M. P. Barker

May 2008
What's new this month?
Check out the video trailer for A Difficult Boy and find links to guest blogs and online interviews on my home page.

Reviews of A Difficult Boy

April winners of autographed copies of A Difficult Boy. Next drawing: June 1

Updated Events Calendar.

New video trailers for Class of 2k8 books.

Answer questions! Win books!
Check out the Class of 2k8 scavenger hunt. It's a mid-term you'll want to take!

What could be better than discovering 27 great new books by 27 great new writers? The Class of 2k8 is a group of first-time authors who've joined together to spread the word about our books--and I'm lucky to be a member. Check out the Class of 2k8’s web page for videos, blogs, and, best of all, 27 exciting new books to captivate your imagination.You'll find edgy contemporary fiction, historical romance, paranormal, coming of age stories, and more. (You might also want to take a look at our predecessors, the Class of 2k7 - 38 books barely one year old!)

Want to know more? Read PJ Hoover's article about the Class of 2k8 here. Or read this interview with 2k8's Fearless Leaders, Jody Feldman and Marissa Doyle!

And check out the class video trailer and the book trailers below. Eventually every book will have its own trailer, so come back often to see what's new!

Answer questions! Win books!
Check out the Class of 2k8 scavenger hunt. It's a mid-term you'll want to take!

It's easy. Each quarter The Class of 2k8 will host a contest. This quarter we've gone with a virtual scavenger hunt. Simply find the answers to ten questions about Class of 2k8 books posted on the Class's contest page. Email your correct answers to contests@classof2k8.com. Once we've checked your answers we'll notify you that you've been entered into a drawing to win books from our fabulous authors! So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get started!

This month's new releases!
La Petite Four by Regina Scott: Lady Emily Southwell and her three dearest friends plan to take London by storm until they run afoul of a dashing young lord who may have more up his sleeve than a nicely muscled arm.

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas: Take the magic and run!
Read My Lips by Teri Brown: Serena is a a deaf skater chick who uses her amazing lip-reading ability to infiltrate the popular crowd, take down a secret sorority and tame the school rebel.

Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab: Manhattanites Matisse Osgood and her artist parents move to upstate New York when her father's Parkinson's disease worsens, and Matisse must face high school in a small, provincial town as she tries to avoid thinking about her father's future.
A Horse of Her Own by Annie Wedekind In one tumultuous and life-changing summer, fourteen-year-old Jane Ryan loses the horse she loves and is asked to help train a damaged, dangerous horse who used to be a champion.Available in bookstores and online now:Shift by Jennifer Bradbury: Best friends go on a cross-country bike trip, but only one returns.Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle: While making their debuts in 1837 London a pair of twin witches rescue the soon-to-be Queen Victoria from a dastardly plot...when they're not looking for Lord Right.

A Difficult Boy by M. P. Barker: Two boys trapped in indentured servitude discover something more powerful than their master’s wealth and influence…friendship.

Braless in Wonderland by Debbie Reed Fischer: Allee Rosen falls down the rabbit hole and lands in the fab lane when she gets snapped up by modeling agents and whisked away to glamorous South Beach. Will the model life go to her head?

The Lucky Place by Zu Vincent: When you look at growing up through Cassie’s eyes, you see it differently.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce: In this retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin," the miller's daughter of the fairytale comes to life as a young woman determined to save her family and her mill--whatever the cost.

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman: In the beginning there were 25,000 contestants; in the end, just five. Does Gil Goodson have what it takes to win The Gollywhopper Games?

The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher: A Seattle teenager wrestles with the difference between a crush and love, and love and best friendship.

I Heart You, You Heart Me by Lisa Schroeder: A novel in verse about love and grief in which a fifteen-year-old girl’s boyfriend, who is dead but not gone, is keeping her from moving on.

July releases:

Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson: Two young boys...an unforgiving jungle...one shared destiny.

Undone by Brooke Taylor: a troubled teen fulfills the five enigmatic last wishes of her daring best friend only to discover the dark secrets of a shared past that she never knew.

August releases:Samantha Hansen has Rocks in Her Head by Nancy Viau: Sam is a ten-year-old, rock-loving scientist who must learn to keep a lid on her explosive temper so she can go on a “dream-come-true” trip to the Grand Canyon.
Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder: A snarky milkmaid, clumsy prince, sniffly prairie dog, and feisty milkcow venture deep into the Bewilderness, where they learn the value of friendship, honesty, government, and lunch.
September releases:Third Grade Baby by Jenny Meyerhoff: Third grader Polly Peterson can't wait to finally lose her first tooth, but then she learns that third graders are too old for the tooth fairy.
Dragon Wishes by Stacy Nyikos: Dragon Wishes follows two girls across time on their quests for the greatest gift the last of the world's ancient dragons protects in the ominous Damei Mountains.
Sleepless by Terri Clark: Teen psychic, Trinity Michaels, is being stalked in her sleep by a killer; if she dies in her dreams she'll die for real.
The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas: To Antonia Lucia Labella, saints are like Catholic royalty and she wants her day as princess (and maybe a kiss from that cute boy down the street, too)--if only the Pope would just respond to her letters!October releases:The Emerald Tablet by P.J. Hoover: Benjamin Holt's discovery of a new world explains his extraordinary powers, but also presents him with a challenge which changes his purpose in life forever.
The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem: A boy and a goatman defy the establishment in a fantasy about belonging, the dangers of forgetting history, the usefulness of art, and the importance of wind control.
My So-Called Family by Courtney Sheinmel: Leah Hoffman-Ross has a secret: she has a donor instead of a father, and now she's going in search of her half-siblings . . . even if she has to hide it from everybody else.
Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb: Autumn Winifred Oliver, the feistiest girl in all of Appalachia, struggles against the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as it threatens the home that her family has farmed for generations.

December releases:I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy: Sherry, short for Sherlock, wants more mall time, less homework and a certain boy, but instead gets recruited by her mother's ghost to prevent a rhino heist at San Diego's Wild Animal Park.