The Art of Taking Chances Read online

  I hope from these stories, you’ve glimpsed what taking chances means. To me, it’s diving into messiness, falling without seeing where you’ll land, and daring to hope, even when the people in your life won’t dream with you. It’s embracing that terrifying fact that things might not work out, but trusting in yourself enough to know that no matter what, you’ll make it through and turn whatever hardship faces you into the biggest springboard imaginable.

  Now, it’s time to set this beautiful book aside and discover the beautiful, scary, exhilarating chances waiting for you.

  About the Authors

  Deborah Balogun, author of Fangirl

  Like many writers, Deborah discovered her love for the craft when she was a child. Writing everything from songs to poems and short stories—anything to appease the annoying characters constantly chattering inside her head. She now focuses more on longer works of fiction. When she's not writing, Deborah can be found making a beeline toward the kitchen in search of her one true love: guacamole.

  Kat Colmer, author of Tickets on Himself

  Kat Colmer is a Sydney-based author and teacher librarian. She has won several writing awards for her swoon-worthy stories, and written books for audiences across the world. She has a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education as well as a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and loves working with teens and young adults. Having spent a significant portion of her childhood in Germany, Kat speaks fluent German and is looking forward to the day she’ll be able to read one of her novels in Deutsch. When not writing or teaching, Kat enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.

  Sally Henson, author of Spark

  Sally Henson is the author of the Regan Stone series. She grew up in rural Midwest wandering through the woods and creeks. That experience has been a tremendous influence on her writing, which lends credibility to the voice of her characters. She combines ingredients of reality with a dreamer’s imagination to create sweet and delectable fiction. You can find Sally working and writing in the Heartland with her husband and two children.

  Melanie Hooyenga, author of The Friend Rules

  Melanie is the author of The Rules Series, a YA sports romance series about Colorado girls navigating life and learning to stand up on their own. The Friend Rules is a companion story to The Trail Rules, the second in the series. Her YA trilogy, the Flicker Effect, follows the life of a teen who uses sunlight to travel back to yesterday. Melanie has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan. When not at her day job as the communications director of a local nonprofit, you can find her wrangling her Miniature Schnauzer, Owen, and playing every sport imaginable with her husband, Jeremy.

  Michele Mathews, author of Unstoppable Love

  Michele writes women’s fiction, nonfiction, and young adult contemporary romance. She works part time as a librarian at an intermediate school and does freelance writing and proofreading. She lives in south central Indiana and is a single mom to two humans and three fur babies. In addition to writing, her passions are photography, reading, traveling (especially the beach!), and Rick Springfield.

  Cookie O’Gorman, contributed the foreword of The Art of Taking Chances

  Cookie O'Gorman writes YA romance to give readers a taste of happily ever after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Whether it's to talk about her books or just to fan-girl, Cookie loves hearing from readers. Connect with her on her website, www.cookieogorman.com

  Kelsie Stelting, editor of The Art of Taking Chances and author of Tell Me Something Real

  Kelsie Stelting grew up in the middle of nowhere. (Also known as western Kansas.) Her rural upbringing taught her how to get her hands dirty and work hard for what she believes in. Plus, not having neighbors in a 10-mile radius as a child and traveling the world as an adult made her develop a pretty active imagination. Kelsie loves writing honest fiction that readers can vacation in, as well as traveling, volunteering, ice cream, loving on her family, and soaking up just a little too much sun wherever she can find it.

  Seven Steps, author of Forever And Always

  Seven has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her favorite genres to read are sweet romance, science fiction, dystopian and historical. She is a working wife and mother, as well as a devoted owner of a beautiful cat named Rosie. Seven enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, thrifting, and anything that reminds her of her childhood.

  Kayla Tirrell, author of (Not So) Perfect Chemistry

  Kayla has loved to read as long as she can remember. While she started out reading spooky stories that had her hiding under her covers, she now prefers stories with a bit more kissing. When she gets a chance to watch TV, she enjoys cheesy sci-fi and superhero shows.

  Most days, you’ll catch her burning dinner in an attempt to cook while reading just one more chapter. She currently lives in the sunshine state with her husband and three boys.

  Yesenia Vargas, author of More Than a List

  Yesenia Vargas is the author of several young adult romance books. Her love for writing stories was born from her love of reading and books. She has her third-grade teacher to thank for that. In addition to writing, she spends her time with her family, reading, working out, and binge-watching Netflix. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Georgia, the first in her family to go to college. Yesenia lives in Georgia with her husband and two precious little girls. Check out what she’s up to and grab your free book at yeseniavargas.com.