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Rumor has it that Melina Druga came out of her mother’s womb with a pen in her hand. While we can neither confirm or deny this, you could say she was destined to become a writer. Melina was so young when she began writing that she can’t remember exactly when the urge began. She does remember, however, her first novel – an historical fiction story about two sisters living in an Ohio canal town in the 1840s – that she wrote at age 10. Music keeps Melina sane, and it has gotten to the point that she cannot write without it. It keeps her awake, alert, motivated and productive. Music has even inspired her fiction. And not just The Rock Star’s Wife series. The My Chemical Romance song “Mama” was the inspiration for her historical fiction novel Angel of Mercy. Melina lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, black cat, books and CD collection.

This coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of the mid-1990s Midwest, follows Cassandra, a high schooler whose big dreams clash with her family’s conservative expectations, as she comes into her own while navigating the complexities of teenage sex and dating.

Fourteen-year-old Cassandra Economos doesn’t fit the mold of her traditional Greek family. She’s always been a good kid, but lately she’s begun to question how much influence her relatives’ expectations should really have on her life.

Cassie doesn’t understand why anyone would want to stay in Sterling, IL when there’s a whole world out there to explore and experience. She wonders why her brother Chris gets showered in love and affection after becoming a father at twenty-five, when she and her sister, Vanessa, aren’t even allowed to date before they’re his age. And she’d rather go see Nirvana play live in Chicago than attend her homecoming dance.

Perfect for fans of Now Is Not the Time to Panic and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, this series-starter traces the social entanglements of the Economos sisters and their friends — from bodice-rippers and bad sex to secret boyfriends and matters of consent — through Cassie’s diary entries from 1993 to ’97.

Kindle Price: $4.99

Category: Literature & Fiction

This heartfelt follow-up to Sexual Awakening follows its ambitious diarist to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where her hopes and dreams for the future are further tested by a string of social hiccups.

Cassie Economos has rules. If a new boyfriend can’t wait two months to have sex with her, he’s not the guy for her. If he refuses to wear a condom, he’s not the guy for her. And if dating him would mean maintaining a long-distance relationship, he’s… well, you get the picture.

She’s got her life planned out, and she knows better than to try to make things work with someone who can’t agree on the basics, like where to live and whether to have kids. But Cassie isn’t perfect, and the more disappointing situationships she finds herself in, the more she wonders if there’s even such a thing as a “Mr. Right.”

But Cassie doesn’t have time to worry too much about that. Her four years at U of I are passing quickly, which means it’s time for her to chart her final course: toward Chicago, the city of her dreams.

Readers are in for a rollicking ride through college life in the ’90s here, as Cassie and her friends wade through continental relationship shifts.

Kindle Price: $4.99

Category: Literature & Fiction

A college grad still reeling from an amicable breakup falls for a rock star who’s given up on love in this contemporary, second-chance romance.

A year after she and her now-ex-boyfriend were forced into a devastating decision when life took them — literally — in different directions, Cassandra Economos is done with men. Or so she thinks. Just as Cassie’s getting bored and starting to think she needs to get back out there, she meets Nat, and everything changes.

Dramatic Sneezer frontman Nathaniel Hardwick hasn’t dated anyone for months, ever since he caught his girlfriend cheating. Weeks away from the launch of the band’s next tour, however, he finds himself falling for his sister’s friend.

Nat isn’t Cassie’s type, but something about him — something more than mere rock star charisma — draws her in. Soon, she’s breaking all her long-standing relationship rules for him.

With tour dates looming on the horizon, Cassie’s already seeing parallels to her last breakup. But what happens if this is more than just a summer fling?

Jam-packed with sizzling scenes and post-Y2K nostalgia, Rock Star Romance is a must-read for fans of Scarlett Cole and Christina Lauren.

Kindle Price: $0.99

Category: Literature & Fiction

The rock star’s wife is back and better than ever in Rock Star Mom..

When she decided to pursue a relationship with Nat, Cassie knew what she was getting herself into. His responsibilities as the frontman for Dramatic Sneezer keep him on the road for weeks, or even months, at a time. Spending that much time away from him was hard enough when they were dating, but now Nat’s tour dates leave Cassie to raise their infant daughter alone.

Still, she’s totally rocking this whole motherhood thing. Sure, she had to lie to Nat about missing his daughter’s first steps, and Megan might be forgetting how to say “DaDa” while her dad’s out of town, but Cassie’s holding down the fort. She’s got her act together, 100 percent. She might even have the book deal she’s always wanted.

What neither she nor anyone else knows, however, is that there’s a big surprise waiting just around the bend — one that could make her rethink this rock-and-roll living arrangement.

The fourth installment in the Rock Star’s Wife series, Rock Star Mom follows Cassie through her unglamorous daily life in the Chicago suburbs, as she struggles to balance raising a family with the pursuit of her long-held aspirations.

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Category: Literature & Fiction

This multi-POV interquel in The Rock Star’s Wife series follows four young adults through one fateful holiday break in the year 2000.

Double first cousins Cassie and Phil might be all grown up, but that doesn’t mean they’re exempt from their conservative Greek family’s expectations. And by dating non-Greeks, they’ve gone and kicked a hornet’s nest.

Spending the 2000 holidays at home in Sterling, IL, Phil and his girlfriend, Jennifer, wrestle with their desires for the future. They’re in love, but his family objects. Besides, Phil’s proposed courthouse wedding is not the event Jennifer’s been dreaming of.

Cassie’s parents have similar misgivings about her relationship with her boyfriend, Corey. But unlike her cousin, Cassie isn’t sure that spending the rest of her life with him is in the cards, given their disparate post-graduation plans.

Moving between Cassie, Corey, Phil, and Jennifer, Christmas Surprise offers a profound look at the inner lives of young Gen-Xers. With the girls’ college graduation — and what comes after — looming on the horizon, these four must try to find solid ground in an ever-changing world where nothing is certain, even as the countdown to winter break’s end ticks closer.

Kindle Price: $0.99

Category: Literature & Fiction