N. N. Light
Oct 9, 20195 min
Title: Lost at 90 Miles per Hour
Author: Rachel Pinder
Genre: YA Mystery/Adventure
Book Blurb:
As summer comes to an end, 14-year-old Kat Donoghue and her family board a train home to Brooklyn. What begins as a fun trip soon turns into the most exciting moments of materialistic, celebrity-infatuated Kat’s life, but not in a good way.
A run-in with Stephen Reyes, a Hollywood IT boy, prompts her to want to hunt him down and get a picture of him to share via social media. With her younger sister Meg in tow, she chases Stephen down, not realizing that they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the handsome celebrity.
Soon, Meg vanishes. Now, it’s up to everyone on board to find her, the kidnapper and the person behind the plot.
Can she root out the perpetrators and find her sister before they depart the train?
Excerpt:
So, we recognized Stephen in the dining car that night. He’s sooooo cute. I was actually kind of surprised that no one else knew who he was. The vegan meatballs and spaghetti dinner were a dead giveaway. He eats it at least once a week. And, I know that I’m not the only one following him on Instagram. There’s a couple thousand of us.
At least he and Roderick—the creeper—had real silverware, which was cool. Everything on me and Meg’s table was plastic. The cups, the tablecloth, salt and pepper shakers, even the chairs were plastic. Sure it looked all white like everybody else’s table, but there was no getting around it. We were at the kiddie table. The kiddie table in the middle of the train car, so everyone could keep an eye on us. Everyone and no one as it turned out.
Me and Meg were sitting at the kiddie table not talking to one another—we’d had this fight in our cabin before dinner. I won’t bore you with the details, but I was still really mad. Then out of nowhere, I saw Stephen’s meatballs and milk being carried out of the kitchen. The waitress holding the tray said something about how weird his food order was and I knew exactly who it was meant for.
The waitress walked to the end of the car and placed the food down on the table. My eyes were glued to the whole scene, just hoping to catch one tiny glimpse of Stephen Reyes.
I leaned so far forward that I almost tipped over. But, I couldn’t help it. I was dying to see his face.
When he turned his head to look out of the window, I saw his profile. It was really Stephen!
What was I going to do? What could I say? No risk, no reward. This chance may never come again.
I looked over the table at Meg. She was studying the train diagram—the map thing—on the back of her menu. I instantly snatched it away from her.
“Give it back,” she cried.
In a very serious voice I whispered, “Give me your phone.”
Meg shook her head and started folding her napkin into little triangles.
“Megan, give me the phone.”
Meg stopped folding. “Why?”
I pointed in Stephen’s direction.
Meg stretched her neck up and squinted her eyes. After a second, her pupils got like two times bigger. Then without another word, she took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. Her hands were shaking the whole time. She’ll never admit it, but she had this little smile on her face too.
Anyway, with her sweaty phone in my palm, I stood up and started tiptoeing toward the end of the car. When I was just a few feet away, I looked back. My little sister was twirling her hair with her fingers. She has issues with anxiety sometimes like Mom. What can I say?
Before I was about to “accidentally” trip and land on his foot, Stephen started coughing. It was super gross when mush started falling out of his mouth. Plus Roderick would have photobombed it, while shoving pills and piles of food into his mouth. So it definitely was not the right time to ask for a pic.
But you know, that must have been when he first saw me with the phone. He turned his head to cough, and a half-second later, his milk glass shattered on the floor.
Two waitresses ran over to clean up the mess. Stephen looked kind of white; like he might actually be sick. So, I went back to my seat. I figured that I would give them all a few minutes to clean up. Then after they were gone, I could offer him my glass of water.
But as soon as I sat back down, Meg held her hand out, “Give me my phone back.”
“No way.”
Then we had a bit of a stare-down contest, and I totally won. I always win.
A few seconds later, the waitress came over with our dinner. Meg always has to be just like me. Really and truly, it can be so annoying. I ordered chicken fingers with a side of mozzarella sticks, so she had to have the same exact thing.
So as the waitress was setting our plates down, Stephen ran behind her. Whoosh. Like the wind, he flew passed me and toward the door.
Believe me. I wanted to follow him right then and there, but the waitress and Mr. Security Guard Roderick—that’s what I originally assumed he was—were in the way. I couldn’t even snap a quick pic because Roderick’s fat butt was almost directly behind Stephen. Ugh. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.
I mouthed to Meg. “Let’s follow them.”
Buy Links:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-at-mph-Rachel-Pinder-ebook/dp/B07XSBT7RY
Amazon CA:
https://www.amazon.ca/Lost-at-mph-Rachel-Pinder-ebook/dp/B07XSBT7RY
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-at-mph-Rachel-Pinder-ebook/dp/B07XSBT7RY
If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
The best Halloween costumes are the ones that you make at home. So I’d do something big and elaborate like a cruise ship or an airplane. I’d need a lot of cardboard and to start working on in right after New Year’s.
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
Like Halloween, you don’t know who or what is waiting for you just around the corner. Are the characters you meet friend or foe? Are they telling the truth or lying? And there’s always that one character at the party who’s true identity has you totally stumped.
Giveaway:
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Open internationally
Runs October 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on November 1.
Author Biography:
Rachel Pinder is a Young Adult Author and Educator on a lifelong mission to inspire others through the infinite power of words. As a child, she would normally be found with a book in hand. Before she knew it, she started creating unique worlds of her own, and dreamed of becoming a published author someday.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Rachel not only earned her Master’s degree in Creative Writing from SNHU, she turned her childhood dream into a reality. In the near future, she will be pursuing her doctorate to further sharpen her storytelling skills. She also holds active membership at Romance Writers of America (RWA), Georgia Romance Writers, and the Georgia Writers Association (GWA).
When she isn’t creating action-packed stories, Rachel Pinder teaches an English composition course at the University of South Georgia. She has also been a teacher to younger students (preschool to eighth grade), and even works with individuals who have disabilities. Teaching and word-weaving aside, she absolutely loves going on cruises and playing the piano. Above all else, she enjoys spending quality time with her best friend in cat form, Theo.
Social Media Links:
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/rl_pinder
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