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    My Lunatic Life
    My Lunatic Life
    My Lunatic Life
    Ebook187 pages2 hours

    My Lunatic Life

    By Sharon Sala

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    She plays for Team Spirit.

    High school senior Tara Luna's got all the usual teen problems: a new school, her attraction to a hunky guy, feuds with the Mean Girls, being regarded as an oddball outsider-PLUS she has psychic powers, a duo of protective, meddlesome ghosts AND an angry, threatening teen girl ghost who wants Tara to solve her murder-or else.

    Now you know why she calls this "my lunatic life."

    Sharon Sala's books repeatedly make the big lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly lists, and she's been nominated for a RITA seven times, which is the romance writer's equivalent of having an Oscar or an Emmy nomination. MY LUNATIC LIFE is the first book in her Lunatic Life series for teen readers. Coming soon: THE LUNATIC DETECTIVE.

    Visit her at sharonsalabooks.com and on Facebook.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBelleBooks
    Release dateAug 31, 2011
    ISBN9781611940381
    My Lunatic Life
    Author

    Sharon Sala

    With over fifty books in print, award-winning author Sharon Sala, who also writes as Dinah McCall, still has to remind herself from time to time that this isn''t a dream. She learned to read at the age of four and has had her nose in a book ever since. Her introduction into romance came at an early age through the stories of Zane Gray, Grace Livingston Hill and Emily Loring. Her pride in contributing to the genre is echoed by the letters of her fans. She''s a four-time RITA finalist, Winner of the Janet Dailey Award, three-time Career Achievement winner from Romantic Times magazine, four-time winner of the National Reader''s Choice Award and five-time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer''s Award of Excellence, as well as numerous other industry awards. Her books are regularly on bestseller lists, such as the New York Times extended list, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Waldenbooks mass market, and many others. She claims that, for her, learning to read was a matter of evolution, but learning to write and then being published was a revolution. It changed her life, her world and her fate.

    Read more from Sharon Sala

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    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Tara Luna lives with her Uncle Pat, has since her parents died. He is as best a parent as he can be to the young girl. We meet them as they move to Stillwater, Oklahoma.
      Another new school where they can call her Luna the Looney, Moon Girl, or even worse, witch. Tara is not only psychic but has a couple of hundred-year-old ghosts, Millicent and Henry, who provide a little protection and advice and cause general mayhem to embarrass Tara at every opportunity.
      Other than her ghostly followers and rare ability to read minds and peer into the future a little, Tara is just like every other teenager: likes the bad boys, has a run-in with the head cheerleader, etc. Sala follows the pattern of typical high school cliques that all of us have run into one way or the other.
      Dealing with the rigors of just being a teenager and full of angst, Tara also handles being the new girl and the knowledge there is a foreboding dark presence in the house she and Uncle Pat moved into. By the time she meets the ghost of the young girl who was murdered there, helps save the life of a student at school who is having a seizure, and leads the police to one of her schoolmates who has been kidnapped, all by demonstrating her psychic powers to her new friends, Uncle Pat is forced to believe there is more to Tara than meets the eye.
      Using real places and street names in the Stillwater area helps bring this book to life. In this, the first in the series of the “My Lunatic Life” young adult novels, Sala gives us a plucky little heroine to cheer for and leaves us eager to read the next book, for after all, there is still a murder to solve if the ghost of the child in her house is to be appeased.

    • 2/5
      Originally reviewed at Witchmag's BoekenplankWell this was a very light / fluffy read (with emphasis on very). There’s no other way to describe this book. Even though it was entertaining, and very amusing when a certain ghost started meddling, there was not much depth in this story. Everything went too smooth, too easy. Even when watching CSI, they usually end up with several dead ends before finding the murderer. Here it was way too obvious how the story would end and therefore I could not feel any angst or excitement for figuring everything out correctly.There were also times in the book were the point of view switched to Flynn, to see his thoughts about certain events. Normally I’m someone who can’t get enough from reading through the eyes of the romantic interest, the very hot bad boy, who might or might not have certain feelings for the main character. This time, however, I cringed every time I was in Flynn’s head. It just felt wrong (sorry can’t describe it any other way). It was like Flynn didn’t have his own voice, his own identity. It seemed as if he became Tara, what should not be possible even with all her powers. And it just felt awful.We also have a major case of insta love. Fortunately there were not a lot of romantic moments. That was another thing that made me cringe. Unless you’re soulmates (and even then) it’s just not possible to develop such strong feelings in such a short amount of time. Thank God romance wasn’t a big issue in this story and was kept in the background.The ghosts were very fun, though. Especially Millicent and her mother-bear-whose-cub-is-threatened behavior made me smile. I really liked her. It was a shame, though, that we only got to know the ghosts as clouds of plasma with a voice. I’d really liked some more info. Like how old they are, how they became a ghost, what they look like. And most of all: why stick with Luna? That and more questions came to my mind. But only a very few got answered…Tara was also a character that I liked quite a bit. Even though she could be a bit dense at times. Who would otherwise go and confront a possible murder all alone, without saying anyone where she was going???? On the other hand she’s got just the right amount of spunk to stand up against bullies. Although having psychic powers and two ghosts as back-up helps a lot ;)Conclusion2 HEARTS. A very, very light book where you don’t have to use your mind. Just sit back and enjoy, even with cringe worthy scenes like Flynn’s point of view and the attempt at romance. Though, Tara and the ghosts are amusing enough to stop you from throwing the book away.
    • 5/5
      Tara Luna doesn’t live life as a typical teenager. She has lived with her uncle since the day her parents died. He is constantly moving around. He two best companions are two ghosts named Millicent and Henry, and oh, did I forget to mention she can read minds?Tara has moved to a new school. It is her senior year which makes thing even more difficult. She deal with the stuck up cheerleaders, lands herself a boyfriend named Flynn. Tara has used her abilities to help people at school and to get back at Prissy. When Bethany, one of the cheerleaders disappears Tara decides she must use her abilities to find her. She keeps getting little flashes of what Bethany sees. Now if this isn’t enough to wet your appetite then let’s throw in the ghost that lives in the house Tara and her uncle have moved into. A demanding ghost who insists she find their murderer and get them justice. The action just kept coming. I love books with a lot of twists and turns where the action just keeps going. The entire time I was reading I was thinking of the shows I used to watch, “Medium” and “Ghost-Whisperer”. If you like ghost stories and paranormal stories then I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed with this one.
    • 5/5
      I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.Tara Luna leads a very unusual life. First, she is being raised by her Uncle Pat, who is a displaced hippie who moves her from place to place, never staying for very long. He has been raising her since she was a baby, when her parents died in a car accident. Second, her two best friends are Milllicent and Henry, ghosts who have been with her for as long as she can remember. Third, she's psychic, although she has tried very hard to hide it from everyone. When she was younger she used to try to tell her Uncle Pat about her visions and her "friends", but he told her not to talk about, that he didn't believe in that stuff at all. She learned that it's hard enough always being the new girl without everyone thinking she was crazy to boot. When the book starts, she and Uncle Pat have moved again and she is starting her senior year of high school. She starts out with her usual routine of trying to blend in and not draw attention to herself, but when the cheerleaders demand that she move from the table she is sitting at (THEIR table), she decides enough is enough! It's her last year and she's not just gonna take it any more! She stands up to them and is immediately put on their hit list. Instead of hiding her talent, she starts using it, sometimes to help people (a teacher who doesn't know her babysitter is stealing money from her, and a boy who is having a seizure in one of the boy's bathrooms), and sometimes just to get people off her back and out of her face (usually the aforementioned cheerleaders!). When the head cheerleader, Bethany, is kidnapped, Tara starts getting psychic flashes that only last moments where she sees what Bethany sees and feels what Bethany feels. The only good thing that happens to Tara when she starts the new school is Flynn O'Mara, the hottest boy in the school, and he's noticing her right back! Unfortunately, he's the ex-boyfriend of the missing cheerleader, Bethany, which complicates things a bit.Another problem in Tara's life is that her new house has a ghost living in, and what she learns about this new house-guest sets her off on another quest to use her gift to help the ghost get justice.I really liked this book because it was nonstop action from page 1. It had a good clean YA romance, a couple of mysteries to solve, and a lot of humor. It was really funny! This is how the book starts off:"The alarm that Tara Luna had set with such confidence last night yanked her rudely from Channing Tatum's arms, just when he was about to kiss her.OMG ... did the universe have a wicked sense of humor or what?"Maybe you have to have a huge crush on Channing Tatum like I do to really appreciate that one, but I laughed out loud when I read it!I could go on longer about all the things I liked about this book and other things going on, but I'm sure you're bored with me by now! The book ended on a cliff hanger, setting up the next book in the series, and I for one am going to be buying it as soon as I can :D
    • 5/5
      My Lunatic Life by Sharon SalaImagine being the the new girl in school. The new girl starting your SENIOR YEAR in a new school. Now imagine having ghosts as your best friends. Not only ghosts but having psychic abilities. That's just a day in the life of Tara Luna. She takes it all in stride. She doesn't reject her gift or explain herself to others. She encounters the "A" crowd of girls, you know, the popular cheerleader types that make fun of anyone different. She very ably reacts and responds to them in a way that makes this book great fun to read. The book not only deals with Tara's day to day survival issues but involves a kidnapping and an attempted murder along with all the snideness, gossip and finger pointing that goes along with being not only the new girl in the school, but a new girl with weird abilities. I recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal YA fiction. This book has just about everything you could want. No, there are no vampires but there are ghosts, psychic visions and a hint of romance. I give this book 5/5 stars. I'll be certain to read the second book in the series The Lunatic Detective.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed tara luna. Life would be much easier if she did not use her gifts to help others. Tara is psychic and she has two ghosts since she was little always hanging around. Millicent lived over 100 years ago and is always checking guys out. Henry hates all the moving from state to state. He also likes to hide talk things when he is upset. He doesn't talk.Tara lives with her uncle Pat. Both of her parents died in a car accident when s he was little. Her uncle is her only relative. Tara is a senior and they just moved to a new city. She is always the new kid.Her first day of school she crosses Prissy off. Prissy is a cheerleader and popular. She also meets Flynn who likes that she doesn't play prissy games. Lets her know she is laughing at her and facts like she is a cheater.Tara learns that a teacher is being robbed by her babysitter for drugs. So she lets her know.I will read more books about Tara they were funny and she always did what she thought was right. I was given this ebook in exchange for honest review.

    Book preview

    My Lunatic Life - Sharon Sala

    Blurb

    Something is wrong somewhere close. Someone is dying.

    Tara bolted out of her seat and headed for the teacher as fast as she could go.

    Mrs. Wyatt, I need to be excused.

    Tara was out the door and running up the hall toward the teachers’ lounge. She burst through a door without knocking. Several teachers looked up from their papers, some were frowning. Others just appeared surprised.

    Please. You’ve got to help me! A boy is having a seizure in one of the boys’ bathrooms. He’s going to die if he doesn’t get help.

    They were on their feet within seconds.

    Where is he? Coach Jones asked.

    I don’t know. You have to hurry.

    What do you mean you don’t know? If you don’t know where he is, then how do you know what’s happening?

    I just do.

    He’s on the north end, Millicent whispered in her mind.

    OMG, Tara thought. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?

    He’s at the north end! she screamed, and headed that way. Coach Jones darted into the north-end boys’ bathroom. In here! he yelled from the doorway. And call 911.

    Tara flew in behind him and slid down on her knees beside the boy.

    Is he still breathing? she asked.

    The coach was checking for a pulse.

    No . . . God help us, no. He’s not.

    A teacher began performing CPR while another was on the phone. Tara flattened herself against a wall, then glanced over and found herself staring at the spirit of the boy who was lying on the floor.

    Is that me? he asked.

    Tara nodded.

    Am I dead?

    I think . . . I think you’re somewhere in between, Tara whispered.

    There was a sad expression on the boy’s face. I don’t want to die.

    Then go back, Tara said.

    The spirit disappeared.

    All of a sudden, the boy on the floor gasped, then coughed and groaned.

    He’s breathing on his own! the coach cried.

    Tara shut her eyes. Tears slid down her face.

    She was still crying when someone touched her on the shoulder. It was Coach Jones.

    Are you all right? he asked.

    Yes, sir, she said, swiping at the tears.

    You’re new here. What’s your name?

    Tara Luna.

    So, Tara Luna, tell me something. How did you know?

    Sometimes I just . . . I just know stuff, okay?

    Are we talking psychic, here?

    "You might be, but I’m not going to talk about it," Tara said.

    I see, Coach Jones said.

    "Sometimes I wish I didn’t," Tara said quietly, and walked away.

    My Lunatic Life

    Book one of My Lunatic Life Series

    by

    Sharon Sala

    Bell Bridge Books

    Copyright

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead,) events or locations is entirely coincidental.

    Bell Bridge Books

    PO BOX 300921

    Memphis, TN 38130

    eISBN: 978-1-61194-038-1

    ISBN: 978-1-61194-042-8

    Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

    Copyright © 2011 by Sharon Sala

    Printed and bound in the United States of America.

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

    We at BelleBooks enjoy hearing from readers.

    Visit our websites – www.BelleBooks.com and www.BellBridgeBooks.com.

    10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

    Cover design: Debra Dixon

    Interior design: Hank Smith

    Photo credits:

    Girl (manipulated) © Stanislav Perov | Dreamstime.com

    Graveyard (manipulated) © Sandra Cunningham | Dreamstime.com

    :Elml:01:

    Dedication

    For all the girls who are a little bit different—

    just know that’s what makes you special

    And for Chelsea, Logan and Leslie

    Now you can finally read my books

    Also By Sharon Sala

    The Lunatic Detective

    Chapter One

    The alarm that Tara Luna had set with such confidence last night yanked her rudely from Channing Tatum’s arms, just when he was about to kiss her.

    OMG . . . did the universe have a wicked sense of humor or what?

    She rolled over to the side of the bed and turned it off.

    What a mood killer, she muttered, and sat up.

    She was rubbing sleep out of her eyes when a blob of gray ectoplasm floated from the corner of her room and across her line of vision.

    That would be Henry, one of two ghosts who had been with Tara for as long as she could remember. While his presence might seem startling for most teenagers, it wasn’t for Tara. She’d always been able to see ghosts. As for Henry, the ghost in question, he’d appeared to her at the age of three, after she’d fallen from a swing and broken her arm, and he hadn’t been far from her since. Usually, he appeared to her as a somewhat dim version of what he’d looked like when he’d been alive, like with a head and body—arms—legs—the usual. But when he was irked, which her and Uncle Pat’s move from Denver to Oklahoma had caused, he didn’t bother. Sometimes this was good. Sometimes it wasn’t. Right now, it was disconcerting to strip in front of what had once been a living, breathing male, no matter what gray-blob shape he picked.

    Go away, Henry. I’m about to take a shower.

    To show his displeasure, Henry rolled Tara’s new ink pen off the edge of her desk onto the floor, then vaporized.

    Tara was still muttering beneath her breath as she picked up her pen then headed for the bathroom. Every time she and Uncle Pat moved to a new home, Henry caused trouble. He didn’t like disruption anymore than Tara, but at least Henry had an option. Tara didn’t. Uncle Pat was all the family she had, and Uncle Pat had a gypsy heart. He was always looking for greener pastures, leaving Tara to say goodbye to old friends and hope that wherever she and Uncle Pat were going, she would find a way to fit in.

    She staggered into the bathroom, dropped the t-shirt that she’d slept in, squirted a dollop of shampoo into the palm of her hand, then stepped into the shower. She lifted her face to the water jets, letting the warm water wash away the sleep from her eyes before she started on her hair.

    Today was the first day of school and it was also her senior year. They’d moved from Denver, Colorado to Stillwater, Oklahoma less than a week ago, into an old, bungalow-style, white-frame house on Duck Street. The house had been sitting empty for six months, and it had taken a lot of cleaning to make it liveable. But two nights ago, the last box had been unpacked, and as of yesterday afternoon, the windows had curtains. Tomorrow, the television would get hooked up to cable services, the phone would be on, her laptop would be hooked back up to internet services, and life as they knew it would resume.

    As she scrubbed at her hair, she thought about the day ahead of her. There was no way it would be good. A new kid—in senior class. How wrong was that? If anyone found out she claimed to be psychic, it would be three strikes and she’d be out before she started.

    The shower curtain jiggled. Tara’s eyes were shut to keep out the shampoo, but she didn’t need to see to know who was causing it. Henry was still acting up.

    If you get water in the floor, I’m not cleaning it up!

    The shower curtain billowed toward her, then plastered the thin plastic sheet to her wet, soapy body.

    "Henry! I’m warning you. Back off. Go pester Uncle Pat. It’s his fault we moved again, not mine."

    At that point, the curtain settled and Tara was able to finish her shower in peace. She could imagine what tricks he was playing on Uncle Pat. She’d be helping her uncle look for his reading glasses or keys before the day was out. Hiding things was one of Henry’s best stunts.

    She dried and dressed quickly, then took a blow drier to her long dark hair to finish it off. A few minutes later she paused to look at herself in the mirror. On the surface, she didn’t appear all that different from any other seventeen-year-old girl. She had an all-right figure, although if she could have picked, she would have opted for legs that weren’t so long and gangly. Her face was heart-shaped, like her mother’s had been. At least that’s what Uncle Pat always said, although Tara wouldn’t know.

    Other than a photo of them taken at their wedding, she had no memory of either one of her parents. They’d died in a car wreck before her first birthday. Uncle Pat, her mother’s brother, was all the family she’d ever known. She realized how amazing it was that a confirmed bachelor with his head in the clouds and his nose always in a book had even bothered with her. But he had. Even when he aggravated her the most, he was still her goofy, loveable Uncle Pat.

    She tweezed a wild eyebrow hair, smeared a little mascara on already dark lashes, swiped some lip gloss on her curvy lips, then squinted at the mirror until she could barely see herself. That’s when she looked the most like Angelina Jolie, who was her all-time favorite actress. It wasn’t about how pretty or famous Angelina was that made Tara like her. It was that she kept adopting kids that no one else wanted.

    That, Tara could identify with.

    A lock of her hair suddenly floated up. That would be Millicent, the other ghost in the house. Millicent never bothered to materialize past the occasional puff of pink smoke, but Tara could hear her voice, loud and clear, unlike Henry, who never bothered to talk.

    I like your hair better up.

    I’m leaving it down, thank you, Tara answered, knowing Millicent was just voicing her opinion of Tara’s look. Millicent was not shy about speaking her mind or correcting Tara. It never occurred to Tara that the only mother figure she’d ever had was Millicent, the spirit of a woman who’d been dead for over one hundred years.

    Tara’s life was crazy, but it was all she’d known.

    As far as clothes went, her choice and style was straight out of Walmart and Target. Money was always an issue with them, and while she would have loved to wear designer stuff, the truth was, a tee was a tee. Jeans were jeans. Today she was wearing a pink tee and her favorite jeans. They rode low on her hips, while the fabric was soft and old and frayed at the hems—a great grungy look.

    It was the best she could do considering half of her clothes were dirty and Uncle Pat had yet to hook up the washer and dryer. She stared at her features, so familiar, yet not what she wished they would be, then made a face at herself and left the bathroom. As she started down the hall, she could already smell the coffee, which meant Uncle Pat had made breakfast. Considering the fact that they’d been unpacking for the better part of three days without taking time to stock the pantry or shop for groceries, she was a little anxious as to what breakfast would be. He had a tendency to cook stuff that was beyond what most people considered a comfort zone.

    Hey, Uncle Pat, Tara said, as she entered the kitchen.

    Patrick Carmichael was tall and lean—pushing fifty and beginning to bald. When he was younger, he’d been told he looked a lot like Sean Connery. Tara hadn’t known who that was until she’d watched some old James Bond movies. Personally, she hadn’t seen the resemblance, but maybe that was because she didn’t want to think about her uncle kissing pretty women and taking them to bed like that actor had done. Now, the resemblance to James Bond was long gone, along with his hair.

    The fact that Pat’s clothes still had the fold marks from packing didn’t bother him in the least. When he heard Tara’s voice, he turned and waved a spatula at her, then pointed toward the table.

    Good morning, honey, he said. Breakfast is almost ready.

    Good, I’m hungry, Tara said, as she picked up her juice glass and took a sip. She raised her eyebrows at the taste and then eyed it curiously, wondering what he’d combined to get such an unusual taste.

    How do you like my latest concoction? he asked.

    It’s . . . uh, interesting. What is it?

    Oh . . . a combination of several things, including orange Gatorade and some melted vanilla ice cream. No sense in wasting good food, right?

    Tara tried to identify another less distinctive flavor. Did you put some almond flavoring in it, too?

    Pat frowned as he plated their food. Almond? No, no . . . at least I don’t think so. Then he swung toward the table with a plate in each hand. Here you go! Eat up! You’ll need all your energy for your big day.

    Tara sighed. He had no idea. She hated always being the new kid in school.

    She thrust a fork into what looked like scrambled eggs and took a big bite. It was all she could do not to choke. She managed to swallow without gagging, an eating skill she’d mastered at an early age, and then washed the taste out of her mouth with mystery juice and reached for the plate of toast instead.

    Her uncle frowned. You don’t like your food?

    "I don’t

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