To Be Maria by Deanna Proach #YAlit #Excerpt

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To Be Maria

YA

by Deanna Proach

Seventeen-year-old Anya Preschnikov wants to become a famous actress but she's faced with two problems. Her father ignores her and doesn't have any money to support her. At school, she's bullied on a daily basis, yet she believes that she will gain her stepping-stone to stardom if she's accepted by her peers.

All of this changes when Maria Hernandez--an immigrant from Spain--comes to Peach Valley Senior High. Maria knows what it takes to fit in. She's assertive, confident and she dresses suggestively, characteristics that all of the popular kids admire. Yet she sees in Anya what no one else sees: beauty and talent.

When Maria extends her hand of friendship, Anya is elated. Her rise to popularity is about to become a reality, but it ends at a house party when a boy's rude comment sends her into a rage. 

Desperate to belong somewhere, Anya and Maria seek new friends outside of school. They meet Alex and Marissa, a young couple who eagerly welcomes them into their world of parties and drugs. Anya and Maria soon find out that Alex is a drug dealer, but they are so lured by his wealth, good looks and aggressive confidence that they can't resist his friendship. They don't know that Alex's gang is at war with a rival gang--one that's run by Anya's older brother, Adrik--until one incident puts their lives in danger's path. To make matters worse, Alex won't let Anya and Maria out of his sight. The two teens are forced to make a decision that's a matter of life or death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt

            Maria inhales a gulp of smoke from her freshly lit Players Light cigarette, then blows it out slowly, letting the smoke hang in the air around her head. She stares blankly at the large, white and blue building ahead of her. The words PEACH VALLEY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL inhabit almost the entire triangular shaped frame above the entrance doors. Everything about this place is all very new to her. She has been attending this school for only two weeks. In fact, she has been in Canada for only three weeks.

            Maria is from Madrid, Spain; born and raised. Her father, Enriquez, is an electrical engineer and her mother, Teresa, is a nurse. It turns out that the CEO of Perez-Alcatraz Ingenieria knows the CEO of Altec; a world away. It so happened that Altec needed an electrical engineer to work in Peach Valley and Enriquez was the perfect candidate.

            Having to pack up and leave her friends, grandparents and relatives behind had been quite tough on Maria, especially since it is her grad year. But Maria has always been the one to embrace a new adventure. Despite the odd bout of homesickness, she has accepted her new home. Canadians are so nice and she has already made several friends.

            Maria's home life, though, is quite the opposite. It never measured up to her blissful high school experience. On their journey, the fifty-year-old rustic clay tea-set that has been handed down to Teresa from her mother vanished without a trace. Teresa loved that tea-set and when customs at Vancouver International Airport told her that they were unable to trace its location, she was devastated. The missing tea-pot put a huge damper on the Hernandez's move into their new home. Maria had to deal with her mother's rotten temper and emotional outbursts ever since they settled in. It has been nothing but pure hell.

            The day after they moved into their new house -- before they could even take the time to unpack and settle in -- Enriquez started his new job, working long hours, five days a week. He always arrives home, tired and irritated and, for these reasons possibly, feels inclined to yell at Maria. Every time she hears the hum of her father's SUV pull up the driveway, she braces herself for the next round of scathing, condescending reprimands.

            "Maria, why can't you be as diligent as your brother!"

            "Juan is only eight for god's sake," she wants to tell him.

            "Maria, change your attitude! A loud mouth and a sharp tongue is not acceptable in this family! Maria, you're grounded until you improve your grades! Maria! Maria! Maria!"

            What her father constantly fails to realize is that he is the one who needs an attitude check. But no. He has to find every reason imaginable to be angry at her. Maria is done with trying to please him. She has given up years ago. Her eighteenth birthday is just four months away, the time of graduation, so on the first day of summer, she is going to search for full time work. Once she has secured a decent paying job as a server, Maria is going to move far enough away from home where she doesn't have to see or even worry about her family. She might even return to her old job in Madrid for that matter.

   ****

            Once her cigarette has burnt down to the butt, Maria flicks it on the ground in a nonchalant manner, then crushes it with the heel of her boot. Slowly, she steps through the double doors, then makes her way down the hall. Not watching where she is going, Maria walks into someone, but Maria doesn’t realize it’s Anya -- the school’s biggest loner -- until she stoops down to help Anya pick up her books.

            "Oh…I'm…sorry."

            "Don't worry about it," Anya says.

            Her voice is so soft that Maria can hardly hear her above the lively chatter of the other students in the hallway. Maria looks up at her and, for a moment, she studies Anya's features and the clothes she is wearing. Anya is so pretty, but she doesn't realize how homely her shaggy clothes make her look. "You're Anya, right?"

            Anya forces a smile. "Yes. And you’re Maria. You sat beside me in History I remember, and we exchanged a few notes."

            "I know. That was my first day at this school.”

            Anya appears to be astounded by Maria's good diction of the English language, despite her Spanish accent.           

            "How did you learn to speak English so well?"

            "Oh, I took several English classes, and my dad often speaks English to us at home. He worked with a lot of Brits and Americans," Maria says with a shrug of her shoulders.

            "Well, that probably explains why you’ve had no problem making friends with the popular crowd.”

            Maria is slightly taken aback by the offhanded tone in Anya's voice. "Do you have a problem with that?" she says, shooting her a pointed look.

            "Oh no, not at all. Maria, I didn't mean to sound so rude, it's just…I'm not much of a morning person."

            The look on Maria's face softens. "I understand how you feel."

            "I have to run."

            Maria crumples her brow. "But we have, like, ten minutes before the bell rings."

            "I have to talk to Mrs. Cummings about our project. I'll see you there."

            She disappears down the hall before Maria has a chance to respond to her remark. She breathes out a sigh and smoothes her long, dark curls with her fingers. "That is one weird chick," she says under her breath.

            "Hey, Maria," someone yells from behind.

            Carly! Oh God, I hope she didn't see me talking to Anya. Maria turns around to face her.

            Carly is the most gorgeous girl in the school: she is tall, slender and she boasts a head full of straight, blond hair, a set of deep blue eyes and salon tanned skin. Maria not only admires Carly for her natural beauty, but also because she comes from a wealthy family. And she happens to be the most popular girl in school.

            "Maria, did I just see you talking to Anya?" she says, tossing her glossy hair over one shoulder.

            The scornful look on Carly’s face makes Maria feel uncomfortable, but she doesn't want to rock the boat. I'm so lucky that Carly chose me to be her friend. I've always had lots of friends, but none of them were from rich families, so I better not blow it. "No."

            Carly casts her a suspicious look.

            "I was talking to a girl who looked like Anya. There is another girl in this school who looks like Anya, isn't there?"

            Carly throws her head back and laughs loudly. "Maria, you're so funny. It would be a bad thing if there was another girl who looked like Anya."

            "It probably wouldn't be all that bad if she wore the same clothes as us," Maria says with a small shrug of her shoulders.

            Carly sneers. "Anya is such a loser, and so is her freak boyfriend, Patrick."

            Maria's mouth drops. "Anya is going out with him? I thought they were only best friends."

            "Well, I don't know if they’re going out, but they might as well be. They hang out together all the time. It's a good thing they have each other because if they didn't, this place would be a hell on earth for both of them. Nobody wants anything to do with them. How they got accepted into Mr. Hawthorne's advanced acting class is beyond my comprehension. Between you and me," Carly says, lowering her voice, "Mr. Hawthorne can't tell the difference between talent and mediocrity."

            Maria tugs on a strand of hair. She is at a complete loss of words. Anya is a strange girl, but she isn't anything what Carly makes her out to be: at least I don't think so.

            Carly lays her hand on Maria's arm. "I know what you're thinking, Maria, and I can't blame you for thinking that way. You've been at this school for only two weeks and so you don't know Anya." The look on her face hardens. "But once you do, you will hate her too."

            The bell rings, abruptly ending their conversation, much to Maria's relief.

            The animated smile instantly reappears on Carly's face. "Sit with me in English?"

            "Okay," Maria says. Carly hates Anya for whatever reason, but Maria actually likes the girl. She could try to be friends with both of them; it won’t go over well with Carly, but it’s worth a try anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase Links

 Amazon

About Deanna Proach

Deanna Proach graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2008. She initially trained to become a teacher, but decided, in her last year of post-secondary education training, to pursue a career in writing instead.

Since then, Proach has written two novels: DAY OF REVENGE (Inkwater Press) and TO BE MARIA (will be seeking representation/publication).

When She's not writing, Proach is actively involved in her local theatre community as an actress, and she's learning the art of medieval sword fighting (not with real swords of course).

Website  /  Blog

#CoverReveal : To Be Maria by Deanna Proach #YAlit

To Be Maria

YA

by Deanna Proach

Click on image to add on Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Anya Preschnikov wants to become a famous actress but she's faced with two problems. Her father ignores her and doesn't have any money to support her. At school, she's bullied on a daily basis, yet she believes that she will gain her stepping-stone to stardom if she's accepted by her peers.

All of this changes when Maria Hernandez--an immigrant from Spain--comes to Peach Valley Senior High. Maria knows what it takes to fit in. She's assertive, confident and she dresses suggestively, characteristics that all of the popular kids admire. Yet she sees in Anya what no one else sees: beauty and talent.

When Maria extends her hand of friendship, Anya is elated. Her rise to popularity is about to become a reality, but it ends at a house party when a boy's rude comment sends her into a rage.

Desperate to belong somewhere, Anya and Maria seek new friends outside of school. They meet Alex and Marissa, a young couple who eagerly welcomes them into their world of parties and drugs. Anya and Maria soon find out that Alex is a drug dealer, but they are so lured by his wealth, good looks and aggressive confidence that they can't resist his friendship. They don't know that Alex's gang is at war with a rival gang--one that's run by Anya's older brother, Adrik--until one incident puts their lives in danger's path. To make matters worse, Alex won't let Anya and Maria out of his sight. The two teens are forced to make a decision that's a matter of life or death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Deanna Proach

Deanna Proach graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2008. She initially trained to become a teacher, but decided, in her last year of post-secondary education training, to pursue a career in writing instead.

Since then, Proach has written two novels: DAY OF REVENGE (Inkwater Press) and TO BE MARIA (will be seeking representation/publication).

When She's not writing, Proach is actively involved in her local theatre community as an actress, and she's learning the art of medieval sword fighting (not with real swords of course).

Links:

Website  /  Blog  /  Facebook  /  Twitter

#BookPromo : To Be Maria by @deannaproach #YA #fiction

YA

by Deanna Proach

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Anya Preschnikov wants to become a famous actress but she's faced with two problems. Her father ignores her and doesn't have any money to support her. At school, she's bullied on a daily basis, yet she believes that she will gain her stepping-stone to stardom if she's accepted by her peers.

All of this changes when Maria Hernandez--an immigrant from Spain--comes to Peach Valley Senior High. Maria knows what it takes to fit in. She's assertive, confident and she dresses suggestively, characteristics that all of the popular kids admire. Yet she sees in Anya what no one else sees: beauty and talent.

When Maria extends her hand of friendship, Anya is elated. Her rise to popularity is about to become a reality, but it ends at a house party when a boy's rude comment sends her into a rage. 

Desperate to belong somewhere, Anya and Maria seek new friends outside of school. They meet Alex and Marissa, a young couple who eagerly welcomes them into their world of parties and drugs. Anya and Maria soon find out that Alex is a drug dealer, but they are so lured by his wealth, good looks and aggressive confidence that they can't resist his friendship. They don't know that Alex's gang is at war with a rival gang--one that's run by Anya's older brother, Adrik--until one incident puts their lives in danger's path. To make matters worse, Alex won't let Anya and Maria out of his sight. The two teens are forced to make a decision that's a matter of life or death.

I’m thrilled to be able to share chapter one of Ms. Proach’s book which released in July of this year. Hope you enjoy it!!

To Be Maria, Chapter 1

            Anya wakes, startled by the loud, repetitive beep of her alarm clock. In a daze, she reaches over to the small night stand and slaps the stop button. She groans, her tired eyes half-closed, while she slips out from underneath the old, but comfortable blanket. Great. I'm so tired. If only I had two more hours - but no. When there's no school, there's work, and that's even worse. I hate that I have to get up at five-thirty every Saturday and Sunday morning. My manager always gives me the worst shifts.

            Anya shuffles over to the closet. Unlike most other girls in school, she never rummages through the closet in search of the perfect outfit. She rolls her eyes. Oh God, here we go again: the same jeans, faded tank-tops, baggy T-shirts, and sweatshirts. I can't wait until the day comes when I throw away these ugly clothes. I just wish I had the money to buy new clothes, fashionable clothes. Maybe then I'd fit in at school.

           Anya traces her finger over the delicate cloth of her one and only bohemian-style summer dress. Even the dress is a hand-me-down, worn by her mother back in the 1970s. But it's the only piece of clothing she loves; unfortunately, it's still too cold outside to wear it. Thank God for my imagination. I don't know what I'd do without it.

           The things Anya enjoys the most are brushing her hair and writing in her journal. These are the only times she can let her imagination take her away from home. She can pretend to be anything - anything but herself.

            Anya rakes her slender fingers through her long hair. Today, I'm the daughter of a wealthy architect, so I'm going to wear a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans and a green peasant top, the revealing one. Then I'll put on that expensive necklace and those silver hoop earrings that Mom bought for me yesterday. Anya frowns at her clothes. Ugh, who are you kidding, Anya? Why even waste your time pretending to have something when it makes you even more unhappy to realize that you don't have it?

            To get her mind off her clothes, Anya looks at her mother's photograph, the one that always sits on top of the nightstand. Every time she looks at the photograph, she studies her mother's features. Her father used to tell her that she looks so much like her mother, Ana Preschnikov, but until now she never gave it much thought. Anya now realizes why her father used to call her Ana. Ana - who must have been in her early twenties when this photo was taken - boasted the same long, caramel brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, petite, heart-shaped face, slender nose, and smooth, cream-colored skin. Anya often wonders what life would be like if her mother was still alive. It has been so many years since she passed away that Anya has forgotten what it's like to have a mother. Sometimes she dreams about her mother, longing for the comfort of her tender arms and loving words.

            Her eyes eventually shift away from the photograph to the journal sitting on the floor in front of the nightstand. The front and back cover is of a soft blue and leather. She received it as a Christmas gift from her best friend, Patrick, a little over one year ago. Since then, she's filled it with her thoughts until only a few empty pages remain; she's planned to leave those pages blank until she purchased another journal - something she's decided to do after work this weekend.

            "Oh heck, I can't wait until the weekend. I really need to clear my mind," she whispers. She changes into a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, grabs the journal off the floor, then walks over to the kitchen.

            The kitchen is messier than usual. Two of the cupboard doors are left open, the sink is filled with dirty dishes, and the counter is littered with stale food, wrappers, cutlery, and cups half-filled with juice. As she bites down hard on her lower lip, she can feel the red creep up her neck and over her face. Damnit! Why doesn't my dad clean up after himself? Why does he expect me and Sophia to clean up after him all the time? She sinks into the nearest chair, breathing out a long, angry sigh. Her stomach growls, warning that if she doesn't eat she'll spend the entire day tripping over her words and suffering from exhaustion and a bad headache - something she's endured several times in the past.

            Anya leaves her journal, then walks over to one of the open cupboards. As predicted, it's empty - save one box of macaroni and cheese and a package of Mr. Noodles. Anya shuts the door, then peers into the next cupboard; all that remains in there is a box of Cheerios. She grabs the box, realizing that it's more than half-empty but thinking that it should be enough to satisfy her until lunch.

            As she opens the fridge door, she hears a shuffling noise from behind. Thinking that it's Sophia, she turns, ready for a round of confrontation; but it's her father, who stands less than one foot away from the doorway. He's hardly ever up this early, so Anya is surprised to see him. For the first time in a long time, he's clean shaven, dressed in a red, button-down, flannel shirt that's tucked into blue jeans. Anya suspects that his clothes are also clean because she doesn't smell any foul stench.

            Anya cocks her left eyebrow. "You're up early."

            "Yeah, I got a new job."

            "Where?"

            "At Home Depot."

            Anya purses her lips. That's not a step up from your last job at Canadian Tire. "Cool. Is the pay better?"

            "Yeah, enough to get me by."

            Anya narrows her eyes. "Well, I hope you last at this job," she says, slamming the milk and Cheerios down on the table. It's enough to get us by, you self-centered jerk. I hope your new boss doesn't fire your dumb ass like your last boss did.

            "I think so. You gonna clean this up?" he says, pointing at the counter.

            Anya glares at him. "Uh, no."

            "Why not?"

            "Because you were the one who made the damn mess. That's why!"

            He casts her a sharp look. "Don't talk to me like that, young lady."

            "I can talk to you however I want!"

            "Fine then, be that way. I'm off."

            "Clean your stinking mess when you get home from work!" Anya yells after him. She slumps into a chair, her eyes brimming with tears. "Don't cry. He's not worth it. Don't let him get you down," she whispers over and over again until the anger ebbs. But when she looks down at the diary, the feeling returns. She flips through it until she comes to a blank page.

            'February 17, 2003. Dear Diary,' she writes underneath the date in the top left corner of the empty page.

            'This day is not off to a good start.'

            She then writes about her dad, describing him using every foul word in the English language. Once she's spilled her anger and frustration onto the paper, she breathes out a huge sigh, which makes her feel much better. She doesn't want to spend every minute of the day thinking about the people who get her down.

            'I'm sorry I used all that bad language. I just needed to let off steam. Anyway, it's time to tell you about the good stuff in my life.

            'I'm still really excitement that I got accepted into Mr. Hawthorne's advanced acting class. I know, I already told you this - Patrick's sick of hearing me say this - but this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Mr. Hawthorne doesn't accept anyone into his advanced acting class. Over a hundred students auditioned this year, and out of those auditions he chose only sixteen students to be in his class. The fact that he chose me over several other good actors is a huge gold feather in my cap.'

            'Every year, Mr. Hawthorne sponsors one student to attend Vancouver Film School. His sponsorship pays for one year's tuition. This will give me a huge start to my career. I'm busting my ass to show Mr. Hawthorne the best of me because I'm determined to be the recipient of his sponsorship.'

            As Anya pauses to flex her wrist, she steals a glance at her wrist watch. It reads seven 'o' clock. Thankfully, there's still some spare time to write; she hasn't told her journal everything she needs to say.

            'There's this new girl in school. She's our age, and she's in our grad class. Her name is Maria, and she's from Spain, the country everyone seems to think is cool. There's so many Spanish people who live in this city that it's no wonder why most of them go wide-eyed when they think about Spain. I've never been to Europe, but I imagine that Spain's a beautiful country, though I don't think it's any better than any other country in Europe. Or every other country in this world, for that matter. I think it's the way Maria dresses and the way she acts that everyone finds so attractive. Well, the popular kids mostly. She's been at Peach Valley Senior High for only two weeks, and she's already at the top of the popularity chain. Patrick thinks she's a slut, an easy layover. That's why all the boys are so gaga over her. But I don't know if that's true. I personally think she's drop-dead gorgeous.'

            Anya's eyes droop when she thinks about Maria.

            'Her clothes are so stylish. I wish I had those kinds of clothes, and - I know I say this almost every day - I wish I was as popular as her. I'd like to get to know Maria - she'd be the coolest friend I'd ever have - but Carly beat me to it. Carly befriended her the moment she set foot in Peach Valley Senior High. Maria's in two of my classes, and sometimes I see her in the hallway, but she never says anything to me. It's no wonder why, though. She's Carly's friend. Anyway, I think I've told you enough information for one day. I gotta get ready for school. Until next time.

            Love Anya.'

Deanna Proach graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2008. She initially trained to become a teacher, but decided, in her last year of post-secondary education training, to pursue a career in writing instead.

Since then, Proach has written two novels, both of which have been published: DAY OF REVENGE (Inkwater Press) and TO BE MARIA (PULSEpub.net).

When She's not writing, Proach is actively involved in her local theatre community as an actress, and she's learning the art of medieval sword fighting (not with real swords of course).

Stalk Deanna:

Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

To Be Maria can be found at:

Amazon / Barnes & Nobel / Pulse

So whatcha think? Wanna nab a copy? It’s on my (LONG) to-read list. Looking forward to it!