time.



July 3, 2007 (3:07PM) To my editor:

I'd love to talk with you on Thursday.



July 5, 2007 (1:47PM) From my editor:

It was good to talk, as always. I’m attaching my markup of the ms (notes in the right margin), but it’s mostly what I said on the phone. I m excited to see how this develops. I m sure you’ll surprise me.



July 5, 2007: (2:03PM) To my editor:

I've been thinking it over and see the arc of at least 3 books, following her as she tries to go back to her own body. I'll work on it more and send you a basic description of the three books.

I'm playing with titles and have these ideas so far:

DEAD GIRL DANCING and DEAD GIRL IN LOVE

I think the DANCING one could stem from her desire to be an entertainment agent. I'm seeing Amber as someone who can't figure out who she is and envies others, wishing she could have their life because it seems easier or more glamorous. Getting lost, finding herself...themes I'm working on.



July 9, 2007 (10:47AM): To my editor:

I expect to send you revised chapters and a new synopsis later this week. I am very excited about your idea of a possible short DEAD GIRL series.



July 11, 2007 (10:40AM) From my editor:

I read your new draft, and I think it is much improved. This is much closer to what I was picturing, and I feel like you’ve started out on the right foot with your protagonist. I like this Amber a lot more, and I want to know what happens to her. Of course, I have comments and I’ll pass them along in a bit, but in the main this is what I was hoping you d do. Bravo!



July 11, 2007 (11:05AM): To my editor:

I'll start plotting the additional books and get this to you within a few days. By the way, I love your ideas about other people being like Amber--very cool! My brain wheels are churning.



July 16, 2007 (3:38PM) From my editor:

I will be pitching the series to the committee on Thursday, so expect to hear from me on Thursday or more likely Friday.



July 16, 2007 (4:00PM) To my editor:

Great! Thursday I'll be home but Friday I'll be camping.



Thursday, July 19, 2007: From Linda Joy Singleton’s journal:

At 9AM the phone rang. Editor Andrew...

I sucked in deep breaths and kind of stammered something like "Hi...gasp." He chuckled and said he had good news. Then he offered me a 3-book contract with DEAD GIRL WALKING; DEAD GIRL DANCING and DEAD GIRL IN LOVE. YAY!!!!!



DEAD GIRL IN LOVE is now available -- completing the trilogy about love, loss, best friends and body-swapping.

Contest ends - 1 week! New book trailer!

Contest for ages 9-19 ends July 31st. Rules in previous post here. $100 prize!

Also check out my cool new book trailer for DON'T DIE DRAGONFLY -- a teen created it for me and didn't she do a great job???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVtIerHabRo