Sk8er Boy

When good girl Dawn Miller decides to try life as a bad girl, she gets involved with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Has she fallen in love or trouble?

In this YA pop punk debut about queer romance and destroying labels, a teen risks everything to write his own story. Perfect for fans of Sonora Reyes and Adib Khorram. Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession. So when his mom drags him to a production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn’t interested at all . . . until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself. Wes knows he shouldn’t like Tristan; after all, he’s a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can’t seem to get Tristan out of his head. Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes begins to think that—despite every authority figure telling him otherwise—maybe he can change for the better and graduate on time. As a falling out with his friends becomes inevitable, Wes realizes that being himself means taking a stand—and blowing up the bad-boy reputation he never wanted in the first place. From a debut author to watch, Skater Boy delivers a heart-wrenching, validating, and honest story about what it means to be gay in a world where you don’t fit in.

In this book, author Tina Schwartz discusses many matters that are not often presented in guides to writing and publishing, such as the importance of mentors and critique groups, as well as courses and extracurricular activities that can be of great help to the up-and-coming teen author. The book explores various writing careers and the basics of publishing and marketing, including how to write query letters. Schwartz also provides tips on writing both fiction and nonfiction, as well as genres a new author can explore, like poetry and songwriting.

* What is Chick Lit exactly? * How do I write a Chick Lit novel? * What are the steps I need to take to get published? Once dismissed as a fad by the popular press and literary community, the women's fiction genre called Chick Lit is now one of the hottest growing markets for new writers. In Will Write for Shoes, veteran Chick Lit and romance author Cathy Yardley addresses the common questions (and misconceptions) about the genre. Based on years of teaching about commercial women's fiction, this definitive guide provides invaluable tips and step-by-step methods for writing and selling a successful Chick Lit novel. Features include: * The history of Chick Lit * A blueprint for writing a Chick Lit novel * New trends in the genre * Tips and tools for breaking into the market * FAQs and miscellanea A directory of agents and publishers who acquire Chick Lit, sample submission materials, and online resources make this fun and comprehensive manual a must-have for all women who want to write a Chick Lit novel.

★★★★★ "Skater Boy combined so many of my favorite things beautifully into one unique novel. Strong and defiant, yet compassionate heroine. The down-to-the-bone, soul-crushing kind of love. Once Skater Boy was over, I couldn’t pick up anything for days. It was so beautifully unique. Read this book. Breathe this book. Obsess over this book. Flip will stalk your heart, and you’ll so desperately love every second of it." Rebels. Misfits. Bad boys who rule the streets. Everyone’s welcome at the worst kept secret in town, just as long as you don’t mind getting your reputation—and your heart—a little dirty. Welcome to Patchwork House… Patchwork House is a boy’s club—a mean boy’s club. They made an exception for Tweetie once, and they’re going to make another, because she’s coming home. After two years away and one too many broken hearts, Tweetie swore off skaters—but she never expected Flip. Flip was the most famous skater in the world until he traded his place at Patchwork with the little girl whose life he ruined. Now Tweetie’s all grown up, and one chance encounter brings them together. He knows the right thing to do is disappear before things get ugly, but he never was very good at being good. She’s back, and so is he—all bets are off. Nothing will stop this bad boy from finally getting his lost girl. They're written in the stars, and it's time she knows it. The first lesson Flip taught Tweetie was how to fall. It was also the last thing she remembered when they met again, because she didn’t just fall for him. She slammed.

Layney Logan, girl reporter. That's all she's ever wanted to be. This year, her senior year, not only does she have to share the coveted Senior Editor position with her arch nemesis, Jimmy Foster, she also has to figure out how to keep the school paper alive. With the local paper closing and the school cutting Journalism from the budget, it's a long shot. Working side-by-side with Foster, the guy she likes to call Lucifer,makes it even worse. The only thing Layney dislikes more than swimming in the high school dating pool is Jimmy Foster think he got the best of her, so she takes his ridiculous newspaper assignment--to go on twelve blind dates--to prove his powers of darkness won't work on her. The trouble is, the more she learns about herself on her journey of bad blind dates, the more she wonders if maybe Foster has known her better than she knows herself all this time. And maybe she should have trusted him with the secret she's kept for four years—the secret that broke them up to begin with.

"A biography of Canadian rock singer Avril Lavigne"--Provided by publisher.