Bad Apple - Mature YA Novel

With Joe Kent in jail, and off Kent Mountain for good, Neal Marchal finds herself facing exciting new possibilities.
Except for a couple speed bumps on the highway of life. Remember that 4-man band Neal and Truly were in? It becomes a duo when Sonny and the drummer leave to join the Woodhicks. Scrambling to create an act for a benefit show draws Neal and Truly closer but if they expect the State to award Neal’s guardianship to the Lamberts, it must remain a purely platonic relationship. But that's the last thing either of them wants.

A cable television program takes up the cause of Joe’s supposed wrongful incarceration so there’s nonstop coverage of Joe and Shannon’s death on television every afternoon at 5. The Kents will do anything to get Joe released. How far does anything go? You know the Kents. They’re crazy mean.

Truly behaves the way he always does, dragging everyone along behind him. This time he’s planning for the future-early graduation from high school, early acceptance into college, Neal’s surgery to correct the damage done to her leg when Joe pushed her under the tractor. And on top of this schedule Tru wants to make a music video of the song they co-wrote, Burning Daylight.

This is the decision that changes their lives in ways Neal and Truly could never imagine. For good or ill, there will be no going back.

Mature YA/New Adult

Bad Apple #1--Bad Apple

Bad Apple #2--Burning Daylight

Bad Apple #3--Rise

Neal Marchal and Truly Lambert find themselves being presented with opportunities in the entertainment business neither dreamed possible. But they don’t know if these are the right choices to make for their career. The money is impossible to turn down. Tru is confronted with paying for college and Neal faces the cost of surgery to repair the damage to her leg caused by her stepbrother’s violent temper. They say yes to the offer and Tru winds up in Hollywood on a movie set while Neal winds up in a hospital operating room.
Even though Neal’s stepbrother, Joe Kent, is in jail now awaiting trial for the murder of his sister, Shannon, he remains a presence in Neal’s life. The memories of his brutality are never far away and come flooding back when a cable news show takes up Joe’s cause to prove his innocence.
Through the successes and the set-backs, Neal and Truly draw closer. Does the hot upcoming singer, Sephira Knight, come between them? What about the movie offer Tru receives—is he tempted? Does Neal’s own movie project pull them apart?
And there’s always the bête noir of Joe Kent, ready to rise up and ruin Neal’s life once again.

Mature YA/New Adult

Bad Apple #1--Bad Apple

Bad Apple #2--Burning Daylight

Bad Apple #3--Rise

 
   When sixteen-year-old Sterling Mayfield learns that her dad has booked a family vacation at a dude ranch, she is less than thrilled. It is their first vacation since the tragic death of her mother two years earlier. Sterling knows her dad needs this trip, but a lack of horse experience and ten full days in a cabin with her twin brother, Dylan, make the whole idea rather unappealing. The vacation takes a turn for the worst when Sterling meets another ranch guest-- pretty, perky and annoyingly talented Chloe Watson. 
 
   But when Sterling befriends Luke, a dark and dreamy ranch hand with a steely gaze and tattooed arms, things start to look up. Now if she can just keep her bottom in the saddle and her heart from being broken, she might survive the vacation after all.

Two years after her husband’s death, Sarah Woodward moves her boys away from their fast paced life in suburban Atlanta to small town Hailey, Colorado. But Sarah doesn’t know a Colorado Senator has earmarked her ranch for purchase and he’ll do anything to get it. Unwilling to sell, she dismisses his continued offers and moves ahead by improving the land with the help of a sexy stranger. A.J. Dodge is a man with a past. He’s returned to his hometown ready to set down roots and make things right with his family and whatever anyone else thinks he doesn’t give a damn. Until his old friend Tommy Thornton asks a favor, a favor he can’t refuse, and Dodge becomes involved with the beautiful widow Sarah Woodward. She’s alone with her young sons on a dilapidated ranch she’s determined to get up and running with or without his help. Under pressure to deliver the Woodward ranch to a land developer with shady connections, the senator sets in motion a dangerous plot to convince Sarah to sell. Dodge will risk everything to protect Sarah and the boys including his heart.

Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends--she's an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans.  ? ?

In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen.  Against tradition, Keegan's brother Thaddeus told her Rourk's name because his visions warned him she'd need Rourk's protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves.?

?Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan's side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known.? ?

An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan's family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle...without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

'Home is Where the Heartbreak is' is the third 40,000 word novella in Tess Oliver's Summer Romance Collection.

After a five year absence, seventeen-year-old Jessa has returned to her hometown of Pinecliff, a small mountain resort town where she’d left behind her two best friends, Chase and Nico. Growing up the three had been inseparable, and their close friendships had filled the void left by their dysfunctional families.

Jessa quickly discovers that the strong bonds with Chase and Nico still exist and she realizes that her emotional tie to Nico has developed into something more intense than friendship.

But just a few days after her return, Jessa discovers that not everyone in Pinecliff is happy to see her again.

Emily Miller knew her life was about to change forever the day her mother said, "I'm pregnant." She'd hear those words again and again--and with every pregnancy Emily's father changed from bad to worse. For years the Miller family suffered through his rages. It took a terrible loss for the family to regroup, and all the love Emily can muster to save her siblings.

Bartlett's powerful short story, "Abused: A Daughter’s Story," grabs hold immediately and doesn't let go. This heart-tugger's hero, Emily, displays amazing resilience and strength. I know I'll remember this story for a long, long time.
--Julie Hyzy, Barry- and Anthony-award winning author of the White House Chef and Manor House Mysteries

L.L Bartlett is a New York Times bestselling author who writes the Jeff Resnick Mysteries, which Booklist called "Gripping!"
 

Two sisters. One disaster.

First things first: I’m the bad twin. While my sister, Marcia, has the perfect family in the perfect suburb, I’ve been making my living as an Internet advice columnist and designing Web sites in my downtown loft. I always thought I had the right answer - and hair color - for any occasion. That is, until Marcia ran up loads of debt and ran out on her husband and kids, and I was left helping to pick up the pieces. Her husband, James, is a lawyer who I hate on principle alone.

But for a guy who’s just lost his job, his marriage, and his expensive toys, he’s keeping it together - and making me rethink my feelings toward him. It’s not that he’s traded in his conservative suits for sexy jeans. It’s that he’s not giving up what’s important to him, and oh baby, I’m a sucker for a guy who hangs tough.

That doesn’t mean I’m ready to step into Marcia’s designer shoes now that she’s gone AWOL.

And it doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for James’s easy charm...not again, anyhow. Besides, I’ve had a lifelong policy of not being mistaken for my twin and I’m not backing down on that one now - no matter how convenient it might be for a certain sexy (and persuasive) man...