Friday Feature: Louder Than Words by Iris St. Clair

I thought I’d hit rock bottom when my dad died.

I was wrong.

I never dreamed my mom would choose drugs and alcohol over me.

I was wrong about that too.

I thought teachers were there to instruct, to guide, to counsel.

Wrong doesn’t begin to describe what nearly happened that last day of my Junior year. Lesson learned; trust is for suckers and actions speak louder than words.

New plan. Keep up my grades, earn a scholarship, tuck into as tight a ball as possible and roll on out of this town and this life. 

But this boy, this Casanova transplant with a funny accent, who’s way too charming to be healthy for a girl... Why won’t he let me be?

I wish I hadn’t let him in on my secrets...well, most of them.

I wish I hadn’t grown to look forward to our daily walks to work.

But mostly, I wish I hadn’t freaked out when he tried to steal a kiss.

Maybe I wouldn’t be parked in the friend zone. Maybe he wouldn’t be dating a girl I loathe. Maybe I wouldn’t be in this hell of wanting what I can’t have but having what I thought I wanted—to be left alone.

Grab the book on Amazon.

A note from the author:

If this story seems like it was ripped from the headlines, there is some truth to that impression.

The year my son began high school, I learned at a parents' booster meeting that an esteemed teacher had been arrested for having a sexual relationship with a student. The teacher's spouse also worked at the high school. Both teachers taught classes in my son's magnet program. The teacher went to jail. A family was torn apart. 

My thoughts, however, were with the student and student body. What led to the affair? Who made the first move and was coercion involved? How did the victim react to the publicity, the criminal charges and trial? What did the other students think and believe? 

Although Louder Than Words is a fictional account, my goal in writing Ellen's story was to use a far too common event as a vehicle to convey strength and courage to readers, especially those whose voices have been hushed by fear, lack of self-confidence or damaged self-esteem.

Thank you for reading!
Iris

Iris St. Clair is the pen name for a long-suffering cubicle worker by day, a Walter Mitty-like dreamer by night.

No matter what genre she writes, she prefers witty, insecure heroines and kind, persistent heroes able to break through to the gooey heart inside.

In high school she was voted most likely to win at Monopoly and Clue, but least likely to throw a ball anywhere near a target. Thank goodness writing requires less hand-eye coordination, punctuation errors notwithstanding.

Iris believes in the two-year "fish or cut bait" dating rule and has a 20+ year marriage and two teenaged sons as proof of concept. She lives, writes, dreams and dances in the rainy Portland, OR area.

*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.