Blog Tour Next Door To A Star

NEXT DOOR TO A STAR by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Genre: Young Adult

★ SYNOPSIS ★

Hadley Daniels is tired of feeling invisible.

After Hadley’s best friend moves away and she gets on the bad side of some girls at school, she goes to spend the summer with her grandparents in the Lake Michigan resort town of Grand Haven. Her next door neighbor is none other than teen TV star Simone Hendrickson, who is everything Hadley longs to be—pretty, popular, and famous—and she’s thrilled when Simone treats her like a friend.

Being popular is a lot harder than it looks.

It’s fun and flattering when Simone includes her in her circle, though Hadley is puzzled about why her new friend refuses to discuss her former Hollywood life. Caught up with Simone, Hadley finds herself ignoring her quiet, steadfast friend, Charlotte.

To make things even more complicated, along comes Nick Jenkins…

He’s sweet, good-looking, and Hadley can be herself around him without all the fake drama. However, the mean girls have other ideas and they fill Nick’s head with lies about Hadley, sending him running back to his ex-girlfriend and leaving Hadley heartbroken.

So when her parents decide to relocate to Grand Haven, Hadley hopes things will change when school starts…only to be disappointed once again.

Cliques. Back-stabbing. Love gone bad.

Is this really what it’s like to live…Next Door To A Star?

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLXsu2c43k

Excerpt from Next Door to a Star

“Hadley, did you see the new Celebrity Snooper blog today?” Aunt Faith asked. “Simone is in it with

Lauren Gere.”

“What? She didn’t say anything about that. Werethese super old pictures?”

“Here,” she said. “I’ll pull it up on my phone. It’s Simone and Lauren walking along the boardwalk with some blonde girl and a boy.”

“Does it say when that happened?” I asked. I couldn’t believe Simone wouldn’t have mentioned

Lauren had already been here.

Faith found the site on her phone and stared at it. “I’m not sure, but I guess it was pretty recent. Here,

look.”

Simone was on the phone in the picture and the blonde girl with them was Morgan. But what was worse  was that the boy was Nick and Lauren had her hand on his arm. Great, it was probably the same night I called Simone and she was too busy to talk. Maybe I was the one on the other end of the phone in the stupid picture. I had missed my chance to meet Lauren, and Simone never even told me when she was in town. I guess I wasn’t cool enough for her to admit she was friends with me to somebody like Lauren. Who was I kidding? A TV star wanting to hang out with me? We weren’t friends at all. I was somebody she ran to when she needed something. And Nick was probably humoring me until his new celebrity girlfriend called him back. I wanted to throw up all over the table.

Excerpt #2

Charlotte called later and asked if I wanted to go with her to the party tomorrow .I went to put on my fake tan and imagined myself walking into the party looking all tan and gorgeous, and everyone would be wondering who I was and why they hadn’t asked me to hang out with them before. Connor and Lucas would want my phone number, Nick would be begging me to go out with him, Simone would realize I was cool, and Morgan would want to be my friend.

Then reality set in. First, the fake tan squirted out of the bottle all gooey. I rubbed the cold cream all over my arms and legs and put a little on my face. Simone had said you had to wash your hands well or it would stain your palms. I wasn’t sure how to put the tanning stuff on the back of my hands without getting it on my palms and drying, so I decided not to put any on my hands at all. I sat on some paper towels so I wouldn’t get any brown stuff on my bed, but it seemed to dry fast.

I woke up the next morning and I was definitely darker. My face was kind of orange, but my arms and legs had streaks on them. It was like somebody had burned me with a curling iron. Plus, my hands looked like I had white gloves on compared to the rest of me. I couldn’t go to the party all streaky.

People would make fun of me. I thought about putting the tanning stuff on all the lighter places on my body, but then it might look like I had a disease.

I ended up wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans to the party. Charlotte had on a t-shirt and shorts when she came to pick me up.

“Aren’t you hot wearing all that?” she asked.

“I want to be covered for the mosquitoes,” I said. “Malaria is nothing to mess around with.”

I wasn’t the only one wearing jeans at the party, but I felt like I was dressed for a winter carnival when I saw Morgan and Pilar. Pilar had a deep pink halter top on with tiny jean shorts, and she had put some shimmery stuff all over her arms and legs. Morgan was wearing a blue crocheted tank top, and she would have passed for at least seventeen. She had her curly blonde hair down for a change, and all the guys were sitting around her.

“She’s so fake-looking,” Charlotte said as we watched Morgan and Lucas dance.

Morgan seemed so confident as she moved her hips. I wouldn’t be able to dance so free even if I was alone in my own bedroom. I was glad I had worn jeans because I would have seemed like a skinny kid next to Morgan’s muscular legs.

 Bio: Krysten Lindsay Hager is an obsessive reader and has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and humor essayist, and writes for teens, tweens, and adults. She is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series and the new Star Series and her work has been featured in USA Today and named as Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values and Virtues Fiction and Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Children’s Books on Values. Krysten writes about  friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, modeling, crushes, values, and self-image in True Colors and Best Friends…Forever? as well as in, Next Door to a Star. The sequel to Next Door to a Star (Competing with the Star: Star Series: Book 2) will be out March 22nd and the 3rd book in the Landry’s True Colors Series (Landry in Like: Book 3) will be out January 12th.

She is originally from Michigan and has lived in Portugal, South Dakota, and currently resides in southwestern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Krysten's Goodreads

Google +

Buy on

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-million

itunes

Kobo Books

Fragments Blog Tour

Blurb:

LIFE; FEEL IT,

SEE IT, TASTE IT AND KNOW IT

LET THE MUSIC OF POETRY BEGIN

AND WALK WITH ME THROUGH THE PAGES OF FRAGMENTS

FRAGMENTS SPEAKS LIFE, THE SWEETER SOFTER, PEACEFUL SIDE THAT HAS SO MUCH PASSION AND LOVE FOR LIFE.

AND

FRAGMENTS SPEAKS OF THE ANGER, HATRED, JUDGEMENT, LACK OF LOVE, AND COMPASSION SEEKING LIFE WITHIN SOCIETY….

THIS IS THE PIECES OF FRAGMENTS OF SOCIAL ATTITUDE AT ITS BEST AND WORST

Excerpt 1:

 I choose America,

to live in this land

That was built on personal choice,

to live under a Constitution,

Of Liberty & Justice & Freedom

for ALL…

I have witness society corrupt…

Liberty & Justice & Freedom

Respect MY privacy,

as I choose not to walk

With what some call

SOCIETY!!

Some say that mine’s all wrong,

That I must live by their rules,

And not my own…

Liberty & Justice & Freedom

Social Graces,

is the simple fact,

That society can kiss my ass!!

Excerpt 2:

Shaking the feeling of the day’s end, only to find a weary line of poetry. Lines break off and trails end no-where to be found. Only me and the screen with no words to play, just struggle to express one’s words of thought. Jumping up, running from the screen, too scared to write what it all means. Lines break off and trails end no-where to be found. Writer’s block is the enemy when one wants to express, between hand and screen nothing more exists. The world continues to spin, my hands continue to type senseless words, that no-one will read. The weary line of poetry is my only friend, I can speak of secrets and taunting games of words, but the screen protects. While the line breaks off and the trails end no-where to be found….

only one, the screen

Bio:

Jeniann Bowers was born in Whitefish, Montana in 1972. She was raised in Eureka, Montana most of her younger years. She was the youngest of four children and is the only surviving girl. Jeniann attended Rexford Elementary School her kindergarten year and the following year she transferred to Eureka Elementary School where she graduated from the eighth grade in 1987. She attended Lincoln County High School until her junior year when she moved from Eureka to Medford, Oregon with her mother and stepfather. Her mother passed away in January 1991, and Jeniann soon got married and started a family. She was married for 21 years and had five children. She lost a daughter to SIDS in March 1994. Jeniann has recently become divorced and is raising her two boys with her daughter's help. Jeniann's youngest son suffers from Autism. J. also suffers from her own disabilities of Fibromyalgia, physical chronic pain, neuropathy, chronic depression and anxiety.

Jeniann attended college at Capella University throughout most of her writing career. She made both the President's and Dean's list for outstanding academic achievements.
Jeniann is published poetess. Her books have been in the top ten bestselling list on Amazon in the past and her current ratings stand at 4.5. She has published the following books: Expressions on Life Book One, Expressions and Letters, Phraseology and Letters, Collection of 25 Days of Christmas Poetry, Poems, Dreams & More, Poetry Is...???, Poetry: The Lighter Side of Silliness, The Sound of Nature: Collected Poems & Other Writings and soon to be released Fragments, and the re-release of Expressions, and Phraseology of Love, 25 Days of Christmas Poetry.
Jeniann is the owner of Poetry is...which is a blogging business of her own personal poetry, teachings of poetry, journals and other writings. Jeniann is a firm advocate for poetry publishing and writing poetry.

Author Interview: Fragments

What inspires you to write poetry?

Several things inspire me to write poetry. Nature plays a large role in most of my poetry. I was raised in the mountains in Montana and nature was all around me. Different poets inspire me as well, especially Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Music inspires me when I am really sincerely in touch with my emotions. To me, inspiration is all around me, I just stay in tuned with my surroundings and how it makes me feel.

What is a measure of success as a poet?

The measure of success as a poet is just writing the poem. I don’t measure my success by my readers or by how many books I sell. I measure my success on each poem I write, how I put the poem together and how the poem makes me feel as a poet.

Who are some of your favorite poets?

Robert Frost is my all-time favorite, with poems such as, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” “Birches,” “Mending Wall,” “Fire and Ice,” Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Robert’s word play is what inspires me the most and his thought process of his poetry is unbelievably amazing.

Emily Dickinson is my hero, she just wrote poetry and never worried about society likes or dislikes of her work. Her poems depict this in each one, she wrote from the heart and soul of her emotions.

Maya Angelou, I look at her as a teacher in the modern world of poetry. I study her poetry a lot and learn a lot from her poems and how she displays her emotions through her poetry.  

What advice do you have for aspiring poets?

My advice to anyone who writes or wants to write is keep practicing. The more you write the better you will become and easier the writing process and word play becomes.  

Do the Internet and social media contribute to the well-being of poetry?

I have mixed feelings about social media and poetry. Yes, the Internet and social media opens up the door and has helped bring poetry to new audiences, however, I am choosy about what platforms I use to promote my own poetry.

What do most well-written poems have in common?

The specialty and structure.

What book are you reading right now? I am always reading more than just one book, there can never be just one. The Poet’s Corner by John Lithgow and Ponderings by Michele Ward

What does “being creative” mean to you?

Being creative to me means that I can express myself in a new way in which I have never done before. Being creative means to create a formation of words into a written piece of work that sheds the specialty of the written word.  

What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?

I use many different creative patterns. In my Top Ten, I speak about word play and what I call the “Word Theater;” which is my writer’s notebook that I keep my creative patterns such as word banks of words that go together or rhyme together.

As for routines, I have to take a few moments and meditate, go for a walk or journal to get into the motion of creativity.

My biggest ritual of writing is having my time and my coffee to write.

Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?

I would love to learn more about songwriting. I have always had a love and interest for lyrics and for music.

What's the biggest mistake you've made as a writer?

Trust! When I first started out I trusted everyone! I was wrong there, I found myself swallowed up by a group of writers that only cared about themselves and their work   I thought if I helped them promote their work, they in return would help me. I have learned more about why I call myself a poet and why I write from this experience. I recluse myself more and only depend on a small handful of friends for support.

If you had to convince a friend or colleague to read this book, what might you tell them?

First, I would tell them that poetry can save your life and then I would ask them their thoughts about life. After the answer I would tell them exactly what the beginning of my book says “LIFE; FEEL IT, SEE IT, TASTE IT AND KNOW IT~ LET THE MUSIC OF POETRY BEGIN AND WALK WITH ME THROUGH THE PAGES OF FRAGMENTS.”

Where does this book fit into your career as a writer?

This book is far from being a milestone in my career as a poet. This book stands out from my usual routine of writing about broken hearts, love and grief. I am very excited and happy with this book.

What influenced this book?

Life influenced this book. Being in touch with my surroundings.

Tell me about your book.

Fragments has three sections to it, Fragments of Peace, Fragments of Social Attitude, and Fragments of Love. Fragments of Peace speaks the softer sweeter side, peaceful side of life and my social attitude towards it. Fragments of Social Attitude speaks of anger, hatred, judgment, lack of love and the compassion seeking life within society. Fragments of Love speaks about the truth I see in love and my feelings about love at this moment in my life as a whole.

Blog Tour & Giveaway Love or Justice

“How do you hunt down a killer when he’s also hunting you?”

Laurie Shelton is the only person alive who can identify Hawaii’s most notorious mob boss…

After stumbling into a deadly kidnapping, Laurie’s life is in grave danger, and it falls to US Marshal Dante Stark to keep her safe until she testifies against Kaimi Quamboa—assuming he can be captured.

Dante knows he’ll lose his job if he becomes romantically involved with a witness…

But when he has to comfort her through constant nightmares, he finds it nearly impossible to fight his attraction to the beautiful, strong young woman he is sworn to protect. Laurie feels it too, but aware she’s in a high-stress situation and that when the danger is past she’ll never see Dante again, she tries to ignore his easygoing smile and the security he offers.

Laurie and Dante are forced to flee again…

When Kaimi’s men descend on their hideaway, they escape to a second safe house, only to be tracked down there as well. Dante now knows there’s a mole inside the US Marshal Service, and the only thing left to do is disappear.

Kaimi will never stop looking for Laurie, and if he’s caught, showing up to testify could be the last thing she ever does.

With each choice as dangerous as the next, Dante and Laurie must confront the boundaries of what they’re willing to sacrifice, and which is more important…

Love or Justice.

Amazon

Author's Website

Excerpt II for Love or Justice

Later that night, David’s false alarm was all Laurie wanted to talk about as they got ready for bed. Laurie sat on her bed, pulling her nightclothes out of her bag.

Dante took out his nightshirt and sweats, laying them beside his sleeping bag. He was determined to sleep in his own bed tonight, no matter what happened. He had been on dangerous ground the last couple of nights, but he mentally committed himself to stopping it tonight.

“I don’t think I could do it. Be away from my husband when I’m about to give birth.” Laurie ran a brush through her hair.

“Lots of people have to, military wives, police wives when their husbands are on long assignments, Marshals Service. It’s just something that happens. Love the man; you have to love the job too.”

“Yeah, I guess, but God that must be hard.”

“It is hard. I’ve seen a lot of men do it. It makes them crazy. David’s doing well with it though. He’s going to be a great Witsec Inspector.”

“Well, he should be doing great with it. Apparently he has the best teacher.” Laurie winked at him.

Dante laughed.

“Don’t pay any attention to Rick.” Dante shook his head. “He trained me, so if that tells you—”

“Intruder!” Max yelled from downstairs. The sound of several gun shots followed, then return gunfire.

Laurie sucked in a breath, and stared at Dante in shock.

Dante grabbed her, dragging her into the hall. He unlatched the safe room with a swift motion. Without a word, he thrust her in, slamming the door.

As soon as Dante closed the safe room door, David burst through his bedroom door.

“Laurie?” was all David said. Dante pointed to the safe room.

“This way.” Dante got out his gun and moved down the hall.

Dante never expected a gun battle here. He led David to the mouth of the hallway where they crouched down low to the floor. Dante could hear shots and return fire. Max and Cheyn were both still fighting. Dante intended to give them cover.

He gestured to David to cover the left. He crouched close to the right side of the hallway and inched his way forward until he could see out over the living room. Then he ducked back behind the wall. He was just above Max, who was hiding behind a protrusion in the stonewall that housed the fireplace.

Max shot across the room at a man behind the couch.

Dante aimed. When the man popped up again, Dante let off a round. The man flew backward, and lay on the floor. Dante crouched back down again.

He could still hear gunshots coming from the living room below him. He maneuvered himself to see where else Max was aiming. There was another man hiding just outside the door to the patio. The man’s gunfire hit the stone wall with a sharp rapping and the tinkling of broken stone. Dante took aim, but the assailant saw him. Dante ducked behind the wall.

Two more shots came. One to him, the other to Max. The former missed, the second didn’t.

Dante turned back to the scene just in time to see Max crumple to the floor. He took aim at the assailant and fired. The man crumpled to the ground as well.

Dante heard continued gunfire on the left side of the house. He crawled over to David, who shot and then ducked for cover. There was an armed man crouched on the other side of the counter toward the open front door. He used both as an effective shield from the gunfire. Dante took aim, but had to duck as a bullet flew at them, narrowly missing his head.

David returned fire. It caught the man in the neck.

He fell to the floor. All was silent.

“Where’s Cheyn?” Dante glanced down into the kitchen.

“Kitchen floor. He’s bleeding, but I don’t know where he got shot.”

“Any more of them?”

“I don’t think so, I only saw one.”

Dante grabbed his cell phone. He punched the radio button.

“The Hilo safe house has been assaulted. Two officers down. Three assailants dead. Requesting immediate back-up and medical assistance!”

“Copy that, safe house. Back-up and medical assistance is on the way,” responded the voice on the other side of the phone. Dante stuck the phone back in his pocket.

“David, we have to secure the house. I’m going to crawl out to the end of the landing. I need you to cover me.”

“Yes, sir.”

When Dante was halfway down the landing, a shot rang out from a part of the kitchen below where David was crouched.

A scream came from the hallway behind Dante. Oh God. Laurie was out of the safe room.

Author Rachel Mannino

Rachel Mannino is a passionate writer who creates characters and settings that allow readers to explore power dynamics in relationships, the empowerment of women, and the ethical and moral dilemmas love can create in our lives. Rachel also uses her writing skills to raise thousands of dollars for entities that enrich our lives and create community change around the world. She has worked for the Peace Corps; the Humanities Council of Washington, DC; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; and the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events in Boston, MA. Her first novel, Love or Justice, will be published by Limitless Press in 2016. Her second novel, Fractal, will be published by eTreasures publishing in the spring of 2016. Rachel has a BA in theatre studies and writing, literature, and publishing from Emerson College, and she has used it every day since graduation. She lives with her husband, author Christopher Mannino (http://www.christophermannino.com/), and their adorable dog and cat in College Park, Maryland.

Author Website

christophermannino.com

Facebook

Author Page on Facebook

Twitter

 Goodreads

Rachel Mannino Blog Tour Giveaway