Megan Frazer

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today’s contestant is Ai Ling from Cindy Pon’s Silver Phoenix.

Character name: wen ai ling
Age: 17
Biography: a typical teenager from the ancient kingdom of xia. not so typical that at 17, i’ve failed to become betrothed.

What is your talent? i have the power to connect to other’s spirits. to hear their thoughts, feel their feelings…as my ability grows, i learn i can do even more.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? a red silk dress with flowing sleeves and embroidered with dragons and phoenixes.

Who is your escort? my crush, chen yong.

And now for the interview portion . . . If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
i would ask that society is not so rigid in their thinking when it comes to marriage and limiting women’s roles to the inner quarters.

Thank you Ai Ling and Cindy!

Silver Phoenix is available now! Order it from Amazon, or pick it up from your local independent bookstore.

To learn more about Cindy, her writing, and her art, visit her website.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Sydney Salter, whose debut My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters was released on April 1st.

Character name: Jory Michaels
Age: 17
Biography: I’m slightly disaster-prone and I’m searching for my passion, in the creative–and otherwise–sense of the word. But everything will change for the better once I save enough money for a life-altering nose job!

What is your talent? Well, it’s not driving. Not yoga. Not movie criticism. Definitely not soccer. And I’m not going to like making jewelry because my mom is totally getting into it (can’t the woman find her own stupid hobby?). I’m still kinda trying to find my passion, so can I get back to you on that?

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? A burkha? Or maybe an evening gown with a ski mask?

Who is your escort? Why can’t I enter this pageant after I get the nose job?!? I don’t know. Tyler is just a huge flirt. Wooster Tom acts interested, but he never calls. And Gideon–well, he has his own nose issues. I’ll probably have to take my brother Finn. But then he’ll just win the beauty contest himself. And end up with a dozen new girlfriends.

And now for the interview portion . . .What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
We’re supposed to be so perfect. We have to look perfect. We have to do well in school. We have to have amazing boyfriends. We have to have interesting hobbies. We’re supposed to be good at absolutely everything. Some of us are just plain ordinary! But that’s like not allowed.

Thank you Jory and Sydney!

My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters is available now from Amazon or from your local independent bookseller.

For more about Sydney, please visit her website.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Savannah from Cheryl Renee Herbsman’s Breathing. This book will transport you to a Carolina beach.

Character name: Savannah Georgina Brown
Age: 15
Biography:

I live on the Carolina Coast with my mama and my brother. I do real well in school. I’ve got real bad asthma, but I try not to let it slow me down.

What is your talent? Ooh, now that’s a hard one. I’m not real good at singing or dancing or that type of thing. We don’t have a whole lot of money for lessons or what have you. But when me and my friend Stef were little we wanted to be baton girls. So maybe I could do that.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
I’ll have to see if Mama will take me out to buy me something new. Right now the fanciest thing I have is a real pretty blue sundress.

Who is your escort? Jackson, of course!

And now for the interview portion . . . If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
If I could change one thing, it’d be to make it so that everyone has plenty of money. That way Mama wouldn’t have to worry so about our medical bills and she and Jackson wouldn’t have to work so much. I believe everybody would be a better person if they didn’t have to worry over money.

Thank you Savannah and Cheryl!

To get your hands on a copy of Breathing, go to your local independent book store, or order it from Amazon.

To find out more about Cheryl, please visit her website.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Mary from Carrie Ryan’s highly-anticipated, now-in-stores The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

Character name: Mary
Age: around 15
Biography: Mary grew up in a village surrounded by a forest full of zombies. She’s been taught her whole life that they are the only ones left in the world, but she believes there’s more to the world past the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

What is your talent? Making up stories.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? We don’t have any fancy fabrics and my mother would never let me use anything we do have to make something as impractical as an evening dress, so I’ll end up wearing my usual clothes: long cotton skirt and a shirt.

Who is your escort? I wish it would be Travis, but of course it ends up being my brother Jed (who isn’t particularly pleased about it).

The Forest of Hand and Teeth is available now. Pick up your copy at your local library, Amazon, or your local independent book store. Carrie recommends Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC and The Open Book in Greenville, SC.

For more information about Carrie, visit her website.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today’s contestant comes from Neesha Meminger’s debut Shine, Coconut Moon, which has been receiving rave reviews.

And now, on to the pageant . . .

Character Name: Sam Ahluwahlia
Age: 17
Biography: Sam is an Indian-American “coconut.” She’s an only child and holidays are usually just her and her mom. She loves food that begins with or ends with “cream,” “deep fried,” or “cheese.”

What is your talent?
My talent is getting in deep dung with my mom, apparently. Kidding. Seriously, though, my talent is probably asking a lot of questions and researching the answers.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
I’m not really an evening dress kinda gal, but maybe something dark, dark purple, and not long. And not super low cut, either.

Who is your escort?
I think that cute new guy, Ajay.

Now for the interview portion . . .What color best represents you?
Purple . Because it’s a mix of red and blue — passion, fire, heat, speed, mixed with cool, solid, calm, tranquil. Purple. That’s me.

Thank you Sam and Neesha!

Shine, Coconut Moon is available now. You can order it from Amazon, or pick it up from your local independent bookstore.

For more about Neesha, visit her website.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today’s contestant is Jessica from Cynthea Liu’s debut, The Great Call of China. Cynthea is something of a superstar: she has both her YA debut and her first middle grade novel, Paris Pan Takes the Dare, coming out this year. On top of that, she developed AuthorsNow! an online venue for authors and  illustrators of children’s and young adult literature.

And now . . . the pageant!

Name: Jessica Ye
Age: 16
Biography: I’ll admit it. I’m spoiled. I get practically everything I want, except I don’t get to decide where I’ll apply for college. My parents have it all laid out for me.

What is your talent?
I can work a sewing machine like nobody’s business. But my parents think fashion design is just a hobby.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
A Jessica Ye original, of course.

Who is your escort?
Will, naturally.

Now for the interview portion . . .If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
There oughta be more Jessica’s in the world. We would band together and eliminate sweatpants from our society.

Thank you Jessica and Cynthea!

To learn more about Cynthea, please visit her website or AuthorsNow!

The Great Call of China is available now. Buy it at your local bookstore, or through Amazon.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

In honor of Friday the 13th, we have a contestant from one of scarier Deb books: my awesome agent-mate Saundra Mitchell.

Name: Iris Rhame
Age: 14
Biography: I’ve lived my whole live in Ondine, Louisiana. I live with my daddy, Jack, and next door to a couple of yahoos who think throwing dry ice bombs in the creek is all kinds of hilarious. Me and my best friend Collette are pretty much the only people in Ondine what see magic for what it is.

What is your talent?
Calling the wind and rain.

Who is your escort?
I don’t know. NOT Ben Duvall.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Celeste from Erin Dionne’s Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies. Just like Dara, Celesteis overweight. And both books deal with pageants! Celeste should be a natural for this, right? She would probably beg to differ.

Name: Celeste Harris
Age: 13
Biography: I live with my parents and brother, and my aunt Doreen entered me into this pageant. I SO don’t want to be here.

What is your talent?
Ummm….how do I choose? Eating chocolate cookies? Yurking on my gym teacher’s shoes? Being a Perpetual Teasing Target?

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
I WANT to wear a hoodie and track pants, but I’ll probably end up in the Peach Monstrosity Bridesmaid dress for my cousin’s wedding.

Who is your escort?
Theo Christmas, my favorite singer/songwriter! Okay, maybe not him. But his POSTER will totally work, right?

And now for the interview portion . . .What color best represents you and why?
Peach. Erin (my author) keeps putting me in it, but I hate it.

Thank you Celeste & Erin!

If you want to know more about Erin, visit her website.

To buy Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, visit your local bookstore, or order on Amazon.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Noelle Parker from Heather Duffy Stone’s This is What I Want to Tell You.

This is What I Want to Tell You

Character name: Noelle Carter
Age: 16
Biography: I am a twin. We are 16. You don’t know Parker but he has made me believe exclusively in food, love, and body art.

What is your talent?
Body-reading. I can tell, from how someone holds himself or herself, how much truth there is in what he is thinking or saying.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?

A faded thin black t-shirt cut to a low v, tall boots, a black skirt.

Who is your escort?

My twin brother. He is there for me. Parker is beautiful but he won’t show up.

And now for the interview portion . . .If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

I would change the rules, all of them. I would make it so that no one could tell us what to do. But let us be. I would make it so that no one expects family to look a certain way or love to look a certain way. I would make it so I can leave school if I need to because no one expects I need to stay. I would change education. It happens from life, not from teachers.

Thank you Noelle and Heather! I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but I am super curious about this Parker guy.

If you want to know more about Heather Duffy Stone, visit her website.

You can buy This is What I Want to Tell You at your local bookstore or Amazon.

In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today we have Jenny Moss and her book, Winnie’s War. First, a little background . . .

About Winnie’s War:
A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.
Life in Winnie’s sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother’s distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she’s plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she’s feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Released February 3rd, Winnie’s War is available now at your local bookstore, or through Amazon.
About Jenny Moss:
JENNY MOSS is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master’s degree in literature and taught writing as an adjunct at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Winnie’s War is her first novel. She lives with her two teenagers in Houston, Texas. For more about Jenny, visit her website.

And now the pageant . . .Character name: Winnie Grace
Age: Twelve years old
Brief Bio: Winnie lives with her coffin-building papa, troubled mama, cantankerous grandma, and two little sisters in a small Texas town during the 1918 influenza pandemic. She likes to play chess, visit with her sweetheart, read, and avoid the cemetery.

What is your talent? I worry about ghosts and dead people very well.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? I will wear my best dress, the one I wear to church. Or I might borrow a nicer one from my best friend Tillie.

Who is your escort? My sweetheart Nolan.

And for the interview portion . . .If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Connection, instead of division

Thank you Jenny and Winnie!