Debut Utah Author Shoutout

   Bree Despain                                                                                                      

The Short: Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. The Dark Divine is Bree's debut novel.  For more in depth info about Bree you can find her website here.  For her Blog - Read Bree go here.

The Dark Divine debut's December 22, 2009.  To read the first chapter go here.

Synopsis:  Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

         Karen Hoover

Karen E. Hoover has loved the written word for as long as she can remember. Her favorite memory of her dad is the time he spent with Karen in his lap, telling her stories for hours on end. Her dad promised he would have Karen reading on her own by the time she was four years old ... and he did it. Karen took the gift of words her dad gave her and ran with it. Since then, she's written two novels and reams of poetry. Her head is fairly popping with ideas, so she plans to write until she's ninety-four or maybe even a hundred and four.  Karen blogs at A Writers Ramblings.

The Sapphire Flute, Book I of the Wolfchild Saga is Karen's first novel set to debut - March 16, 2010.

Synopsis: It has been 3,000 years since a white mage has been seen upon Rasann.
In the midst of a volcanic eruption miles outside of her village, Ember discovers she can see magic and change the appearance of things at will. Against her mother's wishes, she leaves for the mage trials only to be kidnapped before arriving. In trying to escape, she discovers she has inherited her father's secret--a secret that places her in direct conflict with her father's greatest enemy.

        Ali Cross

  My favorite quote, "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia" by Doctorow, pretty much sums me up. My different personalities include Wife to an awesome man, Mother to two beautiful boys, and Writer. Thankfully, I'm surrounded by friends and family who accept me the way I am--craziness and all.  Ali's YA novel The Devil's Daughter has been accepted for publication through  Valor Publishing Group .  The tentative debut is set for July 2010.   Ali blogs at Ali Cross, Author                                  

 Natalie Whipple

I'm a YA writer repped by Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown, LTD. Some people say I'm a ninja cyborg when it comes to pumping out books. I don't know about that, but I do know I have 2 little ninjas in training. So it could be true.
If you just have to stalk me, I'm also on Twitter and Facebook. I may or may not stalk you back. If you want to see more of my drawings, I'm also at deviantART.  Natalie blogs at Between Fact or Fiction and has several projects in the works.

I'm sure there are other Utah authors on the rise.  If you know of any let me know and I'll be glad to give them a shoutout.