NemeSIS Information Kit


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NemeSIS Information Kit

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Table of Contents

NemeSIS Description

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NemeSIS Excerpt

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Kirkus Review for NemeSIS

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Susan Marshall Biography

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Susan Marshall Photo

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Marketing Plan for NemeSIS

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Press Release for NemeSIS

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Contact Information

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Blue Moon Publishers

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Susan Marshall

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Q&A with Susan Marshall

Blue Moon Publishers

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www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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NemeSIS Description Dad has moved out and Mom has checked out, leaving the door wide open for the beautiful, erratic Rachel to torment her "loser, loner" younger sister, Nadine. With her family in full meltdown mode, Nadine is alone, trying to cope with Rachel’s increasingly unpredictable moods. Friendless, but determined to turn her life around, Nadine meets Anne, who introduces her to field hockey and to her hot twin brothers, Matt and Cameron.  As Nadine’s star begins to rise, however, Rachel plots to bring her back down, and the tension ratchets up when Rachel starts dating Matt just as Nadine is getting to know Cameron better. When Matt’s interest starts to fade, Rachel goes into overdrive. Is Nadine ready to risk it all in a final showdown with her sister?


Blue Moon Publishers

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NemeSIS Excerpt Rachel was gesturing toward us, fake smiling. She whispered something into Matt’s ear, and I saw him look our way, nodding approvingly. I instantly suspected she was taking all the credit for my friendship with Anne. I could almost hear her say, in a completely understated way, of course, “Oh, it’s nothing. You would have done the same! Any sister of yours must be amazing. I just hinted to Nadine, and blah blah blah —lies….” But then a thought popped into my brain. With Rachel so seemingly into Matt, then maybe she was the vulnerable one now, meaning that I could take control. Just suppose I happened to mention … super casually of course … maybe one or two True Stories About Rachel. To Anne, for instance. How long would it take for Matt to run for cover? About a nanosecond. And it wouldn’t be a stretch to come up with material. On the flip side, Rachel was a lot of things, including a master strategist. She’d likely already thought of that possibility and was betting against me. But there had to be this little doubt in her mind that I just might spill the beans. I needed to plant a seed. Looking directly at Rachel and Matt, it was my turn to fake the smile. Catching the attention of Mei and Anne, I waved right at them, pointing out my wonderful sister. Rachel, sensing the threat, shot dagger eyes my way. I couldn’t help but smile for real, it was a rush. Maybe two could play this game?

Blue Moon Publishers

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Kirkus Review for NemeSIS “In Marshall’s first novel, a determined girl makes it through 10th grade despite her bully of a sister. “Lonely Nadine Stewart has a mouse for a friend and little else. Her parents have divorced, with her father settling in New York and taking a new girlfriend; her mother’s out of the house most of the time working on her real estate license. Her older sister, Rachel, is more or less her constant companion, and often an unwanted one. Her intense mood swings get in the way of Nadine’s desire to pull herself out of her misery and make friends, maybe even date.   “When Rachel feels bad, she makes sure Nadine feels worse—and she’s very inventive. Nadine is very good at keeping her cool: “It was all I could do not to react, but I had this whole routine going where I took cleansing breaths to stay calm. It’s like what you do when you meditate.” As she decides to start moving forward with her life, Nadine makes serious progress.  She meets Anne, a transfer student with twin older brothers, and gets a spot on the field hockey team. All the while, though, she contends with the secret of Rachel’s bullying as well as with other bullies. When she finds the support and the strength to stand up to her sister, Nadine is surprised at just what happens.   “Marshall has written a rare book: a YA novel in which serious themes—divorce, isolation, mental health, bullying, etc.—are considered without admonishing readers or beating them over the head with lessons. Instead, readers progress through sophomore year with Nadine, sharing her daily discouragements and small triumphs. The recurrence of certain problems is only natural; they’re part of Nadine’s experience, after all. On top of that, Marshall accurately portrays the relative gravity of teenage crushes and friend-group drama—heavy considerations for the high school crowd.   “A smart choice for teen readers.” 


Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Susan Marshall Biography One of four daughters — with an unfortunate son arriving smack in the middle — Susan was born and raised in an estrogen-fuelled household in Hamilton, Ontario. An underachiever in elementary school, a grade eight teacher’s remark that university was not in her future propelled her to take her studies more seriously. Proving her teacher wrong but thankful for the push, Susan spent seven years in various university programs, graduating with a history degree from the University of Western Ontario, and library science and teaching degrees from the University of Toronto. Naturally disorganized, Susan quickly realized that being a librarian was not a good fit and opted instead for employment at the Globe and Mail newspaper, working in an all-female information technology division with her tight-knit group of colleagues dubbed the Globe Girls. Combining her teaching and library backgrounds, Susan later worked as a coordinator and instructor for the part-time Library Technician Program at Seneca College. Four kids later, she decided to stay-at-home, becoming a specialist in offspring dispute resolution. Writing had always been a much-loved activity, and she is now happy to have a pursuit that allows her to work at home in sweat pants, drink loads of coffee, and engage in random fits of exercise when she needs a break. An avid reader, Susan loves e-books and falls asleep nightly to the soft glow, oblivious to what happened on the last page. Currently residing in Toronto, Ontario, Susan lives with her husband, Mark, three sons, a daughter, a dog, and a cat.

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Susan Marshall Photo

Blue Moon Publishers

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Marketing Plan for NemeSIS - Book Launch Event - Local Author Tour -Book Signings -Reading and Q&A Appearances -Online Publicity Campaign -Social Media Campaign including Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Press Release for NemeSIS For Immediate Release Summary: Toronto author Susan Marshall launches new young adult novel (TORONTO, ON) January 2017 - As a mother of four, debut author Susan Marshall knows a thing or two about "offspring dispute resolution." In 2013, Susan decided to put her expertise towards creating a book, and is now preparing for the launch of her young adult novel about a sister-bully, entitled NemeSIS.  In NemeSIS, Dad has moved out and Mom has checked out, leaving the door wide open for the beautiful, erratic Rachel to torment her "loser, loner" younger sister, Nadine. With her family in full meltdown mode, Nadine is left on her own to cope with Rachel’s increasingly  unpredictable  moods. Friendless, but determined to turn her life around, Nadine meets Anne, who introduces her to field hockey and to her hot twin brothers, Matt and Cameron. As Nadine’s star begins to rise, however, Rachel plots to bring her back down, and the tension ratchets up when Rachel starts dating Matt just as Nadine is getting to know Cameron better. When Matt’s interest starts to fade, Rachel goes into overdrive. Is Nadine ready to risk it all in a final showdown with her sister? NemeSIS was inspired by the relationships that developed amongst Susan and her three sisters when they all lived at home together. "With NemeSIS, I speculated about what might happen if you had a ‘Rachel’ and ‘Nadine’ practically alone in the same house, allowing a ‘sister bully’ relationship to develop," explains Susan. "Other themes naturally evolved, like mental illness, social isolation, romance, and field hockey, and I felt they it made for a more interesting story."  

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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When asked what sort of books NemeSIS might be compared to, Susan suggests I’m Not Her or The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielson, and Saint Maybe by Sarah Dessen. NemeSIS is being published by Blue Moon Publishers and is being marketed by DigiWriting, both firms based in Toronto, Canada. It is scheduled to be released in April of 2017. For more information about NemeSIS, please visit BlueMoonPublishers.com or contact Talia at [email protected].

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Contact Information Blue Moon Publishers e: [email protected]  w: www.bluemoonpublishers.com t: @BlueMoonPbh f: facebook.com/BlueMoonPublishers

Susan Marshall w: www.susanmarshall.ca t: @susanmarshallya f: Susan Marshall Facebook i: Susan Marshall Instagram

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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Q&A with Susan Marshall Q. Have you always wanted to be a writer? A. I’ve always been a voracious reader and am a huge fan of fiction, both YA and adult. Until recently, I never actually thought I had the wherewithal to finish a manuscript, but once I started writing, I literally couldn’t stop. In fact, I have to pace myself as I suffer from the 21st century plague of neck problems caused by the overuse of laptops. Q. What inspired you to begin writing your novel? Did you draw from personal experiences? A. I attended some writing for children classes, thinking I would try my hand at picture books. Most of the other students were focused on young adult novels, and as they read excerpts from their projects I became intrigued, especially since writing picture books looks easy but is really, really hard, and imagining life as a teenager is really, really fun. It’s human nature that you might incorporate some of your experiences into your characters and plot. NemeSIS is about a sister as bully, and I do have sisters, and we had a decent amount of conflict that at times crossed the line. I’ve witnessed, and participated in, schoolyard bullying, and I’ve seen it with my kids, too. All of these experiences made it easy to imagine what might happen if you had one sister with a propensity towards bullying, paired with another who was an easy target, and then added a family meltdown to the mix. Q. Which aspects of the writing process come most naturally to you? A. I’m not afraid to just actually write, either on the keyboard or pen to paper. If it’s terrible or you decide to go in another direction, you just scrap it and get on with it. You hear a lot about writer’s block but that’s never been a problem. Q. Which aspects of the writing process present more of a challenge? How do you overcome them? A. This may sound weird but I sometimes run into problems when characters say things or do things that I never expected them to say or do, and then I have to go back and re-write or re-plot, sometimes both. Usually when this happens though, it might be surprising, but it adds another dimension, so it’s a positive thing. Q. Do you have a writing routine, and if so, what does it look like? Blue Moon Publishers

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A. I’m a morning person so I prefer to write in the mornings. I like to think about the plot when I take my dog out for a walk or at church because I’m not very good at paying attention for long stretches, so my mind wanders a lot during mass. Q. Do you have any quirky writing habits, such as a favourite snack or music playlist? A. I love coffee, and even though I’m a morning person, I cannot even speak until I’ve had a strong one, preferably with steamed milk. I always make another one to drink when I start writing. Q. From where do you draw your inspiration for your vivid characters? A. It wasn’t until I took a psychology class in university that I realized a former good friend of mine, someone I’d known since kindergarten, must have been suffering from bipolar disease in high school. She could be the most charming and fun person, vivacious and full of life but then she would practically transform overnight into a person who was withdrawn and angry. I felt quite bad when I realized after the fact how much she must have been suffering. Unfortunately, at the time, I found her behavior baffling and I started avoiding her, so she was an inspiration for Rachel. As for Matt and Cameron, there were twin brothers in Hamilton, Ontario, where I grew up, who were the polar opposite in appearance. One twin was dark and stocky while the other was quite tall and fair. I always favoured the later one, so he became Cameron. My favourite professor at the University of Western Ontario was a Dr. Paul Werstine, who teaches English literature. He was hilarious and brilliant and taught me a lot about writing, particularly the “economy of words.” I loved each and every class, especially when we studied Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. Although he is a very minor character, Nadine’s English teacher is Mr. Werstine. Q. Can you describe your revision and/or editorial process? A. I usually just focus on getting the story out and once I finish a section, I go back and edit, tightening sentences and paragraphs, adding some description, and tweaking the dialogue. I do have a few people who read and offer comments along the way, which is really helpful and gives me an opportunity to further polish what I’ve written and tackle problems with pacing and character development. Q. Have you had anything published in the past? Are you working on writing anything currently? A. I’ve had a few essays published in the Globe and Mail newspaper, but NemeSIS is my first novel. I wasn’t sure if it had much merit, so I submitted it to Kirkus Review through their Indie program and was pleasantly surprised with their feedback, which gave me some confidence to try again. I am currently working on a young adult novel about a girl who ends up relocating, against her will, to another community. There’s a bit of a mystery as well. It has been fun to write. Blue Moon Publishers

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Q. What have you learned through your writing? A. That it’s really all about the editing, so don’t fuss too much, especially at the beginning. And also having a notebook and a pen handy can keep you productive, when you find yourself with some idle time. Lastly, and this is a popular piece of advice but it can’t be stressed too much, read all your dialogue out loud as you write. The guy who’s fixing your dishwasher or your kids might think you’re crazy but you’ll be able to hear if the conversation sounds natural, so who cares.

Blue Moon Publishers

www.bluemoonpublishers.com

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