“What are you willing to die for?” Father Peters asked. His question hung in the air as the teens surrounding Gabby struggled to come up with an honest answer. Her recent brushes with death hadn’t clarified one for her, either. In those terrifying moments, she didn’t think, she acted. Sometimes, that meant her life could […]
Hamilton’s mouth kept moving, but Gabby couldn’t hear anything he was saying. Her world fell mute the moment her lanky love interest terminated their friendship. As he stammered and avoided making eye contact, she grew fixated with his ears for some reason. She’d never noticed them before. They were small and tight against his head. […]
Gabby liked the Burger Hut. Not for the food, the ambience, or the service, but because it was where she had fallen in love with Hamilton. They even had their favorite booth. The second one from the entrance, next to the large front window, which faced the mirror image of the Burger Hut logo painted […]
The glint off the Russian’s wide knife glistened in Hamilton’s eyes. Gabby’s nerdy friend shook like a dead leaf in a winter breeze as the determined foreigner’s hardened glare threatened to crumble him into a million pieces. The sharpened edge of the blade pointed at Hamilton’s skinny neck, and Gabby could see his blood pulsing […]
Being bound by rope to a metal pole in the middle of a dark room probably should have elicited more fear in Gabby. Most fifteen-year-old girls would be trembling in fear and screaming at the top of their lungs. She was doing neither. This wasn’t her first rodeo. Like most of her misadventures, she was […]
The incessant repeated rings invaded Gabby’s dream. It was a nice dream too, about talking donuts and ice cream cones performing an interpretive dance of spring. She rolled over and pried one eye open to see her phone illuminated with each ring. No, not the chlorinated phone. That one was toast. What filled her room […]
Gabby had heard hitting water from a high speed made the normally flexible liquid feel like cement. She was relatively certain falling a mere fifteen feet wouldn’t allow her to gain that sort of velocity, but there was a good chance it wasn’t going to feel all that refreshing either. As the water quickly approached […]
Gabby wished Hamilton were with her. Not only because his smooth voice made her all squishy inside, but because he’d know how much weight aluminum beams on the top of a screened-in pool could handle. The one thing with which Gabby never concerned herself was her weight. Until today. She had above-average height with above-average […]
Gabby wanted to implode into a single atom. Above her, through the semi-transparent dust cover stapled to the wooden box spring, she could hear kissing, breathing, and saliva being shared in ways she didn’t want to think about. It was nothing like the movies. No crescendo of string music. No mood lighting. No romantic words […]
Naked pictures. That’s why Gabby was hiding under Logan’s bed. They were also why she couldn’t leave. The pictures weren’t of Gabby. Lord knew she would never let that happen. She relished her modesty. Besides, if someone had taken nude pictures of her without her consent, she’d be doing more than sneaking into their bedroom […]
Maggot stood in the doorway, his masked form looming over a paralyzed Gabby. Her mind involuntarily flashed between present and past, between shadow and fire. She wanted to scream. Wanted to run. Her fear enveloped her, and she could do neither. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” Maggot said. “I like feisty, to a point. […]
Across the street, glass scattered into the sky, flashing hints of the muted sun as the shards spun, while a group of masked teenagers hopped through the broken living room. A team of five, carrying a number of large electronics, jumped out of the vacated home, one after the other, and landed onto the soggy […]
Gabby hated her bike. It was old, small, and embarrassing, and she despised riding it in public. The bent and rusted handlebars sprouted pink tassels plucked down to nubs. The loose chain rattled and fell off at the most inopportune times. And the right pedal squeaked and clicked with every push. Her bike was horrendous […]
Gabby and Emma clung to the brick wall, digging their fingernails into the mortar. Fragments of windswept damage rushed through the bathroom door. The ground started to quake, and they struggled to keep their feet from slipping off the toilets. Gabby stretched down and pulled off a wad of toilet paper, pressing it against her […]
The gathering clouds looked more ominous than Gabby had ever seen them before. Yet, she dismissed them without a second thought. Instead, she relished the refreshing burst of cold air that enveloped her, smiling as it fluttered by. For her, a frigid gust accompanying a darkening sky was not uncommon, not in Tampa Bay. In […]
Welcome to Season 3, Episode 6 of My Name Is Not Steve – The Podcast by Storytellers about Storytelling (with People Not Named Steve). In this episode, Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer sit down with uber-successful fantasy author Elise Kova, creator of the Air Awakens series. We talk about writing fantasy, her approaches to story, […]
Author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer discuss the impact of the novellas on the novels, causing for a rewrite of novels 1 and 2. Plus the lessons learned from Teen Beta Readers. Teen Beta Readers Specific Expectations 145,000 Words A Professional Endeavor Art Show Facebook Art Polite Critiques Annoying Analysis Aging Well Novella Novels Semi-Mysterious […]
In this podcast author Pete Bauer and marketing head Dorothea Bauer talk about the different paths your writing career would take depending on if your approach it as a hobby versus a career. Writing as a Hobby vs. Career Three Mandatory Things Consistency & Deadlines Establishing Brand and Presence 1500 Words a Day 80/20 Rule […]
In this interview author Pete Bauer talks about what inspired him to focus on young adult stories and the challenges facing a teenager of faith.
On this podcast author Pete Bauer and Sonlight Press marketing guru Dorothea Bauer talk about our shifting marketing strategies that includes increasing the amount of novellas while delaying the release of the first novel. Running Time: 39:11 Some of the topics covered include: Original Plans June 4th Novellas and Novels The Homecoming Incident Theme and […]