Title: Orenda
Series: Orenda
Series: Orenda
Author: Ruth Silver
Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
BLURB supplied by Xpresso Book Tours
Join forces with a parallel universe.
Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can’t exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.
A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages.
PURCHASE LINK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She attended Northern Illinois University in 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication. While in college she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, "Deuces are Wild", which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.
Her love of writing, led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading YA novels and sharing her favorite books with other readers. She runs her own book blog and also enjoys photography and traveling.
AUTHOR LINK
EXCERPT
His dark locks fell into his eyes, and
he pushed them aside. “We don't have much time. I need your help, Willow.”
Lil's eyes narrowed. “It's Lil,” she
said, correcting him. “Why should I help you? Why should I even go with you?”
She stood beside his car, her heart thumping in her chest as she crossed her
arms.
“Jamey's in trouble,” Rawlie said.
“How do you know my sister?” Lil’s eyes
narrowed.
“We don’t have much time.”
Lil was torn in two. She shouldn't go
with Rawlie, but the thought of something happening to her sister was even more
terrifying than any gruesome scene she could imagine landing in herself. “What
happened?” She looked back as the main door to the school opened and the
principal came outside to the lot. It was now or never. If they waited any
longer, he'd be wondering why she wasn't in class.
“If we're leaving, now would be a good
time.” Rawlie jumped into the car, not bothering to open the door. He unlocked
the passenger side and Lil pulled the door open, glancing back at the principal
before getting into the car. A moment later, Rawlie sped off and away from
Twain High.
The drive was like nothing Lil had ever
experienced. She secured her seatbelt, tightening it as much as possible. The
wind burned against her flesh, tearing at her skin worse than the most painful
sunburn she’d ever experienced. The forest shifted in waves around them. She
opened her mouth to speak, to ask what was going on, but the words didn't come.
The forest grew darker the faster they drove. The trees billowed overhead and
though it was spring and there had been leaves on them, the dark forest looked
dead. Lil glanced back behind them, seeing a shift and a ripple, the same odd
glimmer she'd seen when Rawlie first appeared outside the school.
“Where are we going?” Lil choked out,
gasping for air. A bird swooped down just above her head and she flinched,
swatting it away. She’d never liked birds, and she definitely wasn’t a fan of
ones with large, sharp talons coming at her face.
“Yeah, I don't like birds either.
Getting to Orenda through the forest isn’t an easy drive. It’ll be okay.”
Rawlie moved an arm to cover and protect Lil while he drove with the other.
“How is any of this okay?” Lil’s eyes
widened with alarm as the dead trees closed in on them. The roar was as
deafening as a lion's, causing the windshield to shudder and her heart rate to
quicken. From a distance, she could make out the faintest hint of pink light
streaming in from the edge of the forest. She doubted they'd make it in time.
The forest was swallowing them whole. “I want out!” she screamed, fear
overtaking her.
“If we stop, we're both dead.” Rawlie
didn't let up on the gas. He pushed the pedal harder to the floor, his arm
protecting Lil from anything that might attack as they narrowly escaped the
forest. He should have put the top up on the convertible before they left, Lil
found herself thinking. A moment later, they reached the clearing and Rawlie
put both hands back on the steering wheel as they came to an abrupt halt.
GUEST POST
Swearing in YA Fiction
Teens swear. I think it’s naive to
write a YA novel and use “dang”, “heck”, “shut the front door”, unless you are
catering to an audience that’s twelve and you’re looking to capture that tween
market.
I don’t believe every words needs to be
a swear word but I do feel like if it’s natural for the character to say, they
shouldn’t avoid it either.
Reading the Shadow Falls series, I was
constantly annoyed by constant use of polite words for swearing (heck or dang).
There were so many I felt pulled out of the story like I could be sitting there
counting them. That series happens to be one of my favorites but I felt like
the amount of “polite swear words” made the book geared towards twelve and up,
instead of fourteen or fifteen and up. Overall, I felt like using “polite swear
words” were probably overused and instead using the actual word once or twice
would have been better and made the same impact.
I also feel it depends on the novel,
the characters, and the situation. Are they just cursing because they’re a
teenager not getting their way or are they in the middle of a post-apocalyptic
war and about to die? To me the scene is important and what feels right should
be expressed, to a certain degree. I don’t believe you should be needing to
drop any F-bombs in YA fiction but there are other times that “dang” just
doesn’t feel appropriate either.
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