Amy Durham’s ”Once Again” (YA Paranomal Fantasy Novel)

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Alisa Jeruconoka

YA Fantasy Author – AMY DURHAM
Short Bio: ”Amy is a middle school teacher in Kentucky, USA, with a passion for books, music, and cooking. She and her husband of 15 years are raising three boys, giving her plenty of material for the adventure and romance she loves putting in her stories.”

First of all, thanks so much to Alisa for inviting me to visit here today! I so appreciate the opportunity to get to know you and your readers, as well as the chance to share about my Young Adult paranormal romance, “Once Again”.

Alisa asked me to share an important moment from my story, one that was important or transforming for my characters. I knew immediately which one I wanted to share. My heroine, Layla Bradford, is a typical girl-next-door high school student. She’s comfortable in her own skin, but still a bit insecure around the “popular girls”. In the following scene, which comes from late in the book, we see Layla observing a conversation between a girl named Phoebe, who is particularly UNpopular, and three cheerleaders. The main cheerleader, Kara, is livid about a homecoming poster, painted by Phoebe and a few other art students, that depicts Kara’s cheerleading form as “fat”. I should also add that Kara is the ex-girlfriend of Layla’s love-interest, Lucas, and has caused them more than a few problems. Layla has always been a bit intimidated by Kara, until this scene. I love this little snippet of the story, because Layla is surprised by her reaction to Kara’s biting words. Her confidence has grown and she didn’t even realize it until now! I hope you enjoy!

“Go ahead,” Phoebe said. “You can’t prove anything intentional was done. And besides that, no one’s going to pay any attention to that little figure on the banner. Despite what you seem to think, you aren’t the center of everybody’s universe.”
Well, thank you Phoebe whatever-your-last-name-is, for saying what I’ve been thinking ever since school started.
The threesome of cheerleaders turned to head back toward the front office, and Kara caught sight of me.
She glared at me, like I was a bug she was about to smash, and for the first time, I felt nothing. Her disapproval didn’t make me feel small or insignificant.
It was almost like her opinion meant nothing.
Wow. How nice.
“I’m sure you just love this,” she snarled as she walked by.
I just smiled, eyebrows raised. In truth, I hadn’t noticed the fat cheerleader on the banner. But I wasn’t going to let her know that.
As they breezed past, Tina’s shoulder just happened to brush mine, shoving me into the wall.
And the only thing that bubbled inside me was laughter.
Not humiliation. Not the desire to suddenly become invisible.
Instead, all I could do was laugh.

One of the things I love most about Young Adult fiction is that young readers can learn at the same time they’re being entertained. They can build self-confidence at the same time they are being swept up in a story. One of my goals when I write is to weave those life-lessons into the romance and mystery that envelope my characters!

If you’re interested in learning more about “Once Again”, a Young Adult paranormal romance novel, centering around the mystery of reincarnation, here’s the official “blurb”:

Reincarnation sucks! Unless it comes with a cute guy. That’s what sixteen year-old Layla Bradford discovers when she moves to Sky Cove, Maine, a small-town she thought was ordinary, but turns out to be an episode of “Cold Case” on steroids.

Layla doesn’t want to fit in; she wants to blend in and stay out of the spotlight. But the spotlight is where she winds up when she catches the eye of school cross-country star and all-around-nice-guy Lucas Ellis. She quickly learns there’s more at stake than high school reputations when she and Lucas discover they are the reincarnations of a young married couple from the mid-1800s who suffered a horrible tragedy at the hands of a madman who was never brought to justice. After a series of frightening visions show Layla and Lucas glimpses of their past-lives, they realize that the villain of their previous existence has also been reincarnated, in the form of a fellow high school student who targets them with teenage pranks that soon turn dangerous. As they grow closer, will Layla and Lucas be able to uncover the truth in time to stop the same tragedy from unfolding once again?

The book is available in both eBook and print versions, at various retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.