MY BOOKS

I like character-driven stories about kids in difficult situations—stories about trust, self-discovery and loyalty—so that’s what I write. I believe that humor can enhance any book and I use it liberally. As a racer and car builder, I draw on my 13 years of experience to provide the authentic details that bring my writing to life. And though my books are fast-paced sports stories, they also deal with tough issues like works by Chris Crutcher, Rob Thomas, and Laurie Halse Anderson.  This combination of action, emotional depth, and humor results in a product that’s sure to entice the reluctant reader.

Stock car racing has always had a loyal base, but a huge surge in the popularity of NASCAR has led it to become the most popular spectator sport in America. Many of the 75 million fans are teens, and you can bet they’re eager to find books about the subject.

A few years ago Harlequin teamed up with NASCAR to create a line of racing romances for the women in the stands. Those books have been incredibly popular. It would be a mistake to dismiss the marketing potential of a similar line for teens.

The following manuscripts are currently waiting for agent representation.

In the Blood

Fifteen-year-old Cody Everett has a temper as quick and unpredictable as the flashpoint of racing fuel.  All he wants is a family who loves and accepts him for who he is, but that’s a tall order when he can barely put up with himself.

Busted for vandalism, Cody finds himself shipped off to live with his uncle in Eugene, Oregon. He arrives knowing three things about the man: he’s an artist, he’s into racing stock cars, and his name is Race. Cody doesn’t have much hope for this last chance before military school, and he certainly doesn’t want to spend his Saturday nights watching a bunch of rednecks drive around in a circle. But Race quickly breaks through Cody’s emotional Kevlar, introducing him to a laid-back lifestyle in which Twinkies are an appropriate breakfast food and admitting to your feelings isn’t a crime. Gradually, Cody learns to accept his own intuitive, literary nature. He strives to get a handle on his supercharged temper and begins to enjoy hanging out at the track. He’s not convinced that racing’s in his blood, but it sure seems like a lot of fun.

Then tragedy strikes, threatening all Cody’s come to love.  Will he fall back on his comfortable and familiar anger, or step up to prove his loyalty to the only person he’s ever dared to trust?

Getting Sideways

15-year-old Cody Everett wants to believe he’s over what happened at the speedway last summer.  He’s making every effort to act like a regular kid—writing for the school paper, searching for the perfect girlfriend, and counting the days until he gets his drivers’ license—but there’s no escaping the memories that haunt him.

When he’s presented with the opportunity to build his own race car it seems like the perfect distraction. The only problem is, his dad won’t give him the go-ahead. Cody neglects to disclose this fact, hoping he can get his father to change his mind, but things don’t go as planned. Soon he finds himself boxed into a lie that might black flag his racing career before he even makes it out of the garage.

Driven

16-year-old Jess DeLand believes in making her own luck. But if she were the type to waste time on wishes there would be three things on her list. A mom who didn’t drink, a dad who hadn’t deserted her, and a job working on cars. Then Teri Sue Cline, one of the only female drivers at Eugene Speedway, loses her crew chief and asks Jess for help.

Though Jess has always been a loner, she finds herself drawn into the world of amateur racing, where family is everything, and if you lack one, somebody is sure to take you into theirs.  Somebody like Kasey McCormick, a woman who owns a restoration shop and may hold the key to Jess’s automotive ambitions, or Cody Everett, a wisecracking teen racer who won’t take no for an answer.  And then there’s Teri Sue’s little brother Rhett, who understands why you can’t stop loving your parents, even when they hurt you.

For the first time in years, Jess is surrounded by people who care. The question is, can a girl who keeps her personal life locked up tighter than Richard Petty’s racing secrets let her guard down enough to risk friendship and her first romance?