FREE STORY WITH PAID BONUS CONTENT FROM HARTLEY's POV! It's a summer of firsts for 15-year-old Gwen, including a life-or-death secret that could change her forever. * * * * * Fifteen-year-old Gwen Lincoln has three goals before sophomore year begins: 1.) experience her first kiss 2.) find a way to get rid of her childish "chipmunk cheeks" for good 3.) escape the separation of her parents ... a dilemma she's keeping from her free-spirited, yet slightly unstable best friend Hartley MacKenna, who she's visiting in New Orleans during summer break. With Hartley taking charge of her ambitious to-do list, Gwen's "Summer of Change" begins, but nothing prepares her for meeting Sullivan Reed, the adorable soccer player next door, who to her utter disbelief, asks her on a date. Now, all she needs is a crash course in Kissing 101 - and her BFF has a surefire-ish plan to show her the ropes! Caught between living her life and trying to run away from it, Gwen's longing to embrace the sun-kissed wetlands of Louisiana and broaden her previously limited horizons is coming true. But when she discovers the secret her friends have been hiding - a secret that could mean the difference between life and death - she must learn to face her own demons (with a little help from the lovable Creole drag queen down the street), or surrender herself to a tragic reality. Copyright © 2021 (post revisions) Darly Jamison - All rights reserved Formerly titled: My First Kiss (and Other Summer Disasters) Cover artist @surviving_dreams (you can find her on Fiverr!) Notice: This document is not authorized for upload or use with artificial intelligence systems or platforms. Any attempt to upload, analyze, or process this content using AI technology is strictly prohibited.