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BB Swann

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Out of the Woods

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

17-year-old Zaidyn Mitchell thinks being known as a book nerd is weird enough—until he wakes up on his bedroom ceiling. A newbie-weird-wizard-extraordinaire—Zaidyn must navigate his newfound identity, learn to fit in with his fellow freaks, and avoid scaring away Piper Duke, the girl of his dreams. Thinking to impress her, he agrees to help Piper’s father promote a project for a new library in a fairytale-like wooded area outside of town—but Project-Impress-Piper-With-a-Library backfires as Piper, along with his parents, strives to protect the wooded land. The rules for the magical community are simple: avoid discovery and keep to your own kind. Despite warnings from friends and foes, Zaidyn pursues a relationship with the normal human Piper, earning them both the ire—and retaliation—of the ones in charge. Zaidyn seeks answers. Who really owns the woods? Why is someone so bent on destroying them? And what are his parents and the other magical adults hiding in there? As he grows closer to the answers—and to Piper—the outside pressure mounts, building toward a conclusion that makes Zaidyn wonder if they will ever truly be… …out of the woods.

bio

Author Biography

B.B. Swann is a mother of three young adults, a wife (of another big kid but don’t tell him she said that), and a 20+ year veteran teacher of firsties. She has all the age groups covered and draws on their influence when writing her books. Picture book, young adult, new adult, and beyond, they all have one thing in common—life experiences, both the good and the challenging. She graduated from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL with her Bachelor’s of Ed. in Early Childhood Education, then left the corn capital to receive her Masters of Ed. in Language and Literacy from National Louis University, in Chicago. Originally from Winthrop Harbor, Illinois (go ahead, look it up, it’s a real place) she now resides in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Go Cards! is her new chant but Bear Down will always rule her heart. She loves to run, binge watch Netflix health documentaries, and talk to her three grown children when they have a minute. Most nights you can find her reading or writing into the wee hours. She believes in the almighty power of caffeine and battling old age with purple hair and lots of sarcasm. https://linktr.ee/BBSwannAuthor

website

Author Insight

Real-life Magic

One of my favorite authors is Dean Koontz. He's not a YA author, but I've read almost every book he's written. One of the things that draws me to his work is the way he weaves into the fabric of his stories, the realistic emotions of the human condition with the non-reality of the supernatural. It gives his characters a depth that can make even the most imaginative ones realistic and completely relatable. I may have never spoken with a genetically enhanced dog (Watchers) but I've owned and loved several real dogs and can identify with the idea of talking to them. By writing stories that feed on these emotions, the magic is more believable to me. A skill I strive to incorporate into my stories. No matter how fantastical the magic, real life scenarios ground us in the story. Here Zaidyn may have power over magic, but it can't protect him from the pain of rejection.

Book Excerpt

Out of the Woods

Piper stands next to Blake holding the set of blue bags in her hands. She throws one in the air. It sails to the opposite board and sinks into the hole. She smiles, throwing her hands up in the air as Blake groans and laughs. He puts an arm around her shoulders, grabbing the rest of her bags and throwing them in the air while she playfully pushes him away.

My hand holding my cup shakes and soda sloshes onto my skin. The cool night air heats around my skin as my magic swirls below the surface. Somehow, I maintain control but just barely. I’m like Saphira in Eragon the first time she breathed fire. Pissed and ready to fight. And it’s not Blake who I want to send things flying at this time.

I stare at Piper shaking my head.

(Note to self: She wanted to come to the party. She just didn’t want to come with me.)

“Great surprise, Ig.”

“Shit.” He frowns. “Give me a sec, I’ll get rid of Blake. He must have gotten here while we were talking inside.”

“Forget it.” Still staring at Piper, I dump out my cup in the grass and hand it to Iggy. “I’m outta here.”

“Wait, she’s not interested in Blake, She’s not—”

“Yeah. She’s not. Not interested in me either.”

Piper turns her head toward us and meets my gaze. She smiles and waves but must finally get a clue. Her smile fades and her mouth opens into an oh shit circle.

I glare back for a second then turn and walk away, past my best friend telling me to wait, past Melody and Ky kissing by the fire, through the kitchen, and out the front door.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it as I get into my car and pull away.

Just for once, I want something to go right for me. All the bullshit magic I read in books works for everyone else. Harry beats Voldemort. Gandalf beats the balrog. Arthur gets the sword.

But what do I get? I get lied to. By Piper. By everyone. Even my parents.

Pressing on the gas, I speed toward my house. It’s time I make a move that could work for me. Something that can get me at least one thing I want, even if it isn’t the thing I want most. Since it looks like the only romance I’ll get is in books, I might as well make the environment more enjoyable.

Piper’s beautiful face floats through my mind and my stomach sinks. Maybe she doesn’t want Blake, but she doesn’t want me either.

(Note to self: Better stick to books. Magic and love BOTH suck.)

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BB Swann

Out of the Woods

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Real-life Magic

Book Excerpt

Out of the Woods

Comment on this Bubble