Entertaining Angels and Saving Teens

I'm delighted to welcome author Emerald Barnes to my blog today, celebrating the cover reveal of her latest book, Entertaining Angels. Just looking at the title makes me hear the word "unawares" in the back of my mind, which makes me think this novel might be somewhat different from Read Me Dead, and Piercing Through the Darkness--Emerald's two earlier books. It turns out, these angels have something very important and relevant on their mind, and a teen who's lost hope would be well advised to entertain them.

So, over to you Emerald.

What makes Entertaining Angels different?

What makes Entertaining Angels different from my other books? It has nothing to do with murders. Well, that’s only one difference, so if you were expecting something like Read Me Dead or Piercing Through the Darkness, you might be disappointed. Really, Entertaining Angels is completely different. It’s still a sweet, YA romance novel, but it doesn’t deal with something as intense as murders and secrets and betrayals. No, it deals with a young girl trying to face herself in the mirror and learning to love herself.

But it is also more than that. Madison is trying to deal with her torment as well as the torment from others. High school isn’t easy for her. She is shy, timid, and she doesn’t believe in herself. Madison needs help, and although Chase, her best friend, helps her, she has to see herself through the eyes of a stranger before she can truly understand how to love herself.

Zach Taylor, the new kid in school, has one goal. As soon as he lays eyes on Madison, he has to help her. He knows that she won’t believe him, but he makes it his job to try.

I think we need more Zachs. We need more people to stand up and show the people who need it the most that they are beautiful! These kids who are bullied into thinking they’re worthless and nothing, we need people to stand up and tell them just how much they’re loved.

It’s hard to focus on healing when you’re constantly beaten down, and when we lift others up, it helps them slowly heal. That’s what this world needs. Bullying needs to stop, but if it doesn’t, we don’t need to sit idly by and let it happen.

I don’t remember but a few people trying to help me when I was made fun of. Others laughing and joining in didn’t help me. It took me until I was in my twenties to get over what they said. These kids had beaten me down, and I had helped do the same thing to me by believing them. I couldn’t focus on healing when I was constantly in a battle.

That’s the thing though. Battles aren’t meant to be fought alone. If we don’t have a single human on our side, we have Angels willing to help us. God is always on our side, and we must always remember that. He loves us, and He would do anything to prove that love.

You aren’t alone, just like Madison. There are people, in unexpected places sometimes, who care about us and are willing to show us that they’ll be there for us no matter what. Don’t lose hope.

Thank you Emerald. That's very wise advice. Whoever we are, wherever we are, we often need reminding, we're never alone. And with God on our side, we're never hopeless either.

So, let's take another look at that lovely cover.

Emerald Barnes says...

I am super thrilled to show you the beautiful cover for my newest and upcoming novel, Entertaining Angels. Again, my cover artist was Natasha Brown, and she is super talented. She brought my disjointed vision to life, and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank her properly.

I can't wait to publish it, which I'm hoping will be in May. That's what I'm estimating anyway. But, I couldn't wait any longer to show you my beautiful cover!

About Entertaining Angels:

Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school. He’s smoking hot and totally out of her league. She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once. But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won’t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

Are you a book reviewer? If so, please sign up for an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of my novel here.

About Emerald:

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.

She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages! She's constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with. She blogs which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much! She's also a volunteer at the World Literary Cafe which is amazing, and she is a crazy grammar nazi who proofreads novels!

She's an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn't imagine spending her time in any other way!

She's a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number One in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

Connect with Emerald:

Google +

Piercing Through the Darkness

Read Me Dead

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