Saundra Mitchell – författare

The seventeen original stories in Defy the Dark, an eerie, mind-bending YA anthology, could only take place in darkness. Open the pages and discover: A creepy guy who stares too long. The secrets of the core of the earth. Dreams of other people’s lives. A girl who goes mad in the darkness. Monsters in Bavaria. A generational spaceship where night doesn’t exist. And other mysteries and oddities. The contributors to the enthralling collection are: Sarah Rees Brennan, Tessa Gratton, Rachel Hawkins, Christine Johnson, Valerie Kemp, Malinda Lo, Myra McEntire, Saundra Mitchell, Sarah Ockler, Jackson Pearce, Aprilynne Pike, Dia Reeves, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan, Jon Skovron, Courtney Summers, and Kate Espy, winner of the Defy the Dark new author contest.

Sadie meets Girl in Pieces in this dark, emotional thriller by acclaimed author Saundra Mitchell.

Something happened to Ava. The curving scar on her face is proof. Ava would rather keep that something hidden—buried deep in her heart and her soul.

But in the woods on the outskirts of town, the traces of someone else’s secrets lie frozen, awaiting Ava’s discovery—and what Ava finds threatens to topple the carefully constructed wall of normalcy that she’s spent years building around her.

Secrets leave scars. But when the secret in question is not your own—do you ignore the truth and walk away? Or do you uncover it from its shallow grave and let it reopen old wounds—wounds that have finally begun to heal?

Summer camp turns sinister in Camp Murderface, a spooky middle grade read perfect for fans of scare masters like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.

The year: 1983. The place: Ohio. The camp: Scary as heck.

Camp Sweetwater is finally reopening, three decades after it mysteriously shut down. Campers Corryn Quinn and Tez Jones have each had more than enough of their regular lives—they’re so ready to take their summer at Sweetwater by storm.

But before they can so much as toast one marshmallow, strange happenings start…happening. Can they survive the summer? Or will Camp Sweetwater shut down for good this time—with them inside?

A long-abandoned—and long-haunted—summer camp sets the stage for the sequel to Camp Murderface, perfect for fans of old school scare masters like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.

There’s no such thing as an uneventful summer at Camp Sweetwater.

Now that the Vampire Devils beneath the lake have been awakened, the camp is in big trouble. The first victims? Tez and Corryn’s counselors, Gavin and Scary Mary.

The Camp Director insists that the missing counselors are just quitting and going home, but Tez and Corryn don’t believe it. They know something much more eeeeeeevil is afoot.

With the help of their cabinmates, Tez and Corryn set out to investigate the disappearances. But what they find is a horror closer than the bottom of the lake... and it might just spell the end for all of them.

The novel of the laugh-out-loud Tony-nominated Broadway musical, now on Netflix starring Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington and Nicole Kidman! They just wanted to dance. They didn''t mean to start a revolution...How big a deal could prom really be? Emma knows better than anyone that Edgewater, Indiana, is not a great place to be gay. But she''s had enough of high school homophobia, and is determined to take her girlfriend - the popular, closeted It Girl Alyssa- to prom. But when their classmates find out, the backlash exceeds Emma''s worst nightmares. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Barry and Dee Dee are fading Broadway stars of yesteryear. Their new show has bombed, and they''re desperate for the applause (and attention) they once had. Then they hear about Emma''s plight, and decide to step in and create a prom for everyone. Suddenly, Edgewater is the centre of a national news story. As the drama queens of New York take over the sleepy town, chaos ensues and the glare of the spotlight is brighter than anyone could have guessed. But all Emma and Alyssa want is to dance together. Is that too much to ask? A glamorous, glitzy super fun read for fans of Dear Evan Hansen and Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda!

Kate Witherspoon has lived a bohemian life with her artist parents. In 1917, the new art form of the motion picture is changing entertainment—and Kate is determined to become a director.

     Meanwhile, midwestern farm boy Julian Birch has inherited the wanderlust that fueled his parents’ adventures. A childhood bout with polio has left him crippled, but he refuses to let his disability define him.

     Strangers driven by a shared vision, Kate and Julian set out separately for Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There, they each struggle to find their independence. When they finally meet, the teenage runaways realize their true magical legacy: the ability to triumph over death, and over time. But as their powerful parents before them learned, all magic comes with a price.

When Willa Dixon''s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visit the Grey Man. Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls. Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

This book features a teaser chapter from Saundra Mitchell’s third novel, The Springsweet.