Check out my stop on the Crossing Line blog tour!
by Ellen Wolfson Valladares
Genre: YA Magical Realism
Release Date: March 6th 2018
WiDo Publishing
Summary:
Laura, who died thirty years ago, enlists the help of a tenacious high school reporter named Rebecca, who is very much alive. Rebecca, although skeptical and conflicted by her supposed encounters with a spirit, determines to learn the truth about Laura’s tragic death. As the clues unravel and their worlds collide, Rebecca finds herself at a dangerous crossroads.
Laura, now pulled back into everything she left behind when she died – her old high school and memories of her life and death—has been in training for this exact moment. And nothing means more to her than succeeding at her assignment.
It is her one chance to make sure that what happened her does not happen to anyone else, and especially not to her new friend, Rebecca.
Buy Links: Amazon.”
Fun Facts: “Behind the Scenes” of Writing Crossing the Line
By Ellen Wolfson Valladares
1. Novel Setting – The story takes place in St. Petersburg, Florida. That’s because that’s where I grew up and went to high school. I still have a lot of family there and visit fairly often.
2. Novel Length – The original manuscript was over 113,000 words and had to be pared down to 90,000-ish during the editing process. Ouch! But it all turned out okay and maybe even better in the end. The editor was terrific in allowing me to choose what I would take out, so I was able to maintain the integrity of the story.
3. Remembering the 80s – As I started to write Crossing the Line, I wanted to look in my old yearbooks for inspiration since I graduated high school in 1983 like the character Laura did. I could not find the yearbooks though. A big thanks to my cousin – whose name just also happens to be Laura – for letting me borrow her yearbooks for a couple of years until mine finally showed up.
4. Speaking of names -- The character Laura is not based on cousin Laura. I just borrowed the beautiful name. The name Rebecca also happens to be my niece’s name, but the character again is not based on her. I really do give a lot of thought to the names I use in my book, so my cousin and niece should take it as a compliment that I chose their namesakes for my two main characters, who I’ve grown to love. I also love to throw in names sometimes just for fun as “Easter Eggs” for my friends or family.
5. High School Reunion – In the book, I write about Laura’s 30th high school reunion. It so happens that just as I was wrapping up my first draft of the book, I attended my own 30th reunion in St. Pete. That was great inspiration for more details in the book.
6. An example that made it to the book – At the reunion, one of my friends was reminiscing about a guy coming to her house with roses covering the hood of his car. That inspired a scene with Rebecca’s love interest, Tyler.
7. The Ouija Board – I know the Ouija board freaks a lot of people out, but it was a scene that came to me with the original inspiration of the book, so I knew it belonged there. Meanwhile, much like the yearbooks, I went hunting for the original Ouija board I had as a kid, so I could describe it accurately. I did find it buried in my parents’ garage and brought it home for inspiration. It only came out for observation – I never played with it! And another fun fact -- it’s now with my son Michael in Boston, who is using it as a prop in the amazing trailer he’s filming for Crossing the Line.
About the Author
Ellen Wolfson Valladares is an award-winning writer/author, workshop facilitator, community volunteer, and mother. A native Floridian, she grew up in St. Petersburg and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Florida. She has worked as an editor, public relations professional, and freelance writer. Her newest release, Crossing the Line from WiDo Publishing, is a young adult novel about a teenage spirit from the 1980’s who befriends a current-day high school girl in the hopes of preventing a similar tragedy from occurring again.
Her first book, a middle grade novel entitled Jonathan's Journey to Mount Miapu, received several awards, including a Mom’s Choice Gold Award and the 2009 Coalition of Visionary Resources Visionary Awards Book of the Year award. She also has a meditation CD, entitled “Healing and Manifestation with the Archangels.”
After her first child was stillborn in 1995, Valladares became dedicated to helping families suffering a similar loss. She volunteered as a peer counselor to help bereaved moms, ran a support group called “Surviving Pregnancy After a Loss,” and helped create and run an annual event for grieving families. In addition, she is a past president of the Board of Directors of Healthy Mothers-Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County, Inc.
Valladares has also taught numerous workshops in the South Florida area on a variety of metaphysical topics, including angels, intuition, meditation, and life purpose.
Today, Valladares continues to work as a freelance writer. Currently, she writes for several alumni magazines at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and a member and former Board member of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA). She also enjoys working as a college essay coach for high school students and helping other writers realize their dreams.
She has been married to her husband, Manny, for close to 30 years (May 2018) and they have two sons, Gabriel and Michael, two dogs, Flash and Chili Pepper, and a crazy cat named Zelda. They live in Weston, Fla.
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