Summer Teen Reading Party with Emerald Barnes & A Giveaway!

Happy Friday! Please welcome my guest, Emerald Barnes, to this Friday edition of the Summer Teen Reading Party. Emerald is the author of Read me Dead - a fascinating title that makes me want to find out what it's all about! Recently I had a chance to chat with Emerald and this is what she had to say.


NATALIE WRIGHT (NW): Do you have any news to share about your work?


EMERALD BARNES (EB): I recently published a new YA Romantic Suspense, Read Me Dead, at the end of April, and I’m working on a new YA series and a women’s fiction novel.


NW: What books have you written so far?

EB: I’ve written a novella, Piercing Through the Darkness, and a full-length novel, Read Me Dead.

NW: What was the inspiration for your book?

EB: The inspiration for Piercing Through the Darkness was one of my first short stories I’d ever written.  I had this vision of a young woman running from someone who wanted to kill her for a crime she believed she didn’t commit.

Read Me Dead was based on a dream I had about a young girl telling a secret, a secret that could get her killed.

NW: What is your favorite scene from your book and why?

EB: There are so many of my favorites to choose from.  But in Read Me Dead, I have to say, I believe that it was when Alexia, my main character, finally tells her best friends her secret.  The secret she’s kept for seven years, that she knew who killed her parents.

NW: What genre do you write in?

EB: I generally write in the YA genre, but I’m branching out to women’s fiction.  Also, I’m working on a YA paranormal series when I usually write suspense.

NW: Which book do you wish you had written?

EB: The Hunger Games Trilogy!  It is simply brilliant!

NW: If you walked through a portal to dimension without books, what three books do you want to take with you?

EB: Oh man.  That’s such a tough question!  Hunger Games, To Kill a Mockingbird, and any of the new Doctor Who books.

NW: Describe your perfect Saturday.

EB: Spending the day with my nieces and nephew and somehow managing to find some time to relax.

NW: What do you hope readers will take with them from your writing?

EB: I just want them to be transported to another life and live vicariously through my characters.  That’s always been my goal in writing.

Goodreads Summary of Read Me Dead:

Alexia Wheaton’s problems go beyond picking a dress and a date for homecoming.

For seven years, Alex has lived with a painful memory - her parents' horrific murder. As the sole witness, she has kept quiet to protect herself, but when the local newspaper reveals her secret, Alex is plagued with fear that her parents' murderer will soon find her - and silence her forever.

Alex is catapulted into a race against time to save her own life and bring her parents' murderer to justice.

Emerald Barnes, Author

 You can Purchase Emerald's Books here:

Piercing Through the Darkness: http://www.amazon.com/Piercing-Through-the-Darkness-ebook/dp/B004P1IYLW/

Read Me Dead: http://www.amazon.com/Read-Me-Dead-ebook/dp/B007WMQK3A/

And you Can Connect with Emerald Here:

Website: http://www.emeraldbarnes.us

Blog: http://ebarnes23.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fanpageforemeraldbarnes

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/emeraldbarnes

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/emerald_barnes

Google + : https://plus.google.com/101744242812023382698/posts

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Barnes/e/B004PL38QS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Piercing Through the Darkness is currently priced at 99cents for the duration of May as a special promotion for the Summer Teen Reading Party!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can a Story Change a Mind?

In the aftermath of Bin Laden's death, with thoughts of war and terrorism and extremist violence on my mind, I have been wondering:  Can a Story Change a Mind?
Not all stories are intended to influence the reader's thoughts or instill a message.  Many stories are written purely to entertain.  But some stories have a message - a theme.  Sometimes the theme is the whole reason the writer sat down and put pen to paper - the story exists to explore the writer's theme or message.  But some stories are first and foremost a story and theme is something that emerges but not necessarily the sole intent of the writings.
As a writer, all the stories I write have a theme or message within the pages.  Most often I am not aware of the "theme" until after the story has been written.  As I edit and rewrite and reflect, I see that a theme emerged.  The message is there, now clear before my eyes.
For me, this is one of the great joys of writing.  I love seeing how my subconscious created the story that I didn't know was there, without me even knowing about it - a subconscious conspiracy!  I was just the transcriber for my subconscious who knew where it was going all along.
But the question I have, does the message matter?  Are readers truly affected by the theme?  Do books change minds?
I thought about what I've read and reflected on what, if any, stories had such a profound impact on me that it changed my mind.  I don't mean change a person from the far right to the far left or convert them from Islam to Christian or such other big, whole life changes.  I mean even a subtle change - a little shift in perspective.  Have any stories changed your perspective?
My thought is that there have been a lot of stories that have changed my perspective, if only a little.  We take in a lot of media and stories in our lives and there are probably subtle effects of which we aren't even aware.  But here are two that I know had a specific impact on me:


A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle:  I read this book in late elementary school and I read it over and over.  I read a lot of stories as a kid, but this is THE one that I remember the most.  Why?  Because it gave me a glimpse of another world and the possibility that things are not always as they seem.  I was a kid who always felt intuitively that there was more to our world than meets the eye but to catch hold of a book that spoke of it - well, that was life-changing.


To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee:  This was part of the curriculum in 8th grade for me.  I grew up in an all-white school in the Midwest.  I lived with an "Archie Bunker."  I can pinpoint this book with opening my eyes to ideas about racism in a way no other book had (or has since). Perhaps it even influenced my decision to become a lawyer.  I know for certain that it was around this period that I became interested in social justice.  Harper Lee's story changed my mind.  


There are many others that I'm sure will bubble up to the surface now that I've asked the question, but these are the two most prominent ones in my mind.
Have books changed your mind?  If so, which ones?


Stories are thoughts and thoughts have great power, even the power to change a mind.  Now, more than ever, we need stories.