BOOK BLITZ! I have an excerpt from chapter one!
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Miss Fortune Cookie, click here:
AMAZON
Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman
Expected Publication: November 13th 2012 by Henry Holt and Co.
"Meet Erin. Smart student, great daughter, better friend. Secretly the mastermind behind the popular advice blog Miss Fortune Cookie. Totally unaware that her carefully constructed life is about to get crazy.
It all begins when her ex-best friend sends a letter to her blog—and then acts on her advice. Erin’s efforts to undo the mess will plunge her into adventure, minor felonies, and possibly her very first romance.
What’s a likely fortune for someone no longer completely in control of her fate? Hopefully nothing like: You will become a crispy noodle in the salad of life."
Chapter One
My friends
and I were riding home from school on Muni, clinging to an assortment of
slippery handholds, when Linny almost blew my secret identity. Intentionally.
“Listen to this one,” she said,
reading off her iPhone, a faint but smirky glint in her eyes. “‘Dear Miss
Fortune Cookie. My cousin thinks I’m chasing her boyfriend. Her boyfriend and I
never flirt, but sometimes we text. What can I do to make her believe me? Just
Friends.’”
In fact, I—Erin Kavanagh, alias
Miss Fortune Cookie—had posted this very letter on my anonymous advice blog,
and Linny happened to be the only person in San Francisco to know that, the
only person in the whole world, except for some random administrator at
WordPress. She takes every opportunity to harass me about keeping my blog a
secret. “What advice would you give,
Erin?” she asked, winking this time.
I kept my face as neutral as
possible. Luckily Darren and Mei were only paying attention each other. As
usual.
Personally speaking, I think
nano-deceptions are a good thing. I regularly use them to protect my friends
from unpleasant truths. Should I tell Linny that her favorite knit hat makes
her head look like a furry meatball? Or nudge Mei whenever Darren winces at her
hyena laugh? Should I have cautioned Darren that taking AP physics would wreck
his grade-point average? Absolutely not. Sincere lies keep everyone happy.
I blew the hair out of my eyes.
“The cousin will never stop suspecting the two of them,” I said to Linny, “so Just Friends has to stop the texting.
She could get her own boyfriend. Or move to somewhere far away like Moldavia.”
Muni, a sort of bus powered by
electric wires overhead, jerked to a halt. A seat opened up, and Linny took it.
“Exactly!” She had the happiest smile ever, so big it barely fit on her face.
Metaphorically speaking. “Mei, don’t you think Erin is a natural at giving
advice?”
“Hmm?” Mei said. She was somewhat
entwined with Darren and therefore distracted.
“Nothing.” I jabbed Linny in the
ribs to get her to stop talking. Gently of course. The three of us—Mei, Linny,
and me—made an enviable friendship trio. I was the lesser third, maybe because
Mei and Linny were gorgeously Chinese-American, while I was just Boring-American.
A Person of Irish.
Mei knew nothing about my
connection to Miss Fortune Cookie. We used to be best friends, and by best
friends I mean we spent every afternoon and weekend together until eighth
grade, when things fell apart between us. The truth is, Mei dumped me. Then
Linny brought us together again during freshman year, inviting us both to eat
lunch with her, forming a little group. A few months later, I mustered the
courage to bring up the dumping incident with Mei, except she didn’t want to
talk about it. So we became friends again without dealing with the past. Pretty
much.
Except I didn’t trust her like I
used to.
*****
Author Bio
I am the author of two YA novels, MY INVENTED LIFE and MISS FORTUNE COOKIE. I also contributed a short story to the anthology THE FIRST TIME.
Though I grew up on a sail boat and loved traveling the world as a kid, I'm still afraid of the ocean. I much prefer other modes of transportation these days--plane, train, or car. Walking is best.
I love books with multi-faceted, intriguing characters. The best one make me laugh, cry, and turn the pages long past my bed time.
When I'm not reading or writing, I spend time with family and friends, talking about everything under the sun. Add in some good food to the mix, top it off with chocolate, and I'm truly happy.
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