Jar of Hearts: A Mystery for your Halloween Reading

My writing journey has been a roller coaster thus far. I know it’s a cliche to say but it’s absolutely true. One of my manuscripts which has gone through a ride of its own is a YA Mystery I wrote a few years ago. I landed an agent with this manuscript only to have that agent quit a few months later. Then it came close to being published by a small but well-known YA publisher, only for them to change their minds due to a rights issue. Now this manuscript is over at Swoon Reads, and anyone can read and critique it online.

This story isn’t Austen related, but it’s a creepy/fun mystery that’s perfect as Halloween nears. Here’s the blurb:

Someone is stealing hearts. Literally. 

17-year-old Trevi doesn’t know this. All she cares about is escaping her mom’s operatic shadow by nailing the part of Christine in her high school’s production of The Phantom of the Opera. 

But getting the part isn’t all she thought it would be. Her Phantom is a secretive boy who may be responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s disappearance. Her Raoul is a tatted-up jerk who doesn’t want to be in the musical. At least there’s Hudson, the adorkable rich boy who’s painting sets to be near her. If she could just stop obsessing about the boy behind the Phantom mask.

As Trevi begins to uncover clues about girls at school who have gone crazy, evidence points to the three boys revolving around her world. If Trevi doesn’t discover what really happened to the girls and who’s behind it, her heart will be next.

And here’s a short excerpt:

“Ms. Winters has finally come back from vacation.” Katie plays with the end of her blonde ponytail. “I saw her in the parking lot this morning.”

            I smile big. The drama teacher took an extended holiday, which endears me not at all to her. Finally, finally she’s back. School is nothing without drama class. And I’ve heard Camden High puts on excellent musicals. It’s one of the reasons my mom and me moved to North Camden, Connecticut in the first place.

            “Are you—”

            A body comes between us, cutting Madeleine off.

            Carver Stinson wrenches open his locker. Balled up papers and fast food wrappers tumble out. He ignores them. I wrinkle my nose at the smell—ketchup and moldy cheese. He ignores me too, rifling through the junk in his locker, muttering swear words.

       “Could you not?” I ask him.

            He finally pulls out a notebook and stuffs it into the leather messenger bag hanging off his shoulder. He slams his locker shut and Katie jumps. Leaning against the blue metal, Carver crosses his arms and looks at me. His t-shirt pulls tight across his chest. Maybe he thinks this will impress me, or render me speechless, but I am never speechless. Even the tattoo inked down his arm has no power over me. 

            Lifting my chin, I glare at him. He’s only a head taller than me, but somehow he makes me feel small. This is not a feeling I enjoy.

            “Could I not what, exactly?” His voice is smooth, the kind of smooth I’d like to feel between my fingers, and a complete opposite of his rough exterior. Beside me, Katie shrinks back.

            I wave my hand at all of him. “Everything.”

            He tosses his head. Shaggy brown hair falls into his eyes. It hits his collar at the back of his neck—too long for my taste. “Am I too much for you, Princess?”

            I arch an eyebrow, a talent I learned from my mom who can arch with the best of them. “Too little.”

If you’re interested, you can read the full novel at Swoon Reads!

Happy Halloween!