“Nora Grace, please stop slumping and sit up. My mother snapped her fingers in my face. In those days, I was quick to remind people that Einstein was a proven horrible speller. Yet, I still had to work my ass off for the spelling bee, studying the two-hundred-page word list and thirty thousand flash cards for two hours a day, four days a week. My IQ tested at 162 and most considered that genius level. In my last year to compete and at the age of fourteen, I’d nailed Weissnichtwo, beating out the pimply, homeschooled kid from Rhode Island in round six. I’d been perfect, since screwing up was not allowed in my family. Even the best speller might be thrown off by it, maybe because the /w/ is pronounced as a Germanic /v/ or maybe they make the rookie mistake of forgetting to capitalize the beginning.īut four years ago, I’d made no mistake at that renowned spelling bee.

This obscure word was coined by Thomas Carlyle in his satirical work Sartor Resartus, so it’s not surprising the organizers selected it for the Belltone National Spelling Bee. weiss-nicht-wo, weiss-nicht-wo, weiss-nicht-wo. Yet these often mispronounced staccato syllables have been ticking in my brain like the click of my piano teacher’s metronome for the past fifteen minutes.

“A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are they crazy?” PaulĪ Preview of Anywhere with You by Kaylee RyanĪ Preview of Don’t Let Go by Michelle LynnĪ Preview of Forbidden Forever by Christy DilgĪ Preview of Precious Consequences by Tamsyn Bester We are three souls who get each other, without reservations,įor my husband, the best beta reader a girl could have.Ī Preview of Thursday Nights by Lisa N. Most of all, thank you for sharing your stories and friendship with me.

Thank you, my lovelies, for all your sweet laughter and late night texts. Who have secrets and scars they keep hidden from the world. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author of this book. Cover Photography by Toski Covey PhotographyĬover Design by Sommer Stein of Perfect Pear CreativeĮditing by Kristin Anders of The Romantic Editor

Mouth by Christy Dilg