“One day, you’re going to have a kid just like you, and I can’t wait.”
That’s what my mother used to say when I was smarting off to her or throwing a fit in the bathroom because my hair wouldn’t curl the way I wanted it to. I was an emotional, edgy, smart mouthed kid. And guess what? My seven-year-old daughter is just like me.
Almost. She’s not shy like I was. Never met a stranger. But she’s got a come back for everything, and it’s really hard to get the best of her. When she’s irritated, she grits her teeth and talks through them just like me. I catch her saying some of the things I mutter when I’m annoyed. Monkey see, monkey do. Apparently my mother was right about more than one thing. I know, imagine that.
But I can handle the sass and the temper. It’s the emotional end I’m worried about. She feels everything very deeply, and takes the smallest disappointment to heart. I get it, believe me, and right now, I can usually pull her out of it. It’s the puberty thing I’m worried about. What is this kid going to be like when she’s 13? I was very self-conscious, wore my feelings on my sleeve, and butted heads with my parents whenever I could (although I wasn’t a real troublemaker. I never had the guts to sneak out and go partying).
Grace already worries about her looks and her clothes. What about when she’s gangly and awkward with a crop of zits? Is she going to cry in front of the mirror and want to smash it with the hair dryer? Not that I ever did…
She’s going to be an emotional handful, and I’m terrified I won’t be able to help her. How do you guide a girl through that? Is there a handbook I could study before the time comes?
Maybe preparation is the key. Or perhaps full body armor and a bottomless glass of wine.
How do you handle your tween and teen girls?
Tin God
Getting pregnant as a teenager and being coerced into giving her baby up for adoption left a festering scar on Jaymee Ballard’s life. Trapped by poverty and without many allies, Jaymee nearly gives up hope of getting her daughter back after her best friend is murdered. Now, four years later, a wealthy woman with legal connections hires her as a housekeeper, and Jaymee gathers the courage to seek her help. But Jaymee’s last chance ends up in a puddle of blood in one of the historic antebellum mansions in Roselea, Mississippi.
I just murdered your wife…again.
An unsigned letter consisting of six horrifying words turns Nick Samuels stagnant life upside down. Stuck in emotional purgatory since his wife’s unsolved murder four years ago, Nick is about to self-destruct. The arrival of the letter claiming credit for his wife’s murder and boasting of a new kill sends Nick to Roselea, where he and Jaymee’s worlds collide.
Jaymee and Nick realize exposing the truth about her daughter’s adoption is the only way to solve the murders. Up against years of deception, they rush to identify the killer before the evidence–and Jaymee’s daughter–are lost.
But the truth doesn’t always set the guilt-ridden free. Sometimes, it destroys them.
About the author
Born in Indiana and raised in Iowa, Stacy Green earned degrees in journalism and sociology from Drake University. After a successful advertising career, Stacy became a proud stay-at-home mom to her miracle child. Now a full-time author, Stacy juggles her time between her demanding characters and supportive family. She loves reading, cooking, and the occasional gardening excursion. Stacy lives in Marion, Iowa with her husband Rob, their daughter Grace, and the family’s three obnoxious but lovable canine children.
You can find her debut novel, INTO THE DARK as well as TIN GOD in both digital and print.
Website / Amazon Author Page / Facebook / Twitter / Literary Addicts
Purchase Tin God on Amazon
Purchase Stacy Green’s other books Welcome to Las Vegas and Into the Dark
