Karen King's Perfect Summer

I'm happy to welcome back fellow Astraea Press author, Karen King, for the one-year anniversary bash of her first YA novel,  Perfect Summer. Karen has had over one hundred children’s books published. She’s written for many children's magazines too including Sindy, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine. She writes for all ages and in all genres; story books, picture books, plays, joke books and non-fiction. Perfect Summer was runner up in the Red Telephone books YA Novel 2011 competition.

Blurb for Perfect Summer

Growing up in a society so obsessed with perfection that the government gives people grants for plastic surgery, 15-year-old Morgan can't help being a bit envious of her best friend Summer. Summer is beautiful and rich, her father is a top plastic surgeon and her mother is a beauty consultant with a celebrity client list. Her life seems so effortlessly perfect. Whereas Morgan isn't so rich or beautiful and her little brother, Josh, has Down's syndrome - which, according to the Ministry and society in general, is a crime. Then Josh is kidnapped and the authorities aren't interested so Morgan and Summer decide to investigate. They, along with another teenager, Jamie, whose sister, Holly, has also been kidnapped, uncover a sinister plot involving the kidnapping of disabled children and find themselves in terrible danger. Can they find Josh and Holly before it's too late?

Extract

The street was deserted. I guessed everyone was at work and school. It was so quiet and peaceful. So normal. So hard to believe that anything as awful as a kidnapping could be about to take place.

      Maybe we are panicking, jumping to conclusions, I thought. After all, Mila vans were quite common.

       “The van could belong to a plumber or electrician going about their business,” I suggested. I hoped it was.

            “Could be. But I think it’s a bit too much of a coincidence for it to be parked in the same street that Emma lives on, don’t you?” Jamie asked.

I remembered how Josh was playing in the garden just before he was snatched. Emma could be doing the same thing, heartbreakingly unaware what fate was in store for her. We couldn’t take any chances.

“If this van does belong to the kidnapper, it means he’s on his way to get Emma right now. We’ve got to stop him. How about we split up? One of us goes to the front of the house and the other to the back?”

“I’ve a better idea. He’ll have to come back to the van so it might be best if I stay here and see if I can immobilize it while you go warn Emma’s parents? Then he won’t be able to get away.”

“Good idea.” I started to run off, anxious to get to Emma’s house before the kidnapper struck.

“Morgan?”

I paused and glanced over my shoulder. “What?”

“If you do see the kidnapper, no heroics. Okay?”

“Okay. Nor you.”

I didn’t like leaving Jamie by the van alone. The kidnapper could be armed. Or there could be two of them. A gang even. There’s no way Jamie would be a match for a couple of men, but I had no choice. Emma’s life could be at stake.

I raced along the street, looking for number fourteen, the address we had for Emma. I was at number thirty--‐‑four so I ran on.

As I passed a small pathway separating a block of houses, two people came running out--both dressed in dark leisure suits. I barely had time to notice that one was a man, the other a woman, before the man charged into me, knocking me to the ground.

“Ow!” I yelled as I hit the pavement, landing on my left shoulder. “What the heck…?”

Furious, I pulled myself up and rubbed my shoulder. It stung like mad, and I could already feel the throb of a bruise forming. I glared up at the man then sucked in my breath as I saw the young girl, flung face down over his shoulder. I noticed the

heavy boot on her left leg then the metal splint supporting it. She was wearing a calliper. She must be Emma. And they were kidnapping her!

Buy Links

Astraea Press
Amazon
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Ten Fun Facts About Karen King

1)   I have no sense of direction and am always getting lost.

2)   I had my first poem published when I was eleven.

3)   I love to sing but can never remember the words to songs and always sing out of tune.

4)   When I was a child me and my brother spent all afternoon trying to dig to Australia.

5)   I was about to start teacher training when I started getting my work published so I became a writer instead.

6)   Me and my two brothers started our own detective agency when we were young and once ran all the way home in terror because we thought we’d spotted a wanted criminal.

7)   I once tried to dye my hair blonde and it turned out bright pink.

8)   I love chocolate so much I often eat it for breakfast.

9)    I can’t ride a bike. When I was younger I tried to learn but fell off and landed upside down in a litter bin. I haven’t tried since!

10)       I once wrote a horoscope page for a magazine.

Connect with Karen King

Website: www.karenking.net
Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn&__adt=7&__att=iframe#!/KarenKingAuthor
Good Reads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/74448.Karen_King