2012-02-23T07:17:00.001-08:00

I love to read

I love to watch TV too when I can see series like Merlin, Once Upon A Time or Dr. Who. But lately my time has been spent reading great works like the Magic Tree House, the Rainbow Fairies and Dan Gutman's hilariously funny Weird School Books. It's not that I'm strange, well maybe a little. I am just trying to keep up with my daughters, age 6 and 9, who have already devoured these chapter series and are talking about the characters, plots and story arcs all the time. That's what happens when you live with a mom who is always writing, drawing or filming. You start to live in a world where ideas come alive.

Last summer we started to write our own book about two little girls who went to a mixed up land where all the stories had been mashed together. As the school year began we continued to develop the characters, plot and storyline and soon realized we had the basis for a series. What if the two little girls broke a magical globe of a mythical island called StoryWorld and it shattered into a million puzzle pieces mixing all stories of the world up? How would they set things right? We call our book series the Rainy Day Club. The first book, The Great StoryWorld Mix Up. You can read the first three chapters of this lower grade reader.

Dream Trust, a work in progress

At the same time I was working on the Great StoryWorld Mix Up I noticed my 9 year old was reading more mature books. She is a fluent reader, which is a blessing a curse due to the fact that she can read anything, but many choices on her reading level are not appropriate subject matter. With her input I began to write Dream Trust which is the story of a 14 year old girl whose dreams become real. So real in fact that they begin to wipe away her life. She is turning into a ghost and will disappear forever unless she can reverse her dreams with the help of some new friends.

Dream Trust serves to explore the changes children face when they enter middle school. To adults, this may seem like a minor thing. But to a young person who has until recently been the authority in a school that has defined her since childhood, it can be scary, overwhelming, hilarious and even devastating as they explore who they are in a microscopic arena where people are not what they seem and all the rules are not written down. You can read the first chapter of Dream Trust here.

For the grown ups, Rider

Rider is the first book I ever wrote, be kind! Though I am seeking representation for this paranormal chiller, I did grow a nice little global following publishing it on Kindle. I found that women were falling in love with the main character, a Harley riding, time traveling king who ends up in Hollywood. I soon found myself writing mini Rider adventures for fans who gobbled up his exploits. As soon as I finish Dream Trust I will begin writing book 2 of Rider which dives further into Rider's magical world and the complex history and relationships that make up this exciting sequel. Rider will be back up on Kindle and as an iPad App as soon as I add a few revisions and a new book jacket blurb. You can read the first three chapters now.

Laura Hill