Sisters, Secrets, And The Junior Prom
Someone (many think it was Dorothy Parker) once said, “I hate writing, but I love having written.”
That’s not me.
I love writing. The part I hate is … well, every other part.
Editing – grammar, spelling, punctuation. Formatting, covers, blurbs. Proofreading, followed by more editing.
And, oh my God, the horrible waiting in between each step.
But eventually, finally, I have a book.
And then I love writing AND having written.
My new novel is SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM.
Set in 1969, it’s a coming-of-age story. Seventeen-year-old Jackie LeBlanc thinks her sister Jeannie is the coolest person on the planet. Jeannie is beautiful and brilliant, and Jackie wants to be just like her. But Jeannie has been keeping a terrible secret.
The book is geared toward the Young Adult (YA) genre. But set in 1969, it’s chock full of pop culture references, and so women of a certain age (that is, old like me) will also find it a fun reminiscence.
Here’s an excerpt from SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM, as Jackie considers her options for a prom date:
… I set my sights on John Elliott. He had lots of good things going for him. He had the kind of name you could marry, for starters. He was one of the few boys in the Artists/Writers category. He was a collage type of artist, and mostly I thought his work was pretty bad, but he had let his hair grow quite long, and that was nice. He had wire rims too. They sort of sat on his face crooked, but I figured I could fix that in fifteen minutes with a warm light bulb and some pliers. …
Phil, in Algebra II, was smart and nice. But as president of the Math Club, he liked equations quite a bit more than anyone would consider normal. He actually giggled when the teacher put a long, tricky one on the board.
There was Gary in my homeroom who was extremely good-looking, but he had this defect in his diaphragm that caused chronic hiccups. He’d even been written up in a medical journal. We were all used to him, but slow-dancing might be an issue.
Larry, in French, was normal in every way, and he was at the top of my list right after John Elliott. But all he did in class was stare longingly at Angela Jeffries. He never spoke to her. I got so frustrated after only four days that I took him aside and said, “Angie really likes you. You should ask her out.” And he did.
In History class, Keith Edelson was on my list. He was related to me in some indecipherable way, but I was okay with that. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were distant cousins. But as distant as my blood connection to Keith was, through some weird fluke of genetics, he looked unnervingly like me.
I smiled at a lot of guys I didn’t really know. Mostly they looked away uncomfortably, like you do for a crazy person, so I adjusted the wattage on my smile.
The week of concentrating on the top of my list was almost over. John Elliott didn’t pay me too much notice, but he was my best bet. I made sure I complimented his work every day. It was difficult. His best piece that week was a collage of worm photos.
It depressed me to think of what the bottom of my list was like.
I also started to think about whether any of the boys had similar lists, and where I might fall on their rankings. That depressed me even more.
SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com.
Here’s the link: SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM
- Posted in: Humor ♦ Writing
- Tagged: fiction, Novels, women's fiction, YA Fiction
notquiteold 
Just ordered my copy to read on my new Amazon Fire device! Can’t wait to read it. It sounds like my kind of book (i.e., set in a highly memorable time in my life!)
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Thanks! I hope you like it!
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Hi Nancy, I just ordered my copy. I’ve been waiting forever!! I can’t wait to read it. I love the cover, it’s so you! And I love your Theo-sophy and pictures of Theo. His face says it all! You can create a book with these. All of your art is outstanding. God has given you great gifts and talents; and you use them to bring us beauty, entertainment, and joy! A Fan Forever, Donna xo
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Thank Donna! The cover illustration is my own drawing… I knew exactly what I wanted so I did it myself then photoshopped the background and then a true graphic artist made it work. I hope you like the story!
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Congratulations on finishing your book! From what I read, it looks very good. I think both young adults and us not-so-young adults will relate to it quite well!
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Thank you!
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Looking forward to reading this book! I love you writing.
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Thanks!
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I just am commenting to say I agree with Dorothy Parker. Writing means putting your mind into a made-up fantasy land. EVERYTHING else, all the proofing and editing and such, that is REAL LIFE.
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I think Dorothy meant that she found writing to be agony, but worthwhile when she finally said what she wanted to say.
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Congrats on your publication, Nancy!
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Thanks, Becky!
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I finished it in one sitting – I just couldn’t stop reading! Superb story, believable characters, timely topic, great 60’s references (it brought back some memories; I was 16 in 1969!), extremely well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Great job!!!!
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I’m so glad you liked it. I hope you will consider posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
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Already did a review on Amazon; I don’t review on Goodreads.
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I see it! Thank you so much!!!!
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Hi Nancy, I just received my copy today, and I LOVE the cover. Knowing it’s your artwork makes it all the more loveable. I can’t wait to start reading!!
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just ordered paperback, like it already with the sample.
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Oh, Nancy, I’m so glad to see another offering available for me to read. I look forward to getting my hands on it. Congratulations!
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Did you ever wonder what happened to that teacher Mr. Martino? Why did Sandra Mellon transfer? Did Mr.Martino’s wife divorce him?
These questions are answered in Sisters, secrets and the junior prom.
If you think about your high school years, you will enjoy this title. There are surprises as the plot unfolds around inappropriate behavior in the sixties.
Could not put this down and many references to that era. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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