by Sharon Haste
Charli sits, numbly holding the present in her hands.
Other Books
Visit Sharon's web page www.sharonhaste.com to get a FREE novella; Enough Time, and a FREE book of short stories; The Carousel and Other Short Stories.
The Carousel and other Short Stories
These short stories capture the struggle of growing up, entwining fears and reality with the strengths and vulnerability of adolescence.
Invisible Beauty
A bullied teen, workaholic parents and a competition that could change her life.
Amazing Grace
A girl from the wrong side of town. An uncle who can't keep his hands to himself. And an ocean of promise and heartbreak.
The Carousel
A local show-ground. A new boyfriend. Memories that threaten to destroy it.
Eleven Candles
A little girl. A fatal accident. An predetermined destiny.
If you like short stories with a twist; and young and believable characters, you will love this book.
Enough Time - a young adult novella
She already has a boyfriend. He has a reputation. But life isn't always about doing the right thing.
Zoe Verity takes her privileged life for granted until the night of Ethan Walsh's party. The bubbly teen falls into Ethan's arms hoping to find popularity and love. But when everybody notices her all she wants is to be invisible.
Charli Richter is Zoe's best friend and knows there's something terribly wrong. Is Zoe regretting her decision to dump Harry? Or is Ethan Walsh the cause of Zoe's new behaviour? How can Charli find out, if Zoe won't talk?
Zoe's life is thrown into turmoil after the party, and she has nowhere to turn. How can she live with what she has done and what it will do to her family? Will giving in make the problem go away; or should she fight even if it means losing her life?
Enough Time is a realistic portrayal of adolescent life. If you like teenage characters, realistic dialogue and secrets then you'll love this book. Download to uncover the mystery.
Acknowledgments
This book has taken a long time to write and there are so many people who came along on this journey with me. First and foremost I want to thank my partner, Mark Ramjan, who has been there through the many different versions of this story and has been my rock and supporter during the times I wanted to throw my manuscript into a desk drawer and never look at it again. (In reality, during those times, it languished on my computer, but the desk drawer seems more 'dramatic' than a computer hard drive!) Thank you so much for your love and encouragement; and giving me the time to just write and let my true story emerge.
Next I want to thank my daughters, Aliah, Tiana and Brittany - who always held the belief that I would publish my story one day. You were there at the beginning when I wrote the first word and still there at the last. You helped me plot and plan; and along with your friends helped me find my 'young voice'. Thank you for your patience with my hours of writing and re-writing; your advice; for reading and listening; and above all the love and belief you had, and still have for me and my writing.
Next I want to thank my beta readers; Mark Ramjan, Colleen Reid, Louise Page, Zac Schobben, Tiana Haste,and Aliah Haste. You were there at the beginning and read my 'very different' first version of this story, and stuck with me until this one emerged. I also want to thank Zita Moran and Jade Ramjan; who joined my beta readers for this last version of the book.Without the valuable input of you all, along with your honesty, I would not be sending this book out for the world to read. Thank you for the time and energy you have given to getting this book to where it is today.
I also want to thank my 'young ideas team'; Brittany Haste, Jarrod Van Sambeek, Rebecca Spain, Georgina Myerscough, Anna Bergs, Amrah and Rani Vuillermin, Sage Walle, Grace Walton and Felicity Williams. The help you gave me in choosing my front cover design was invaluable to getting this book into the hands of young people; and I couldn't have done so well without you.
Special thanks to my daughters; Brittany Haste and Tiana Haste; for their design advice and technical know-how when it came to navigating and setting up the IT systems I needed to market and publish; as well as designing my web page and making it work like it should. You are both amazing and awesome and I couldn't have done it without you.
Thank you so much to Sarah Fox at The Bookish Fox for her editing genius and getting the most out of this story. Sarah was an absolute delight to work with and made my editing journey much better than I anticipated. Her fresh ideas and expertise were incredible and I am really grateful for her suggestions and the polish she brought to my book. I also want to thank my cover designer; Ana Grigoriu at Book-Design. Again Ana was fantastic to work with and gave me everything I asked for and more. I love her fabulous book designs and the colours that really make them pop.
Thank you also to my Launch Team for your time and energy to support my publishing journey: Colleen Reid, Sylvia Green, Louise Page, Deirdre Logie, Vanessa Morris, Aliah Haste, Mark Ramjan, Tiana Haste, Leigh Cumberland, Candace Zalloua, Jillicia Pinder, Pam Harrison, Zita Moran and Sheri Lochner.
I want to say here that some of the places in my book - such as Delany - are purely fictional and cannot be found on any map. While they may resemble real places, they have been fabricated in my imagination. The reason I have done this is so people do not compare the events or description of the towns here to real events. I write fiction; so none of what I have written about has really happened.
My biggest thanks go to my readers. The people who have read my work and provide encouragement and feedback by way of email or reviews. I am so grateful for your support; and that you love reading my work, because YOU are the reason I write!
About the Author
Sharon Haste is a Darwin-based writer from Australia, with a background in nursing and midwifery. She has Master degrees in both writing and midwifery. She has spent a lifetime surrounded by young people at work and home and thrives on their energy and ideas. She has three daughters and three stepchildren; and loves animals and the environment. She also enjoys travelling, walking on the beach, reading, and chai tea. Sharon has previously published short stories and a novella. The Last Time is her first novel.
Keep in touch by visiting her website: www.sharonhaste.com; contact her on email: [email protected]; or join her on Facebook at: Sharon Haste - Writer in the Tropics
