My Books
"Pain in life is inevitable but suffering is not. Pain is what the world does to you, suffering is what you do to yourself. Pain is inevitable, suffering is not."
--Buddhist saying from the First Noble Truth
To Feel or Not to Feel
No pain, no gain. At least that’s what they say. All of her life Brynn Davies has wished for the ability to feel physical pain like everyone else. For seventeen years her disease, called CIPA, has robbed her of any semblance of a normal life. When she starts a new school senior year, Brynn seizes the chance to be known for something other than her disease. She keeps her life-threatening condition a secret from her new best girl friend as well as her new boyfriend, Parker Beckett.
After an injury puts her in the hospital, Brynn’s new life begins to collapse. Her boyfriend bails—just like her dad did seven years ago. Under the agony of heartbreak, she closes herself off emotionally, choosing not to feel. But when Parker begs for a second chance, Brynn must decide once and for all if love is worth the pain.
Chasing Fireworks
"The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial one in any love story."
-- Emil Ludwig
Sixteen-year-old Mary Caldwell just knows star football player Mitch Bauchman is “the one”—the one whose kisses will finally make her see fireworks. And if there’s one thing football players love, it’s cheerleaders. For the opportunity to have Mitch light up her life like the Fourth of July, Mary’s about to do the one thing nobody expects—become a cheerleader. She persuades her pom pom-wielding sister to help her make the squad.
But with each new victory, Mary’s connection to her true self slips, and she finds herself becoming something she’s not. The demands of masquerading as a cheerleader girlfriend cause everything to change, especially with her best friend Colin. When Mitch’s kisses produce all the fizzle of a dud sparkler, Mary begins to suspect fireworks aren’t on her horizon. Or maybe, if she’d only taken the time to look up, she’d have noticed they’ve been in her skies all along.
"Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street."
--Zig Ziglar
Detour to You
Senior cheerleader Marley Hanson’s perfect life is all mapped out, until one drink, one decision alters her course forever. Convicted of a DUI, Marley must trade in her privileged existence for community service hours at a local retirement home.
With the help of a motley crew of colorful residents at Rolling Meadows Retirement Home, Marley gains some new friendships—including the cute grandson of the center’s resident heartthrob … Like grandpa, like grandson. Patrick Delaney’s obvious interest in Marley sets her on a new course. She tries to hide her mistakes and hopes when he discovers she’s not volunteering out of the goodness of her heart, he’ll understand. But first, she needs to prove to herself that even a wrong turn can lead to the right road.
Unconditional
After Kayla Reed discovers a personally devastating secret in the midst of a sheltered household, she can’t wait to shake off the strings of conditional love and move away to college. The pressure from her religious mother and competitive father ramps up, and Kayla knows she needs to win the coveted church scholarship in order to make her break. Active in Sunday service and youth group, Kayla’s confident she’ll get the money she needs.
But when her best guy friend—Hutch—turns into a friends-with-benefits relationship, Kayla begins to reevaluate her priorities and long-held beliefs. She needs to decide whether she can even accept money from the church when she no longer believes in the message it preaches.
"Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one."
--A.J. Jacobs