Caroline A. DeJong grew up in Kent, Washington. Determined to get out of the rainy weather, she moved to Los Angeles for college, attended Loyola Marymount University, and graduated with a B.A. in Screenwriting. There, she was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority and the Women’s Film Society. She will graduate with her MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University in June 2019. She works full-time at UCLA. A lover of stories and books since early childhood, she proclaimed as she played with Barbies and created stories for said Barbies and directed plays for her friends, that she was going to be a writer at age 11; that dream hasn’t wavered since. DeJong also writes screenplays and short stories. Her first screenplay with Larry Levinson Productions premiered on PixL channel in 2017, “Woman of the House.”
In the time that she isn’t writing, she loves to watch television, cook new recipes, and dance—especially Zumba. She is an avid traveler and has been to countries including Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, England, Italy, Iceland, Sweden, France, Sint Maarten, Anguilla, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Her favorite place to see was Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Her future travel plans include visiting China and The Netherlands, where her heritage is. She believes that traveling opens up a world of possibilities for writing—seeing new cultures and new sites only strengthens her writing.
DeJong currently lives in Los Angeles. Please visit her website to read her short stories and blog posts.
A Confounded Sophomore, book two in the These Four Years series, centers around Sophie Shelton's presence in her sorority, Alpha Nu, as well as her love for Ryan and Steven.
Nineteen-year- old Sophie returns to the University of Miami for a confusing and complicated sophomore year. She moves into Alpha Nu and it isn't what it seems. She must continue to navigate the politics of Alpha Nu... all while living under their roof. Sophie chooses Ryan, but her feelings linger for Steven. She doesn't have a clear choice of who she wants, or what she wants within her sorority, as well as in her academic career. The year leaves her confounded and stressed, but also falling deeper in love.
Quan Williams was born and raised in Flint, MI, and has always had a love for stories. His earliest inspirations come from having his 2nd-grade teacher read classic stories like The Hobbit, Charlotte’s Web, and Winnie The Pooh to him in class. Around that time, his parents supported his appetite for fiction by subscribing him to the Star Wars comic book series. A chance encounter with a ripped up Batman comic book on the way home from school (of which he collected all of the loose pages, took them home, and put them together in order) prompted Quan to shift from consuming stories to creating them.
Quan honed his writing craft at the University of Michigan, where he studied creative writing under the tutelage of novelists Jonis Agee (Strange Angels, South of Resurrection) and Tish O’Dowd Ezekiel (Floaters). He also found time to write and illustrate three comic books and work as an entertainment journalist for the Michigan Daily Newspaper for three years. It is while in college that Quan gained a passion for gaming, and sought to ply his talents co-creating the rules and design for Transformers Battlecards, a trading card game based on the popular toy franchise. This game was eventually opted by Hasbro and turned into Beast Wars: The Mutating Card Game.
Since graduating, Quan has jumped at every opportunity to bring his wild ideas to life. He wrote the short story “That Weird Kid” which was published by The web magazine Storiesthatlift.com, before writing the young adult novel The Leopard Man. He created, designed and self-published the Organized Crime-based card game Syndicate: The Underworld and took third place in a worldwide online fantasy short story contest. He wrote, illustrated and programmed two webcomics, one of which (The Seizure) was collected and published as a trade paperback. He wrote the business/family melodrama Double Entry which was published by Red Rose Publishing. His sci-fi horror novel, Godmode, was recently picked up by Necro Publications. and King Jewel Publications has published The Hand You're Dealt, a literary love story set between his Alma Mater in Ann Arbor and the city of Detroit.
Quan is currently seeking representation for two fantasy novels he has just completed; one being an Urban "Indiana Jones"-styled Fantasy Thriller, and the other the first entry of a High Fantasy Epic trilogy.
When he is not creating, he enjoys the company of his loved ones, whether it be playing card games with his wife, or playing Magic: the Gathering with his brother, or talking about the craft of writing with his Godsister, or discussing Comic Books, Sports and Pro Wrestling with friends. He loves working with children and strives to teach them and encourage them to express themselves creatively and pursue their dreams, no matter how far-fetched others might think they are.
Jay is an ambitious, charismatic college student actively looking for love in Ann Arbor, MI. He is undeterred by past failures, and eventually finds Tika, a tough but beautiful coed with a big heart and an explosive temper. They meet, bond and grow their relationship over monthly games of spades with their eclectic circle of friends. Their love is put to the test early and often during their college years, and the tests get even tougher after they graduate. Jay lives in Detroit, and deals with the disillusionment and disappointment of dreams deferred while selling vacuum cleaners – and his blood – to pay escalating bills. Tika supports his now fragile ego as he desperately searches for a better job, but she has problems of her own: namely, coming to terms with the sudden appearance of a father who had been absent for her entire life, along with the dark family secrets his return dredges up. Tika's father makes Jay an offer he can't refuse, but Jay turns it down and infuriates Tika by not telling her why. This could be the one obstacle their time-tested love can't overcome and may send Tika moving back to her beloved Chicago without her soon-to-be EX-boyfriend.
Tricia Copeland grew up in Georgia and now lives in sunny Colorado with her family. In addition to the award-nominated Being Me series, her books include Best Book Award Fantasy Finalist series, The Kingdom Journals, Lovelock Ones, a post-apocalyptic dystopian adventure, and Drops of Sunshine, a YA paranormal novella. Find all of Tricia’s books on her website!
Amanda has no trouble choosing a college or picking a major. What she does have a problem with is what she would have least expected, a guy. Smart and sexy, Doug is focused on school responsibilities and post-graduation plans. Their paths intersect and Amanda must accept his help or risk losing her scholarship. Determined to maintain appearances, Amanda begins to lie to family and friends. The ease at which she repeatedly deceives those closest becomes disturbing and leaves her questioning: “Is this me?”
“You stink, and I already took a shower,” Lila squealed, bringing me out of my trance. Ross grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder, carrying her across the lawn and towards the house.
Mark tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, I need a shower, too. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do you want to hang out here?”
He’s abandoning me? In front of two good-looking, shirtless strangers? “Sure,” I heard myself say.
Thankfully, he stood there a minute longer. “I’ll grab a round of drinks.” He darted away.
“Nice spike there at the end,” I commented to Zack.
“Thanks. I see you have a shadow.” He bent down and patted the dog still glued to my leg.
Excusing themselves to replace their shirts, Doug and Zack once again towered over me. Even in my wedges, the top of my head barely reached the middle of Zack’s chest.
Zack spoke before the silence became obvious. “So, Amanda Avery of the famed Avery sisters?”
“In the flesh.” I waved my hands past my legs, not quite sure where he was going with the conversation. Obviously they knew their alums.
Doug continued in an Elizabethan tone. “The beauty of the Avery girls has inspired many brothers to greatness.”
“I’m just glad no one remembers when I flashed everyone on the front lawn when I was three.”
“Your reputation is still intact.” Doug winked at me with his blue eyes.
Mark approached with three plastic cups filled with amber liquid. I wondered if this counted as taking an open drink from someone. At the very least, it went against the no alcohol rule. Not even six hours in, and I was already contemplating being an illegal drinker. Maybe I needed that orientation more than I thought.
Even though I didn’t like beer and had never drunk a whole glass, I wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing. The sip I took tasted bitter, and I hoped my face didn’t betray my attempt at a relaxed facade.
“Not that great, is it?” Doug asked.
“It’s relatively cold.”
Zack held up his cup. “Cheers to that.” Doug and I did the same, and we clunked the cups together. “If I may, my lady, I’m not sure you’re going to maintain your virtue drinking that.”
Doug punched Zack. “Dude.”
I winked at Zack. “Maybe you should stick with flattery and leave Shakespeare to Doug. You have to stay in your niche.”
I was surprised how comfortable I felt with them. Their knack for humor immediately put me at ease, despite their magazine model aura. “So do you guys do this routine on a regular basis?”
Zack held his cup out. “This is a one-time only special showing. If we hope to win the heart of an Avery girl, we have to be creative.”
“And there are only two of us left to be wooed.”
“We would be nothing without your inspiration.” Doug bowed towards me, one hand over his heart.
Caroline A. DeJong grew up in Kent, Washington. Determined to get out of the rainy weather, she moved to Los Angeles for college, attending Loyola Marymount University, graduating with a B.A. in Screenwriting.
A lover of stories and books since early childhood, she proclaimed that she was going to be a writer at age 11; that dream hasn’t wavered since. DeJong also writes screenplays and short stories. In the time that she isn’t writing, she loves to watch television, cook new recipes, and dance.
Eighteen-year-old Sophie Shelton has left behind her comfortable, naive life in Kissimmee, Florida for a startling awakening at the University of Miami. When she begins college, she’s determined to concentrate on her education and future career as a writer. However, her life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed.
Immersed completely in a world of sex, love, and cutthroat Greek life, she finds herself dating the freshman quarterback, yet developing feelings for his best friend. Her own best friend advises Sophie to stop leading the two guys on, but she finds that her heart is torn. She knows her path could go either way based upon a seemingly simple choice. Who does her heart belong to? Will she be able to make the choice?
A Lovestruck Freshman, book one in the These Four Years series, will cause you to fall in love with the angst and joy of college, and understand the difficulty of Sophie’s predicament at the center of a love triangle.
IT’S A DAY kind of like Christmas. Everyone is excited for the morning activities. You open up your thirty-something presents, hoping that your dream is wrapped up somewhere. As if dreams can even be wrapped. The day commences, and you enjoy your gifts. But no one really wants it to end. The feeling at 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Day is the worst. Christmas is over. 365 more days until the next one. Who really wants to put that damn tree back in the attic, anyway? Let’s be real.
It’s just like high school graduation. The day when you’re going off into the world, hopefully to college, to see if you can carry the weight of that damn Christmas tree into the “real world.” Who even came up with that phrase, anyway? As if high school isn’t the real world. As if high school isn’t merely a place where they send teenagers so we can understand what it feels like to be taunted, treated like five-year-olds, and told that anything is possible. But it’s complete bullshit. Not everything is possible. How could it be? Is Susan Stein, the weird girl who sits in the front of Advanced Placement calculus, really going to sprout wings like she says? I don’t think so.
The real world. It’s a scary place. Or so they claim. I never felt a rush of fear come over my body the day I was accepted into eight of the nine colleges to which I’d applied. Granted, two were my safety schools in Florida—just in case my SAT scores weren’t as good as my counselor claimed they’d be. Take that, Florida State and Central Florida! The only one I didn’t get into was my reach school, Duke. It’s too bad. I would’ve been an awesome Cameron Crazie. Coach K’s loss.
I was excited to go onto college, eat crappy college food, and gain the freshman fifteen. Well, actually, I didn’t really want to gain the freshman fifteen, but let’s be real, that’s what happens to basically every girl who goes to college. I wasn’t even afraid to move onto the University of Miami campus when I got my room assignment in July to live in Mahoney Residential College with my roommate, Stacy James. Fear did strike me when my older sister explained that roommates can sometimes be stalkers. Or boyfriend-stealers. Or refrigerator scoundrels. I think the idea of Stacy James stealing my dried apricots and whatever fresh fruit I was eating that week struck a chord the most. See, freshman fifteen: what did I tell you?
Luckily Stacy James wasn’t crazy. Well, she is crazy… for the opposite sex. And for sex. For foreplay. The works. She came into college with more notches on her belt than Hugh Hefner at the same age. Ridiculous? Well, yes. But for Stacy, sex is a part of getting to know someone. She probably would’ve propositioned me, too, if she’d been drinking all night and had still been able to walk back to Mahoney without my support. My college experience was quite unusual. Let me tell you about my freshman year: the fear, the love, the pain. Especially the rush of freshman-year fear, which caught up with me pretty quickly. Before school began, I never thought it would. I was way too strong for that. I was way too mature for that. I could handle being two-hundred-twenty-one miles away from my parents, no sweat. I wasn’t clingy. Or so I thought. But the day fear rushed through my body was on the first weekend of college. The first Friday. That was the day I met Ryan Olsen. And Steven Sterling.
