Healing Rain
Release Date: 04/21/15
Clean Reads
222 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Some people just naturally seem to have it all. Until five months ago,
sixteen-year-old Rain Sawyer was one of those people. She had the perfect life,
with a loving, wealthy family and a strong Christian faith, complete with
popularity, sports, clubs, and good grades.
When one tragic incident shatters everything Rain thought she knew, she finds herself five hours away, starting over in a small town very different from her glamorous big-city life.
Armed with a different outlook on life – one that no longer includes her faith – she struggles to create a new identity for herself. Determined to keep her dark past as secret, she navigates through a new school year, a new town, and new relationships while trying to figure out who she wants to be.
When one tragic incident shatters everything Rain thought she knew, she finds herself five hours away, starting over in a small town very different from her glamorous big-city life.
Armed with a different outlook on life – one that no longer includes her faith – she struggles to create a new identity for herself. Determined to keep her dark past as secret, she navigates through a new school year, a new town, and new relationships while trying to figure out who she wants to be.
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View the trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQuIpAf5G88
EXCERPT:
Prologue
The smell of blood – sickeningly
thick, fresh blood – filled my nostrils before I ever opened the door. I didn’t
recognize that smell at first; I had never encountered that much blood in one
place before. But I knew that the smell was off, somehow. The room
usually
smelled just like my dad – a mixture of pine trees and cologne, a combination
of aromas that I had never quite understood but they belonged to him. I
knocked, but no one answered. Cautiously, I pushed open the door. “Dad?” I
whispered as I entered.
That’s when I saw his legs. His
signature khaki pants and brown loafers stuck out from behind his desk. He was
on the ground and didn’t move when I said his name, didn’t even twitch as I
opened the door and walked inside. “Dad!” I called again,
louder
this time.
Oh no, he’s had a
heart attack, I thought. I rushed over to the desk to see
his face. But what I saw stopped me in my tracks like a deer in headlights.
I was frozen. My brain screamed at
my body to move, to get away from the sight, but my feet were glued to the
floor. My arms and legs suddenly felt like sandbags, and I collapsed.
This is not my dad. There was no face, no way to identify him for sure. But it was him.
I knew the shape of his body, the clothes he wore. But the pool of blood under
his neck took my breath away.
Who did this? Who did
this to my father? I heard violent, blood-curdling screams, which
I quickly realized were coming from me. I pleaded for help, still unable to get
up off the ground, but it was useless. No one else was home.
Or was someone else in the house? My
heart stopped beating as I considered this. Someone had broken in, had murdered
my father in cold blood. Maybe I was next. Maybe my whole family was next. At
that point, I almost wished for it. Death would be a
welcome
release from the idea of losing my dad, the man I admired most in the world. My
funny, loving, attentive, adoring father. My best friend. And now he was gone.
And that’s when I saw it. The gun.
The murder weapon that was used to kill my father was still lying on the scene.
I stared at it, too shocked to cry or get scared or have any of the other
normal reactions I should have had.
My mind was racing but remained
blank. I had to get up, had to call for help. Move, I commanded my feet.
Get up and go call 9‑1‑1. Tell them there’s been a murder, get the police to catch whoever
did this and make them pay.
And that’s when my brain began to
truly process the scene. The gun – the murder weapon – was in my dad’s own
hand. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then the tears came, slowly at first before gushing out
of my eyes until I couldn’t see straight anymore. I curled my legs up to my
chest and hugged them, putting my head down on my knees as my shoulders shook
uncontrollably. Oh, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I forced myself to look back at my
dad one last time, just to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. He
couldn’t have done this. He couldn’t have.
I looked up toward the sky and asked
one simple question: Why?
About the Author
From the time she was old
enough to talk, Katy Newton Naas has been creating characters and telling
stories. As a child, they sometimes got her into trouble. She knew she wanted
to write books when she won a Young Author's competition as a second-grader for
her short story titled, "The Grape Pie." (Don't let its tasty title
fool you - it was actually a sad little tale!)
Katy devoured books as a child
and young adult, always doing chores and odd jobs in order to make enough money
to buy more of them. Though she continues to age, her true literature love is
and has always been children's and young adult fiction.
Katy currently teaches middle school reading and high school English in southern Illinois, as well as children's church. She graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a bachelor's degree in English Education and a master's degree in Reading and Language Studies. She enjoys her life out in the country with her husband, her sweet and rowdy young sons, and all her four-legged kids: Shakespeare, Poe, Morgi, Cappy, Ana, and Gray.
Katy currently teaches middle school reading and high school English in southern Illinois, as well as children's church. She graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a bachelor's degree in English Education and a master's degree in Reading and Language Studies. She enjoys her life out in the country with her husband, her sweet and rowdy young sons, and all her four-legged kids: Shakespeare, Poe, Morgi, Cappy, Ana, and Gray.
She loves creating both
realistic and futuristic stories about kids, tweens, and teens, and feels so
fortunate to get to work with them every day as a teacher.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS about WRITING:
question 1) What are you
working on?
I am currently in the
middle of three writing projects! I am working on a series of children’s
chapter books about a rambunctious second-grade boy. I am also working on a
middle grade novel called The Ugly One.
And finally, I’m working on a new adult novel that I’m really excited about,
but it’s still in the very early stages so it’s untitled at this point. Kind of
an eclectic mix, I know, but I always have a variety of projects going!
question 2) How does
your work differ from others in your genre?
Well, I have three
novels out at this point – THE VISITORS, HEALING RAIN, and GUARDIAN. THE
VISITORS is a YA dystopian/science fiction/romance, available in ebook and
paperback from Clean Reads. HEALING RAIN is a YA contemporary
romance/inspirational ebook from Clean Reads. GUARDIAN is a contemporary middle
grade ebook, soon to be in paperback, also from Clean Reads. I also just signed
a contract for my fourth book, another middle grade novel geared toward boy
readers called OPERATION: BULLY RENOVATION. All four of these books are very
different from each other, which I believe is something that sets me apart as
an author. I don’t really fit into one genre/niche as an author – I just write
what I love, no matter the age group/subject matter.
question 3) Why do you
write what you write?
I have been a writer my
whole life. It’s a passion. Children’s and young adult literature is and has
always been what I love. I think my love for working with young people compels
me to write for them as well.
question 4) How does
your writing process work?
I wouldn’t say I have
one magical formula for writing a novel. Writing BC – Before Child – was much
easier! I get an idea, and then create a rough outline for a story in my head.
I develop my main characters, picturing them as I imagine what their personalities
will become. Then, I just start writing. Some days I write more than others,
but I would guess that I average about ten pages a day, on good days. Of
course, with a full-time job and a family, there are many days that I don’t
reach that goal! I have to do most of my writing when my boys are asleep,
either during mid-day naps or at night when they goes to bed. You will often
find us in my recliner – one of them sprawled across my lap asleep, me leaning
over him and typing away on my computer. Once I complete a novel, I usually
step away from it for a few weeks. I then go back and read it again, editing
for any mistakes changing any scenes that feel weak. Sometimes this means
cutting out entire chapters and rewriting them, so the editing process can take
a few weeks as well.
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