Sublime
Karma
by
Peyton Garver
Genre:
YA Romance
When
Brie’s stepfather moves the family for what he calls a new
beginning, it’s not the new beginning the beautiful, yet guarded,
senior would have hoped for. Brie is instantly targeted by jealous
girls at her new school, and the only available seat on her bus is
next to the school’s star wide receiver, Jake, who for some reason,
finds her offensive. After a humiliating article and picture of Brie
is posted in the online school journal, a demon she thought she’d
overcome resurfaces, and her life unravels. A newly compassionate
Jake has finally taken an interest in her, but can Brie learn to
trust her heart, or will she miss out on the best thing that ever
happened to her?
Jake
has his own secrets and has built his own walls, but eventually his
curiosity about the new girl gets the best of him. Unfortunately, now
there is competition: the captain of her cross-country team. Jake’s
romantic histories with the girl next door and the school’s queen
bee, adds tension to a simmering tempest when all he wants is Brie.
Is he strong enough to help the one he loves weave sense into her
crumbling new reality while overcoming his own tainted past?
**FREE
Dec 16-18!!**
The bus snaked its way through the
country roads and then to the lavish development that backed up to the woods
behind his house. Upperclassmen from this neighborhood had their own cars. This
bus collected the underclassmen: those few who weren’t chauffeured to school,
as minions of the privileged.
Jake leaned back in his seat and
folded his arms across his chest, not looking at the kids coming down the
aisle. None dared to ask if they could sit in the empty space next to him. They’d
sit three to a seat rather than make that request. Just the way he wanted it.
The over-filled bus pulled to a
stop midway down Belmont Circle. New stop? Jake looked out his window at the
estate with a circular drive. Huh. It finally sold. He watched as a single
figure headed toward the bus. What, so now they get door-to-door service? He
rolled his eyes.
Seconds later, she stood in the
aisle waiting. From his seat, his eyes skimmed up passed her faded jeans and
plain, loose sweater, and his breath caught in his throat. Her long blond hair
was pulled to the side in a loose braid. Her face? Ethereal. But then, his
flustered gaze became an annoyed glare.
Her bleak gray eyes seemed to look
right through him before they darted to the space next to him. Did she even
register his indignation? She must have. Yet, she stood there in the aisle
twisting the loose adjustment strap on her backpack tightly around her fingers.
“May I sit here?” her meek voice
broke the silence that had fallen around them.
Noticing the hush of conversation,
Jake’s eyes skimmed the crowded bus. There was no doubt he and this new girl
had an audience. Not something he relished.
His eyes swept back to her. He
could tell she was nervous. He heard it in her quavering voice and saw it in
the way she avoided his eyes. He could just say no. But so long as she was
standing, the bus wouldn’t budge.
Peyton
is a secondary ed teacher in Maryland and an author of young adult
fiction. Her newest novel, Sublime Karma, is an edgy contemporary YA
story with diverse characters that addresses real teen issues such as
fitting in, cliques, bullying, self harm, and suicide. Sublime Karma
has themes that may not be appropriate for tweens and younger
teens.
The
Sublime Karma manuscript won third place in the Young Adult category
of 2015 Lone Star Writing Contest - Northwest Houston Romance Writers
of America.
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