Oh Hey! Books.

Pub. Date: January 29, 2019 | Publisher: The Parliament House | Formats: Paperback, eBook | Pages: 288 The Sandman is seventeen-year-old Nora’s closest friend and best-kept secret. He has to be, if she doesn’t want a one-way ticket back to the psychiatrist. It took her too long to learn not to mention the hooded figure in her dreams to her mother, who still watches Nora as if she’ll crack. So when Nora’s friends start mysteriously dying gruesome deaths in their sleep, she isn’t altogether surprised when the police direct their suspicion at her. The Sandman is the only one she can turn to for answers. But the truth might be more than she bargained for… For the last five years, the Sandman has spent every night protecting Nora. When he hid the secret to the Nightmare Lord’s escape inside her dreams, he never expected to fall in love with her. Neither did he think his nemesis would find her so quickly, but there’s no mistaking his cruel handiwork. The Nightmare Lord is tired of playing by the rules and will do anything to release his deadly nightmares into the world, even if that means tormenting Nora until she breaks. When the Nightmare Lord kidnaps Nora’s sister, Nora must enter enemy territory to save her. The Sandman is determined to help, but if Nora isn’t careful, she could lose even more than her family to the darkness. Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

I didn’t creep around in bedrooms, and I certainly didn’t touch anyone without their knowledge. Not even Nora. Especially not Nora—even if my chest did ache for the smallest hint of physical contact. It was my own fault we never touched, never high-fived or hugged or held hands. It was one of my rules, my lies, to keep distance between us. A lot of good they did. My body still jolted every night at the first glimpse of her and the adrenaline coursed through me long after she woke every morning. I’d spent an eternity watching people dream of love, but I never understood the appeal until Nora. None had come before her and I knew with absolute certainty that none would come after.
“I don’t know why you needed to call me tonight,” I said, keeping my voice low. Though she could neither hear nor see me, I fumbled for the edge of my hood, retreating into its shadow.
“But, my magic will take you to the beach. You’ll be safe there.” Please be safe there. “I’m sorry, Nora. But I’ll see you soon.” Reaching into the ever-present pouch, I pinched a bit of sand between my fingers. “Remember to keep a true heart and a true mind, and that the power of the dream is yours.”
Then, I promptly sprinkled the glimmering flecks over her eyes and whispered, “Sleep.”
My throat seized, and I choked back the awful truth of what she was, of what I made her, and what consequences we might be facing for it now. After escorting Nora’s consciousness to the beach, and once I’d ensured that she was safely inside the barrier, I slipped through the surrounding shield into the perilous terrain of the Nightmare Realm. I flew through the tall grass toward the center of the Nightmare World amid a chorus of harsh metal clinks.

Amber R. Duell was born and raised in a small town in Central New York. While it will always be home, she’s constantly moving with her husband and two sons as a military wife. Before becoming published, she had a wide range of occupations including banking, bartending (though she’s never tried alcohol), and phlebotomy (though she faints with needles). She also volunteered as a re-enactor at the local Revolutionary War fort and worked near shelter cats which led to her previous crazy cat lady status. She does her best writing in the middle of the night, surviving the daylight hours with massive amounts of caffeine. Her favorite stories are dark with a touch of romance and a villain you either love to hate or hate to love. When not reading or writing, she enjoys snowboarding, embroidering, snuggling with her cat, and staying up way too late to research genealogy. She loves to travel and has visited more countries than states. Kissing the Blarney Stone and hand-feeding monkeys in the mountains of France will be hard to beat, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to find the next real-life adventure. Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

Undefined by Jessica Ruddick | Genre: YA Paranormal Romance Sophie loves being an elemental. Being able to bend the natural world to her will is thrilling, even if the need for secrecy is putting a cramp in her dating life. Lately, though, her powers have been growing, making it difficult to resist the heady temptation to use her gifts.  Trying to balance the elemental world with having a normal life is tough enough without her overbearing, way-too-perfect, and way-too-good-looking guardian Aidan watching—and judging—her every move. The trouble is she’s not sure where she fits in and she’s sure as heck not ready to conform to stringent elemental rules.  But when secrets about her life are revealed and outside forces threaten everything Sophie holds dear, she must embrace who she is or risk losing it all. Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo

Jessica Ruddick is a 2014 Golden Heart finalist for her new adult novel, Letting Go, which was inspired by her own college experiences. She lives in Virginia and is married to her college sweetheart—their first date was a fraternity toga party (and nothing inspires love like a toga, right?). When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her hands on a keyboard, she can be found wrangling her two rambunctious sons, taming two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs, and battling the herd of dust bunnies that has taken up residence in her home. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her below. Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Sunscorched
Jen Crane
(Subterranean Series, #1)
Publication date: October 23rd 2018
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult

Death at daylight. Danger at dark.
Life can’t possibly get more treacherous than a violent sun allergy in a solar-blighted world. At least that’s what seventeen-year-old Nori Chisholm thought before news of an impending sunscorch delivered her death sentence.
Desperate to survive the scorch, she’s forced to shelter underground and discovers a secret subterranean world where life is hard, and so are the people. Betrayed and left for dead by the man who pledged to help her, Nori is sold to a gritty pit fighting ring. There she makes a friend—and plenty of enemies.
Speeding by motorcycle through the underground world, Nori makes a shocking discovery that shatters everything she thought she knew. Can she use the knowledge to save what’s left of the world?
Winner of the Rosemary Award for excellence in young adult fiction, Sunscorched is a tale of survival and self-discovery at breakneck speed. Fans of Bella Forrest and Marie Lu, who crave dangerous heroes and dark secrets, will love the Sunscorched world.

A trail of blood disappeared beyond the door of the small foyer. The man Nori rescued lay face-up, the knot near his temple swelling fast. His leg oozed blood, the scarlet pool closing in on the tiny corner of space Nori occupied. When she found the wound—and the gaping tear in his leather riding pants—dread settled in her gut. The bleeding would have to be stopped if he was going to survive, which meant she had to do it.
Nori groaned and scrubbed her eyes, then set to work. She sifted through her backpack for something to tie around his wound, finding both a pocketknife and the thick, sun-blocking canvas she always kept nearby. She ripped a long strip of the fabric and wrapped it several times around the man’s injured thigh.
“Probably a good thing you can’t feel this,” she said to his unconscious form and, catching another look at the knot on his head, grimaced. “You’re gonna have a pretty bad headache, too.”
After tying the two ends together, Nori sat back to admire her work. Blood had soaked through most of the bandage, but it wasn’t seeping onto the floor anymore, at least.
Mom and Dad are probably freaking out by now, Nori thought. Curled in the corner of the foyer farthest from the man, she sat with arms wrapped around bent knees. The man outside hadn’t made a sound. Maybe he hadn’t seen her. Maybe he’d left. Or maybe he was waiting just outside the door.
Nori rocked back and forth, forehead pressed to her knees. Finally, she let out a long breath and stretched her legs. She was leaving. She’d saved the stranger. Twice. He was hidden in the foyer, and when he came to, he could find his own way back to safety.
Bracing herself on the wall to stand, she kept as far as possible from the unconscious body between her and the door. Stretching over him to reach the door, she extended one leg, straddling him only a moment until she lifted the other to join it. But as she raised her back foot, the front one was knocked from under her, sending her roughly down onto her butt. She yelped and looked wildly around, scurrying back to the foyer wall. Hands in front of her face, she prepared to defend herself as best she could.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. His voice was deep, but not threatening. “Where are we?”
Nori flattened her palms to the wall, pushing herself against it to stand again. She didn’t answer.
The steely eyes from the alley focused on her face. He surveyed her hair, her shoes, and her clothes before finding her eyes.
“What did you throw?” he asked.
The question caught her off guard. “Wh-what?”
“What did you throw? To distract him?”
“A book.”
“A book?”
Nori nodded as she edged toward the door—and the street.
“What were you doing with a book?” he asked.
“Reading,” she said, pinning him with a look that seriously doubted his intelligence.
Dark eyebrows lowered over narrowed eyes. “In the dark?”
Nori bit the inside of her cheek. “Of course not,” she said. She’d been running in the dark, not reading, though she often did. But he didn’t have to know that. “It was in my backpack from earlier today.”
He squinted, as if he didn’t quite believe her. “What happened to your face?”
She reflexively touched the pink patches, a fresh new layer where sun-damaged skin had peeled away. The pink was fading, but not entirely healed.
“Sunburn,” she said. “Stayed out too long.”
“That happen a lot?”
“What business is it of yours?” she snapped. “And you can say ‘thanks for saving me’ anytime.”
His eyes shot down for a moment before he lifted them to meet her gaze. “Thank you.” His voice was quieter, sincere. “I know you put your own life at risk. Thank you for saving me.”
“Twice,” she said. “I saved you twice. Once with the book, and the other by hauling you in here when you were unconscious to bandage your leg. Technically, I guess that’s three times.”
“All right.” His lips twitched. “I owe you one. Or three.” As if he hadn’t noticed it before, he looked down at his thigh and then back to Nori. “First time to make a tourniquet?”
She lifted her head. “You were bleeding all over the floor. I did the best I could with what I had. What happened to you, anyway? You must’ve lost a lot of blood to pass out like that.”
“I tried to clear a chain-link fence, but my leg caught.”
Nori looked at the bandage again, but quickly averted her eyes from the exposed skin of his thigh. She cleared her throat. “Why was he chasing you?”
He shrugged.
“You’re not going to tell me?” she asked.
He shook his head, all nonchalance.
“Fine.” Nori huffed a breath. “What’s your name?”
“Cooper.”
“That your first name?” She asked and extended her arm toward the door handle, making sure she could escape if necessary.
“It’s what people call me,” he said. “What’s yours?”
She didn’t answer as manners battled with self-preservation in her brain.
“Oh, come on,” he goaded. “You can’t ask to see mine and not show me yours.”
“Nori,” she said quick and low. The concession pained her.
“That your first name?” he shot back.
She scowled, and he threw up his hands in defense. “Okay, okay. I’m just messing with you. Anyway, thanks again for the help, Dory.”
“It’s Nori.”
Cooper nodded, an amused smirk tightening his lips. “Thanks, Nori.” He rose slowly, hopping on one foot at first, and reached for his backpack in the corner. As he slipped it over a shoulder, he stopped and caught her gaze again. “Why’d you help me—three times? You didn’t have to.”
“I did have to,” she said. The answer came easily. “You were in trouble, and I could help. No brainer.”
“Kindness is not so common as you think,” he said lifting his chin and narrowing his eyes as if trying to get a better read on her. “How long have you been like this?”
“Like what?”
“You burn easy. And you can see well in the dark, right?”
“I’ve been this way my whole life.” The answer was smooth, and without thought. Nori gasped and balled her fists when she realized what she’d revealed. Her condition wasn’t a secret, though it was a mystery. But she didn’t like a stranger knowing so much about her. And she hated that he’d gotten her to talk so easily. Her teeth creaked under the pressure of her jaws.
“Anyone else up here like you?” Cooper closed the distance between them and searched her eyes for an answer. “You know anyone else who burns like you do? Who can see better in the dark?”
She shook her head, blinking in incomprehension. “How do you… What do you mean? What do you know about it?”
“You should go,” he said and pushed open the door.
“No.” Nori pulled the door shut, her heart thundering in her chest. “Tell me how you knew to ask those questions. Do you know someone else like me?”
Cooper let out a long breath, his wary gaze never leaving hers. “It’ll be light soon,” he finally said. “If you want to make it home in time, you’ll already have to run like hell.”
He turned to open the door again, but Nori stopped him. “Wait.” She fumbled for something to say. “Do you live around here?” She threw on her own backpack, wishing to know something about the man who knew so much about her.
“Right under your nose,” he said, and with one last nod, ran from the foyer, into the dark alley, and out of sight with no noticeable limp.
As Nori watched him go the shadows changed, and her heart seized. The sun was on the rise. “Stupid,” she told herself, racing home on shaky legs. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Author Bio:
Though she grew up on a working cattle ranch, it's fantasy and sci-fi that shine Jen Crane's saddle. Her latest novel, Sunscorched, received a Rosemary Award for excellence in young adult fiction.
Jen has a master's degree and solid work histories in government and non-profit administration. But just in the nick of time she pronounced life *too real* for nonfiction. She lives in The South and creates endearing characters and alternate realms filled with adventure, magic, and love.
Book 2 in Jen's fantasy romance series, Descended of Dragons, was selected by iTunes/iBooks as "Our Pick" in fantasy/sci-fi.
**Sign up for Jen's newsletter to get release updates and freebies: bit.ly/Jen_Crane_Newsletter**

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Print Length: 285 pages
Publisher: Vesuvian Books (September 24, 2018)
Publication Date: September 24, 2018
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07GCXY642

Pub. Date: July 3, 2018 | Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press | Formats: Hardcover, eBook | Pages: 48 It's midnight and the moon is full, but Darth Vader isn't scared. OF COURSE I AM NOT SCARED. Nothing can scare Lord Vader! CORRECT. Not monsters or witches or ghosts, and especially not the dark. So what is Darth Vader scared of? Read on in Adam Rex's hilarious and spooky Star Wars tale to find out! YOU WILL LEARN NOTHING. Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. Later he got a BFA from the University of Arizona, and met his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one). Adam and Marie live in Tucson, where Adam draws, paints, writes, spends too much time on the internet, and listens to public radio. Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don't mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone's name until he's heard it at least three times. He likes animals, spacemen, Mexican food, Ethiopian food, monsters, puppets, comic books, 19th century art, skeletons, bugs, and robots. His first picture book, THE DIRTY COWBOY by Amy Timberlake, was published by FSG in 2003. His picture book FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH, a collection of stories about monsters and their problems, was a New York Times Bestseller. 2007 saw the release of his first novel, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY, which was adapted into the DreamWorks film HOME in 2014. He has illustrated the work of many authors, including Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Kate DiCamillo, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, and Paul Fieg. Garlic and crosses are useless against Adam. Sunlight has been shown to be at least moderately effective. A silver bullet does the trick. Pretty much any bullet, really. Website | Twitter | Goodreads

This Cruel Design
by Emily Suvada
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Genre: Young Adult -- Science Fiction

Cat thought the Hydra epidemic was over, but when new cases pop up, Cat must team up with an enemy to fix the vaccine before the virus spirals out of control in this thrilling sequel to This Mortal Coil, which New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman says “redefines ‘unputdownable.’”

The nightmare of the outbreak is finally over, but Cat’s fight has only just begun.

Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she’s working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan’s plan to reprogram humanity. But she’s failing—Cat can’t even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns.

When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they’d thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat’s past that she’s been searching for.

But when confronted with lies and betrayals, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts. And while Lachlan is always two steps ahead, the biggest threat to Cat may be the secrets buried in her own mind.

A Little Bit of Q&A

Do your novels carry a message?
I think all novels carry a message of some kind – often it’s philosophical or even political, but many times it’s personal – an author wants to share the story of a character overcoming adversity to show readers that they can do the same thing in their own lives. I definitely find myself coming back to themes of inner strength and bravery, as well as the importance of striving and fighting for something greater than our own needs and desires. Another big message in my books comes from the work I’ve done to make the future described within them seem realistic and possible. That’s because I believe that technological developments are going to make their way into our bodies, our minds, and our DNA. Today’s young readers are tomorrow’s genehackers, and while I’m not trying to tell them how to feel or think about the technology we’re racing towards, I do want them to question and debate and face the difficult questions this technology will bring.

How much of yourself do you put into your books?
There’s a lot of myself in them! These books and the world they’re set in are a reflection of my own dreams and worries, and of the things that most fascinate me. I love to read about science, and to keep updated on every cool breakthrough or puzzling discovery, and the world of the Mortal Coil series is very much born of those interests. I also put a lot of my personality into each character. Every character reflects a facet of myself – whether it’s part of me I’m proud of, part of me that I want to improve, or a part of me that I work hard to keep in check and overcome. No single character is a stand-in for me as a writer, but each of them hold parts of me.

Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life into your novels?
Actually, yes, in a way. When I was a teen, I was washing the dishes by hand before I went to school one day, and dropped a glass jello mold in the sink and it smashed, slicing a big cut open on my arm. The resulting race to the hospital, the stitches, and the image of that open gash can be spotted in a certain scene in This Mortal Coil. I actually cut my own stitches out once the wound had healed out of curiosity and that’s definitely reflected in the book!

How realistic are your books?
My books are definitely fiction, and the science I’ve created in them is made up, but it is an extension of real, existing science. There’s a technology called CRISPR which researchers are using to edit small sections of people’s DNA, and there are currently people in their homes injecting themselves with it to try to grow bigger muscles, or cure their own diseases. So basically, I took the idea of that tech and imagined what it could look like in the future. Computers were once the size of a room, and could only perform simple tasks. These days they’re in the palm of our hands and they can do so many things. I asked: what would the world look like if genetic engineering followed Moore’s law in terms of its effectiveness, size, and applications? What would that look like in a hundred years? And that’s where gentech came from.

What books have influenced your life the most?
As a writer, the books that probably influenced me the most are Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Twilight showed me how addictive and immersive a book can be, and how important characters are. Neuromancer showed me that science fiction can be gritty, lyrical, and constantly beautiful and surprising. Jurassic Park showed me that tension, pace, and foreshadowing can build a roller-coaster that keeps a reader engaged for hundreds of pages. Those three books have all affected me deeply as a writer.

Are there any books that you are currently reading and why?
I’ve just finished WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power, which is coming out in 2019. It’s a gorgeous, bold story of three girls trapped on an island where an illness is changing them both inside and out in deeply disturbing and fascinating ways. I loved this book and can’t wait for the rest of the world to read it.

Emily Suvada was born and raised in Australia, where she went on to study mathematics and astrophysics. She previously worked as a data scientist, and still spends hours writing algorithms to perform tasks which would only take minutes to complete on her own. When not writing, she can be found hiking, cycling, and conducting chemistry experiments in her kitchen. She currently lives in Portland, OR, with her husband. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Website