Chris Lynch – författare

Graduation from high school?

A senior thesis?

A betrayal by someone you love?

A loss of innocence?

The death of a parent?

Losing the family you always wished you had?

Facing a harsh reality?

What''s the line that separates childhood from the "real world"? And what happens when it''s nothing you imagined it would be?

Do you want to be a published author?

The editors at HarperCollins invite you to submit a short story about a character who has to face the "real world" for the first time. The story must involve a single, life-changing event. First prize is the opportunity to be published alongside your favorite authors in the paperback edition of the No Such Thing as the Real World collection. All stories must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words long, and all contributing authors must be between fourteen and nineteen years old.

If you do it right, it can be a life. The hothouse, the guys, the glory. But just like that, it can all go up in smoke.

In the beginning it was strange, ya know, because of all that we had lost. But there was something about it that felt so good and so right, too: "I''m so proud of you, Russ." "We''ll always be here for you, man." "Heroes don''t pay for nothin'' in this town." It was nonstop. The mayor shook my hand. Ladies sent food. I''ve never eaten so much baked ham in my life.

And now? Now the phone won''t stop ringing from the crazies ready to blame me. My mom has to cry herself to sleep. They take a firefighter, a man, and they pump him up so big. . . . But once they start taking it away from you, they don''t stop until they leave nothing on the bones.

First they needed heroes, then they needed blood.

Powerful, riveting, and real. Sixteen celebrated authors bring us raw, insightful stories that explore guns and teens in a fiction collection that is thought provoking and emotionally gripping. For fans of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and Give a Boy a Gun, and with an array of YA talent like the late great Walter Dean Myers, the poetic Joyce Carol Oates, the prophetic Elizabeth Wein, and the gritty Chris Crutcher, these are evocative voices that each has a different perspective to give. Capturing the hurt and the healing, victims and perpetrators, these stories get to the heart of the matter.

From a boy whose low self-esteem is impacted when a gun comes into his possession to a student recalling a senseless tragedy that befell a favorite teacher, from a realistic look at hunting to a provocative look at a family that defies stereotypes, each emotional story stirs the debate to new levels. The juxtaposition of guns and their consequences offers moving tales, each a reminder of how crucial the question of guns in our society is, and the impact they have on all of us.

Other acclaimed contributors are Marc Aronson, Edward Averett, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Flinn, Gregory Galloway, Jenny Hubbard, Peter Johnson, Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Eric Shanower, Will Weaver, and Tim Wynne-Jones.

Four best friends. Four ways to serve their country.

Morris, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck are best friends for life. So when one of the teens is drafted into the Vietnam War, the others sign up, too. Although they each serve in a different branch, they are fighting the war together—and they pledge to do all they can to come home together.

Haunted by dreams of violence and death, Morris makes it his personal mission to watch over his friends—and the best place to do that is in the US Navy. Stationed off the coast of Vietnam on the USS Boston, Morris and his fellow sailors provide crucial support to the troops on the ground.

But the Boston itself isn’t safe from attack. And as Morris finds his courage and resolve tested like never before, he keeps coming back to a single thought.

He made a pledge. He must keep them safe.

In 2008, Chris Lynchs life was transformed in four dramatic days when he was hospitalized with diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperkalemia, and atrial fibrillation. Diagnosed with a blood sugar level of 1,469 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), Chris faced near-death and a lifetime of insulin dependence. Realizing his survival was a miracle made possible by God, Chris began a new journey into health and renewed faith, successfully reducing his insulin dependence from 120 units per day to zero.

Always a positive spirit dedicated to helping others, Chris determined to share his story with other people, along with a simple, powerful message: Believe, Receive, and Reciprocate. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Chris humor, down-to-earth approach, and unforgettable story come together in this book.

Chris plans to inspire people experiencing trauma and pain to turn around their approach to life: from fear to engagement; from denial to acceptance; from self-aggrandizement to enabling hope, love, and peace to others, within their reach.