When cancer patient Bixby wakes up in Centerra, he discovers children possess magic, and giants hunt them to extract it. The kids in hiding, led by a teleporting Dionté, follow a strict rule of no fighting back. After watching his friends get taken away, Bixby refuses to stand idly by. Despite the fact he still hasn’t discovered a skill like his acrobatic crush Otsu, he braves the wrath of Dionté and leaves to rescue the others. As he enters giant territory, he learns just how unprepared he was, and is forced to choose between the girl he loves or the lives of everyone else.
Centerra: Awake is the first novel in a three part young adult fantasy series. This blog contains the back stories of main characters, including their lives on Earth before entering Centerra.
The character Bixby is inspired by my brother Bixby, who died suddenly at age 6 of Burkett’s Lymphoma. I’ve taken what I imagined he would grow into, along with tidbits of stories my family has told me in order to create the character who roams Centerra. I felt he deserved a better ending, so I wrote it for him.
Centerra: Awake is my debut novel. To bring home some bacon, I teach first graders math and science in French. The sweet ones who eat the bacon include my husband and four stepchildren, who live with us full time. And if I’m not riding the motorcycle with my hubs, walking our disdainful coonhound, or playing Masterchef with the kids, then we are either in front of Big Bang Theory or I’ve escaped for a few writing minutes.
Centerra: Awake 