Isabell Drake

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Book of the Month

Best Friends Never

About: Lexi Welks wants two things—respect and a college acceptance letter that’ll get her out of too-good-to-be-true Cherry Grove. The problem is that the nasty, life-ruining secret she shares with Monica Sanders is about to go public. If their ugly truth comes out, her plans for college—not happening. And that’s only the beginning of her end.

Monica is the kind of student teachers adore—well-behaved, hard-working and always following the rules. She’s the kind of friend other girls follow—well-dressed, popular and always knowing the right thing to do. If only they knew the truth about her. The truth Lexi found out the hard way, after spending the past summer letting Monica talk her into doing things she knew could come back to ruin her.

Now it’s the rst week of school and one of the seniors is missing. Lexi knows a thing or two about the circumstances of his disappearance, but she’s not talking.

Neither is Monica. But wicked truths have a way of crawling to the surface and tearing through the most careful plans.

read it on Radish now

Sat in Rittenhouse Square, a historic section of Philly, and made this Instagram reel of all the dogs. So many!

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April 2022 A few weeks ago, I attended the Association of Writing Programs conference in Philadelphia, PA. For me, the conference was a mix of attending sessions (on poetry! on writing reviews for graphic novels! on new approaches to workshopping!), visiting tables at the book fair, doing work on the room, and walks.

I took most of my walking photos on my last day. The center photo in the collection above was my personal favorite. I was walking through the arch surrounding City Hall, snapped the guy walking with his bike, just because I liked the contrast and the colors, and then when we continued through the hall, we came upon the bridal party waiting to be photographed. Like a little story, right?

Of course I took a sel e as well. If I look a tad worn out, or serious, no surprises there. LOL. It was the last day of an academic conference.

You can see the collection of postcards I'd made. I picked them up at the conference book fair and sent them to everyone who'd asked for one. If you follow me on social media, you already know I often send postcards while traveling. If you'd like a postcard, follow me on Instagram or Facebook and watch for travel posts.

Later this month I'll be headed to Chicago for Spring Fling. I'll be happy to send postcards to everyone who requests one.

Like a postcard from my travels?

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Excerpt From: Best Friends Never Blood red.

And death black.

Whoever picked out Cherry Grove High’s school colors was an idiot.

Either that or a serial killer.

The hideous color combination blurred across the gym oor, spinning in the cheerleaders’ skirts, bouncing in the pom squad pom-poms and slicing through the air in the quivering band banners. Except for the bizarre Goth meets Glee e ect, the scene was awless. Even the shouts echoing o the walls were just right.

Outside, beyond the gleaming oor to ceiling windows and careful owerbeds, past the student parking lot dotted with Nissans, Volvos and European SUVs, early autumn trees shaded the tidy streets with the rst brush of rust, orange and red leaves. It was Cherry Grove after all—anything less than perfection would be inconceivable.

The bleachers were jammed with students, some actually excited about the annual back-to-school pep assembly, the rest just screaming like mad, glad for the chance to be crazy on the rst Friday afternoon of the new school year.

From her spot at the boosters table, Lexi Welks could see it all. The teachers huddled in the corner by the wresting mats, drinking Diet Pepsis and eating popcorn, the basketball players lined up under the net, shoving each other, wanting to be the one standing closest to the podium, and the mini-mob of freshmen, trying to squeeze themselves into the tiny niche that led to the empty

space behind the bleachers. Apart from the chaos stood the football team, arms folded over their Cherry Grove jerseys and looking like they’d rather be anywhere but where they were—right in the center of the attention.

“Here’s your baseball fundraiser auction sign-up sheet.”

Monica Sanders, coming up out of nowhere like a giant weed that not even the deadliest dose of Roundup could get rid of. One of the wicked plants from Little Shop of Horrors.

Only this plant had a nonstop gure wrapped up in a come-screw-me black turtleneck. Half the guys in the school wanted a piece of her. The rest wanted her ACT scores.

Lexi?

Up until a week ago, she and Monica had been friends. And now Lexi was paying the price for what had seemed like fun at the time.

Monica looked over Lexi’s shoulder, waved at basketball center Eric Watson, then came back with a careful smile, showing o her bleached teeth as she slid into an empty chair. “Not that the sign-up is going to do you any good. You know, with next year.”

Lexi took the sheet, dropping it onto the table as though she wasn’t the least bit concerned. Which, of course, was a huge lie. Because getting the right names on that single sheet of paper would change her whole life.

Best Friends Never

Read it on Radish

Recipe of the Month

april showers INGREDIENTS 3 ounces (88 ml) gin 1 ounce fresh (30 ml) lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar 6 ounces (180 ml) ruby red grapefruit juice Edible owers for garnish, optional DIRECTIONS 1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. Add the gin, lemon juice, agave nectar and grapefruit juice, shake vigorously for 10 seconds.

3. Pour into a coupe or martini glass.

GARNISH Edible owers (optional)

this month's recipe from Culinary Ginger

In the Works, Upcoming, and Events IN THE WORKS Current ction projects--a dystopian, sci- sort of thing and a women's ction novel.

NEWLY OUT Hard Fall is available on Radish Fiction.

FORTHCOMING The Binge Watchers Guide to Riverdale, 2nd. edition. This edition is updated to include Season 5.

Book chapter, Struggling Against the Tide: Narrative Structure and the Human Connection in Jaws, to be included in the anthology, “This Shark, Swallow You Whole”: Fifty Years of Jaws from McFarland & Co. Publisher.

Un nished Business and the Invitations series will be released in audio this coming fall.

UPCOMING EVENTS Spring Fling in Chicago, April

Once Upon a Book in Frankenmuth, July Booklovers in Houston, August

Isabelle Drake

PO Box 253, Mason Michigan 48854 United States You received this email because you signed up to receive news from Isabelle Drake.

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