For more about Marianne and her work, read on:
Hi
Allie. Thanks so much for sharing some space with me on your blog and letting
me speak to your readers. I'm so excited about my latest book project, a YA
novel called Swim
Season, the story of high school swimmer
Aerin Keane, the new girl on the team who challenges a longstanding school
record.
I’ve
been writing forever and indie-published my first novel, Blue
Hydrangeas, last year. Like so many writers, I wear many hats, one of
which is called “Swim Mom.” I’ve shuttled my daughter to swim meets and
swim practice for years, and now follow her across state lines during her
college swimming career. All those hours sitting on cold, metal bleachers
waiting to watch her swim for a minute or two gave me more than a sore
you-know-what: It inspired me to write this book.
My
goal was to write a story about the whole high school swimming experience, to
show others who may not be as familiar with the sport how much fun it is and
how hard these kids work. I started it four years ago and will soon have a
completed manuscript. The plan is to publish in spring 2015.
In Swim Season,
Aerin is determined to leave her troubles behind as she starts her senior year
in her third high school. Senior year is supposed to be fun, right?
Friends. Parties. Dating. She wants to be like every other girl at Two
Rivers. Except Aerin has two secrets: Her mom is not a nurse serving in
Afghanistan (a twist on the truth) and she is not an average varsity swimmer
(an untruth of epic proportions.) Ready to give up her dreams of a college
swimming scholarship and a shot at the Olympics, Aerin decides she doesn't want
to win anymore, she wants to swim for fun, it's her "therapy."
But when her desire to be just "one of the girls on the team"
collides with her desire to be the best this school has ever seen, Aerin
sacrifices her new friendships to challenge a longstanding school record
attached to a $50,000 scholarship.
Here's
a sneak peek:
As
soon as classes ended for the day, the team gathered on the pool deck dressed
in our warm up suits, swimsuits underneath. The chatter was at a feverish pitch
as the girls assembled into their tiny groups, the newbies huddling together at
the end of the bench, watching as Coach and a few members of the boys’ team set
up equipment for the meet. Some of the newbies looked terrified, including
Charlie, who gave me a weak smile when I said hello. This was her first meet
with the big girls, and she’d been talking about nothing else the last two
days. She was petrified she’d make a mistake, be disqualified, or swim the
wrong stroke. No matter how much Mel and I tried to convince her she had
nothing to worry about she continued to bite her nails to the nubs and fear the
worst.
The
seniors staked out their own spot on the other end of the bench, joking amongst
themselves, much more relaxed than the newbies. All of them had been on the
team for several years, some as many as five. I was the only one who had never
competed in this pool. I didn’t think it would be any different from any other
swim meet. I leaned against the wall with Mel and Erica, waiting for Coach to
come over and give us our pre-meet pep talk and plan of action. Our opponent
had not yet arrived.
Coach
walked over with his clipboard in hand. “Over here, girls,” he said, bringing
us in close. “This is our first meet and we’re lucky it’s against the Hawks. We
beat them most every time. This year they’re pretty thin. They lost their
powerhouse senior, and haven’t replaced her with anyone as dynamic that we know
of today. So, you can feel confident we’ll win again, but don’t feel too
confident because I heard they’ve got a couple of foreign exchange students
they’re keeping under wraps. We don’t know too much about them and they could
surprise us. It’s happened before. They swim distance and butterfly, so Tatiana
and Erica, you need to pay attention to what’s happening in the next lane, ok?”
He
turned toward the newbies. “I want every one of you to take a few breaths.” He
demonstrated some relaxation breathing. “And relax,” he said, smiling. “You’re
all going to do fine. You’ll each swim one event, and some of you will swim two
and a relay.” He looked at Charlie. “Just get in the water and do what you know
how to do.”
They
looked at him gratefully, an audible sigh of relief passing between them.
“Now,
here’s the lineup,” Coach said. “I had to mix it up a little bit to cover all
our bases.” He went through the order of events, announcing who would compete
in each one. There were a few moans and a couple of groans from swimmers
unhappy with their events. No one liked to race out of her comfort zone and
many preferred to do what she did best. Only a few girls excelled in more than
one stroke. I was not one of them. Coach had me in the 200 and the 500
freestyles, plus on the “B” team for the 200 and 400 free relays. No surprises.
I figured I’d pace myself to a third or fourth place finish, maybe fifth, which
would still earn points for the team. No way would I come in last. That never
happened.
“Now,
everybody in the pool for warm up,” Coach ordered.
We
jumped into our assigned lanes and started easy laps, warming up our muscles,
preparing ourselves for the impending races. I moved through the water
languidly, stretching my arms and legs as far as possible, taking easy breaths
on the third stroke. I shared my lane with four other swimmers and we stayed
out of each other’s way. I executed smooth flip turns, not losing any speed,
and glided from wall to wall. After about twenty laps, I stopped in the shallow
end to catch my breath. Mel was in the next lane.
“Here
they are,” she said, out of breath, her face red. I looked behind me and saw
our opponents emerge from the visitors’ locker room in their red and white warm
up suits. In minutes, they had stripped to their swimsuits.
“Wow,”
I said. “They’re pretty big.”
“Not
really,” said Mel. “The biggest ones are seniors and they didn’t do much last
year, didn’t even make the finals in championships. That small one with the
long, blonde hair is their best swimmer. She almost beat Tati in the 200 and
500 free last year. Other than that, no real threat.”
“If
you girls are done with your warm up you can get out and head to the locker
room for final instructions,” Coach said from the sidelines. I hadn’t noticed
him sneak up on us.
Mel
ducked under and headed for the ladder.
“You’re
looking good, Aerin,” Coach said. “I hope to see something special from you
today.”
I
nodded. This was the first time he’d given me any praise or laid any
expectations on me. I felt a tiny thrill and then a huge sense of foreboding.
Part of me was proud to be recognized, but another part of me longed to remain
anonymous. My intention to stay under the radar this season was still top
priority. Gaining Coach’s attention threatened that, and made me a little
uneasy.
“I’ll
do my best,” I said.
Swim Season means so much to me - and to
many of the swimmers and swim parents I've talked to - that I decided to
do something different to ensure its success. I recently launched a
campaign on Pubslush,
a marketing platform that offers
me a way to test the waters, build an audience, and provide start-up funds
necessary to publish, distribute, and promote Swim
Season. Please take a moment to check out my page where you can read the first chapter and watch a
short video where I explain my project. Then please join my team. There are lots of great incentives, including free books. You don’t even have to get wet!
About
the Author
Marianne Sciucco is not a
nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and
books, she dreamed of becoming an author when she grew up, but became a nurse
to avoid poverty. She later brought her two passions together and writes about
the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. Her debut novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s
love story, is a Kindle bestseller, IndieReader Approved, a BookWorks featured
book, and winner of IndieReCon’s Best Indie Novel Award, 2014. A native
Bostonian, she lives in New York’s Hudson Valley, and when not writing works as
a campus nurse at a community college. She loves books, the beach, and craft
beer, and especially enjoys the three of them together. Follow Marianne’s
Adventures in Publishing on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+.
You may purchase Blue Hydrangeas at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and other online booksellers.
1 comment:
Thanks for including me on your blog, Allie! Happy Thanksgiving!
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