Hi, I'm Beth Fehlbaum, and I write Young Adult realistic fiction.
I'm best known for The Patience Trilogy: Courage, Hope, and Truth, which is available for acquisition.
Hope in Patience is a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Check out reviews of The Patience Trilogy here. Read the first chapter of each book by clicking on THE PATIENCE TRILOGY tab, above.
My latest, Big Fat Disaster, is Book 1 of a planned trilogy, and it's already getting great reviews from authors and librarians who were asked for a "blurb"! Check out the reviews here. Read the first chapter of BIG FAT DISASTER by clicking on the tab, above.
If you're a student doing a report on me, click on the BIO tab. If that doesn't answer all your questions, use the CONTACT tab under the HOME tab. Thanks!
Contact my agent, Gina Panettieri, for info on acquiring my work.
(Click the "Contact" tab under the "Home" tab for Gina's email address).
The Patience Trilogy is the story of fifteen-year-old Ashley, a sexually abused girl whose life begins anew when she is placed in fictional Patience, Texas, with the biological father she never knew. Click on THE PATIENCE TRILOGY tab; you will find chapter previews, synopses, and reviews.
My latest novel, Big Fat Disaster, is the story of Colby Denton, whose family is a "package deal". That's what her dad, Reese Denton, who’s running for the United States Senate as a “family values” guy, calls his wife, Sonja, a former Miss Texas, and three daughters: Rachel, Colby, and Drew.
Rachel and Drew inherited their mother's traditional beauty, but Colby takes after her father, a linebacker on his college football team. Colby binge eats when her feelings become too overwhelming, and they overwhelm her a lot.
Their image as the perfect family isn’t what it seems. Reese has been stealing from his campaign, and the F.B.I. is onto him.
Complicating matters, Colby finds a photo of her father kissing another woman, leaving her wondering who her father really is. When Reese’s dishonesty comes to light, his family is left with nothing.
The only person willing to provide them a place to live is Colby's Aunt Leah, resident of Mud Creek, a tiny East Texas town, the black sheep of a family to whom appearances are everything. She’s mother to Ryan, the only member of his football team who had the courage to report it when a teammate sexually assaulted a girl at a party. As a result, his teammates are out for revenge.
Mud Creek, Texas is tiny: Kindergarten through 12th grades are in the same building! But the social media network is huge, as Colby discovers when someone records her at a very private moment, and posts the video on Facebook. Colby's mother blames her binge eating and resulting weight problem for attracting negative attention, and Colby is driven to attempt suicide by standing in front of an oncoming semi truck. At the last moment, Ryan shoves her out of the path, resulting in his death.
The only person who knows that it was she--not Ryan--attempting suicide--is Colby. For the first time in her life, her mother seems proud of her for being selfless: how can she possibly let go of the feeling of being loved and accepted by her mother?
A previously unknown witness to Ryan's death comes forward, and Colby is forced to confront the truth about Ryan's death, her role in the destruction of her family, and the eating disorder that will eventually kill her if she does not learn to cope in other ways.
School & Library Visits Available
*I will correlate activities to your state's Language Arts standards; lesson plans provided with contract.
Choose from one of the following, and/or I can create a program to fit your needs:
1. Reading from one of the Patience books and taking questions from the audience
2. Conducting a writing workshop with middle- or high school students
3. Discussing:
- thematic elements in my books
- what it is like to write realistic fiction, drawing on personal experiences
- the importance of "showing, not telling" in writing
- the revising and editing process; the importance of writing more than one draft (especially geared to reluctant middle school & high school students)
- why honesty in writing is so important
- tackling the "tough stuff" in literature: why do it?
Fee contingent upon travel expenses and what kind of program you want. Payment terms finalized with returned signed contract.
I suggest you look through the Teaching Resources on my website and use the info to get students thinking about questions they'd like to ask me.
To contact me or my agent, please click on the CONTACT tab under the HOME tab. Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter!
