I’ve known Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie for almost five years.  They are both really wonderful woman and great moms….and yet, they write some of the scariest stuff in YA.  I read an early version of SWEET MADNESS, and had to leave the lights on. And it’s out for everyone to read now!

Sweet Madness is a retelling of the infamous Borden Murders told from the POV of Lizzie’s Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan.

Seventeen-year-old Bridget Sullivan is alone in Fall River, a city that sees Irish immigrants as nothing more than a drunken drain on society. To make matters worse, she’s taken employment with the city’s most peculiar and gossip-laden family—the Bordens. But Bridget can’t afford to be picky—the pay surpasses any other job Bridget could ever secure and she desperately needs the money to buy her little sister, Cara, passage to the states. It doesn’t hurt that the job location is also close to her beau, Liam. As she enters the disturbing inner workings of the Borden household, Bridget clings to these advantages.

However, what seemed like a straightforward situation soon turns into one that is untenable. Of course Bridget has heard the gossip around town about the Bordens, but what she encounters is far more unsettling. The erratic, paranoid behavior of Mr. Borden, the fearful silence of his wife, and worse still…the nightly whisperings Bridget hears that seem to come from the walls themselves.

When Bridget makes a horrifying discovery in the home, all that she thought she knew about the Bordens is called into question…including if Lizzie is dangerous. And the choice she must make about Lizzie’s character could mean Bridget’s life or death.

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What Readers Are Saying

“This thrilling novel will keep readers on their toes until the last page. Fans of historical fiction and horror will thoroughly enjoy this book.” —VOYA Magazine

“The portrait of the claustrophobic, creepy Borden household and its denizens, Lizzie especially, is grippingly vivid.” -Kirkus

“Engaging historical novel that gives readers another glimpse into the infamous Lizzie Borden.” -YA Book Central

“Dark, creepy and overall fantastically moody; SWEET MADNESS remains firmly entrenched in the Hitchcock side of horror.” -Fangirlish


About the Authors

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather disobedient black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life. She writes Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press.

Trisha is a member of the SCBWI, The Cape Cod Writers Center, and the YA Scream Queens—a group of nine female authors who are deathly serious about their horror.

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Lindsay Currie lives in Chicago, Illinois with one incredibly patient hubby, three amazing kids and a 160 pound lap dog named Sam. She’s fond of tea, chocolate and things that go bump in the night.

An author of young adult and middle grade fiction, Lindsay is published with Flux/Llewellyn, Merit Press and Spencer Hill Contemporary.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram



Giveaway

To celebrate the ebook release, the authors are giving away a very special swag pack: A custom, exclusive bookmark, an exclusive image of the Borden house taken by photographer Frank C. Grace, and signed bookmarks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I feel like this post needs a preface.  I’ve never been anti-feminist, but I live a very “traditional” lifestyle.  I’m a very happy — and sometimes very exhausted — stay at home mother. I love it.  I love being with my kids, and I honestly believe that I’m doing the right thing for my family by being home with them.

Even saying that much is a bit terrifying for me.  I’m always hesitant to talk about being a SAHM because I feel like there are so many women (and men) who look down on me for that choice. I’ve seen self-proclaimed feminists on social media say that staying at home is anti-feminist. I don’t like confrontation. It makes me very uncomfortable. But in this case, I guess we’ll just have to disagree. For me, being a feminist means standing up for all women without judgment, without ridicule, without tearing each other down.

Now, on to the moment when I was an angry feminist…

My nine-year-old son is doing a little physical training with a coach to help prepare him for football season.  His coach is darling and fantastic at motivating my son to work hard.  He’s also very young.  As he was working with another young client, I heard him say, “Stop punching like a girl.”

Very quietly, I said, “Some girls hit hard.”

The coach smiled at me and said that he knew it was true, but that this particular phrase motivated this particular client.

The proof was obvious. The little boy was punching harder, and I didn’t say anything else.

But I fumed. I stewed. And for nearly two weeks I’ve thought about that phrase.

The coach may not have meant it as dismissive or misogynistic, but he taught that eight-year-old boy that there was something fundamentally wrong or weak about being a girl.

I can’t go back and undo my actions. I didn’t stand up for girls, myself and my three daughters included. But I can move forward with this lesson under my belt. I can teach my son that I am not less. That his sisters are not less. That we can and will do things better, faster, and smarter than he can. We may not be able to knock him down with one blow, but we will definitely knock him down with many.  And I mean that both literally and figuratively.

There is nothing wrong with doing anything like a girl.

If this post wasn’t clear enough, then here’s a quick reminder from a superbowl ad that has stuck in my head for nearly six months.

I hope that we can teach our children that doing anything like a girl means doing it well.

Saturday was awesome!  I felt like the real deal. I know, I know. I probably should have felt that way when I signed my contract, saw my cover, held my finished copy, etc. BUT, there’s something completely different about people talking to you about your book, saying your characters’ names, asking questions about your world…it’s an amazing, overwhelming, kinda crazy feeling. I loved it.  I can’t wait to do it again, which is good as I’m having my second launch party on Saturday, March 14th at 2 p.m. at The King’s English in Salt Lake.  If you’re nearby, you should totally come.  There will be lots of good food and talk and fun.  Like this…