Up until her senior year, Amber has been the model of perfection–just like her dad, Pastor Conrad, taught her to be. But when Claire Phillips invites her to more and more parties, Amber’s little white lies about her drinking spark a raging wildfire that threatens to overtake her life. Will she be honest with herself and her friends before things really get out of control? “Burnt Orange,” the fifth book in the teen fiction series TrueColors looks at alcohol abuse, addiction, and temptation.
Not-So-Simple Life (Diary of a Teenage Girl #14)
Fifteen-year-old Maya Stark seems to have it all–fame, fortune, a Beverly Hills lifestyle, and an eighties pop star dad who’s making a comeback. But looks can be deceiving, and on the inside, Maya is miserable. Her parents are divorced, her dad is away on tour, and being biracial, she struggles with her identity. Then, to make matters worse, her mother has returned to using drugs and is quickly depleting their finances. In a plan to become emancipated from her messed-up mom, Maya takes a job on Rodeo Drive. Selling designer clothes compromises Maya’s earth-friendly “green girl” values, but she is desperate.
Just when Maya thinks she’s got it all worked out, her life caves in. Her mom “embezzles” Maya’s savings and is later arrested on DUI and cocaine possession charges and is facing jail time. With nowhere to live, Maya is sent to spend the summer with her relatives. In the collision of two very different worlds, Maya must figure out where she fits in–or does she fit in at all?
Road Trip (Diary of a Teenage Girl #8)
After signing a contract with a major recording company, Redemption’s dreams are coming true. Chloe, Allie, and Laura begin their concert tour with the good-looking guys in the popular band Iron Cross. Allie’s mom and her brother with Down’s syndrome add a little variety to their entourage. But as soon as the glitz and glamour wear off, the girls find life on the road a little overwhelming. Even solid, well-balanced Laura appears to be feeling the stress – and Chloe isn’t quite sure how to confront her about the growing signs of drug addiction…
we want it all, or so we say / but what gets lost along the way? / along the road to riches, fame / we know we’ll never be the same
The guys in Iron Cross occupy Chloe’s thoughts a little more than she cares to admit. Still, life on the road gets less and less glamorous and more and more overwhelming–especially when solid, well-balanced Laura begins acting strange. Her hostility toward Chloe’s concern makes the girls wonder how much longer they can keep their act together…
Story Behind the Book
Over the years, I have worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to Young Life leader to political activist to senior editor. But most of all I love to write! In the past few years, I have published more than ninety books for children, teens, and adults. I hope the Diary of a Teenage Girl series will impact the lives of teens through an honest and gutsy approach of a “diary style” book.
Search of the Moon King’s Daughter
Gentle Emmaline loves nothing more than books and flowers and her little brother Tommy. Sadly, her idyllic country life in Victorian England comes to an abrupt end when her father dies of cholera. The family is forced to move to a mill town, where Emmaline’s mother is dreadfully injured in a factory accident. To ease her pain she takes laudanum and is soon addicted, craving the drug so badly that she sells Tommy into servitude as a chimney sweep in London. Emmaline knows that a sweep’s life is short and awful. Small boys as young as five are forced to climb naked into dark chimneys, their bare feet prodded by nail-studded sticks to keep them working. If Tommy is to survive, it is up to Emmaline to find him.