I’m on a new publishing adventure! Amazon launched a new reader experience in 2022 called Kindle Vella. It works like this: authors upload up to a 5,000 word episode on the network and readers pay tokens to read each one. I’ve been working on a retelling of Brigadoon called Betwixt and Between, and I thought Kindle Vella would be the perfect way to introduce Fiona and Tommy’s timeless story to the reading world. You can read the first three episodes for free here Betwixt and Between.

I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Betwixt and Between

1720, Scotland. When plague strikes Fiona’s village of Brigadoon, she helps a healer cast a protection spell around the village, which causes each day to last 100 years. But Fiona doesn’t count on meeting a handsome moderner named Tommy 300 years later.

2020, New York. Tommy Albright has lived under his father’s scandal for a year. Seeking peace, he travels to the Scottish Highlands where he finds a mysterious village and a beautiful woman named Fiona.

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Available May 16th in this gorgeous new cover!

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End of the year awards and lists are rolling in right now, and I’m pleased and proud to share the news that my little book about teen reproductive rights has been chosen by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) for their Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list. This is a huge, huge honor and I couldn’t be happier. You can see the complete list here: YALSA Top Ten

GIRLS ON THE VERGE also received a nod from Rise: A Feminist Book Project, which is part of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. The Project recommends recent books with significant feminist content for young readers. (Rise was formerly the Amelia Bloomer Project) You can see the complete list here: Rise List

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I’m proud to announce that Girls on the Verge was nominated for Best Fiction for Young Adults 2020 by the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Here is their review:

Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller
Henry Holt & Company / Macmillan
Publication Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1250151698

This book confronts a controversial topic in a highly readable narrative, while not leaping into preaching or teaching mode. With the Roe v. Wade court decision under attack and more states passing aggressive anti-abortion laws, this book offers up pathways for discussion for teens to think about how they would handle the situation, as well as how they would handle it if a friend finds themselves in the same place as Camille. The emphasis is on friendship and supporting one another, while also tackling the leaps that women have to proceed through to exercise their right to choose what happens to their body.

This book’s strength lies in the reading about the stigma Camille is forced to confront at each step proceeding the journey, as well as how others are quick to make assumptions and judge, specifically in case of her best friend Bea. Across hundreds of miles, from Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico – Camille’s story unfolds across their journey, and delves into the crisis centers, doctor offices, family court, and more in a relatively short book of only 228 pages.

To balance out the story,  factual information is introduced through the judicial timeline before the story begins and the author’s note at the end gives readers background information Texas’ abortion law history, Biggs Waller’s own personal connection to the story, and resources for additional help and information.  Give this title to teens you know appreciate a hard-hitting story or to a teen exploring social justice or sociopolitical themes, or consider pairing this with Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale for a contemporary novel delving into a woman’s right to control her own body.

–Stephanie Charlefour

You can read more about the other nominees here: YALSA

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I absolutely love Anderson’s Bookshop’s Young Adult Literature Conference, and so I was thrilled when they invited me to this year’s event. Lots of my fellow young adult writers will be there and it’s going to be fun. We’ll be giving breakout sessions to discuss topics pertaining to YA literature today (so much to talk about, right?). And of course there will be books available to purchase and an autograph session.

Headlining the event on Saturday are Scott Westerfeld, Laura Ruby, Lizzy Mason, Alex London, and Elizabeth Eulberg.

Other authors in Saturday’s lineup include Ronni Davis, K Ancrum, Sonia Hartl, Natalie Lund, Rachel DeWoskin, Jennifer E. Smith, Claire Legrand, Kimberly Jones, Gilly Segal, Rosiee Thor, Gloria Chao, Charlotte Nicole Davis (Fan Frenzy Only), E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Rafi Mittlefehldt, Annie Sullivan, Kimberly Gabriel, Lauren Mansy, Lillie Vale, Melissa Grey, Amber Smith, Jenn Bennett, Kit Frick, Adrienne Young, Shelby Mahurin, Jessika Fleck, and Rosaria Munda.

The event runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 a.m.) at the Embassy Suites, 1823 Abriter Court, Naperville. Continental breakfast and a plated luncheon are included. Tickets are available only at eventcombo.com.

Fan Frenzy on Sunday is for young adult readers. It runs  from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20 with many of the above authors appearing. The event will be at Fischer Middle School, 1305 Long Grove Drive, Aurora. It’s only $5 to attend but registration is required. Head to andersonsbookshop.com to sign up.

Hope to see you there! Come find me and say hello.

Author Appearance

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Last week I had the absolute pleasure to hang out with GiannaMarie Dobson and Veronica Ward, the delightful ladies of the new book podcast Something Old, Something Debut. They picked GIRLS ON THE VERGE as their first book review/discussion, and invited me to be on the pod. I had so much fun and so I invite you to take a listen. They are on many podcast catchers including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Listen to them here Spotify Something Old, Something Debut. Or here on Apple Something Old, Something Debut.

The discussion on GIRLS ON THE VERGE is part one and two, and my interview is part three. GiannaMarie and Veronica are so funny and very passionate about books and life in general. I think you’ll enjoy listening to them. So if you want to learn about my writing process, my favorite fictional horse, what would kill me in a dystopian society, and why I have so many goats, head on over and take a listen.

Podcast

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If you haven’t heard the My Favorite Murder podcast, head over there now and acquaint yourself with this hilarious and endearing true crime comedy podcast. They release two pods a week, a true crime and a listeners’ hometown murders/weird stories/funny personal stories/all things just…odd. The MFM ladies, Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff, released a memoir, STAY SEXY AND DON’T GET MURDERED, around the same time I released GIRLS ON THE VERGE. Both were on the Cosmo list of top books of 2019, which thrilled me to no end since I am a HUGE MFM fan and a murderino (the name for followers of the pod). I admire Georgia and Karen so much that I added an Easter egg in the story in their honor, only I had to call them the Murder and Mayhem Girls because their podcast wasn’t around in my book’s timeline.

A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be funny to send in my goofy hometown story, which was about the time I got hit by a car inside a steak restaurant. So they read it on Monday, and they also mentioned GIRLS ON THE VERGE, which also thrills me to no end! Here is Monday’s pod: Episode 125. I’m the last story.

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