I'm very excited to welcome my fellow Clean Reads author, TC Booth, to the blog. Her new YA contemporary romance, To Be Honest, was released yesterday. It's a great story with wonderful characters. I absolutely adored Starla and Chase :)
Meet the Characters
Starla Emerson
Starla lacks self-confidence due to a deformity in her hand. Teens in
general fear embarrassment in front of their peers, so the physical difference
compounds this fear for Starla. She suffers from anxiety at a level that
exceeds the norm and has had to learn ways to cope. The list below is what I learned
through Star's character.
1. Tapping is a technique to lower anxiety. This method operates much like
Chinese acupuncture without the needles. You use your fingers to locate tapping
points on your body that trigger emotional balance along with focusing on words
to bring you back in balance. I found it interesting and much more involved
than my brief little snip of information here. Starla uses this technique in
the story when her anxiety rises.
2. Photography is another outlet for Star that she enjoys. I learned about
different types of lenses used in photography. The coolest thing I found out
was that night vision lenses use infared light not visible to the naked eye in
order to illuminate an area.
3. Starla loves to quote classic literature and apply it to her life. I
added some classic literature titles to my 'want to read' list as a result of
the quotes. I admit to never having read "Little Women". After
reading some quotes from this classic, my interest is piqued.
4. Internet bullying is a means to target a victim in today's technology
world. I've posted on this topic while writing the book. The information I
learned was too valuable not to share. You can read my posts on this topic by
clicking the titles: Big Hair and Bullies & Her Hair is Full of Secrets
5. I learned to let Starla lead the story. Of course I started this story
with an outline of where I wanted it to go. As Starla's character developed and
she experienced things in the story, I allowed her to take over and lead. She
turned into a much stronger girl than the one from the beginning of the story.
I hope you enjoy her journey!
To Be Honest
TC Booth
YA Contemporary Romance
Clean Reads
July 21, 2015
A freak accident
left Starla Emerson with a deformed hand, low self-esteem, and a need to fade
into the background. However, she finds it impossible to be invisible at her
new high school where she is pushed front and center by a behind the scenes
internet bully.
She joins forces with newfound friends to
launch a counter attack in order to expose the cyber bully, aka
grizzlygirl2015. Part of the plan involves a boy named Chase McFall. Star feels
more for this golden eyed boy than she should as the plan progresses. The plan
backfires and lands Star in a mountain of trouble.
Will she have the courage to be honest about
her part in the plan and her true feelings for Chase? Or will she be left
heartbroken? Once the truth is
out…there’s no turning back.
Excerpt
Still fueled from the anger
coursing in my veins, I marched up to Maggie. “May I borrow your blue
lipstick?”
Maggie creased her eyebrows.
“Okay.” She reached in her purse and handed me a black tube. I twisted it until
a blue waxy tip appeared. I smeared a thick coat of blue over my lips and
puckered. I looked at Rayne. “You challenged me to do this, okay?”
Rayne glanced at Maggie. She
shrugged. Jake arched an eyebrow.
“Ooo-kay,” Rayne said.
I spun on my heel. My heart thudded
loud in my ears as I marched toward the group of skateboarders and BMX guys
that stood in a circle. I scanned over the faces of the circle until I found my
target. After I sucked in a breath, I pushed my way past the curious faces of the
boys, until I was face to face with Chase. The group fell silent. Chase tilted
his head and quirked his eyebrow. I took another deep breath then placed my
hands on Chase’s broad shoulders, rose on my tiptoes, and placed a blue kiss on
his cheek. The boys erupted with laughter and whistles.
“Tell your girlfriend where that
came from.” I tapped the blue mark left on his cheek. The shock on his face
left, replaced with a half-twisted smile. That infuriating grin of his was
back. I shouldered my way through the boys. Heads turned, tracking my
movements. My friends gawked at me like I’d grown three heads. I slipped onto
the seat at the table so my back was to Chase.
“Whoa, Emerson. You just rocked the
challenge above all challenges, even though you didn’t really get challenged,”
Rayne said. “That didn’t make any sense, did it?” He lifted one dark eyebrow.
Jake shook his head,
still wide-eyed. “Not at all.”
Playlist
"Steal My Girl" by One Direction
"Don’t Stop Believin’" by Journey
"Heroes" by Alesso and Tove Lo
"Fight Song" by Rachel Platten
About the Author
TC Booth was born and raised in a small town in Northeast Ohio where
she currently teaches. She lives with her husband and four children
ranging in ages from 13-23. Her pets include one dog named Sammy, and two cats-
Sheldon and Sasha.
TC Booth views books as the best form of entertainment and her
escape for life’s stresses. She prefers reading a book over watching a movie,
and writing over almost any other way to spend her time.
When not attending her children’s sporting
events and running them around, you’ll see her writing on her laptop, iPad, and
even jotting ideas down on her phone apps.
She enjoys the escape from the adult universe
into the adolescent world. The passion in which young people experience life is
contagious and the driving force of her writing.
Author
Social Media Links:
Thank you for hosting me today on you beautiful blog.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Good luck with the release :)
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