Vlog Post with Jessica Shirvington ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from Jessica Shirvington

Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES and has an exciting new duology called DISRUPTION on the way in 2014.

An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 & 2012 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for Foxtel and Fox Sports. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels.

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; Reprint edition (August 4, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802737072
ISBN-13: 978-0802737076

Praise for ONE PAST MIDNIGHT

“The intriguing paranormal twist keeps pages turning.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“The story is fresh and focused . . . A complex and compelling tale.” ―School Library Journal

“This book is a page-turner from the start. Once word gets out about this riveting story, the book will seldom be on the library shelf.” ―VOYA

“This psychological mystery will hook readers with its compelling protagonist and philosophical questions . . . Perfect for readers who like to ponder life's deeper questions, and the romance adds a nice spark.” ―Booklist

“Will engage young adult readers who enjoy romance, teen angst, and the unexplainable and mysterious.” ―Library Media Connection

TEN THINGS YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME.

1. I’d slow down and stop the constant panic
2. I’d trust my friend to be my friends
3. I’d work harder for the personal satisfaction instead of avoid looking like it mattered for fear of failure
4. I’d change some of my teachers around because I really believe they are the key to so much in those years.
5. I’d read more.
6. I would have worn a different pair of shoes in my final year. Odd, yes, but they were really annoying (too big) but I was too stubborn to get another pair.
7. I wouldn’t smoke (yes, I did that, and it was gross!).
8. I would wear a different dress to my formal (Prom). The mistakes we make…
9. I’d have been more assured in who I was as a person and in my moral compass.
10. The canteen at school needed a full overhaul!

EXCERPT
ONE PAST MIDNIGHT
Preface

I am a liar.

Not compulsive.

Simply required.

I am two people. Neither better than the other, no superpowers, no mystical destinies, no two-places-at-one-time mechanism – but two people. My physical attributes, my memory, and my name follow me. For the past eighteen years, everything else, everything, about me is different. Twenty-four hours as the first version of me. And in the blink of an eye, twenty-four hours as the second. Every day, without fail, it goes on…

I’ve never told anyone. By the time I was old enough to figure out no one else had two lives – by the time that little shock settled in – I didn’t know where to begin. How to begin. And society, both of them, didn’t want to know.

When I was a child, I didn’t realize I was different from everyone else. But I’m pretty sure I’ve always been this way – this two-lives way – which means I was probably born twice, was a baby twice. No surprise I’m glad I can’t remember that. Being torn from one set of arms and thrust into another every twenty-four hours? Well, it doesn’t matter how much they love you … Can anyone say issues?

Practice makes perfect though, and I like to think of myself as a pro. I’ve ironed out the kinks; identified the major pitfalls and how to avoid them. I manage. I know who I need to be in each of my lives, and I try not to confuse my brain with the “infinity questions” anymore.

I’ve learned to accept that in one life I love strawberries, while in the other my tastes buds cringe at the flavor. I know that in one life I can speak fluent French, but, even though the memory of the language comes with me, in my other life I must not. Then there are the easier things to remember, like Maddie, my gorgeous little sister in one life, and my not-so-great big brothers in my other.

Above all else – though I try not to think about it – I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next, a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed – the only thing I can be certain of is that my body clock is different from everyone else’s. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is.

Sabine isn’t like anyone else. For as long as she can remember, she’s had two lives. Every twenty-four hours she ‘Shifts’, living each day twice. In one life, Sabine has everything: popular friends, expensive clothes, perfect grades, and the guy everyone wants. In the other, Sabine’s family struggles with finances, and she and her friends are considered rebels. But then she meets Ethan. He’s gorgeous, challenging, and he makes her feel like no one ever has before.

All Sabine really wants is the chance to live one life. When it seems like this might finally be possible, Sabine begins a series of dangerous experiments to achieve her goal. But is she willing to risk everything—including the one person who might actually believe her?

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