Welcome! Here We Are!

We’re the authors of YA Beyond.  Hoping you’ll come to know us a bit better every time you visit.  To start us off, here is a bit about each of us…

There’s Renee Pace – wife, mother, writer, reader, and firm believer in positive thinking even when faced with an angry teenager. Renee will be talking about teen issues –  things you don’t want to learn about if you’re a new parent or maybe you should. When not writing Renee manages over 400 children and teens at a paddling club and loves introducing youth to the joys of kayaking and canoeing. Volunteerism is part of Renee’s life and something she hopes to pass to her children. Her nitty gritty series highlights stories where teens are faced with adult issues.

And PJ Sharon—Massage Therapist, personal trainer, and yoga instructor by day, and YA writer every other waking moment. PJ lives for spreading the love, whether it’s through helping others to find their healthiest selves or through writing real life stories of teens facing the harsh realities of life. Two things you can be sure to find in her books are romance and a hopeful ending. You might also find kick butt heroines and handsome heroes and definitely plenty of drama. PJ values fitness and has studied many types of holistic healing practices including Reiki, martial arts, and homeopathy. She has taught learn to skate programs and power skating to hockey players and holds a black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate, so she will have a wide variety of health and fitness related topics to cover. Questions and requests for topics are always welcome.

And Cat Kalen – is a multi published author in the romance genre under two pen names, Cat is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and watermelon. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. Cat can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love.A maritime native and former financial officer, Cat has lived all over Canada but has finally settled down in her childhood hometown with her family

Also, Anne Rose – is a multi published author in romance under a different name, and is now venturing out into the amazing world of YA sci-fi! The possibilities are endless, and her imagination is a wee bit out of control. Anne has two girls who beg for books to be written in a genre they are allowed to read, so she capitulated to their demands – resistance really IS futile.  Living in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her daughters and her cat, and writing every moment of her free time, Anne finds it hard to fight distractions – there is always Twitter – and the lure of coffe and chocolte (preferably together).

Then there’s me, Tawny Stokes.  I’m a single mom 24/7 and a writer.   I homeschool my daughter and ferry her around to her copious amounts of dance lessons.  Cirque de Soleil is the goal.  At least that’s the plan right now. That may change in another year or so.  When I write I feel like I’m channeling my teen self.  Because basically I’m 40 but I act like I’m still 16, just without the blue Mohawk and Doc Martens I used to wear. Sometimes I find it hard to believe I’m an adult.  Don’t get me wrong, I do take care of my responsibilities, but a few times a day, I wonder to myself, really?  I’m really this old.   How the heck did that happen?  My books are full of angst and drama and rock n’ roll.  I like to ponder the darker side of unreality, so that’s usually what’s in my work.  On this blog, I’ll be talking about movies and TV and music (I’m an aspiring screenwriter as well) and maybe some gaming.  I don’t profess to be an expert or anything but I know what I like.

So there’s us.  I hope you’ll visit us every day, share with us your thoughts on books, and music and life.  We’d love to get know each and every one of you beyond YA.