WAKING

Beauty is afraid to sleepher dreams are haunted by the Shadow Lady who stalks and threatens her. During her waking hours, Beauty's life is safe, safer than she wants it to be. Since her mother's death, her father has become so over-protective that he has locked away all the knives in the house. Her mother's death, the accident, is never discussed. Beauty has lost her desire to be an artist. At school Beauty tries to be invisible to avoid the questions and innuendo that have arisen since her mother's death. But when a new student arrives, things begin to change. Luna is a free spirit, confident and exciting. She encourages and challenges Beauty to come out of her shell. Beauty finally admits to her attraction to Poe, a boy who lives a few doors away. Her artistic drive returns. But as Beauty gains self-confidence, her nightmares become ever more terrifying, filled with dark images of blood and death. Beauty must now struggle to solve the riddle posed by her dreams: who is the Shadow Lady and what is the nature of her curse? Waking is an intense and poetic first novel from a young writer who understands the challenges and perils of the teen years. Her characters are real and their dialogue always rings true. Born in Montreal, Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry studied creative writing and literature at York University. When not writing, she is a belly dancer and jewelry-maker.Harvey-Fitzhenry, Alyxandra is the author of 'WAKING ', published 2006 under ISBN 9781551434896 and ISBN 155143489X.