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Sisters of the Moon

SISTERS OF THE MOON

Seventeen-year-old Juniper Blackthorn lives in an all-female village settled by her ancestors fleeing execution during the witch hysteria. The village is hidden deep in the woods, protected by witchcraft from the tyrannical patriarchy in the bordering town.

When Juniper meets Abel, who crossed the border into the village unscathed, she fears the protection spell was broken. Abel claims he was able to cross because he doesn’t intend any harm, unlike other males in his town. After a few encounters, she believes him, questioning her village’s tenet that all men are evil. Still, she doesn’t tell anyone about her interactions with Abel for fear of being executed a traitor.

To ensure survival, the witches hold an annual Beltane ritual where a May Queen is appointed to lure a male from town to seduce and conceive a child. When Juniper is chosen, she’s horrified. She’s conflicted about her feelings for Abel and the thought of relations with a strange male, even if he’s under a spell, terrifies her. Her sister, Bryony, curious about sex, agrees to secretly take her place. The ritual typically conjures a female conception, but since Bryony isn’t the rightful May Queen, she gives birth to a boy, an affront from the Goddess. Since all males are banned from the village, the baby must be left to die.

Juniper devises a plan to save her nephew and live free from the confines of the village. To succeed, she must defeat the enemy townspeople and risk being put to death by her own people for concealing her relationship with Abel and denouncing sacred tradition. If she chooses to forsake Abel and let her nephew die, she’ll continue living a life shadowed by fear, intolerance, and oppression.

Jennifer's new YA Fantasy with Magical Realism, SISTERS OF THE MOON, is complete at 108,000 words.The story has elements reminiscent of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and should appeal to fans of Ernshaw’s The Wicked Deep and Spotswood’s The Cahill Witch Chronicles.



STEPSISTERS

When seventeen-year-old Ayla’s mom runs off and marries Mel, a woman Ayla’s never met, she inherits a new stepsister, Taylor, and a life of deception, drama, and danger.

At first, Ayla’s jealous of Taylor—she’s rich, popular, and a former beauty queen—but soon they become friends, bonding over hair, clothes, boys, and their own family issues. When Taylor relays horror stories about Mel and her narcissistic tendencies, Ayla is totally freaked out. Things gets worse when she finds out her mom is having doubts of her own, and regrets marrying Mel.

When people tied to Mel and Taylor mysteriously die, Ayla wonders if it’s a coincidence, or if the people now inhabiting her home are keeping sinister secrets. Ayla fears she’s being set up to take the fall for what she suspects are murders, and realizes she’s either paranoid or about to be implicated. With some digging, she finds out the strangers under her own roof aren’t at all who they claim to be. Facing the reality that her new family may be monsters, Ayla must fight to reveal the truth or die trying.

STEPSISTERS is a YA cross between Gone Girl and Big Little Lies and will appeal to fans who like to think they know whodunnit, yet appreciate a twist ending. The story is complete at 74,000 words.



THE CRY OF A THOUSAND RAVENS

Seventeen-year-old Rosalie Corwin is confined to darkness due to a life-threatening sun allergy. Subscribing to an old prophecy that her daughter will die before her eighteenth birthday, Rosalie’s mother subjects her to horrible medical treatments. She claims they’ll cure her afflictions, but Rosalie has her suspicions. Tired of being trapped inside, she sneaks out one night and is attacked. A mysterious boy, Cal, comes to her rescue, but as he escorts her to safety, they find her aggressor dead.

Not knowing who killed him and afraid they’ll be blamed for the crime, they dispose of the body in the woods. Afterward, she and Cal sneak up to her room, but when he’s caught trying to escape down the trellis, her mother threatens to execute him. He manages to break free, but Rosalie is immediately locked away.

Jealous of Rosalie’s youth and beauty and becoming more volatile by the day, Rosalie worries her mother may be more of a danger than the supposed prophecy. When she learns Cal holds a key to the mysteries of her mother’s dark past, she must act quickly to save her life and the lives of the ones she loves.

THE CRY OF A THOUSAND RAVENS is complete at 75,000 words. The story is a twisted fairytale with elements reminiscent of Grimms’ Rapunzel that I believe will appeal to fans of Gothic fiction containing family secrets and lies, à la Andrews’s Flowers in the Attic.



Ophelia Ophelia has always felt like a ghost ... the ghost of her dead sister, Ophelia.

The death of Ophelia’s sister has always been a mystery. Knowing only that she was born moments after her sister died, the labor induced by her mother’s shock, her mother named her Ophelia as well, convinced she was the incarnation of her dead sister.

Growing up in a funeral home, Ophelia is no stranger to death, and having a somewhat sheltered life, she finds comfort in those who have passed. Nearing her eighteenth birthday, however, she is tired of feeling like a shadow of a person and an echo of her sister’s former self. Determined to find the truth so she can forge her own identity, Ophelia searches for answers to how her sister really died and why her family has tried so hard to cover it up. But as she digs deeper, she unearths a stream of lies that changes everything she’s ever believed about herself, her family, as well as her sister, Ophelia.

Jennifer's new YA Gothic, OPHELIA, is complete at 84,000 words.



Abducted kids become increasingly dangerous as they fight for freedom from unseen captors who subject them to psychological tests, dictate their every move, and erase their memories.

Jennifer's new YA SF/Horror, THE REPLACEMENTS, is a cross between the TV show Lost, Dashner's The Maze Runner, and Golding's The Lord of the Flies.


Teen fugitives on the run: True Romance with a Gone Girl-esque twist and a modern-day (unintentional) Bonnie and Clyde.

Jennifer's new YA Adventure Romance, RUNAWAYS.


The Reaping Backwards thinking & misogyny are just the beginning when Sam starts unearthing unspeakable horrors in her new hometown.

Jennifer's new YA Horror, THE REAPING, is inspired by old-school horror, in particular Levin's The Stepford Wives and King's Children of the Corn.



A haunted lake. Strange deaths. Pleas for help from her dead best friend. Mia may be responsible, insane, or both.

Jennifer's new YA Horror, THE LAST SUMMER AT SHADOW LAKE, is a cross between Pretty Little Liars and The Craft with elements of Gothic horror.


When you’re the target of the sadistic town bully, being the night watchman of a haunted graveyard has its advantages.

Though not a vampire tale, Jennifer's YA Horror, THE LONG WALK HOME, is inspired in part by suspected vampire, Mercy Brown’s grave in Exeter, known locally as Vampire’s Grave, as well as a historic cemetery near Jennifer's home in Warwick. This story will appeal to fans of April Tucholke’s Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood for its atmosphere and eeriness. It's also a throwback to old-school horror and should interest fans of Stephen King for its elements reminiscent of Carrie and The Shining.



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