Guest Post by Holly Schindler + Giveaway (International)

Hi everyone! Yesterday, I posted my Playing Hurt Review. Honestly, I didn’t expect Playing Hurt to turn out the way it did! It was unexpected, intense and strong. As part of the Philippine Playing Hurt Blog Tour, Holly will be talking about her characters’ pain, fears and healing. Stick around for a chance to win a finished copy of Playing Hurt!

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In PLAYING HURT, I’ve got two characters who have both been hurt in different ways: Chelsea’s been hurt physically, in a horrific fall on the basketball court.  And Clint’s been hurt on an emotional level. 

I think that the worst scars, though, are the mental ones.  Both Chelsea and Clint are scared.  Why wouldn’t they be?  They’ve both endured the kind of hurt that completely changed the course of their lives.  Mentally, once you’ve endured hurt, you have this hesitation—you hang back, you don’t take risks, you guard yourself. 

That’s the toughest thing to get rid of—fear.  Sometimes, though, the best way to stop being afraid is to find someone else to be scared WITH—sometimes, that’s the best way to build up courage again.  And that’s why Chelsea and Clint connect so strongly.

Really, then, PLAYING HURT is every bit as much about getting over fear as it is about getting past the pain of losing the thing that makes you tick—the thing you love more than anything else in life…

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Thank you for sharing, Holly! 

If you like the sound of Playing Hurt, you can try Holly’s debut, A Blue So Dark! Her book received amazing reviews from bloggers and critics!

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

Giveaway: Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown.  But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort.  There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past.  As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home.  Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

Rules:

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Comment (extra entry) and leave your email address!

Open internationally!

*for every comment you leave on any of the posts included in the tour, you get an entry!