Shine - Paperback

by Chandra Sparks Taylor (Author), Chandra Sparks Splond (Author)

Summer can't come fast enough for seventeen-year-old tomboy Nia Mitchell who is dealing with the fallout of making her most embarrassing mistake ever, all for love. Desperate to put junior year behind her, Nia reluctantly accepts what seems like the opportunity of a lifetime, but is it? As she gets drawn into her new life, Nia fears she's about to make another huge mistake, this time with the world watching. When her past comes back to haunt her, Nia wonders if it's possible to turn her biggest mistake into her biggest blessing. Can life teach her that even when you mess up, sometimes the best thing to do is take a deep breath, paste on your biggest smile and find the strength to shine?

Author Biography

Chandra Sparks Splond is a blogger, editor, speaker and award-winning author. Her young adult novel Spin It Like That was chosen as a Popular Paperback for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association, and The Pledge was a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. She is also the author of Make It Work, He's Got Game, The Promise, You've Gotta Have Faith, and The Greatest Gift of All. Splond is the owner of West End Publishing, LLC, and Live Life Creations, a personalized gift boutique. Her clients have included several New York Times, USA Today and Essence bestselling authors. In addition to working for Kensington Publishing as the consulting editor for Arabesque romance, Splond has also done work for Random House, Moody Publishers, Kimani Press (formerly known as BET Books), and Hyperion. She has also worked for Good Housekeeping, Black and Married with Kids, Brides Noir, Weddingpages, Newsday, The Morning Call and Romantic Times. Her award-winning blog, Book of Splond, helps African-American women balance faith, family and fiction. Splond graduated from Ramsay High School in Birmingham and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa with a degree in journalism and a master's degree in education from Samford University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She resides in Birmingham with her family and is a member of Forty-fifth Street Baptist Church. Visit her online at www.chandrasparkssplond.com.