Sunday 14 September 2014

Cover reveal: The Snake Pit: Jr High Can be Torture

Hi, today I'm introducing the new cover and relaunch of a friend's book. Donna Dillon has recently 
been signed up by Master Koda Select Publishing and this is the new cover of her novel, 
The Snake Pit: Jr High Can be Torture.


Donna believes it's an important book because of its content and subject matter. It's something students and teachers may find particularly interesting. Donna feels passionately about preventing bullying in school and this is a theme of the book.  

Donna published her first book in October 2010. When Master Koda Select Publishing approached her with a publishing contract, she seized the opportunity.

About Donna

I am the author of five and 1/4 books thus far. I have been writing in the young adult genre with The Snake Pit and Return to the Snake Pit, which both deal with bullying in the public schools, and in the children's genre with Why Did It Have to Rain Today? and My Special Christmas Child. My new book is a leap into the thriller/suspense genre, so I'm anxious to finish and see how that goes. 

Quick Q&A

Q: What led you to publish your work with MKSP? 
Donna: I can write, but I suck at marketing. Kim and her team had some definite ideas about how we could get The Snake Pit books moving. It was a no-brainer for me.

Q: Why did you write this book?
Donna: Cinda, the character in the book, was born with a cleft palate and so was I. The things that happen in the book are fiction, but how she felt was exactly how I felt growing up. Being bullied for something you can't possibly help or change is horrible. I chose to turn it into something positive, but many bullied children do not. I'm 47 years old now. I can still hear the bullies' voices in my head. But, the thing I remember the most - the thing that bothers me the most - is the silence from those who just stood by and let it happen, and did nothing to stop it. That is why I wrote this book.

3 fun facts about Donna

1. I can ride a unicycle.
2. I can't breathe through my nose and I've never had a sense of smell. I can taste though, but don't ask me why - it's a mystery.
3. When I was 22, I was flown out to Hollywood and made a make-up commercial for Victoria Jackson cosmetics, which you can still catch on TV late at night. I also met Johnny Depp and had my picture taken with Heavy D on that same trip.
Whoa, Donna!!! You met Johnny.... I am green!!! 


About The Snake Pit: Jr. High can be Torture 

Cinda doesn't look like other twelve-year-old girls. A facial defect and corrective surgery has left her looking scarred and disfigured. When she walks into Hargrove Junior High for the first time, Cinda knows the other kids won't see how smart she is or what a good friend she could be; the other kids will see her as a monster and her life will be torture.

The school cafeteria, or The Snake Pit, as the kids call it, is the prime location for bullying. One pretty girl in particular takes an instant dislike to Cinda. Day after day, she is pushed, tripped and laughed at. Not all the other kids bully her, but only one tries to help.

Charlene Carsten is Cinda's only friend. She tries to stop the bullying, but the other kids will not listen. She tries to tell the Principal, but he only sees what he wants to. She tries to tell the teachers, but they all say the same thing - “Kids will be kids.”

When Cinda falls victim to a vicious prank at a school dance, it sets off a series of events that will change the lives of everyone involved.

Links