Guest post with Katherine Fleet

Hi, everyone. I’m Katherine Fleet, debut author of  “The Secret to Letting Go” and I’m so excited to be here today. My book is a YA contemporary set in a fictional town on the Gulf Coast of Florida during that magical summer after high school graduation where the whole world is out there waiting for you. It’s the story of two teens, Clover and Daniel, who are both dealing with tragedies from their past and discovering what it means to forgive themselves and truly move on. But while life keeps throwing them together, their secrets keep them apart.

Guilt and regret are main themes of the story. Both Daniel and Clover are dealing with major “what if” moments. What if they’d just said or done something differently? Their lives could have gone on a much different track. It’s also about learning to trust someone enough to open up about your secrets, which is easy for some and really difficult for others.

The idea of regret was something I really wanted to write about. Personally, I’ve always struggled with it. I am the type of person to stew over past decisions and actions. I think about what could have happened if I’d made a different choice, and these thoughts and doubts often take away from my enjoyment of the present. 

I have three kids, and I see that at least one of them is like me. They also tend to get bogged down in regrets. It’s funny, because I always assumed that everyone did this. Then I met and married my husband, and he wastes very little time on regret. He learns from mistakes, but then he moves on. He is definitely much better at living in the moment than I was. When he sees me stewing about things, he always says the same thing: “Kate, you just have to let it go.”

So like Clover and Daniel, I’ve gradually learned that there is no silver bullet when it comes to regret and guilt. You just have to work on it one day at a time, until eventually it’s not such an overpowering urge. Over time, I’ve gotten better at living in the moment and this has made me a happier person. Sometimes I cheat. I think about all the extremely negative things that could have happened if I’d done something differently, which makes me more content with the choice I made. Hopefully my husband doesn’t read this, or he might think I am crazy!

When I see my son stewing about things, I see how draining and futile this emotion is, but I also understand how hard it is to put aside. So this has become one of my goals as a parent – to teach my kids to live in the moment, to make peace with their past decisions and choices.

In the end, the secret is to just let it go…Thanks for reading!

Meet Katherine

Originally from Newfoundland, Katherine Fleet gave up the cold winters of Eastern Canada for the year round warmth of the Caribbean. The slower pace of island life has given her time to pursue a long-time goal—becoming an author. When she’s not writing, she spends her time baking, chauffeuring her three amazing, talented kids around, and having sun-filled adventures with her husband and wonderful friends in Curaçao. She is also a very thankful breast cancer survivor. In 2007, she joined RWA and has enjoyed the support and camaraderie of the YARWA and OIRWA writing communities. She’s participated in NaNoWriMo since 2012 and is an active supporter of the associated Young Writers Program. She is represented by super-agent Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency. The Secret to Letting Go is her debut novel. You can connect with her at www.KatherineFleet.com.

Connect with Katherine...

Twitter * Facebook * Website * Newsletter * Goodreads 

And check out The Secret To Letting Go

  One summer can change everything...

Haunted with guilt after his girlfriend’s death, Daniel Hudson has no interest in committing to anyone. At the end of the summer, he’ll be leaving Florida for a new start in college. If only he could avoid the mysterious new girl in town, who seems every bit as naive and eccentric as she looks. Trouble is, she’s hard to ignore, with her beautiful piercing eyes, pitiful-looking dog, and unsettling tendency of finding trouble.

Clover Scott lived her whole life off the grid and arrives on the Gulf coast in search of her grandparents. She never expected to nearly drown, or get caught in a hurricane, or fall in love with the boy who rescues her. Now, she has a chance to rewrite her life’s story, to finally fit in somewhere, but Daniel wants answers about her past. When the police start asking questions about the disappearance of her parents, she must make a choice: go to jail or confess her secrets—even if they might destroy her chance at a happily-ever-after.

 

Friday Spotlight On... D. R. Rosensteel

Today we're shining the spotlight on D. R. Rosensteel, author of the Psi Another Day!

D. R. Rosensteel is a research consultant who had no intention of writing anything but technical papers describing his theories of metaphysical psychometry. But when a hoodied teen showed him a device that turned her thoughts into weapons, and told him about a secret society of protectors who trained her in their underground Academy, he knew her story had to be written.
Rosensteel has put his research on hold to document the adventures of a girl whose face he's never seen and whose real name he'll never know.

Stay Connected...
Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Get To Know D.R...

If you could sing one song on The Voice, (or X-Factor or American Idol), what would it be and why?

The theme song to the 1960s Batman TV series. Why? Because I memorized the lyrics.

You're on a deserted island and uncover an ancient looking box. When you open it, a genie appears and tells you to make one wish. You can wish for anything--except more wishes or a way off the island. What do you ask for?

The talent to write a series that goes viral and becomes an international bestseller. Or else cake. I like cake.

Most embarrassing teen moment- that you're willing to admit publicly?

Hmm, there are so many to choose from, but since you threw in the part about admit publicly...that narrows it down to a manageable few. Okay, I liked this one girl named Miroya, and to impress her with my incredible talent, I caught a fly in midflight (teenage boys have a very misguided sense of what is impressive) and gave it to her. She threw up. Needless to say, I took somebody else to the prom.

If you were to trade places with someone in a young adult novel, who would it be and why?

Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. First, I love the way she sees the world. Second, she can beat up boys. Third, since my main characters are female, if I were Scout, nobody would wonder why a grown man writes in a teenage girl's voice.

What's your go to writing snack? chocolate, potato chips, whiskey?   

Licorice, but I'm intrigued by the combination of chocolate, potato chips, and whiskey. Might have to try it!

THERE'S A NEW SUPERHERO IN TOWN.

By day, I'm just another high school girl who likes lip gloss. But by night I'm a Psi Fighter—a secret guardian with a decade of training in the Mental Arts. And I'm about to test those skills in my first battle against evil.

BAD GUYS BEWARE.

When I was six, the Walpurgis Knights, our deadliest enemy, murdered my parents. The Psi Fighters put me into hiding, and all traces of my existence evaporated. Then I went through the most accelerated Psi Fighter training possible. And now I go to your school.

'CAUSE I WILL TAKE YOU OUT.

Unfortunately, so do the bad guys. My parents' killer has sent his apprentice to infiltrate the school to find me. And everyone is a potential suspect, even irresistible new kid, Egon, and my old nemesis-turned-nice-guy, Mason. Fingers crossed I find the Knight before he finds me…

Check out Psi Another Day here!

Keeping Things Real

This post is actually a repost of something I wrote a while back. I'm using it today because over the weekend I got into an argument with a women over the subject. Actually, she argued, and I smiled and nodded politely until I could get away, lol. I'd love to hear some thoughts on the matter though, so weigh in!

Let me start by saying I don’t have kids—not the two-legged kind, anyway—so I’m by no means an expert on the subject of teenagers. I am, however, realistic. I have eyes and ears. I pay attention. I’m also not that far removed from my youth that I live in a rose-colored fantasy.

I wasn’t what you’d consider a wild child in my teen years, but I wasn’t an angel either. Judge if you must, but I snuck out and got in fights. I lied. I—get ready for it—drank alcohol. 

Some books gloss over certain aspects of the normal teenage existence, and for some characters and stories, it works. I know there’s a big debate on whether sex should be included in young adult novels, and personally, I find the entire issue ridiculous. 

As a YA author, I want to connect with teenagers in a real way. I feel this includes respecting them enough to avoid fading to black when it comes to real issues. Guess what? Sex is a real issue for teens. We may not like it, but the truth is, sweeping it under the rug is irresponsible.  

A few years back, I received an email from a family friend. The entire letter was an enraged tirade berating me for being so careless. Why? Because close to the end of one of my books, there’s a sex scene. Yes. A real honest-to-God sex scene.

It’s okay. You can gasp now.

The scene isn’t graphic or remotely pornographic by any definition, nor does it go on for pages and pages. It doesn’t scream of depravity, promote goat sex, or subliminally suggest going out and getting down and dirty with every Edward, Jacob, or Jace, but apparently the subject matter is offensive to some. This woman closed her email stating I should be ashamed of myself, and that her daughter would never be allowed to read or watch anything containing sex. The same teeenaged daughter who shortly after this exchange, I found out gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Yeah. 

This is why I find the debate ridiculous. This woman tried to shelter her daughter, and what good did it do? The girl still ended up pregnant at fourteen. What are we trying to shield our children from? Reality? We’re turning sex into a dirty little secret. There are exceptions to the rule—there always are—but if you think teenagers never have sex, then I want whatever is in your water. The truth is, they do have sex. In my opinion—and remember, that’s all this is—I feel shielding them from reality harms, rather than protects. We’re making it seem like having sex is something they need to hide, and by feeling that way, they won’t come to us for advice. And if they don’t come to us for advice, we can’t guide them. They’re going to make their own mistakes—and that’s a good thing. Growing up is all about making bad choices and learning from them. 

Now I’m not an advocate for gratuitous violence, sex, and drugs in books, but I do advocate reality. If it fits the character and isn’t thrown in simply for shock value, then I see nothing wrong with putting it in. They’re a part of life. 

Equally disturbing as the handful of emails I’ve received over the years about this, are the ones I’ve gotten over simply the mention of drugs, alcohol, and cigarette smoking. Seriously? You don’t think they’re doing these things, either? I did.  

While I write fiction, I do live in reality. And the reality of it is, teenagers do have sex. They drink. They experiment with drugs. They smoke. They make bad choices. 

They’re also smarter than most give them credit for.