A Funny and Sometimes Serious Guide for Teen Girls and the People Who Love Them
Nonfiction; Self-Help for Teens; Parents of Teens; Tee & YA Social Issues.
Date Published: May 13, 2021
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
An insightful glimpse into what it is to be a teenager today . . . making mistakes, surviving them, and rocking your beautiful, powerful self.
In Things My Mama Never Told Me, Nancy “Pants” Johnson, mentor, leader, educator, and teen advocate shares the stories of brave, resilient, powerful young women who, despite their sometimes overwhelming and scary circumstances, overcome their fears and hold onto their dreams with unwavering strength.
Here are some of the questions she asked herself and her teen authors:
· Do you have questions, concerns, fears about being a teenager?
· Do you sometimes feel like your stress is going to burst out of your eyeballs?
· Do you sometimes get fed up with friends, family, or social media?
· Have you ever ignored your intuition and ended up in an unsafe situation?
Learn how to embrace your beautiful body, your abilities, and your worth; to monitor your own use of social media, cell phones, and computers, becoming aware of how they make you feel; to recognize your power as a woman in all aspects of your life, no matter your sexual orientation; to own your choices about what you want to do with your life and with whom you want to spend it; to deal with your stress in more positive and creative ways; to listen to your intuition and form personal safety boundaries; to love yourself first when making decisions about relationships, intimacy, your body, sex, and birth control; to be alert to red flag warnings and signs of abuse; to recognize the signs of alcoholism and addiction in yourself and others; to bring your secrets into the light; to forgive yourself; to prioritize your own health and well-being.
Being a teenager is hard and sometimes totally frustrating. You will survive. I’ve got you. You are just the person for the job.
About the Author
Nancy Pants Johnson is an author, mentor, educator, and advocate with more than 20 years experience listening, learning, and guiding teens through their life stories. After surviving her own tumultuous high school life and teen marriage, Johnson entered college at age 32 and dedicated the rest of her adult life to being a teen advocate.
Johnson graduated summa cum laude from SDSU with a B.S. in English Literature and an MA in Secondary Education. She taught English within a Visual & Performing Arts Academy until her retirement in 2014. Today, she advocates for teens in her role as Director of Teen Programming for the San Diego Writers Festival. She mentors teens in local high schools as they write their stories for KidsWrite San Diego, and shares weekly with Al-Ateens in recovery.
Pants lives in La Mesa, California, and finds joy in her husband, children, grandchildren, her garden, and her dog, Phoebe. Visit Nancy at nancypantsjohnson.com to read her blog, follow her school visits with teens, and be an advocate yourself by donating one book to one teen in the inner city. You can also find her on Facebook @ nancyjohnson3766 or Instagram @ #nancypantsjohnson.
Immortal Trickster, Luke, is starting a fresh life in a new-to-him seventeen-year-old body. With yet another lifespan stretched out in front of him, he’s questioning what purpose his endless compulsion to play tricks serves.
Agnar, a Thor look-alike claiming to be his adoptive brother from the planet Asperian, appears to declare Luke has been away from home too long. One problem. Luke doesn’t remember Agnar or living on another planet.
With more questions than answers, Luke cautiously agrees to accompany his “brother” back to Asperian, but the travel portal rejects him, leaving him behind to continue his mundane life of trickery. When interplanetary soldiers show up intent on killing him, he’s forced into hiding and his list of unanswered questions grows.
Will Luke remain trapped on Earth forever, pulling meaningless pranks? Or will he finally figure out his true purpose?
About the Author
Award winning Kai Strand, author of the action packed Super Villain Academy series, is often found exploring hiking trails and snapping pictures of waterfalls in her Oregon hometown. Mother of four, Kai uses her life experiences to connect with young readers. With middle grade works such as Save the Lemmings, The Weaver Tale series, and The Concord Chronicles series, and emotional YA adventures like Finding Thor, I Am Me, and Worth the Effort, Kai has written compelling stories that tweens, teens, and their parents love.
Kai has given numerous presentations in classrooms, to writer groups, and at workshops about her work and the writing process. She loves interacting with teens and gaining their insight on their latest reads as well as what they would like to see in future stories.
To find out more about Kai, please visit Kaistrand.com.
Orion City has been on lockdown for ten years. Courtney Spencer, a disillusioned barista doomed to live a “normal” life in a quarantined fishbowl, is certain she’ll never see over the Wall again. Until one rainy evening, Courtney unintentionally befriends W, an eccentric customer who leaves a switchblade in the tip jar. The unexpected acquaintance soon opens the door to a frightening string of questions that flips everything she knows upside down. Stumbling into a world of secrets, lies, and disturbing truths, Courtney grapples with a burning temptation to look again at the Wall. Surrounded by citizens trained to ignore its looming shadow, Courtney no longer can. Intrigued and terrified to expand her world, Courtney finds herself toeing a knife’s edge between the law and justice, learning quickly that the two are not always compatible. She wants to cling to her morals. She also wants to stay alive. But most of all, she wants to see a certain customer again, despite everything in her whispering W is dangerous. In a gritty urban clash of hope and fear, passion and survival, The Walls of Orion explores the edges of light, dark, and the gray in between.
About the Author
A world-romper from the Pacific Northwest who quite enjoys the label “crazy,” T.D. Fox supplements a hyperactive imagination with real life shenanigans to add pizzazz to her storytelling endeavors.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies, her favorite stories to write usually involve a clash of worldviews, an unflinching reevaluation of one’s own internal compass, and an embrace of the compelling unease that arises when vastly different worlds collide.
When not recklessly exploring inner-city alleyways during midnight thunderstorms in the States, she can be found exploring rainforests without enough bug spray somewhere along the equator.
Fifteen-year-old Monte moves to the mystically jeopardized Highlands of Scotland and discovers that life as a Celtic wizard is anything but easy. Whisperings of abnormal enchantments and vicious cat siths grip the small town he now calls home. Fear is at the helm and the instigator is unknown. An indefinite moratorium on magic is enforced. In a race against darkness, Monte and his friends must choose who to trust before time runs out, even if it means breaking some rules and facing danger head on.
About the Author
Ryder Hunte Clancy has lived most of her life in the desert but her heart belongs to the sea; her happy place, where brine and mist abound and allusive waves caress expansive stretches of compacted sand. A tried and true stay-at-home mom, she is often found scribbling notes between diaper changes or connecting plot points while everyone else sleeps. She survives off of toddler snacks like apple slices and cheese, and has just as much trouble keeping up with her fictional, teenage characters as she does her three small children. Mystic Invisible is her debut novel, the inspiration of which was gleaned from her husband’s homeland of Scotland, where fantasy, mystery, and folklore are rich and hits of adventure linger around every corner.
Thirty something year old Josie Fowler is a history student that’s grieving the mysterious disappearance of her uncle, Frank. To her surprise and confusion a mirror is delivered to her with a note from her uncle. Frank’s note tells Josie that all will be explained by his assistant Peter.
When Peter enters Josie’s life they not only discover that the mirror she has been given is magical, but that it is also the link to her uncles disappearance. Josie and Peter embark on a journey to Ankusha, a world that is unlike their own.
Loyalties are tested and every move Josie makes is detrimental to their lives and rescuing her uncle.
About the Author
Maria lives in Sydney, Australia and is a fiction buff and an avid traveller. Her love of fiction began as a child this spawned her first novel.
When one camp rule is broken, five teenagers embark on a mysterious journey full of magic, romance, and true friendship…
High school senior Whitnee has spent six years rebuilding her identity after her father’s mysterious disappearance left her with more questions than answers. With her two best friends, Morgan and Caleb, she returns as a mentor to the summer camp of her childhood. Nestled in the Texas hill country, Camp Fusion is everything Whitnee remembers—except for the haunting visions that only she can see. One fateful night, Whitnee and her friends embark on a magical voyage where unexpected adventure and heart-stopping romance collide—a journey that might unlock the dark, complicated mysteries of Whitnee’s family history. But will she find the answers she is looking for?
Excerpt from Windchaser: Phantom Island Book 1 by Krissi Dallas
“Kevin, how badly are you hurt?” I knelt down beside him.
“Aw, it’s just my leg. I cut it pretty bad when that stupid bug showed up. Good thing Caleb found me,” he muttered. And, sure enough, there was a nasty cut along the side of his right leg. Blood had dripped down and soaked into his sock and shoe. It looked deep enough to need stitches.
“We need a doctor or something,” Caleb finally stated seriously, looking to Gabriel. “He can’t walk on his leg, and he’s losing blood.”
“Oh, come on, Caleb. It’s not a big deal,” Kevin complained.
“Gabriel, can we just give him some of that pure Water? Won’t that heal it?” I prompted. Gabriel turned and faced me then with an expression I was starting to interpret as annoyance.
“Why do you not listen to me? I explained that the pure Water is not what heals. Only a Hydrodorian, someone who is gifted with the life force of Water, can use it to heal a wound. Except—” He paused and thought for a moment. “You are not a Hydro, yet you were able to heal yourself. Perhaps you can do it again for him.” He gestured to Kevin.
“You did what?” Caleb piped up, looking to me for an explanation. I didn’t have the patience. Gabriel was already moving purposefully away from the group.
“I have to go to my tent and get more Water. Wait here,” he called back.
“I’ll go with you.” I raced to match his stride and called back to Morgan to explain everything to Caleb and Kevin. “We’ll be right back,” I promised, purposely ignoring Caleb’s protests. I wanted a minute alone with Gabriel anyway. “Could you slow down? My legs aren’t quite as long as yours.” He slowed so I could come alongside him, and we darted under the darkening canopy of trees. He was right. The sun was already setting, and I had no idea where we would go or what we would do once it was completely dark.
When we were out of sight from the group, I grabbed his muscled forearm and made him stop and look at me. In an exasperated and slightly shaky voice, I said, “You have got to do a better job explaining what is happening to me. I just shot a freaking tornado out of the palm of my hand! My eyes are changing colors and my body is doing weird things and I may be confused, but I’m not stupid. You’re not telling me everything. I want to know what it is you’re hiding.” I stared up at him fiercely.
His gorgeous face hardened into stone. “I am uncertain of your meaning.”
“Okay, well, let’s start with this: why is the ‘Attendant to the Guardian’ out here on this deserted beach at the exact same time when we drop out of the sky?”
“I was having a swim,” he stated with a shrug.
“You said people didn’t come to this beach because they believe it’s haunted. Seems a little far-fetched to me that you would choose the place where ‘Travelers tend to arrive’ for your private little swim.” Why was he lying?
“What is your point?” he questioned me back, his face showing no sign of breaking. He crossed his arms over his chest.
I refused to be intimidated by him. “My point is that you seemed to know I was coming. You also changed completely when you found out I brought friends. I want to know why.” I glared at him, and he glared back at me, his hazel eyes alight with frustration.
“You would do best to stop asking such questions. If I had not helped, you would have already died on this Island—twice. Surely I have earned some kind of trust for that.” His voice was low and dangerous. He had saved me—and I supposed if he ultimately meant me harm, he wouldn’t have taken the time.
“Fine,” I conceded. “You don’t have to tell me now, but eventually, I will find out what you’re hiding.”
He laughed then, a dark and humorless laugh. “You speak like a true Aero already.” Then he came intimidatingly close, which nearly took my breath away. He met my eyes and whispered, “You do not know what I am capable of. I have little faith that you understand what you yourself are capable of here.”
“I have a feeling you don’t know that either,” I shot back in a low voice, trying not to flinch from his closeness. “And I think that scares you. I’ve been paying attention to everything you’ve said so far. And you’re just as confused as I am.” He slowly pulled away at that. I could tell that even though he might have been expecting my arrival, he was not expecting me to produce that whirlwind or be able to heal myself. I was confused by what was happening with my body and with these abilities. And if these abilities were normal here on this island, and yet Gabriel was baffled by me, then something very strange was going on, indeed.
“You are in a precarious position, Little Traveler, and you better learn the rules quickly if you want to survive here.” Then he turned and headed further into the jungle as if the matter were settled. I noticed the symbol on his shoulder again.
As I trudged behind him, I narrowed my eyes and asked, “What tribe did you say you were from again?”
“The Pyradora Tribe.”
“And you have what power?” At this question, he glanced back at me. His eyes were lit from inside, and for the first time, he looked a little dangerous.
“Fire.”
That shut me up for a little while.
About The Author
Krissi still goes to camp every summer with the teens of Fusion Student Ministries. Like her fictional heroine, Krissi is also a gray-eyed Aerodorian from Texas with a ridiculous fish phobia. She adores her youth pastor husband, two sons, and two Yorkies. When she’s not busy throwing dance parties, both in her living room for her boys and at school for her junior high prep students, she daydreams about and writes down fantastical adventures. She has a hard time not hugging during a pandemic, so you can send her virtual hugs on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Visit KrissiDallas.com for all the fun.
In the year 2163 a corrupt World Government controls everything on our planet and beyond.
Sixteen year-old Sierra has been so caught up in her own world of saving animal test subjects and her father’s disappearance, she hasn’t paid much attention. When she finally finds his location, she and her friend set off on a covert interplanetary mission to rescue him, she begins to see the corruption first hand.
Discovering that her father has been on the front lines secretly trying to save human test subjects inspires her to join a revolution. But she is afraid of the collateral damage of hurting the people she loves. Will she find the strength to make a deal with the mad scientist Cromwell to save not just her friends and family but everyone?
Excerpt
To make a smoke bomb all you need is potassium nitrate, sugar, water and a fuse. Programming holograph messaging to be ‘smoke screen projection only’ is much more difficult. It’s a digital version of invisible ink and completely security cam resistant. I pull up Yesha’s incoming call. The smoke allows her image to take shape and it almost feels like she’s in the room with me.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this, you little gomer.”
Yesha frequently begins conversations in the middle, no introduction or formal interrogation into my life. I think that’s why I like her.
“It didn’t take much to convince you.”
“Did you receive the package?”
I hold up the box addressed to me, Sierra, but I’ve removed the contents.
“Yep, right here, see.”
Yesha’s laugh is like a chorus of toads with hiccups. Her image vibrates on the smoke.
“That’s only the box, you drone bug!”
“I know.”
I hold up the syringes that had been inside the box.
“Be careful with those. Check the labels.”
I roll a syringe in my hands like Kitchen, one of our home bots, does with pretzel dough.
“One says healing serum, which I asked for. Why does the other say anti?”
“Backup. You always need an emergency abort mission option.”
“All right. Thanks!”
Yesha interrupts before I collapse the projection.
“Just be sure not to give the anti if you haven’t given the original serum.”
After she’s gone, I look at my subject.
I shouldn’t be doing this, but I find the koala’s eyes drawing me in like a poli-magno crash about to happen. It’s impossible to turn away.
The Science Olympiad team’s going to put me on probation again, which stinks since they’re the only local, human friends I have.
Following protocol gets us nowhere, however.
Mom’s going to be agitated because this isn’t the first time I’ve broken the rules.
I guide the koala out of the cage, leaving her brothers inside. I have to shake off feelings of jealousy. I don’t have any siblings.
“Why ya look so sad?”
Uplifting experiments have given us animals who speak. “Why do you look so sad, Eucarpo?”
The koala glances back at her brothers and then her eyes look up at me past her round, stub nose, and adorable ears. The sensation of an infant wrapping tiny fingers around mine envelops me. I can’t let them endure more unethical testing just so we can have the best DNA combination. I was okay with the testing when the purpose was to help those that were sick and it was beneficial to the koala species, but I can’t stomach testing these sweet things just for superficial reasons.
“Hate leaving ‘em behind.”
“They’re going after you if this works.”
“What ya mean, if?”
“Healing adaptation experiments have just begun.”
“But ya aced the test?”
“Well, yeah, but that was just practice. This is the first time I’ve used it on a living being. Don’t worry, it should all go as planned. I’m just being paranoid.”
It would be nice if I could stop blabbering when I’m nervous. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see where the cards fall. That was something my dad used to say. Before he disappeared, he used to tell me lots of things. He’s been gone almost a decade, but I might as well as have “Missing Dad” tattooed on my forehead.
“Ya paranoid? Ne’er!”
As she raises the fur above her eyes, I scratch behind her ear, and she leans into it like a bear scratching its back on a tree trunk. Her fur is soft as manufactured silk charmeuse.
“Ah yeah, right dere.”
“You sure you’re ready for this?”
“It gets us closer to freedom, so I been ready a long time.”
She takes another glance at her brothers, and I pick up the syringe with self-healing serum. I begin the sedation process as no one wants to be awake when artery lining fortifies, muscles pull with new agility, and brain tissue encases itself with a biting, thin metal sheet. Another reason I’m jealous of Eucarpo is that she responds to sedation, and I don’t.
As Eucarpo drifts into a peaceful sleep, I look out the school windows and see only the steel and glass of surrounding buildings. Their reflections mirror the sky. Today the unending blue gives the impression of being in the middle of the sea. On gray days, it’s as if I’ve been swallowed by thunderclouds. I can only imagine how green fields would look. People used to love the smell of fresh-cut grass. That was before an asteroid broke through the atmosphere damaging our ecosystem and killing all plants, causing our world to work together to save Earth and its remaining, limited vegetation. The only vegetation left is kept in guarded areas and labs.
I think I can hear the machines used to keep the atmosphere from collapsing but the sound isn’t right. Instead of a hum, I hear iron clanging. The serum glides through the syringe into Eucarpo and her breathing intensifies as the cells within her body multiply. No, that isn’t the machines. It’s locker doors slamming, followed by footsteps of someone coming down the hall. No one should be here now. They should all be at the assembly that I’m skipping. I must finish before anyone else arrives. I look at the oxygen and pulse readings, cringing with every spike. It feels like an hour passes as I look at the screens, but I know it’s only been seconds. I count breaths and clock ticks, staring at Eucarpo’s oxygen and platelet numbers rising.
“Come on, the science minds keep refreshments in here.”
I think I recognize the voice coming down the hall. Every muscle in my body wants to stiffen, but I can’t freeze now.
Luckily, the serum is fast acting and Eucarpo’s readings are settling. I inject the awakening treatment and then I throw the syringes and all remaining evidence into the incinerator. The burning and sanitizing process will turn these things into energy or something else useful. Eucarpo stirs a little when I hear the door sensor click.
As the voltball captain and visual arts queen walk in, I step in front of Eucarpo.
“Look, we found someone avoiding the assembly,” Milcah says as she nudges Danver in the ribs with her elbow.
About The Author
Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft Award Winning Author. Her novella series, Altered Helix, released 2020. Her short story, Break Time, and poetry has been featured in Mind’s Eye literary magazine. The Kansas Writers Association published her short story, Existing Forces, appointing her as a noted author. She has held a deep passion for writing since early childhood, but a brush with death caused her to allow it to grow. She’s part of an SCBWI critique group in Lawrence, KS and two local book clubs. She attends many writers’ conferences including the Writing Day Workshops, New York Pitch, Penned Con, New Letters, All Write Now, Show Me Writers Master Class, BEA, and Nebraska Writers Guild conference as well as Book Fairs and Comic-Cons. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
