Contemporary Romance

In the contemporary genre, I write a mix of both YA (young adult or teen) and NA (new adult or college) fiction.

Girl At Heart

GIRL_AT_HEART_cover(Young Adult, Stand Alone, PG)

As the daughter of a successful Major League pitcher, Charlie Hastings has baseball in her blood. Unfortunately, being the only girl on her high school baseball team, Charlie has always been just one of the guys.

When her best friend, and secret love of her life, asks another girl to the prom, Charlie is devastated. She’s tired of being overlooked by boys because she’s not like other girls. Suffering a massive identity crisis, she decides to hang up her cleats and finally learn how to be a girl.

But with only two weeks until the state championships, the Roosevelt High Ravens can’t afford to lose their star catcher. Team captain Jace King makes her a deal: Don’t quit the team, and he’ll help her become the girl she’s so desperate to be. After all, he’s got four sisters, one of whom happens to be a cheerleader. He knows a thing or two about girls. (And if he can win her heart in the process, all the better.) Coming Nov. 4th 2019! Pre-order now!

The Ghost of You and Me

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(Young Adult, Stand alone, PG *contemporary drama romance with a hint of magical realism*)

The tragic death of Spencer Schott unravels the lives of the two people he loved most—his girlfriend Bailey and his best friend Wes. Secrets and guilt from that fateful night keep both Bailey and Wes from overcoming Spencer’s loss and moving on with their lives.

Now, nearly a year later, both Bailey and Wes are still so broken over what happened that Spencer can’t find peace in the afterlife. In order to put his soul to rest, he’s given one chance to come back and set things right…even if that means setting up his girlfriend with his best friend. READ NOW.

If We Were a Movie

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(New Adult, Stand Alone, PG) (Also part of a multi-author series, The Power of the Matchmaker.)

Music meets Movies in this sweet college romance.

NYU freshman Nate Anderson is a triplet who is desperate to escape his wild and crazy brothers. After they screw things up for him one too many times, Nate flees his housing situation and takes the first available room for rent as far from his brothers as he can get.

Enter his new roommate Jordan—a quirky LA girl who believes that everything in life has already been done in the movies. In this heartfelt tale of love, friendship and family, Nate learns how to deal with his new adult life using Hollywood films as a guide.     READ NOW!

Joni, Underway

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(New Adult, Stand Alone, PG-13) (Co-written with Jonathan Harrow)

Nineteen year old Joni is loving life as an adult—living on her own, dealing with grown-up things like jobs, hook-ups, and doing her own laundry. Best of all: after finishing her first year at ASU, she will never again be called a freshman.

But when her brother is suddenly killed in a car accident, Joni’s adult life is turned upside down. Struggling to cope with loss, guilt, and anger—not to mention the meddling of friends and family trying to “fix” her—Joni is relieved to be presented with an escape in the form of a sailing trip her brother had been planning for months before he died.

With her first step onto the sailing vessel Lady Marguerite, Joni plunges into an adventure that will mark the beginning of her real adult life—a journey across the ominous dark blue of the Atlantic Ocean with a small, eccentric crew, and the young Captain Reid, whose gorgeous looks are only outmatched by his talent for care and kindness. Unfolding through the ups and downs of life at sea is an unforgettable story reminding us that love will always be a work-in-progress and coming of age never gets old. READ NOW

Serial Hottie

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(Young Adult, stand alone, PG)

Ellie Westley’s sweet sixteen is a summer of firsts.
First car.
First Kiss.
First boyfriend.
First serial-killing stalker…?

Hockey-obsessed tomboy Eleanor Westley has never been the object of a guy’s affection before. So when the hottest boy she’s ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she’s the center of his universe, naturally she’s going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city.

Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right?
The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she’s convinced he’s a psychopathic killer. Problem is, he’s the sweetest psychopathic killer she’s ever met. Not to mention he’s brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t help but fall for him.
Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts? READ NOW.

Sixteen Kisses

(Originally part of the Get Lucky Anthology)

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Sixteen Kisses (Young Adult, stand alone novella, PG)

All Cassie Caldwell wants for her sixteenth birthday is to finally be kissed. When Cassie’s older brother and his best friend—the lovable, sexy cowboy, Jared—discover her secret, Jared takes it upon himself to make sure her birthday wish comes true. READ NOW.

Keep in mind, that this is a NOVELLA–meaning it’s short! Hence the reason it’s only 99¢

 

 

Cinder & Ella

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Cinder & Ella (YA/NA crossover, can be read as a stand alone, PG-13)

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.
…
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

Literary Achievements: Cinder & Ella is currently being considered for a Florida Teen Reads Award and has been published in Hungarian. It was also a #1 Amazon bestseller in teen romance and #20 bestseller overall on Amazon, and is the #1 top rated book in teen contemporary romance on Amazon. READ NOW.

Happily Ever After

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Happily Ever After (NA, sequel to Cinder & Ella, PG-13)

Everyone knows the story of Cinderella, but what happens after Cinderella gets her prince?

It’s not easy being Hollywood’s new It couple, especially when not everyone is happy about the relationship. When family, fame, and Ella’s disabilities put a strain on Brian and Ella’s new fairy tale relationship, the two must work together to overcome the odds and claim their Happily Ever After.

READ NOW!

 

V is for Virgin Series (complete)

The V is for Virgin series is a story about a girl waiting until marriage to have sex and the rockstar determined to change her mind. This series is complete. Literary Achievements: V is for Virgin was a Whitney Award finalist in 2012, and will soon be published in Thailand. Both books were Amazon bestsellers.

V is for Virgin

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(Young Adult, V is for Virgin #1, PG-13)

When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over? READ NOW.

A is for Abstinence

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(New Adult, V is for Virgin #2, PG-13)

Six-time Grammy Award-winning musician Kyle Hamilton has it all—money, fame, talent, good looks, and a job he loves. His only regret in life: walking away from a certain notorious virgin because he was too prideful, stubborn, and even afraid to give her the only thing she asked of him—his abstinence.

Four years and a broken heart later, Kyle realizes that sex isn’t everything, and he suddenly can’t stop thinking about the girl that got away. Virgin Val Jensen got under his skin like no one else ever has. He wasn’t ready for her then, but things are different now. He’s grown up, he’s learned a few things, and he’s finally figured out exactly what he wants, or, rather, who he wants.

Kyle Hamilton wants a do-over, and this time he’s willing to do—or not do—whatever it takes. READ NOW.

Science Squad Series (companion novels)

The Science Squad Series can be read as stand alone novels, but would probably be more fun in order. It’s a series about the Science Club at Spanish Fork High and their crazy adventures in love. There may be a couple more books added to the series over time, but I have nothing solid yet. These won’t leave you on a cliffhanger, though.
Literary Achievements: The Avery Shaw Experiment is currently an Eliot Rosewater Book Award finalist and is on the Indiana State High School Eliot Rosewater reading list for the 2015-16 school year. It is also published in Hungarian, and Libby will soon follow. Libby won Best YA Contemporary in the 2016 Beat the Stigma awards.

The Avery Shaw Experiment

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(Young Adult, Science Squad #1, stand alone, PG-13)

When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest. READ NOW.

The Libby Garrett Intervention

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(YA/NA crossover, Science Squad #2, Stand Alone, PG-13)

Libby Garrett is addicted to Owen Jackson’s hot lovin’. But the sexy, popular college basketball player doesn’t appreciate all of Libby’s awesomeness. He refuses to be exclusive or even admit to people that they’re dating. The relationship is ruining Libby and she’s the only one who can’t see it.

When Libby’s behavior spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program–Owen’s Anonymous–and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard as nails coffee man to be her official sponsor.
…
Adam Koepp has watched Libby Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he’s crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson–a guy with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.

Adam finally gets the chance to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with the Twelve Step program he’s the perfect candidate to be Libby’s sponsor. But will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an honest look at herself? READ NOW.