Hi everyone! My name is Kai Strand. I’m visiting Love Is A Mystery today to share the cover of my upcoming young adult contemporary romance novella, out next month. I’m super excited. After you read the blurb and excerpt, and see the great cover, I hope you will become excited too. Thanks for reading!

Ella Jones is a coward. There is a teen boy living in the alley behind her work and she is terrified of him.

Desperate to leave behind the stereotypical and judgmental world she was raised in, Ella forces herself to make a true connection with seventeen-year-old Ayden Worth. As their friendship grows Ayden’s quiet, gentle ways teach her true courage.

But there’s more to Ayden’s story than Ella knows. When their worlds collide in the most unexpected place, Ella feels betrayed. Will she find the courage to learn who Ayden really is, or will she determine he’s not worth the effort?

Excerpt…

I don’t want to be the girl who wrinkles her nose at a homeless person. I don’t want to be the type of person who judges. So after a couple weeks of shy smiles and polite head nods, I change it up.

Ten minutes after I enter the store, I re-emerge with a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin. And a pounding heart.

“Here. It’s kind of cold this morning.” With my pulse throbbing in my ears, I realize I might be shouting at him. Maybe that’s why his mouth hangs agape and his eyes are round with shock, or maybe alarm.

Available May 6, 2014

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Excerpt junkies will find a different snippet to read on each of these sites:

Once Upon A Book
Bookscape Reviews
Katie S. Taylor
Paty Jager
Mary Waibel
Ashelyn Drake

About the author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.