Two Years of the FNC! Sneak Peek Week, Round 2 (Donna)

This month, the FNC is celebrating two years of critique group awesomeness!

(I have way too much fun using the Paint program.)

I'm kicking off our four-day anniversary celebration, and each day one of us is posting a snippet of our Work-in-Progress (WIPet, if you will). After all, our WIPets wouldn't exist in all their glory without each other! Plus, we're discussing why we write.

* If you missed the first Sneak Peek Week, check out our posts! Sara / Frankie / Donna / Janine 

My novel: MULTIPLE CHOICE, contemporary upper YA
Synopsis: Maddy, Nina, and June have always been til-death-do-us-part, epic best friends. But in their junior year, one sexy secret, two destructive sisters, and three little lies leave them fending for themselves -- and for the first time, they might fail each other.

WIPet Setup: June has fallen for Paul a very cute, very chill senior in her AP Psychology class, but he's totally off-limits because he's the best friend of Maddy's ex-boyfriend -- if they hook up, it's not only a betrayal, but Maddy will also be forced to see her awful ex all the time. June's part-time job is across the street from Paul's, and Paul invites her to stop by the pizza place where he works after her shift. Against her better judgement, June goes.

“You June?” the guy asked in a thick South Philly accent.

She considered lying but then nodded, waiting for the “Paul said to tell you he’s sorry…” speech.

“Paul’s out back. I’m Nicky.”

“Oh.” She exhaled. “Hi. I, um, like your pizza.”

He chuckled. “You Italian?”

“Yes.”

"Good." He paused. “Alright, watch me mess with Paul.” He turned to the kitchen. “Pauly! Your girlfriend’s here!”

June smiled, blushing slightly nevertheless. Paul appeared a second later; June had never seen him flustered, and it made her feel better.

“Dude, you could have come back to let me know,” he said to Nicky.

“That wouldn’t have been half as fun.”

Paul managed to look June in the eye. “Hey, um, I’m working out in the alley, so if you want to come…”

“Okay.” June followed him past the counter. They walked by the kitchen, where a couple people were prepping dough for the dinner rush, and then passed through the back door. June found herself facing a dumpster, a small mountain of empty cardboard boxes, and a stack of dirty milk crates.

“Just ignore Nicky,” Paul said. “I mean, he doesn’t know—he’s always like, you know, like that.” He coughed. “So I’m just breaking down all these boxes for recycling.” He grabbed one and seemed grateful that he had something to do with his hands. “The good news is, the wind’s blowing the trash smell away from us.”

June looked around at the otherwise empty alley, feeling very alone with him despite the busy street ten yards away. She began chewing her gum furiously. Oh this is so bad and awkward and horrible, and before was just a fluke, and he probably doesn’t like me at all that way and is terrified that now I’ll suddenly look too much into everything and become his stalker.

“You can sit over there if you want,” Paul said and pointed to an upside-down milk crate covered by a clean white apron.

Oh my God he made me a chair. That's so sweet. Alright June, just try not to melt. Maddy and Nina won’t believe— June froze her thoughts and sat down, wishing she felt more like the luckiest girl ever instead of a traitor.

So that's a little slice of June's story!

As per why I write...
When I don't read and write, I get cranky.

I've been writing since I was six years old -- or at least that's the first time I can remember writing a story. (About a little bird who decided to move out of her family's nest and into her own -- I was an independent first grader!) I kept a journal from third grade through college. Attempted awful poetry in high school. Began and shelved a few novels in between. Went to college and briefly thought I could make a living in journalism, until I realized I hated it. And finally, in my last semester of college, I discovered my calling -- YA. In YA I found my voice and my passion. It's no surprise, since I began devouring YA novels in about fourth grade ... and never stopped.

I love telling stories and creating characters who I want to know, love, and hate. I enjoy letting my favorite characters make awful decisions. Giving them consequences. The power of controlling an entire world of my imagining? Yeah, kind of awesome. I write for myself, because it's a part of me, and I couldn't fathom living without it. I can only hope that one day people will read what I wrote and have it mean to them what YA novels have meant to me.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Day 2 of our anniversary celebration!