Lora Palmer's Blog

For Kassi, giving up her ballet dreams to relocate a world away wasn't easy. Worse, an ancient force has awakened, and it doesn't want humans on her turf. Now it's up to Kassi, jockboy Noah, and artsy hacker Jacqui to save Mars Colony 1.Hey, guys! I'm hosting a RaffleCopter giveaway of my new YA sci-fi with a paranormal twist, Beneath the Red Sand. Enter between 11.17.21 - 11.30.21 to win the ebook. Add it to your to-read GoodReads list, and don't forget to share with any friends you think might enjoy reading Kassi's story!

For my fellow YA sci-fi & fantasy authors and readers out there, I'm also interested in opening up my blog to Author Spotlight posts, as well as booking a spotlight post on your blog, so if you're interested, give me an email or leave contact info in the comments section here.

Best of luck, entrants! If you don't win, I am also willing to share the pdf as a review copy in exchange for a review on Amazon and GoodReads, so let me know if you'd like me to send you one!

​<3  Lora a Rafflecopter giveaway

For Kassi, giving up her ballet dreams to relocate millions of miles away with her parents wasn’t easy. Worse, an ancient force has awakened, and it will stop at nothing to destroy Mars Colony 1.

Hey, guys! I'm excited to share the news that my YA sci-fi with a paranormal twist, Beneath the Red Sand, is now live on Amazon! It's been a long haul. This was my NaNoWrimo 2014 novel, and after years of sporadic editing, it's now available for purchase.

EBOOK
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Today on The #WriteSkills, I'm excited to welcome fellow Clean Reads author Krysten Lindsay Hager to tell you all about her True Colors Series. Here's what she has to say about her amazing and successful series:

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The Landry’s True Colors Series is an award-winning clean reads middle grade series about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school (and worrying about high school!), frenemies, and self-image. It’s a clean reads book so it’s suitable for ages 10 and up.

Landry Albright is an 8th grader who just wants to be one of the interesting girls at school who always have exciting things happening in their lives. She wants to stand out, but she also wants to fit in, too. Landry tries to make new friends, but gets caught up between wanting to be herself and conforming to who her new friends want her to be. Along the way she learns that being in the spotlight is nowhere as glamorous as it seems, how to deal with frenemies, and that true friends see you for who you really are and like you because of it.

Reading Guide for at home discussion and writing exercises:
As schools closed down for social isolation and as summer is starting, I thought I’d offer a reading guides to go along with the book series for at home learning opportunities. These reading sessions include some of the group activities I do with readers at book events. Normally I do these as presentations where I share info and the students or readers can ask questions, so I adjusted the usual presentation and questions so they can work for discussions at home with an adult, as writing exercises, or they can be done with friends online. There are also writing exercises that can be shared or used as journaling prompts. These are great ways to discuss what’s going on at school and it can be helpful to have the adults share their own experiences along with them. Some of the themes we focus on are talking about developing healthy friendships, dealing with having issues fitting in, self-esteem, finding your tribe, and positive self-image.
Since I often have preteens, teens, and younger kids in the mix, these questions and prompts can be used for different ages. Sometimes younger siblings attend events and I had a teacher’s helper suggest that the younger kids can draw pictures instead of doing the writing exercises, so they can be included as well. Usually the readers for the Landry’s True Colors Series are around ages 10 and up. Landry is in 8th grade, but kids like to “read up” age-wise. 

I will have different sets of questions up on the blog each week as we go through all three books in the series during the summer. All the links will be on the main page. https://www.krystenlindsay.com/teacherparentbook-club-guide.html

Review of True Colors for Readers’ Favorite Reviewed by Anna Smith 
True Colors (Landry's True Colors Series Book 1) by Krysten Lindsay Hager is a middle grade book about fitting in and learning to love yourself. Landry desperately wishes to have an interesting life. She wants to be one of the girls at school that has a funny and clever story to share with her friends. But she feels that her life is too boring. She is ignored and chosen last in gym class. She doesn't fit in, let alone stand out to the popular crowd. Because of this desire to fit in, Landry agrees to audition for a teen reality show modeling competition with her best friends, Tori and Ericka. Landry is nervous but impressive and makes it to the next round. When her friends get cut from the competition, Landry realizes how little they were her true friends when they stop speaking to her at school. She desperately wants new friends, but has to choose between being herself and impressing her new potential friends. And along the journey, she begins to see how unglamorous modeling can be. She learns how to deal with mean girls, her newest crush, and that true friends are those that accept you for who you are, not what stories you have to tell.
     
True Colors is a fantastic middle grade story with a healthy message for tweens. The story is definitely geared toward 8th graders and 12 to 13-year-olds. It is a fun story, with the characters modeling, having sleepovers, and hanging out at the mall a lot. Krysten Lindsay Hager did a great job of capturing that young tween voice and I think young girls will absolutely love this story! And parents will certainly approve of the healthy message about friendship and staying true to oneself.

Review of Landry in Like for Readers’ Favorite
Krysten Lindsay Hager's young adult and preteen coming of age story, Landry in Like: Landry's True Colors Series, Book 3, continues the story of Landry and her friends in their last year of middle school. Hager touches on the many social issues facing young teens, including self-esteem, meanness and bullying, and transitioning from middle school into the high school atmosphere. Her main character, Landry, shares her deepest fears about losing her friends and her conflict between wanting to stay at home and play video games or go out to a teen club. This is the third book in Hager's True Colors Series, but I felt instantly at home with the story even though I hadn't read the first two books in the series. This novel should go a long way towards helping adolescent readers realize that they're not alone in having to cope with the mean girls and rude boys who seem to be targeting them, and help those being bullied understand why and learn to develop their own coping strategies. Landry in Like is well-written and while boyfriends, kisses and dancing are inevitably part of any coming of age tale, this story is squeaky clean and recommended for preteens as well as young adults.

Review of Landry in Like by Literary Classics.
"Being a teenaged girl has its challenges.  And life for Landry is no different, even though she somehow believed things might be better for her this year.  But she thought wrong.  Nothing seems to be going her way, and to make matters worse, it seems her best friend is leaving her behind for a new group of friends.  Staying true to herself and maintaining a positive attitude isn’t always easy when it seems like she’s always on the defensive.  Author Krysten Lindsay Hager captures the true essence of life for teens today in book three of the Landry’s True Colors series.  Packed with a cast of well-developed characters and highly plausible scenarios, this book sends just the right message to young girls today who are trying to navigate troubling teen years.  Recommended for home and school libraries, Landry in Like has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval."

Author bio: Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends...Forever?, Next Door to a Star,  Landry in Like, and Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, Can Dreams Come True, and In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety. 

Her debut novel, True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient. Best Friends...Forever? is a 2019 Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner in the Children - Preteen genre Competing with the Star is a Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist. She received her BA in English and master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Krysten's work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on Living Dayton.

Author Video: https://wiki.ezvid.com/m/5-women-penning-exceptional-ya-fiction-MhyCIxeJuG1q9
Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFp2fPFbvTQ

Purchase the Series: 
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CH4WVM
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2UqkRj2
Book Depository: www.bookdepository.com/author/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager
Author links:
Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/
Discussion Sessions: https://www.krystenlindsay.com/teacherparentbook-club-guide.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystenlindsay/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2 Thank you, Krysten, for joining me on the blog today. It was great to have you here! Dear #WriteSkills readers, once you've checked out this series and discussion questions, leave a comment to let me know what you think! 

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​"Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do everyday for the rest of my life? Do that."
-Gary Vaynerchuk

During this tough time while we all face the coronavirus pandemic together, what have been some of your strategies to navigate through it?  I've focused on learning and applying new skills in everything from setting goals and developing productive habits, to marketing, to honing my writing craft. I also want to give back by sharing what I'm learning, hence the new inspiration for --and the birth of-- my newly minted blog, #TheWriteSkills. Welcome to its very first post! Last night, the inspiration struck to do a spring cleaning and redesign of my author website. Authors, have you spruced up your online presence lately? If you're considering a fun, fresh change to your website, I hope you find some of these tips helpful. If you do, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

1. Research SEO Optimization

If you have a website, you know that SEO optimization is one major key to your site's discoverability because it affects its rankings in the major search engines. I'll admit, it's a topic I need to research much more than the little bit I already have. When I do understand it better, I'll put together a blog post on the topic for you all.

​​One of the first things I did in overhauling my website was checking for broken links. Having broken links penalizes you (yes, broken links left untended can result in a literal penalty on your website in terms of rankings by Google), and if, like me, you haven't maintained your website recently, you'll probably have some to remove. If you have a longtime blog or website with many pages, you may want to use a resource like Broken Link Checker to help you find those pesky broken links.

So, how do you improve your site for SEO? My next step was testing out some free website diagnostic tools online, such as Website Grader and SEO Checker. They turned out to be another fantastic resource, because they showed me where I was going wrong in terms of the title and website description, content length, speed of loading, and other issues affecting quality and SEO. All of this led to reorganizing the pages, and it flows better than before. Let me know in the comments what you think, whether you're new here or have visited before! Another SEO optimization tip I discovered while watching a YouTube video mentioned keyword tracking tools that provide stats on the most searched keyword terms. My favorite one so far is the Wordstream Free Keyword Tool. Using the keyword terms can be a powerful way to understand what others are searching for and optimize your content so that it's easily found in search results. 

2. Select a Fresh New Look for the Website
While it was amazingly helpful to gain a greater understanding of SEO and keywords, and I'm excited to see the results as I apply what I'm learning, I love playing around with design. After trying out several banners, I finally settled on this floral look. Its calm elegance drew me in, and it fits with what I want my brand to stand for -- beauty, inspiration, and growth. In redesigning your website, it's a wonderful opportunity to think about your brand and how the overall look and feel of your site embodies that. I hope the new changes have inspired you! 

3. Improve Organization and Functionality
Today I spent most of the day reorganizing and updating the website. I moved my book blurb back to the home page, deleted a "For Purchase" page, and moved all my short stories onto a single page. I deleted broken links and elements the SEO tools told me were preventing my site from loading quickly. I even created my blog's new name and wrote the description for it. I added my picture and contact icons to the blog, rediscovered my old Adsense account to hopefully add to the blog, maybe even YouTube videos someday, and I added my blog feed to my GoodReads and Amazon author profiles.  

If you're thinking of working on your author website, I hope you'll find these tips useful! Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed what you read today, leave a like and share, and  be sure to tell me what other topics you'd like to see me tackle in future posts on the #writelife so I can better help to connect you with the skills, information, and resources you need.

A special thanks to Priyanka of MagicAuthor.com for this opportunity to spotlight this great resource for authors!
MagicAuthor.com


MagicAuthor.com was founded in the year 2012 by Mr. Saptharishi Suresh, with a humble mission to help aspiring writers to establish themselves. Mr. Saptharishi Suresh is an avid reader and a published author. His challenges with publishing his first book compelled him to think of something else, a platform where writers can publish their work without the hassle. His journey to create MagicAuthor.com was a long road. It took him nearly 5 years to create MagicAuthor.com and make a recognized platform by authors, readers, and publishers.

Along the way, he noticed it was very difficult to publish books in regional languages, where there are many options for books in English. So, he wanted to create an online space for the literature that includes English as well as regional languages.

MagicAuthor.com, a writing platform for all age groups, they have started an initiative where kids can upload and showcase their works online. It can be an artwork, or stories or a video/photo of craftwork.

He wants MagicAuthor.com foray into podcasts and audio-books; he aspires to make MagicAuthor.com LinkedIn for the author’s community.



About MagicAuthor.com:
MagicAuthor.com is one of a kind platform, in which, using their book wizard authors can create eBooks from scratch and also design a cover image and publish them online. If you've already created an eBook in PDF or ePubformat then you can simply upload it to their e-commerce platform. It is a unique initiative dedicated to authors, designers, and publishers, etc. to create eBooks in formats like ePUB, PDF, and MOBI. 

MagicAuthor.com is a publishing services provider. They provide authors with tools and services that enable them to publish and sell their own books.

MagicAuthor.com also distributes eBooks to Google play store.

Unique Features of Magicauthor.com:

One of the best things is that MagicAuthor.com is free to use; No upfront costs involved.MagicAuthor.com encourages eBooks to be on any topic or genre.MagicAuthor.com supports most of the Indian languages. So far, they have released eBooks in Assamese, Konkani (Romi&Devanagiri scripts), Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and English. The platform also supports promoting books published elsewhere.Other features include creating blogs, discussing literature, asking/answering questions related to writing and publishing on our community siteYou can follow your favorite authors. So, if you are looking to develop a fan base and stay connected with your readers, then create a writer profile at their site.If you are a publisher or a business, then you can leverage their community to nurture, engage and retain your followers.Please check out some of the free tools available for authors, designers, and publishers.


Saptharishi Suresh (Founder of MagicAuthor.com):
Saptharishi Suresh is a published author and an art enthusiast. He wrote his first story at the age of ten and done many paintings during his childhood. Later, as an adult, he reproduced the same online at Saptharishi - Thinketh Undefined.

Though his interests were in arts and literature, he couldn't pursue it as a profession, thanks to the lack of guidance and peer pressure. He decided to pursue engineering and became a software engineer in the year 2005.  After a couple of years into the profession, he realized the need to revive his childhood interests as something in him was feeling lonely. He set up a blogging website called Saptharishi - Thinketh Undefined in 2008 and started writing on a wide variety of topics like short stories, painting, spiritual, tourism, and even technology. With the website getting popular, he decided to take the plunge of publishing his first novel TheWake-up Call" in the year 2010. 

Getting his first book published was not easy at all and he learned a lot about the challenges involved in the process.  Being a software engineer he thought of leveraging his software skills to aid in the publishing process. He wanted to make life easy for other authors. Hence he set up the platform called "Magic Author" (https://www.magicauthor.com) in the year 2012. Since then he has helped authors and creative artists build their reputation online. He spends most of his time exploring how authors can leverage the internet benefiting both themselves and the communities around them.

Catch up with Saptharishi Suresh On: 
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Linkedin

Photo by BonnieHenderson at Morguefile.comIf you're anything like me, you find it's all too easy to get caught up in hectic everyday life, and a daily habit you want to build and maintain slips by the wayside. For me, this was writing. Between a full-time job, taking online coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis in preparation to eventually become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and making time for much-needed fun, I could let days could go by without doing any work on my stories.

Lately, the inspiration has struck to write again, and I started to remember all the things I love about writing. I love creating new characters and new worlds and bringing them to life. I love the process of trying to just get all the ideas down, the struggles to find just the right words, and even editing and polishing a story to make it the best it can be.

Then the latest unit in my coursework covered self-management, among other topics, and it galvanized me into action. What I needed was to arrange my environment to support returning to a daily writing habit and to reward myself for meeting the daily goal. For my first step, I found a productivity/habit-building app for my iPhone that lets me set the goal and mark it done. It has a calendar that even displays each day the goal is accomplished and how much of it. Because I'm not a fast writer most of the time, I started with a somewhat low, achievable goal during this baseline phase. My current goal is to write or edit 200 words, but after a week or so I may re-evaluate to see if it should be raised to 250 or 300 words. The app even reminds me to complete the goal, so it offers a great set-up to keep on track. Another strategy you could use if you want to up your writing productivity is to make yourself a simple data sheet with the date and number of words written, or you could create a NaNoWriMo account and utilize their goal tracker. If it's simple and easy to use, you'll most likely keep using it.

Once you have your goal tracker, you need to reward yourself whenever you meet your daily goal. For me, I chose time playing my favorite game app. But the key to success is not letting yourself access the reward unless/until you meet your daily goal. Also, going public with your commitment (for example by having an accountability partner like a critique partner) can help.

Maybe you know all this and are already living it, or maybe this little reminder is just what you need right now. Either way, I hope this #writetip helped. Happy, productive writing! If this inspired you to develop a new writing goal or habit, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below :).

I'm so excited to share that The MirrorMasters is now an audiobook! You can snag your copy through Audible. The narrator, Melissa Schwairy, does an amazing job bringing to life the story and all the feels, and to celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway of two copies. If you're one of the lucky winners, I'll email you a code that you can use to get your free audiobook. Good luck! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm so excited to share that The MirrorMasters is now an audiobook! You can snag your copy through Audible. The narrator, Melissa Schwairy, does an amazing job bringing to life the story and all the feels, and to celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway of two copies. If you're one of the lucky winners, I'll email you a code that you can use to get your free audiobook. Good luck! 

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This giveaway is promoted at Online Sweepstakes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today on the blog I want to welcome fellow Clean Reads author K. R. Martin, with her novel The Pirate Princess and a fun interview you won't want to miss!












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And now, for the interview!

LP :Your book sounds amazing — a princess-to-be/pirate gains some mad swordplay skills and uses them to fight injustice, fight for her kingdom. What was the inspiration for the novel?

KRM: It's been so long since I wrote the first draft that I'm not entirely sure where the inspiration came from. Other than the fact that I grew up with Disney Princesses, so I love that fairy-tale style story, but I also enjoy sword fighting, and a girl who can hold her own with guys. 
LP: I grew up on Disney Princesses, too, and I love the feisty, strong ones! That's one of the reasons The Pirate Princess sounds fantastic! What’s your favorite scene from the novel?
KRM: I think my favorite scene is when Renee first meets her pirate crew. She doesn't realize they're actually good at the time, and it was fun writing about her taking them on, especially when a really large man joins in. 
LP: Sounds like a fun scene! I'm excited to read it :). How long have you been writing? 
KRM: I've been writing for fourteen years. It started in high school with small short stories, and I haven't been able to stop since.
LP: Tell us about any other projects you have in the works.
KRM: I'm actually working on the sequel at the moment, hoping to have it finished before too long.
LP: Are you a plotter or pantser?
KRM: Definitely pantser. Although, I've had to do a little plotting with the sequel, mainly to make sure things line up with the first book. 
LP: How did you connect with our publisher, Clean Reads? 
KRM: I met them at an RT Convention, actually. I have a friend who was published through them; she introduced me to them, and I was able to pitch my story.

LP: If you could choose any fictional character to meet for a day, who would it be and why?
KRM:  Hmm, that's a tough one. I think I'd go with Belle; after all, she is the bookworm princess.
LP: Do you have advice to share with aspiring authors?
KRM: Keep writing and reading; the more you read the more you can see what works and what sounds off, and keep writing because, like they say, practice makes perfect, or at least you grow as a writer. 
LP: Fantastic advice, and thank you for an awesome interview, Karen! :) Thanks for joining me on the blog today!

Just in case you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, it's an acronym for National Novel Writing Month. Each November, intrepid writers of all ages and genres (including fanfiction) attempt to do something wild and adventurous -- write 50,000 words of a novel in one month. That works out to about 1,667 words per day in order to reach that goal. You can do word sprints with others to challenge each other to write more, hang out in the forums to chat with other writers and get inspiration and help resolving plot issues, even track your daily progress. Oh, and consume copious amounts of caffeine.


The classic way to do NaNo is to start fresh with a new novel, but you can also use your time that month to complete, or at least make a lot more progress writing, a novel you've already begun. And whether you reach that goal of 50,000 words or not, you can feel great about having participated. You'll have had fun, connected with others, and experienced the exhilaration of stretching yourself as a writer. You'll have written more amazing words than you otherwise would, or imagined you could, and you might even find the month has helped you develop a good writing routine that will carry over long past November. Oh, and in my inbox at NaNo, I just discovered they have a new goal tracker you can use to set your writing goals for other projects, like editing that NaNo novel, and track your progress toward your goal.

Did you do NaNoWriMo? If you did, how did it go, and what did you write? I'd love to hear from you. This was my third year doing NaNo. On November 1, I decided on the spur of the moment to jump in and start writing a Harry Potter fanfic that's been swirling around in my head for awhile and managed to achieve about 18,000 words, most of which came in the initial days of the month. I'm not the fastest writer, and it's super hard for me to turn off my inner editor. Here's the summary of my story and a little excerpt for you:

Summary:
Fem!Snape Selena has other plans for her life than becoming a Death Eater, but her skills in spellcraft and Potions have placed her in Voldemort's sights. Meaning, she has to walk a fine line in Slytherin house and play politics if she wants to survive long enough to escape his clutches. For now. On her worst day, after THE fight with her best friend Lily, a new ray of hope comes into her life. Her mother is finally leaving the abusive situation with her father, and the Prince family has welcomed Eileen and Selena back into the fold. Now, with a new last name and a wonderful opportunity to complete her education on a Caribbean island that is the Prince's winter home, a tropical paradise far from Voldemort's reach, Selena may just manage to reach her dreams. Unfortunately, Voldemort's forces are not so willing to let her go, drawing Selena inexorably into the coming war.

Excerpt:
Chapter 1: The Worst DayThe sun burned into Selena’s back as she trudged across the grounds of Hogwarts to her favorite tree by the lake. Echoes of the Marauders' taunts at the end of their Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL followed her, crowding out any joy or pride she should be feeling right now after acing the exam. Her greasy, hooked nose had been buried in her paper as she wrote, they’d said. All that black hair hid her ugly face like a mop of moldy limp noodles, they’d said. She had skin as pasty as the school ghosts, and any day now she’d start to float away with them – not like the ghosts would want anyone as horrible as Slimy Selena  among them – they’d said. It made her blood simmer and bubble, a poisonous potion corroding her insides. Okay, so she wasn’t pretty, vivacious, and sparkly like her best friend Lily, but her marks placed her near the top of their class, right up there with Lily. Sure, Potter and Black did well enough without even studying, but Selena far surpassed them in intelligence and magical skill, not to mention an insatiable appetite for learning, and they all knew it.Oh, how she loathed the Marauders! They’d made her life at Hogwarts, a place meant to serve as her haven, her refuge from her drunken father’s abuse, almost as miserable as her so-called home life. Just the thought of what awaited her when she returned to Spinner’s End in a few days caused knots of anxiety to twist in her stomach. Selena did not want to return there, not now, not ever again, but she had no other option. Some of the Slytherins had offered to have her stay for part of the summer. That would get her out of her predicament for maybe a week or two here and there, if her parents let her go. It wasn’t enough. Her father, as controlling as Tobias Snape was, wouldn’t allow her to get a job to escape the house. No, he wanted her there under his thumb, helping her mother Eileen keep the house and prepare his meals. Which really amounted to it all falling on Selena, as had been the case for the past few years. Her mom had become so beaten down by life, by her father, that she’d become an empty shell of herself and tiptoed through life meek as a mouse, as though she’d break into pieces at any moment.
Just two more years, she reminded herself. Two more years and she’d never have to see them again.Selena reached her tree and heaved a sigh of relief to find it unoccupied. She slung her tattered backpack, with its faded grey and black stripes and tattered seams, off her shoulder and dropped it to the ground. Unburdened of its heavy weight, she sank down beside it and rested her back against the tree trunk. Tomorrow, she had her Potions OWL, her best subject next to Defense, so this year should end on a high note for her. Maybe she should find a way to quit listening to anything the idiotic Marauders said about her. Or did. After almost getting killed by Black’s thinly disguised murder attempt, which they tried to pass off as a stupid prank of all things, she probably should ignore them. What did she care that Lupin was a werewolf, anyway? If the Headmaster wanted to risk the lives of students because of some bleeding heart need to see the spineless prankster get an education, far be it from her to argue. Selena cared little what he was. What she cared about was that he was too weak to keep his even more monstrous friends in check, which led to their latest prank that could have gotten her killed. Obviously, Lupin had already forgiven them for setting him – and her – up, even though it could have cost him everything, too, by exposing him as a werewolf. A killer.Whatever.Having time to herself to think about all these thoughts swirling around in her mind was giving her a rather nasty headache. Selena rubbed her temples before reaching into her book-laden backpack to retrieve her Potions text. Finishing an exam early had its advantages, as it gave her the chance to get a head start on studying. Not that she couldn’t recite the exact recipe for every single potion they’d covered this year, and every single interaction among the various ingredients to an intuitive degree way beyond any of her year-mates. No, Selena didn’t have a need to study Potions. She had a need to distract herself, and immersing her mind in one of her favorite subjects was the best way to do that.“Hey, Lena,” a cheerful voice called sometime later, drawing her out of her reading. The owner of that voice plopped down beside her in a flash of red hair, brightened to a golden glow in the afternoon sun. Lily grinned at her, tossing her books onto the grass between them, already forgotten, and leaning back onto her hands with her face tilted upward toward the sky.“Lils, hey.” Selena returned the grin with a true, genuine smile of her own, one rarely given and only in the company of her best friend. The two girls had been drifting apart in recent years, their friendship strained by their housemates pulling them in different directions, trying to poison them against each other. More and more, it seemed to be working, so it came as a relief that Lily had actually come over to talk to her. “Took your sweet time finishing up, I see, not that you had to.”“How did your exam go?” Squinting, Lily turned to her, sitting upright now that the subject had come up. She twisted her hands together and worried her bottom lip. “Not that I need to ask. I’m sure you got top marks, and don’t think I didn’t notice you were one of the first ones done. I’d have been out here sooner, but it just made sense to take the time allotted to check everything over first.”That was Lily, exuberant and carefree in spirit, yet meticulous and detailed when the situation called for it.“Well…yes,” Selena admitted, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “It did go well. Hey, don’t be nervous, and stop fidgeting, will you? I’m sure you scored almost as high as me. Are you ready for Potions tomorrow? I was just starting to study.”Lily waved away the question and lay back on the grass with a sigh. “Argh! Can you think of nothing but exams? It’s getting me all anxious when I really need to relax before I even start thinking about the next one. Let’s talk about something else.”Selena chuckled. “You have no reason to be anxious because you’re more than ready for tomorrow, but fine.”“Yeah, whatever,” Lily said with a snort.Laying back next to Lily, just like they’d done years ago, when they’d whisper their secrets to each other, Selena grew serious and met Lily’s skeptical but amused gaze. “It’s true. Anyway, believe me that I have way more than mere exams on my mind. Listen, Lils, there’s so much that I want to tell you about what’s really going on. What my plans really are.” Now, before too many other students gathered out here, especially the ones she could ill afford to overhear this conversation, seemed like the perfect time.Following her lead, Lily’s voice fell to a hushed whisper, “Like what?” Shock and confusion warred for dominance in Lily’s brilliant green eyes, and Selena understood why. They didn’t talk about this stuff usually, except for Lily complaining about the awful curses Mulciber and Avery used against Lily’s Gryffindor friends, and Selena pointing out that the hexes the so-called Marauders used were no better.“Like the fact that I don’t…”But a snide voice, that hated voice of Potter, interrupted what Selena was about to say. “Well, if it isn’t Slimy Selena. Can’t you leave Evans alone, you snake? She doesn’t need the likes of you clinging to her.” He ran a hand through his hair, as if he thought the manic-crazy, windswept look actually made him look cool. A gentle breeze blew through the tree branches, causing a rustling sound as they swayed in the wind. A few petals from their flowers drifted down into her hair and Lily’s.“Hey, let’s teach the slimy snake a lesson,” Black chimed in, slinging an arm around Potter.“Go away,” Lily declared, sitting up and brushing a petal from her face. “What’s Lena done to you, anyway?”“It’s more the fact that she exists, you see,” Potter said, flashing Lily what he must have thought a winning smile before turning a sneer on Selena.Selena rolled her eyes. She had no patience for fools, and Potter had time and again proven himself the biggest fool of all. “Or maybe you’re just jealous that yet again I beat you at your best subject, transfiguration, and I’m going to beat you at Defense. It would be such a shame if your marks didn’t earn you the NEWT level classes you need to become an Auror. Oh, and with Potions tomorrow, can you really afford to be spending time blathering at me when you should be focusing on your weakest subject?”While Lily tugged on her arm, saying, “Let’s just go, Lena. It’s not worth antagonizing them,” a look of rage crossed Potter’s face.Distracted by Lily’s attempt to drag her away, Selena reacted too late to protect herself when she heard James’ spell: “Levicorpus!”Her shout of “Protego!” didn’t work in time, and Selena found herself toppling upside down, suspended by her feet and hanging in midair as from an invisible rope. To her dismay, her robes fell down her body, displaying her underwear beneath. As she fought to cover herself and reach her wand, her face warmed, and not just from all the blood rushing to her head. Great. Now her cheeks must be turning beet red.“Much better,” James laughed, a loud, hearty, obnoxious that made Selena want to punch that smile right off his stupid face. Except, she couldn’t. She hung there in helpless fury, unable to do anything against him or Black. “That should teach you to talk back to people who are better than you. And really, such language. Didn’t your parents teach you to talk to people in a more civil manner? You should wash your mouth out with soap. Scourgify!”Soap bubbles filled her mouth, choking her, drowning out any of the words she wanted to hurl at him. She wanted to tell him that she’d do much, much worse to him as payback. That he was a pathetic, insecure little person if he had to go around insisting that he was better than others, because after all, people who actually were better didn’t have to point out that fact. Oh, and he should be careful because that line of thinking, placing himself above others, sounded very much like something the dark lord would say. He’d hate that comparison.Selena had no choice but to open her mouth, letting the foam drip to the ground. Still more bubbles formed, a never ending torrent that soon ballooned to cover her nose, too, and now she couldn’t breathe.Now, true panic set in, even as other students gathered around to stare and laugh at her. The sight of her gagging and convulsing, at Potter’s mercy, must be truly hilarious. Lily locked eyes with her, emerald eyes going wide.“Let her down, right now!” Lily shouted, grabbing for Potter’s wand arm. He danced away from her, grinning at the chase. Gasping for air that wouldn’t come, inhaling soap bubbles that seemed to fill any available space inside her, Selena could only watch the scene dim and her vision fragment to pieces. Even her eyes were covered with soap now, and she had to close them. Too late. Her eyes stung and burned, even when tears — from the stinging soap, not the humiliation, mind you — leaked from beneath her lashes. “Can’t you see she can’t breathe? This isn’t funny.”“Aw, Evans, go out with me. Then I promise I’ll leave old Slimy Selena alone.”“I’d rather go out with the Giant Squid,” she heard Lily say. “Anyway, unless you and Black here want to get expelled, or worse, sent to prison for murder this time, you need to end the spell now and let her down. Wouldn’t want that on your record to keep you from becoming an Auror, would you?”Potter huffed. “Fine. As you wish, milady.”The next thing Selena knew, she was falling, falling, and struck the ground hard. She lay in a crumpled heap, her body aching everywhere. At least the soap bubbles had dissolved, and Selena gasped for breath with lungs greedy for air. When she could manage to move her limbs, she reached up to wipe away the lingering soap from her eyes. Her vision swam into focus, and now an even larger crowd had gathered to witness this. Heat and rage flamed her cheeks again, and she glared at them all, defiant, as she stood and tried to still her trembling hands. Of course if she retaliated right now, she’d get blamed for the whole thing. Potter might not even get into trouble. Dumbledore had too much fondness for the Gryffindors to punish them for their misdeeds. No, it would be better for Selena to bide her time and strike when she wouldn’t be caught in front of witnesses. Revenge as a dish best served cold, and all that.A clucking sound from somewhere in the crowd caught Selena’s attention, and she turned her head to the right to find Avery and Mulciber at the back, shaking their heads in dismay. Just wonderful that they were here to witness her humiliation. Well, at least they might help her plan her retaliation later, but if they caught her here with Lily, Merlin knew what they’d do to her muggleborn best friend. They didn’t like Selena hanging out with muggleborns like Lily, and had begun to torment Lily’s closest Gryffindor friends to drive a wedge between the two girls.Their threats against Lily had been the reason Selena drifted away. So long as Selena stayed away, Mulciber and Avery would set their sights on other targets, and her best friend would stay safe.Lily, unaware of the threat, rushed to her side. “Lena, are you okay? Oh, what am I saying — of course you’re not. I’m so sorry. Those guys are such arrogant toe rags, and —““Don’t touch me!” Selena hissed, jerking back out of Lily’s reach. Her gaze strayed to where Mulciber and Avery watched the interaction with interest, and she prayed that Lily would follow. Hating herself, but having no choice, she bit out her next words. “I don’t need help from a filthy mudblood like you.”Lily blinked. “Fine. Oh, just so you know, you’d better wash that underwear, Slimy Selena. They’re stained. Better yet, do yourself a favor and buy some new ones that aren’t granny panties.”I will not cry, Selena told herself. I will not cry.Laughter erupted among the crowd, with Potter laughing the loudest of all. It didn’t drown out the sound of her heart turning to glass and shattering into a million pieces, broken and irreparable. She’d officially lost her best friend. Even when things were strained to their worst between them, Lily had never turned cruel like this. Maybe Selena deserved it for what she’d just said, but it still hurt more than anything in her life, more than all the insults and bruises heaped upon her by her father over the years put together, that Lily couldn’t see why she’d had to call her that hateful name.For a second, Selena allowed herself a thrill of hope that maybe Lily had caught on and was playing along, but she quickly quashed that hope. And anyway, Selena couldn’t talk to her here in front of everyone to find out.“Whatever,” she said, her voice turned ice cold. Raising herself to her full height, she stared Lily down. Being tall had its advantages. She hoped her face masked her pain so nobody else could see it. Spinning on her heel, she stalked away from Lily, pushing her way through the crowd and back toward the castle. Nobody tried to stop her.“All right, what was that?” Mulciber demanded, trailed by Avery as they fell into step beside her.“What do you think? Potter being his usual self.”“No.” Avery said, a hard edge of disappointment in his voice. “The point is, you let him catch you off guard.”“No,” Selena retorted, fixing him with a stern glare. “Potter attacked when my back was turned. I was leaving before…all that.” True enough. Mulciber and Avery didn’t need to know she’d been about to leave with Lily.“A coward’s move,” Mulciber observed. “One wonders how he ended up in Gryffindor. So, let’s go plan our payback. It’s time to make the so-called Marauders regret ever messing with you. And I have something very special in mind, something they won’t see coming.”Despite her morose mood, a smile quirked Selena’s lips upward. “I appreciate it. Let’s go.”“Hang on,” Avery said, and stopped. The others followed suit, staring expectantly at him. “You weren’t going to leave with the mudblood, were you?”Selena arched an eyebrow, though inside her stomach was doing a somersault. “Just because she was there, don’t read too much into it. It’s a nice day outside. Everyone’s out enjoying the weather.”Except for herself, of course. Oh, no, Selena didn’t get that luxury, and fate would see fit to ruin what was supposed to have been a great afternoon.“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got more important things to do.”With a tightness in her throat and chest, as if a noose had wrapped around her, Selena followed them inside.