Secrets Exposed in Justice

     I didn’t know where else to go but my locker. Maybe I could act like I was poking around in there for the next thirty minutes, until the lunch period was over. Of course, I only had two books so far…but no one knew that but me.
    I wanted to turn and run when I saw the back of another student, already buried in his own locker only two doors down from mine. But I really didn’t have anywhere else to go; I definitely wasn’t going back to the cafeteria. So I marched straight to the door of locker 389, wrenched it open and buried my arms up to my elbows inside.
    “New girl, huh?”
    The guy at locker 391 was movie-star handsome. His smile was pearly white, each tooth perfectly straight and even. He had a perfect tan and perfect blonde hair, not a single strand out of place.

 

 

    “Um,” My mind went blank as soon as I looked at him, and I felt a flush creeping up my neck.
    “Owen Harper,” he winked one of his green eyes at me. “It’s always tough to be new. Pretty soon you’ll blend right in.”
    “Yeah, right,” I mumbled.
    “Just remember to look down your nose at everyone at all times, and you’ll fit in perfectly.” He grinned, and a smile sprang to my lips in response.
    “I’m Rain Ramey.” Finally, I remembered my name, but he was already closing his locker.
    “Nice meeting you, Rain Ramey.” Another flash of that perfect smile, and he turned to move down the hall. I stared into my locker, wondering if now would be a good time to just crawl inside. After all, it couldn’t be too bad to live in a locker if I could see a glimpse of Owen Harper from time to time.
    “There you are!” I recognized the strident shriek immediately and jerked back out of the locker to look down the hall. The blonde, now garbed in her school gym uniform, was marching purposefully toward me.
    “Oh no,” I whispered to my History book.
    “You’ll never believe what this trashy scholarship girl did to me in the cafeteria!”
    My heart sank. The blonde wasn’t coming toward me -- she was heading right for Owen. “Oh, no,” I groaned again.
    “Carsyn! Why are you in your gym clothes?”
    “Oh my God, what are you doing here?” The blonde -- apparently, her name was Carsyn -- was giving me the same look I once saw my mother give a beetle that found its way into our kitchen from the garden.
    “This is my locker,” I answered.
    “You two know each other?” Owen, poor guy, smiled at both of us.
    Carsyn was annoyed by his cluelessness, or so her dramatic eye-roll suggested. “This is the girl I was telling you about. Look at my shoes,” and she shoved them into his face. They were in her left hand; her feet were now clad in silver sandals.
    “You know, Carsyn, I heard Kate Moore say she thought they were last season. Maybe Rain here did you a favor,” Owen suggested.
    “Last season? Hardly. She probably doesn’t even know what that means. Wait a minute -- Rain? Is that your name?”
    “Sure, she’s Rain Ramey,” Owen spoke up when I only stared at Carsyn. “And I think you look great in your gym clothes.” He moved closer to her, and I felt my stomach flip over. Together, they made a gorgeously blonde, perfect pair.
    Of course they were together. I should have known it the moment I saw Owen. Who else would date Barbie but Ken?
    “Come on,” he had an arm around her shoulders now. “I’ll walk you to your car so you can put those shoes in the trunk. See ya, Rain Ramey.”
    “Bye,” I muttered as they drifted down the hall together.

 

Get Justice at Amazon, Smashwords and everywhere books are sold!

Selkies and Mermaids Swim Through the Pages of Song of the Sea

 I always knew who my mother was. I always knew where I belonged. And I always knew I wanted to be on the water, like my dad.

...Until I was forced to go out into the water, anyway. Out there, you feel really lonely. But you’re never alone. There is more life and emotion under the waves than most humans will ever see, more than I could have ever imagined. Down there, it’s an entire world of rage and hate, love and hope. It’s a world of fear.

What Reviewers Say...

"If readers don't know much about under the sea adventures, I highly recommend this book. It's a fun read!"
-Lily Benitez


"This was an original tale of the enchanting world of mermaids and selkies. I loved the way the author brought her characters to life and the way she describes the ocean giving it a unique and magical feel. You will not be disappointed in this captivating heart warming novel."
-Nirri, Readers Club

Find Song of the Sea online at Amazon!

5 Star Reviews for Hope's Rebellion

Here's what reviews had to say about Hope's Rebellion:

"I don’t think I have ever seen a plot or foreshadowing that was so thought out and so perfect in every possible way."
-Book Butterfly

"There were so many surprises, good twists and what I’d call an “Oscar winner” finale."
-Ruty@ReadingDreaming

"It tackles notions of power, discrimination, femininity, and so forth in a highly engaging way."
-Christina Escamilla

"I just couldn't wait to read what it had in store for me."
-Turhan

Hope's Rebellion is available at Amazon, Smashwords and everywhere books are sold!

Lies, Murder and Mistaken Identity in Justice

 Take a look inside Jade Varden's Justice, a book about lies, mistaken identity and murder...

 

The red BMW was waiting for me as if it had always been mine. I tried, again, to call Aaron and my parents on their cell phones, but when no one answered I threw the car into gear and left the von Shelton estate.

I saw the car parked in front of the blue house almost as soon as I turned onto Sutton Street. By the time I crookedly parked the BMW behind it and stumbled out, the tears were pouring freely down my face. I stood at the front door sobbing and fumbling with my keys for nearly five minutes before I managed to get the door open, and by that time I couldn’t find the breath to call out.

It wasn’t necessary. “Rain!” I heard the startled whisper as I stood near the door catching my breath. The sound of my own name brought a fresh rush of tears to my eyes.

“Aunt Ronnie.” She had me swept into her embrace a moment later, and I laid my head against her shoulder. I didn’t realize how badly I needed a hug until I felt her familiar arms around me.

“Oh, Rain,” she squeezed  me, and for several minutes we stood there and cried together. Finally she pulled away, wiping tears off her cheeks. “Honey, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. And Aaron. And my…and…everybody.”

“Rain,” her brown eyes, so much like my mother’s, were filled with pain as she reached out to brush a stray curl behind my ear. “You can’t be here.”

“But you haven’t been answering my calls! I had to come here.”

“Oh, Rain,” she turned away, bowing her head to hide behind a black curtain of hair. “I can’t take your calls. I can’t talk to you, and neither can Aaron. Not right now.”

“What? But Aunt Ronnie-”

“It’s not me, Rain, it’s the lawyer.” She held up her hands defensively.

“Rain? Rain!”

My breath caught in my throat, and for a moment I couldn’t catch it to speak. “Aaron!”

He appeared at the top of the stairs. Aunt Ronnie stepped before me, blocking my view of him just as he came into sight. “No. Aaron, back upstairs. Do you want to make things worse than they already are? Rain, you’ve got to go.” She put her hands on my shoulders and bodily turned me toward the door. “Aaron, upstairs!”

I’d heard her use that firm tone only once before, when I was six. I’d found the birth control pills in her purse and thought they were candy. Aaron was no longer rushing down the stairs, and I had no choice but to let her physically push me out the front door.

“Aunt Ronnie,”  I turned and seized her hand, my eyes boring into hers. “Just tell me why they did it. Just tell me they aren’t terrible people.” I didn’t even know how important it was to me until that moment, that horrible moment when I saw my entire childhood being pulled away from me on the front porch of that blue house on Sutton Street. If the parents who raised me were capable of committing such a terrible crime…then what did that make me? The desperation in my eyes made Ronnie look away; I saw her swallow several times before any words came out of her throat.

“I can only tell you to ask Violet von Shelton. She knows the answers to your questions. I can’t talk to you. I’m so sorry, Rain.” The door closed to punctuate her statement, and I was left standing alone on what used to be my own front porch. I slipped my key ring out of my purse, the one with my house keys and the keys to my Corvair, and placed it on the welcome mat.

There was nothing left to do but climb into the BMW and go back to the von Shelton mansion. It was the only thing like a home I had left…and apparently, it was the place with all the answers.

 

Justice is available at Amazon, Smashwords and everywhere books are sold!