Launch week of Keeping Secrets by LeAnne Hardy with Giveaway!

I'm excited to share with you a new book being released this week from our very own LeAnne Hardy. LeAnne will give away a copy of her book, so keep reading to find out how you could win. In her latest young adult novel, Keeping Secrets, keeping the secret could cost Sindi everything, but the truth might cost her more.

From the book, Keeping Secrets

I remember what it was like Before. I flew over the ice like a swallow on the wind. Music filled my whole body, and I soared like a bird above the city of Johannesburg--eGoli--place of gold. I dreamed of gold medals and going to the Olympics someday.

But that was Before.

I was too young to know that life can collapse as fast as a skater can lose an edge and tumble to the ice. It hurts to fall, but you get up; you keep skating. You smile for the judges, and you don't let them see the pain. That's what winner's do. 

But sometimes, the hurt is too much, and you can't get up. You can't keep skating.

Then you lose.

Here is what LeAnne had to say about what inspired her to write this story.

"I lived from 2005 to 2008 in South Africa where I worked with children affected by HIV & AIDS in after-school clubs in Tembisa township. My hobby is figure skating and I was thrilled to find a rink ten minutes from my home in Kempton Park. Skating is no longer an all-white sport. I found myself wondering: What if a promising African figure skater was worried that people would find out her father had HIV? What if the expenses of his illness forced the family to move from upper-middle-class Kempton Park to working-class Tembisa? What if my skater saw people mistreated because of the virus? How far would she go to keep her secret?"

LeAnne reading at a community center
for orphans and vulnerable children in
Tembisa, South Africa

LeAnne grew up in the Midwestern suburbs of Indianapolis, but since then she's sipped cream tea in Oxfordshire, slid down rocks in a Mato Grossa river in Brazil, eaten stewed goat at an African wedding in Mozambique, and climbed Table Mountain in South Africa. Her books are set in a variety of countries, and each tries to capture the unique feel of that place. While she writes various genres, her secret love is children's literature.

GIVEAWAY!

LeAnne is graciously giving away a copy of Keeping Secrets here on the ICFW blog. Choice of print or ebook within the US or an ebook outside the US. Leave a comment below with your contact information and why you'd like to win a copy. Giveaway closes Friday, December 6th at 11:59 pm (EST)

For more information on the book, please watch the trailer here. LeAnne has also written an article about World AIDS Day and keeping secrets in the church you can read here. To learn more about LeAnne and her books, please visit her website.

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

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Lisa Harris is a Christy Award nominated author who lives in Mozambique with her family. To find out more about her life in Africa and her books, please visit her website.