The End of Always

Well, it's been a minute, hasn't it?

I'm back and thrilled to announce that my latest book, The End of Always, is being published by the wonderful Second Story Press. It's due out on April 16, 2024, and I can't wait to share it with all of you. Details are below, including the stunning cover designed by talented artist Erin McCluskey and Laura Atherton, the production manager at Second Story Press.

Ever since Isobel’s mom died, her dad won’t stop preparing for the rest of the world to end—attending doomsday survivalist meetings, packing bug-out bags, and drawing up plans for a secret backyard bunker. He’s methodically stacked and stored countless packs of batteries and bottles of water in the basement. And thirty-six cans of tomato soup.

But Isobel has no interest in it. She has enough to deal with between finishing high school and trying to shield her little sister April from their dad’s increasing paranoia. She’s managing to cope—until their dad decides to move them all to Endurance Ranch, a survivalist community in the middle of nowhere. When Isobel meets Dane, the son of a hardcore prepper couple, she doesn’t feel as isolated at the ranch as she first thought. But she wants to be in control of her own future. She realizes it’s going to be up to her to save her sister—and herself—from a life underground.

The paperback is available for preorder now!

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THESE THINGS I'VE DONE

It started back in August 2014, when I received this email (reposted here with permission) from my friend Cara, the talented author of the amazing Sententia series and fellow ABNA alum:

My first response? I loved the idea, but I wasn't sure if I could write something so dark and heavy. Then I thought about it. Then thought about it some more. Ideas took shape. A lot of brainstorming occurred between Cara and me. And suddenly, I had an outline. It was happening. This would be Dara's story, like Cara said in her email (backstory: a little while before this, she told me she wanted to have a main character named Dara, but it was too close to her name, so maybe I should use it instead. I promised her that my next main character would be Dara).

So I created Dara Shepard, a girl struggling with guilt. And Aubrey, the best friend she accidentally killed. And Ethan, Aubrey's younger brother who, after a year away, Dara returns to and discovers he's not the same boy she once knew. I decided on a format--non-linear with two separate timelines: sophomore year (past tense), which leads up to the tragedy, and senior year (present tense), which takes place over a year after the tragedy occurred. Two separate storylines, before and after, weaved together.

TTID is the most challenging book I've ever written. It was the first book that made me cry. I ate, slept, and breathed the characters for months. They never left my head. When I finished I cried again, because I was so happy to be done, and also because I knew I'd miss the characters. Never had I been so invested in a manuscript.

I hoped it would someday pay off.

Fast-forward to January. My agent called to tell me we had an offer. A wonderful two-book deal with HarperTeen. It was lunchtime, I remember, and I'd been eating soup when Eric called. My soup got cold. I don't recall everything Eric said on the phone. I think he cried (he's kind of famous for that). I remember writing down the deal details on a piece of paper for my husband while I was talking. I remember having to sit down as Eric described this amazing offer. I remember crying and hugging my husband when I hung up. It was probably the best phone call I've ever gotten. I never did get back to my soup.

Now, finally, I can show you this:

A lot of people worked hard on this book, but I'll never forget how it all started. Cara and her email. None of this would be happening if it weren't for her, and even though I've thanked her repeatedly, I feel like it's not enough. So once again: Cara, thank you, Thank you for the idea. Thank you for helping me flesh out the story. Thank you for critiqued it for me, and for assured me that I did it justice. Thank you for Dara.

Also, none of this would be happening without my amazing agent, Eric Smith. Thank you so much for loving this book and agreeing to take on little old me. #TeamRocks rules!

The day I've been waiting for...well...forever?

So this happened...

Can you read that? The middle one? Yes, that says I have a two-book deal with Kensington Publishing and my YA novel, FAKING PERFECT (which is the book I think I'm most proud of) will be out in Summer 2015.

I know it sounds corny and all, but this is a dream come true for me. I've known about this for weeks, but much like two years ago before the big ABNA announcement, I couldn't tell more than a few people and it was TORTURE. Now that's it's finally out there, I can say I HAVE A BOOK DEAL!!!

Most of my thanks has to go to my amazing agent, Carly Watters. She worked her butt off for me and never quit. We did it!

What is FAKING PERFECT all about, you may wonder? Well....


When seventeen-year-old Lexi Shaw seduced Tyler Flynn at the beginning of senior year, her rules were perfectly clear: keep the relationship a secret, avoid each other around school, and most importantly, never get attached. But Tyler, school burnout and all-around bad boy, has never been one to follow the rules.

For Lexi, keeping secrets is imperative. After changing her image in tenth grade, she joined Oakfield High’s brainiest and most admired clique, led by overachiever Emily and brilliant, perfect Ben, the most sought-after boy in school and the object of Lexi’s unrequited crush. Her friends would never accept the real her, with the bad-girl ways she doesn’t always resist and an immature mother who’s too distracted with her creepy new boyfriend to remember to pay the bills. But her biggest source of shame is her father, a drug-addicted musician who abandoned her when she was four. The only person who knows the real Lexi is her neighbor and childhood friend, Nolan, and that’s the way she intends to keep it.

Inevitably, Lexi’s secrets begin to unravel, threatening the perfect image she worked so hard to build. Tyler starts to get attached, her friends become suspicious, and if all that isn’t stressful enough, she reconnects with the father she hasn’t seen or spoken to in thirteen years. Growing up, she heard countless stories about the terrible things he’s done. But as Lexi gets to know him—along with Tyler and Ben too—she discovers there are two sides to every story, and people aren’t always what they seem. And maybe the gap between who she is and who she wants to be isn’t as wide as she thought.

I had a ridiculous amount of fun writing this book and I'm excited for you all to read it!