Guest Post: New YA SPIDER BRAINS by Bestselling Author Susan Wingate

Today on the blog I have bestselling author Susan Wingate, whose debut YA novel Spider Brains, will release in May. Read on for the blurb and a teaser!

SUSAN WINGATE, #1 Amazon Bestseller for DROWNING! DROWNING won the 2011 Forward National Literature Award for Drama. Susan is best known for her award-winning Bobby’s Diner Series. BOBBY’S DINER reached bestseller status nabbing the #5 spot on Fictionwise.com in 2008. A vibrant public speaker, Susan often presents inspirational and motivational talks about the craft of writing, marketing, and how to survive in this extremely volatile Publishing industry.

out of 5 stars on Amazon.com “Absorbing” ~ Phyllis Schieber (author of “The Manicurist” and “The Sinner’s Guide to Confession”)

out of 5 stars on Amazon.com “DROWING is Intensely absorbing” ~ Dr. Veronica Esagui (author of the “Veronica’s Diary” series)

out of 5 stars on Amazon.com “Gripping” ~ TC Elliot

out of 5 stars on Amazon.com “A tale about the explosiveness of secrets, and, ultimately, redemption.” ~ Michael Bellomo (Award-winning author)

out of 5 stars on Amazon.com “I loved Drowning by Susan Wingate” ~ RD Larson (author of “Evil Angel”)

Susan Wingate’s Debut YA Novel <> Available May 15, 2012

PreOrders Available Now!

If you would like to read SPIDER BRAINS on my blog, I’ll be posting this story daily (with the occasional break by some amazing guest author postings) and chapter-by-chapter. Press Here to Read an Installment of SPIDER BRAINS.

A Short Synopsis of SPIDER BRAINS:  If one were to bake the story SPIDER BRAINS into a cake, they should sprinkle in Charlotte’s Web, toss in one Jellicle Cat, then stir in a little Spiderman—but as a girl and not in that goofy latex outfit! A tale of hope, transformation, transition and inspiration.

After her father’s death last year and, now, in the throes of a gnarly teacher’s whim as she thinks ahead to college (or really just dreams of getting into college), a small black arachnid bites fifteen-year-old Susie Speider on the finger. The bite sends her nights into fantastical dreams about taking revenge on a teacher who, ultimately, holds her college aspirations in the palm of her cold calloused hand. But, after Susie figures out the dreams are real, she ups the ante by visiting the teacher regularly… as the spider! And, oh, by the way! Who is that boy spider munching on flies, hiding over there in the corner? A story of loss and forgiveness, tolerance and kindness, Susie Speider deals with the death of her father while Matt Ryder–the new neighbor boy–has just lost his mother. Ultimately, SPIDER BRAINS poses some important questions about how to treat Attention-Deficit-Disorder.

“Simply put, Susan Wingate is a master of the written word.  In SPIDER BRAINS, she weaves a heart-warming tale full of wit and intrigue: a nod to Kafka’s Metamorphosis in a quirky blend with The Princess Diaries.  There are laugh out loud moments with the teenage protagonist, Susie Speider, whose voice was well executed and credible.  But there are also moments that tug at the heartstrings and even bring a tear to the eye, as we see Susie’s angst when she faces pain from the past, as well as redemption through the relationship with her mother. Whether or not you’re a fan of YA literature, you’ll love SPIDER BRAINS.  But don’t expect anything ordinary!” ~Joshua Graham, award-winning, no. 1 Amazon & no. 1 Barnes & Noble bestselling author of “Darkroom” (S&S/Howard Books) and “Beyond Justice”)

“A heartwarming story full of laughs, great friendship, a touch of romance, and lots of fun facts about spiders and more. Every now and then a wonderful book like this one comes along that entertains while it teaches. I look forward to reading SPIDER BRAINS with my kids!” ~Ann Charles, award-winning author of the Deadwood Mystery Series

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Barnes & Noble

Roberts Press

SPIDER BRAINS

the itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout

down came the rain and washed the spider out

out came the sun and dried up all the rain

and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again

 ONE – Speider: The “E” is Silent

Me?

Super human kid by night, regular high school teenager by day. I’m a junior. Well, next year.

My name is Susie Speider. The E is silent. My name is NOT pronounced speeder. For crying out loud. We are not a family of racers. Sheesh.

My problem? There are two major-stager problems in my life. My meds, for starters. They say I’m ADD. Yeah. Like, so, I concentrate on the moment du jour. What’s wrong with that?

Then, there’s the issue with my grades. They suck. And, my teacher, Ms. Morlson. She hates my guts! She holds my going or not going to the U in the palm of her cold calloused clammy hands.

(This  is a pic of me. The QUEEN of dorks). But, with the new glasses my mom got me and my new meds, maybe I can improve over the next two years enough to bring my grades up to pass with something decent.

The problem? With these new glasses now I look like a short amorphous geeky version of the svelte coolamundo Morticia from the Addam’s Family but not in a good way and certainly not with her way cool clingy clothes. Plus, with my braces, lord, I look like the empress of geeks on planet Nerd-O-1.

As mom says my glasses might allow me grades, “good enough to get you into at least one of the state’s colleges.” She said colleges but I knew she meant universities.

Mom didn’t go to college so she thinks any grade higher than high school senior is college. I suppose she’s right to some extent but there are those, you know, who might argue.

Sooo.

I’m trying out new words right now, new catch-phrases, like “fierce” and “sick,” and like “rad.” Rad is just a shortened word for radical. I’m thinking of shortening the word amazing to “am” or “azin’” but worry that people might mistake me for a Cockney gal talking about small wrinkly fruit. That would be lame.

See, though, and this is pretty astonishing, the editor of the school newspaper, she’s a senior her name is Tanya (not pronounced Tŏnya but Tănya), well, I sort of think she understands me. I think. I mean, ’cause, whenever I see her, I give her an installment of a very unique and unusual, weird word. I find them on this way cool website called, BrownieLocks. Anywho. She treats me okay. She takes my words, anyway, and sometimes they show up in the paper.

Of course, no one will want to use any of the words I make up.

I’m not cool. Only cool kids make up catch-phrases like sick.

I’m a nerd and not even the good kind. My grades suck. So, I guess, that makes me more of a dork.

Pathetic.

I have a pussy, a pussy-cat. And, yes, I say pussy so Get Over It!

Most of my girlfriends have pussies, well, two of them. Anyway, the only two girlfriends I have in the whole entire world who go Ronkonkoma High, Ricki and Jamie. The only bad thing about Ronkonkoma High School, well other than the mascot (the Roc), the pep clubbers ( the Roc-kers), all the popular kids, the loadies, the boys who somehow believe they magically lived in Tombstone during their gestation period and came out cowboys, the principle, and Ms. Morlson. Well, the only bad thing other than those bad things is that Ronkonkoma High sits only a block or so past the cemetery and the cemetery sits a block or so past my house.

I hate the cemetery. I used to walk by it. No prob.

Anymore? Not so much. Now, I go the long way.

Mine is named Delilah. My cat!? My pussy cat!? ‘Member?

Ricki’s is Joe.

Dweeb. Plus, Joe is a girl. Dweeb squared.

Jamie’s is Sasha. A more pussy-like name. If. Ever.

Ricki’s name is really Ricki but Jamie’s is not. Jamie’s real name is Jane because of some freakish love affair Jane’s mother and father have for Tarzan. They have every kind of Tarzan story, poster, old movie playbill, Tarzan dolls (still in their packaging for better return on their dollars! OMG), and Tarzan sidekicks too, like Boy and Cheetah. It’s totally dorky. Although, I must admit, Cheetah is pretty cool.

TO READ MORE CHAPTERS OF “SPIDER BRAINS” CLICK HERE