A Whisper in the Trees
by Susan Dalessandro

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: YA Romance with Paranormal Elements

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BLURB:

For Gabby Patterson, a dedicated, but sometimes obsessive, cross-country runner, junior year is her time to shine. She has to start thinking about tomorrow: the future college recruiters and scholarship offers. But today means beating her impossibly skinny rivals any way she can.

Then eerie encounters in the woods and a cute secretive guy with the same quirky musical tastes interfere in Gabby’s plans. Sweet CJ is connected to the forest mystery… and to what’s happening to Gabby. But hard truths aren’t that easy to run from…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT TWO:

I shoulder my way through the crowd and circle around to the last aisle, perusing the stack of CDs under the ‘Just In’ banner. A nineties’ grunge tune hums from the store’s speakers. Leaning against the bins, I draw out a nineties’ alternative rock CD—I can’t believe Larry got this in—and flip it over in my hand.

Someone starts to hum a familiar tune, but not just a familiar tune, one of my favorite from the sixties and uncharacteristically, I start to sing along. Out loud. I mean, it’s one of my favorites. Asha and I have done karaoke to this countless times at Angelo’s. In an empty room. Well, if you don’t count Liam. But I can’t help myself and soon I’m into it.

The person stops humming and starts to sing with me.

My heart pounds. Clamping my lips together, I grip the CD in my hand and peek through my lashes.

Across the table, a guy in a faded blue t-shirt and khaki shorts sings as he nods his head from side to side, his thick mane of blond hair concealing his face. A few inches shorter than me, he lifts his chin and pushes the hair out of his eyes. A smile plays across his lips. “Aww, why’d you stop? You were awesome. We make a great duet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

I’m a lifelong lover of books and storytelling and hold an M.A. In Applied Math, a subject which finds its way into many of my stories.

I live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with my husband, two sons and two dogs. I gather story ideas as I run in the early mornings with my dogs. Running is the perfect environment for me to think and create.

My debut novel, Complex Solutions, a YA coming of age thriller, released March 16, 2021. Strong Enough, a YA novel, part of the Play Like A Girl series, came out on August 8, 2023. My latest novel, A Whisper In The Trees, a YA romance with paranormal elements, releases on June 30, 2025 with The Wild Rose Press.

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sd27auth

Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/authorandrunner27.bsky.social

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~