I got some great news last night! My young adult science fiction manuscript Departures is a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Awards in both the young adult and science fiction categories!
It’s not published yet, so I can’t tell you to read it, but here’s a teaser:
After 17 short years, Evalee Anders was scheduled to depart. She said goodbye to her sister Audra—her closest friend—and accepted the inevitable. After all, the Directorate had departures down to a science, putting citizens down painlessly before biology offered up something more painful. All part of the exacting system that kept citizens’ lives in precise order. Only problem is, Evie's departure date comes and goes, and Evie's still very much alive.
When the Directorate tries to correct its mistake, Evie escapes with help from a secret rebel group. Free of the Directorate’s control, she embraces a more chaotic life as she diagnoses the pain of the pending death the Directorate wanted to “protect” her from. Along the way, Evie joins the rebels in their work, with a secret mission of her own: get Audra out of the Directorate before she does something crazy and they turn their wrath on her.
And in fact, to celebrate, I’ll pick a page from the draft to share in an upcoming Out of Context feature!