*****THE WORD SEARCH HAS ENDED*****
Welcome! If this is your first time at Hoosblog, my name is Melanie Hooyenga. I’m a young adult author who writes primarily contemporary romance and a lot of people call me Hoo, which is where Hoosblog came from.
I’m participating in the Book Owl Word Search (BOWS) and I’m part of the ORANGE team. To play, write down my secret word, then go to the next blog at the bottom of this post. Follow the chain through all the blog posts, collect the other authors’ secret words, then enter your answers on the official form to be entered to win all the books shown below! There are two other colored word searches, so you can enter up to three contests!
For the complete Word Search rules and how to play check out the BOWS rules. Contest ends Midnight Central Time Sunday May 23, 2021.
Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you a bit about my most recent novel, Chasing the Sun, and the upcoming sequel, Chasing the Stars. As YA author Kevin Craig said, Chasing the Sun is “A lovely falling-in-love story between two extremely vulnerable teens who were both a little reluctant to do so.”
The new boy. The quiet girl. Will they find love during the solar eclipse?
Neb Connelly has looked forward to the solar eclipse for as long as he can remember. When his only friend in his new town invites him on a school camping trip to watch it, he’s there. And only 67% of his wanting to go is because of the quiet girl on the group text his friend started. She gets his jokes, doesn’t mind when he geeks out about the eclipse, and for the first time in months, he’s ready to chase more than the sun.
Recently single Sage Winters fears she’s too damaged for love, but her self-help-loving best friend drags her on a “path of self-healing” — which apparently includes going camping with twenty classmates to see the solar eclipse. And Neb, who she’s never met but whose silly space jokes turn her insides to mush, will be there. But when they finally meet in person, another girl stakes her claim on him. Does Sage run the other way to save her heart, or risk it all for a chance at happiness with this space boy?
Book one in the Campfire Series, Chasing the Sun, is a lighthearted romance with space puns, Portland shenanigans, and enough feels to totally eclipse your heart.
Now are you ready for the exciting part? I’m currently editing the second book in the Campfire Series, Chasing the Stars. It’s about Naomi (the best friend from book 1) and Hunter, two teens whose mothers plan a family camping trip to a dark park in Utah. It’s filled with stolen kisses, sibling antics, and stars so bright you can see into the next galaxy.
And here is a NEVER BEFORE (and totally not edited or finalized) blurb for the book:
Naomi McGinnis doesn’t believe in insta-love. But when she feels inta-sparks with the cute boy on her family camping trip, she decides to listen to her own advice and risk her heart, even though his scowly demeanor almost makes her hit rewind. Fans of her advice podcast think she’s got life figured out, but a surprise offer could change her future, and hurt the person she loves most.
Hunter Thompson (yes, he was named after the writer) has a one-track mind—one that has nothing to do with romance. If he’s going to finish college in three years, he can’t get distracted by girls, even ones as charming as Naomi. He’s got a secret of his own that could upend his family and change his future—forever.
A family camping trip to a dark park means lots of quality time together, and it doesn’t take long for both their defenses to fall. Will their plans for the future leave room for romance?
The publication date hasn’t been set yet, but it’ll be late summer 2021. If you want to know as soon as it’s available, subscribe to my newsletter.
And that’s it! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. But please don’t stop here.
Continue BOWS at the next stop with Lee Edward Födi!
In case you missed it, my secret word is CAMPING.
