Shannon here: I’m excited to host Dawn Ford today. I’ve known Dawn for years and even met her in person, traveled to a writers’ conference, and roomed with her. And long ago, I even gave her advice on some chapters of this story. Now I get to spread the word about her debut Young Adult Fantasy novel, The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: April 23rd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Dawn:
The first time I met my husband, he was quite annoying. Outspoken, loud, and opinionated. That’s who he was.
It was eighth grade and I had just moved from one school district to another over the summer and I knew no one. This new school was consolidated, consisting of five small towns split into two elementary/middle-grade schools in different towns and with one shared high school. Midway through the year, our two eighth-grade classes got to visit our state capital in Iowa.
Buses from our two schools met one fine Spring morning and we all joined together for the three-hour ride to Des Moines. I wasn’t quite as excited as the other students as I’d had the opportunity at my last school to do this visit two years previously and felt that since I’d already seen everything once, it was all going to be the same. Boring!
But for this boy named John.
John was the class clown. Mr. Show Off. An equal-opportunity prankster. He held court on that bus with his four other friends and was seriously the life of the party—much to my annoyance. Didn’t he know some people weren’t morning people and really just wanted to be left alone? He hadn’t gotten the memo. And anything I said could be and was used against me on that bus ride. Oh, the horror!
Our story would change, but not that day. He was too bold, his jokes too juvenile boy in nature, and his teasing way too personal. Of course, I was a teenager and everything felt personal. However, he was just too, too much. Thank goodness it was only for a day.
Until the next year when we would be joined in the same high school, and as luck would have it, our names fell in the same half of the alphabet, so we would be seated next to each other in homeroom. His blaring personality met my stubborn one and slowly we went from sparrers to friends. In the next year and a half we would begin dating, go to the Junior Prom, and then Senior Prom. A couple of years after graduation we were married and having our first child.
God knew what he was doing when he put us together all those years ago, though you couldn’t have convinced me on that trip to the capital. We both came to Christ together. We’ve raised three Christian sons. We will be married thirty-four years this fall.
Much like mine and my husband’s first encounter, my main characters do not get off to a smooth start.
Tambrynn, our silver-haired heroine, is in danger. The wolves that murdered her mother are hot on her trail. And she doesn’t even know it. In flies an annoying magpie, Lucas, our shape-shifting hero. He’s noisy. He’s pompous. And he thinks he’s witty but all he’s doing is setting our heroine’s teeth on edge.
Sound familiar?
Slowly, Lucas wears Tambrynn down. Of course, it helps that he saves her from her scheming father, an evil mage, bent on stealing her Kinsman-given abilities of telepathy. As Tambrynn and Lucas flee across one kingdom into another, their path intersects in a way only God, their Kinsman, can make happen.
I didn’t set out to make my hero and heroine’s journey reflect my own. Much as I hate to admit it, I do love a good prankster who is the life of the party. Please don’t tell my husband I said that. He needs no encouragement in that department.
The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes is a clean YA Fantasy novel with many twists and turns. If you like twisted fairy tales and sweet romance, you’ll love it!
About Dawn: The Girl With Fire In Her Eyes won the 2016 ACFW Genesis award. Dawn lives in the Loess Hills in Iowa and helps her husband run their foodservice business. She loves steampunk, purses & shoes, crocheting, and pretty, shiny things—not necessarily in that order. When not reading, writing, or catering, Dawn loves babysitting her grandchildren and can often be caught daydreaming.
Dawn’s Website Dawn’s Facebook
Dawn’s Instagram Dawn’s Goodreads
About the book – The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes – Book One of the Firebird series: Sixteen-year-old servant girl Tambrynn is
haunted by more than her unusual silver hair and the star-shaped pupils in her eyes. Her uncontrollable ability to call objects leads the wolves who savagely murdered her mother right to her door.
When she’s fired and outcast during a snowstorm, her carriage wrecks and she’s forced to find refuge in an abandoned cottage. There, her life is upended when the magpie who’s stalked her for eight years transforms into a man, Lucas. He’s her Watcher and they’re from a different kingdom. His job is to keep her safe from her father, an evil mage, who wants to steal her abilities, turn her into one of his undead beasts, and become immortal himself.
Can they make it to the magical passageway and get to their home kingdom in time for Tambrynn to thwart her father’s malicious plans? Or will Tambrynn’s unique magic doom them all?
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Dawn’s other titles?
Get your copy/copies now!
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes Dawn’s books
Question for Readers: Do you enjoy being around the class clown type person? Why or why not? Does it depend on time of day?
Come back April 15th for Lorri Dudley!
Thank you for having me, Shannon! I hope I’m not the only one out there whose romance was similar to a Hallmark movie–antagonists until the love bug bites them.
Hey Dawn. Mine was: Saw him his first day at my school in freshman year. Thought he was cute and had awesome hair and said, I’m gonna marry him. 4 years later I did. I’m kind of like you on the class clown–not in the morning. I don’t want anybody to talk to me much in the morning.
Right! No talkies until the coffees.
I’m the class clown type. I hope one day to annoy someone first thing in the morning I and end up married to them later.
That’s so funny, Jennifer. You go girl.
I think I would be annoyed by a class clown kind of person. But one of my past pastors was very outgoing and funny and my husband and I really liked him. We still miss him and his wife.
I read a sample from the book and loved it. I hope I win.
It’s always a possibility!! Best of luck to you on that!
As a substitute teacher, I see a lot of class clowns. I don’t mind as long as they are respectful. Of their classmates, and of me! In other words, there are limits!
Ha! John did respect the teachers. It was just the other classmates that got the brunt of his impishness.
My daughter couldn’t stand her now husband in 8th grade. He teased her so much. She’d come home and vent to me. He’s a wonderful husband, dad, grandfather and son in law.
Ha! They can be productive members of society. However, my husband still has an ornery side. It’s good to have someone to laugh with!
I don’t. Probably because I’m an introvert 🙂
Not a fan of the class clown. They can be annoying and mean.
As a child, I was not a fan of the class clown but people have the capacity to change and grow. Sounds like that was the case with John.
I have a winner! Natalya Lakhno won the drawing. I appreciate Dawn for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.