LINES IN THE SAND, the prequel in the Crossing the Line series!

Crossing the Line is a Young Adult series by S. C. Montgomery

Released October 10th 2014

~Lines in the Sand~

Two best friends. One emotional adventure.

When Reed Young and Jonah King unearth some mysterious remains at their favorite beach hangout, their summer is thrust into an exciting tailspin.

Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they embark on a heartrending journey to find out the truth . . . and make it right.

But neither of them expected the secrets they would find.

Reader note

While Lines in the Sand is a standalone novella, appropriate for younger readers with only some mild language, it is intended as a prequel to Two Blue Lines, which continues Reed Young’s story as he’s forced into a situation nobody wants to find themselves in at sixteen.

Read and enjoy at your own discretion.

~Book Links~

Amazon ✜ iTunes ✜ Google Play ✜ Kobo ✜ Barnes & Noble

~My Review~

LINES IN THE SAND is a great short story about two young teenage boys, best friends, who start out with a typical summer day at the nearby beach and discover something in the sand that completely changes the course of their day. And in some ways, their life.

S.C. Montgomery does an incredible job at capturing the emotions and reactions of Reed and Jonah as they set out on the adventure of solving the mystery they’ve unveiled. She’s balanced her story with the interesting characters the boys meet, the pretty girls they are crushing on, and by enveloping the reader in their family dynamics. Artfully drawing you in page by page as the boys uncover more than the answers to the mystery that began their quest.

For me, Lines in the Sand is a story about recognizing the value of both the tenderness of youth and the security of a caring family. It is well-written, making me laugh and making me cry over the sweetness of emotions displayed at the end. Very enjoyable prequel for the new Crossing the Line series. 4.5 stars

~Excerpt~

Then, out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.

I couldn’t say why, it wasn’t large, or shiny. But it drew me. About two feet from where Jonah had shifted the sand with his dumb foot, a tattered piece of fabric laid buried in the sand.

I knelt down and examined it.

Jonah sat up. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“I don’t know. Some cloth or something.” I inched closer and touched it, an eerie feeling sliding through my body.

Jonah popped onto his knees and crawled over. “Lemme see . . .”

“No!” I held out a hand to stop him. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t want him to touch it. “I got it.” I gave the fabric a tug and a big piece yanked free to whip in my hand with the wind.

We both looked it over. It was dingy, but it had obviously been white once with little yellow flowers.

“What do you think it is?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” I said, but I somehow knew it was something. My heart began to pound as I handed the cloth to Jonah and raked my fingers through the sand looking for a bigger piece.

We glanced over as someone on the beach gave a yell as they chased a Frisbee in the warming beach air. The surf continued to pound the beach, the gulls continued their mournful cries, the kids continued to build their castles. Someone’s barbeque scented the air.

Jonah and I looked at each other. He felt it, too. He nodded, indicating that I should continue digging. It didn’t need to be spoken—this morning we were on a different journey. No more kid stuff.

~About S.C. Montgomery~

SC Montgomery is a self-proclaimed nerd and readaholic. She has dabbled in telling stories since she was very young by letting her imagination play out with her Barbie dolls and her bestie many a weekend. She also writes Contemporary adult romance under the pen name Shauna Allen, and it was in one of those novels that the YA bug bit when she wrote in a teenager loosely based on her own son.

Her first story, The Summer of Lettie, was penned as a gift for her mother, but was published with her blessing, and it’s just taken off from there.

SC is married with three teenagers of her own, who give her plenty of inspiration and advice, and are a constant source of laughter and new terminology.

Besides writing, she loves reading, movies, singing and dancing reality shows and going to the beach.