Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts!

Donuts in an Empty Field is a contemporary, realistic fiction, and Young Adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and letting go of anger.

This excerpt is from chapter one.

After last week when Vanessa first opens the room to her late father’s office, she is tasked with cleaning everything out and boxing everything up with her mom and her best friend, Nichole. Mom dropped a plate in the kitchen, causing Vanessa to panic and get tangled up with Nichole in her attempts to get to her mom as fast as possible. Instead of something sinister, Vanessa finds her mother crying and goes to comfort her.

“It’s okay, Mom.”

I bend in to hug her and she turns to me with shaking shoulders, sniffling and blinking to stop her tears.

“It’ll get easier,” I tell her, patting her on the back.

“Grief is a funny thing. It’s never the same and it’s always a tough upward climb, but you’ll get there. It won’t be easy, but you’re strong and you’ll get through it,” Mom assures me, turning back into the parent.

Ugh. There’s the canned therapy talk. At least she’s feeling more like herself, even if I don’t.

Why does Vanessa have to comfort her mother when they both lost someone? Shouldn’t her mom comfort her? Vanessa is tired of the therapy talk and tells her mom that she and Nichole can handle the rest of the packing. Tune in next week to see what they find behind the torn picture!

Purchase the book HERE.

Local young adult writer, Rachel Barnard, will release the first novel in her young adult For the Love of Donuts series titled Donuts in an Empty Field with Life’s a Book Publishing, June 3rd, 2016 (AKA National Donut Day). Order your copy HERE.

Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

Vanessa hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s son from a burning building. Nessa blames the boy, but her best friend Nichole thinks it’s time to let go of the past. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge will bust her out of her shell. A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.

Subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter to receive important updates and promotions, if you haven’t already. Signup HERE

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf HERE

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts!

Donuts in an Empty Field is a contemporary, realistic fiction, and Young Adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and letting go of anger.

This excerpt is from chapter one.

After last week when Vanessa first opens the room to her late father’s office, she is tasked with cleaning everything out and boxing everything up with her mom and her best friend, Nichole. Vanessa’s mom just cried out from the other room and the girls dropped everything in their panic to make sure Mom is okay.

Nichole bumps into me in our haste to make sure Mom’s okay and we both fall to the floor. My world turns upside down and I bang my head against Nichole’s knee. I’m panting and scrambling to disentangle my limbs from Nichole’s. Mom still hasn’t answered.

We run out to see what happened. Mom’s in the kitchen, her hands braced on opposite sides of the sink. For a moment I’m immensely angry that she didn’t answer when I called, scaring the bejesus out of Nichole and me, but then I notice she’s crying. Shame at my anger crashes down on my shoulders.

Why is Vanessa’s mom upset? Tune in next week to find out.

Purchase the book HERE.

Local young adult writer, Rachel Barnard, will release the first novel in her young adult For the Love of Donuts series titled Donuts in an Empty Field with Life’s a Book Publishing, June 3rd, 2016 (AKA National Donut Day). Order your copy HERE.

Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

Vanessa hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s son from a burning building. Nessa blames the boy, but her best friend Nichole thinks it’s time to let go of the past. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge will bust her out of her shell. A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.

Subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter to receive important updates and promotions, if you haven’t already. Signup HERE

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf HERE

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts!

Donuts in an Empty Field is a contemporary, realistic fiction, and Young Adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and letting go of anger.

This excerpt is from chapter one. After last week when Vanessa first opens the room to her late father’s office, she is tasked with cleaning everything out and boxing everything up with her mom. Nichole, her best friend, comes over to help. When Mom leaves to get the girls a snack, Nichole trips over a stack of books and Vanessa accidentally rips a photo off the wall in her attempts to save Nichole from falling on her butt.

Nichole sucks in a breath as I turn to face the ruined picture. Something flutters behind the missing corner and I lift the stiff paper to peer behind it.
Something is there.
Nichole and I both jump at the sound of a crash from the front of the house.
“Mom!” I yell.
I’m wound up from being in Dad’s office, from remembering our last day together, to the finality of packing up his stuff that I go into panic mode and run toward the door.

What’s behind the photo? It’s a single piece of paper. Find out next week what it says.

Purchase the book HERE.

Local young adult writer, Rachel Barnard, will release the first novel in her young adult For the Love of Donuts series titled Donuts in an Empty Field with Life’s a Book Publishing, June 3rd, 2016 (AKA National Donut Day). Order your copy HERE.

Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

Vanessa hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s son from a burning building. Nessa blames the boy, but her best friend Nichole thinks it’s time to let go of the past. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge will bust her out of her shell. A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.

Subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter to receive important updates and promotions, if you haven’t already. Signup HERE

Don’t forget: Enter the free raffle to win neat goodies HERE

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf HERE