Sometimes winning is everything. Champion swimmer Aerin Keane is ready to give up her dreams of college swimming and a shot at the Olympics. As she starts senior year in her third high school, Aerin's determined to leave her family troubles behind and be like all the other girls at Two Rivers. She's got a new image and a new attitude. She doesn’t want to win anymore. She's swimming for fun, no longer the freak who wins every race, every title, only to find herself alone. But when her desire to be just one of the girls collides with her desire to be the best Two Rivers has ever seen, will Aerin sacrifice her new friendships to break a longstanding school record that comes with a $50,000 scholarship?
During swim season you can find Marianne
Sciucco, a dedicated Swim Mom for ten years, at one of many Skyline Conference
swim meets cheering for her daughter and her team, the Mount Saint Mary College
Knights.
Marianne is not a nurse who writes but a
writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and books, she dreamed of
becoming an author when she grew up but became a nurse to avoid poverty. She
later brought her two passions together and writes about the intricate lives of
people struggling with health and family issues.
Her debut novel "Blue
Hydrangeas," an Alzheimer’s love story, is a Kindle bestseller,
IndieReader Approved, a BookWorks featured book, and a Library Journal Self-e
Selection. She also has two short stories available on Kindle, "Ino's
Love" and "Collection.”
A native Bostonian, Marianne lives in New
York’s Hudson Valley, and when not writing works as a campus nurse at a
community college.
Connect with the Author here:
Aunt Mags didn't say a word on the way to the
high school and neither did I. We were up and out too early for anything more
than, "Got everything?" "Uh huh," and "Let's go."
We'd left the house before her first cup of coffee and she was not in a
talkative mood.
It was just after dawn, the moon still visible
as the sun peeked out over the horizon. A chill in the air hinted at summer's
end. I regretted leaving my sweatshirt behind, although after swim practice the
sun would be shining and we'd be back to the mid-August heat.
We arrived at the school and a deserted
parking lot. Mags parked her minivan at the athletics entrance.
"Are you sure it starts at 6:45?"
she asked.
"Positive," I said.
She yawned. "Looks like you're the first
one here."
"I doubt it."
Today was the first day of swim season.
Tryouts started at 7 a.m. The coach had instructed all wannabe swimmers to be
on the pool deck no later than 6:45. My experience as a varsity athlete told me
that anyone with any degree of competitiveness had already arrived. I had five
minutes to spare.
"Want me to walk in with you?" Mags
asked.
My horror at her suggestion must have been all
over my face, because she said, "Sorry. Having a teenager is new to me. My
girls would beg me to walk them into that big, scary building." We looked
at the three-story hodgepodge put together to house Two Rivers High School.
"I can take it from here." I was
sure I’d remember the meandering route to the pool area from the tour we took
when we registered for my senior year.
She still looked anxious. "Sure you're
all right?"
"Don't worry. I've got this routine down
pat." Two Rivers would be my third high school. I played the role of new
girl so well I deserved an Oscar.
I opened the door and hopped out. "Don't
hang around waiting for me to call for a ride home," I said, reaching back
to grab my bag. "I'm not sure when I'll get out, and I don't want to mess
up your day. I'm okay to walk."
Aunt Mags nodded, and I shut the door.
"Don't forget we're going back-to-school
shopping later on," she said through the open window.
"Got it."
“Go get 'em, Aerin." She gave me a
thumbs-up.
I shot her
a grin, hoisted my bag over my shoulder, and went off to join the Two Rivers
High School Girls Varsity Swim and Dive Team.
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