Guest Post with Laurie Faria Stolarz ~ JeanBookNerd

Book Nerd Guest Post

Author Bio: Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, Project 17, and Bleed, as well as the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, please visit her Web site at www.lauriestolarz.com.

Social Media

Website

Book trailers:

DEADLY LITTLE SECRET: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fzMpVMy2fQ
DEADLY LITTLE LIES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Qk0VG2Nz0
DEADLY LITTLE GAMES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc8N4Q0YDuM

Karma Chameleon Contest

In celebration of the release of DEADLY LITTLE LESSONS, I'm so excited to announce the launch of a brand new contest. I'm calling it Karma Chameleon - yes, after the Boy George song from the '80's (in case any of you have heard of it; if not, you can YouTube it for fun). I'm naming it that, not because of Boy George or his song, but because the contest is all about karma - good karma that is, and the spreading of it, and because, five books later, I thought it'd be the perfect time to celebrate Camelia from the Touch series (recall that Camelia's real name is Chameleon).

The contest is all about giving and getting - hence the karma part. As many of you know, the law of karma, in its simplest definition, is that whatever you put out to the world - energy or otherwise, good or bad - comes back to you. And so, in the spirit of good karma, let's spread some goodness. I want to encourage readers to do a good deed, i.e. organize a fundraiser or food drive, volunteer to tutor or teach something, visit the elderly or a children's hospital. All good-karma submissions will be entered into a drawing to win autographed copies of some of my Touch series books. I'll be sharing the most inspiring stories on my website and Facebook, and I'll Tweet about them as well (with your permission, of course). For more information, see the official guidelines and rules on my web site: http://www.lauriestolarz.com/news.html

Laurie’s Guilty Pleasures

Favorite snack: Popcorn with soy butter and lemon/pepper seasoning.
Touristy Trip: Paris.
Fashion addiction (at the moment): artfully torn jeans, tall boots, pretty scarves, and Michael Stars tees.

Dessert: Dark chocolate in almost any form - the darker the better.
Fast food: French fries at least once every few months (with lots of ketchup).
Beauty Binge: Aveda haircare products, which includes indulging in high-and/or-low-lights every eight weeks. Also, Caudalie skincare, Ineke perfume (Field Notes from Paris), Revitalash mascara, and Buxom Lips from Bare Escentuals.
Late-Night TV: Real Housewives of (wherever).
Chick Flick: Never Been Kissed, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Juno, Green Card, Once, The Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones Diary, Thelma & Louise, Mean Girls, Moonstruck, Clueless, Under the Tuscan Sun, and anything with John Cusack.
Nightlife: Pilates in front of the TV (a regular occurrence), answering e-mail (also regular), and dinner and/or a movie out with friends (happens far too rarely).
Cheap Thrill: Window-shopping, tabloid magazines, buying a new lip gloss, a tall cup of coffee from Peet's or Starbucks.
Ultimate Splurge: G2O Day Spa for a massage.

How to bring your psychometric senses to fruition

By Camelia Hammond, main character, TOUCH series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

1. Make yourself comfortable in a place that feels “sacred” to you. For some it’s outside, surrounded by nature; for others it’s a favorite chair or surrounded by candles; for me, it’s wherever I’m doing pottery.
2. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath, letting go of any stray or nervous thoughts.
3. Now, take an object in your hand. A good idea is to have someone give you something they’ve owned for a long time, i.e. a favorite bracelet or a set of keys.
4. Close your eyes again and concentrate on this object. Be aware of any thoughts or feelings that come about as a result of holding this object. Talk those ideas through, even if they seem silly or insignificant, but never make information up.

Camelia Hammond's trying junior year of high school is finally over...but her troubles aren't. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family - and boyfriend - drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.

At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a local girl who is missing. Even though all signs suggest that the teen ran away, Camelia senses otherwise. Eager to help the girl, she launches her own investigation. She finds a blog by someone named Neal Moche, a psychometric who might have clues to Sasha's whereabouts. There is something familiar about Neal, and Camelia realizes how much she misses Ben, despite being committed to Adam.

But time is running out for Sasha, and Camelia will have to trust her powers if she's to save her. Will the lessons Camelia has learned in the past give her the strength to do so?

Laurie Faria Stolarz’s fifth book in the Touch Series, Deadly Little Lessons, Camelia Hammond sets her sights and focus into her artwork at a summer arts program in Rhode Island. While at the arts school, she sparks interest into a local girl, Sasha Beckerman, who has gone missing. Camelia senses that it is not just a girl running away and instigates her own investigation. Even with the help of a psychometric’s blog that have clues about Sasha, Camelia will have to depend on her powers in order to save her.

The final book in the series came in true Laurie fashion. Reading through Camelia’s point of view, readers are able to put the clues together that will ultimately lead them to the missing girl. Author Laurie continues to deliver her radiant writing style to bring readers another worthy addition to the Touch series. There are a few surprises in this book that will have readers going back to the first four and seeing how it would have been different with this newly found information. Readers will also find delight in Camelia’s quest for romance. Deadly Little Lessons wraps everything up nicely and the conclusion to the Touch Series added a nice twist into the story and leaves readers feeling satisfied.

You can purchase Deadly Little Lessons at the following Retailers: