Payton Carter is one of six kids (all of which are named after famous football players), not to mention the only girl in the Carter household. With this much testosterone and no mother, it’s no wonder she’s absolutely clueless when it comes to makeup, dances, and talking to guys she’s crushing on. And now she’s about ready to start her freshman year of high school, which is nerve wrenching enough, but when she ends up running into her crush, Chance Montgomery, at her dad’s sports restaurant, she finds out that the quarterback for their rival team is moving to Aller Falls. This is nothing short of fate. Payton realizes she has to find a way to impress Chance and get him to ask her out or at least know she’s interested in him—preferably without dropping a plateful of fries on his head, like she did last time. After taking her two oldest brothers’ advice, she decides to go out for the freshman football team, figuring that between practices and games she and her crush will surely be able to talk. And maybe talking will lead to something more permanent or at least to a first kiss. Only this plan backfires in ways she never imagined, when she beats Chance Montgomery out of the starting quarterback position. Now not only does she make him the laughing stock of the team, but also has to figure out how to avoid the snotty cheerleaders, a traitor best friend, not to mention winning games for her team. Too bad this is just the beginning of her freshman year.
Author
I was born and raised in Michigan (just look for the giant mitten on the map—it’ll likely throw a snowball at you). I spent most of my time in Michigan, but while in the army got to call KS, SC, MO, and CA home for awhile as well. As a kid my family moved around a lot. Try spending both your freshman and senior years at new schools (yeah, loads of fun). I could’ve changed my name to “new girl”. I love writing for teens because those are the years I remember falling in love with most of my favorite books. Some of the authors I couldn’t put down were L.J. Smith, Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, Richie Tankersley Cusick, Joan Lowery Nixon, Lois Duncan, amongst several others. My husband and I have a large family. There are six kids total! So we have LOTS of fun on vacations (although hours on the road, cooped up in the Expedition is kind of stressful—although we pass the time with MAD LIBS and hoping no one gets carsick). Some fun facts about me: My first real crush was on Luke Skywalker (LOL—hey, I was like 8 years old and it came out before I was born). I’m obsessed with several TV shows/Movies: The Vampire Diaries, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Sean of the Dead, The Sing Off, Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, True Blood, Being Human, Fact or Fake, and all the cake designing ones! Oh and all the spoof movies! I still own all the books I bought as a kid/teen. I have a hankering for chocolate (like all the time, seriously. If my arm was made of it I’d chew it off). Celebrity crushes: Johnny Depp (woohoo), Taylor Lautner (okay, I know he’s kind of young for me), Ian Somerhalder (ooh, he’s just right. We’re the same age). Wow, this was like a Goldie Locks and the Three Bears moment. Johnny Depp too old, Taylor Lautner too young, Ian Somerhalder—JUST RIGHT. In my spare time I like to write (obviously), read, sing, hang out with my kids, play with my animals, camp, play soccer, check my email (hehehe), watch football (go LIONS). I also love hanging out with my sister and hubby! Look forward to chatting with everyone! And if you’re lucky, I’ll break out the opera voice and chase you around singing!
