Excerpt from 'Dark Before Dawn' by Stacy Juba

Now available for Kindle, Nook, & Smashwords, with a paperback edition coming in November. The e-book edition is 99 cents throughout October for a special Halloween promotion.

Book blurb: When teen psychic Dawn Christian gets involved with a fortuneteller mentor and two girls who share her mysterious talents, she finally belongs after years of being a misfit. When she learns her new friends may be tied to freak “accidents” in town, Dawn has an important choice to make – continue developing the talent that makes her special or challenge the only people who have ever accepted her.

Dawn closed the front door to Serina’s cottage and joined Candace on the porch. Crisp golden and red leaves rolled along the ground in the wind. Behind the cottage, thundered the quick sharp blows of the ocean.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Dawn asked.

Candace glanced up from a white wicker chair, her fingers curled around the sides. "Thinking about how I hate the jerks at school. Isn't it dumb how when someone dies, everyone was suddenly their best friend? They act like they're so important. They're so shallow."

Dawn picked up a brochure on the wicker table and read the front panel upside down. Serina, Intuitive Consultant. No last name. Serina had never shared it at their sessions.

"How come you gave Ken a hard time last night? I know he was being nosy, but you were deliberately egging him on." Dawn hadn’t planned to ask the question, it had just fallen out of her mouth, but she set down the brochure and waited for her friend’s answer.

"He's one of them."

"One of who?"

"The in-crowd." Candace spat out the words like a clump of chewing tobacco.

"What do you mean? He barely talked to Tim and Scott, and he's never been invited to Renee's parties. Believe me, he wishes she’d give him the time of day."

"He's on the hockey team. Maybe he's in a different group, but they're all the same. Snobs."

Dawn pulled her sweater tighter in the brisk breeze. "He’s not like that. Really."

Candace snorted. "Yeah, right."

Jamie beckoned them inside for hot chocolate and cookies, and Dawn gave up her defense of Ken. Candace would believe what she wanted to believe.

Dawn took her usual spot on the loveseat and accepted a cup of cocoa from Jamie. Serina swept back her white blonde hair, which Dawn imagined would be the color of an angel’s hair. Lapis Lazuli star earrings glinted like blue beacons, contrasting against Serina's black sweater and slacks.

"You look troubled, Dawn," she said, sitting at her table.

Buy Links:
Amazon Kindle: http://ow.ly/6Hiyn
Barnes&Noble Nook: http://ow.ly/6HiC4
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91319

Author Bio: Although Stacy Juba specializes in writing adult novels, she has also authored books for children and young adults – she pursues whatever story ideas won’t leave her alone. Stacy’s titles include the Amazon bestselling adult mystery novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, the mystery short story "Laundry Day," the children’s picture books The Flag Keeper and Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise, and the young adult novels Face-Off and Dark Before Dawn. Visit her web site at http://www.stacyjuba.com.