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When I was eight years old, my family moved to a new town in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa. As I prepared to be the new kid in third grade, I met a pretty blonde girl named Audra who took me under her wing. She was the cool girl in elementary school and I was grateful to become part of her entourage.
Audra and her family introduced me to a lot of wonderful things that became essential parts of my life like dance and church. Together, she and I discovered exciting stuff like the Spice Girls, boy bands and the wonders of the internet.
Outer Banks Adventure
One October around Audra’s 12th birthday, her family took my family along on their annual beach vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was my first time visiting the beautiful barrier islands and I was thrilled to experience them with my best friend. Our Outer Banks adventure took us to the laid-back beach town of Corolla, where we marveled at the wild horses, tried our hands at crabbing off a dock and soaked up the sun on the secluded shorelines.
These days, Audra and her husband Jason (who she also met at our elementary school) are raising babies on those same sandy shores. That cool little girl is now a well-known local Outer Banks blogger Outer Banks Mom who recently added the title “author” to her list of accomplishments.
Bedtime Stories for an OBX New Kid
Audra’s first book for middle-grade readers, The Parker House, is based on some epic Outer Banks-inspired bedtime stories she told to her son Joey after the family picked up their life in Pittsburgh to follow their dreams in the Outer Banks. As Joey struggled with being the new kid in town, these stories of adventure with a best friend helped him see the exciting possibilities life on the Outer Banks held for him.
It warms my heart to remember how Audra’s friendship helped me adjust to life in a new town when I was a kid like Joey. And now, it brings me great joy to be able to share the stories that helped Joey with my own son, Leo.
As Leo and I read about Joey and Finn’s mystery-filled Outer Banks adventure in The Parker House, I can’t help but smile and think about the elementary-school adventures of Audra and Alisha. Back then, our imaginations were often sparked by the mystery-solving adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. “We’ll solve any crime by dinner time!”
Do you have a middle-grade reader interested in adventure and mystery? Be sure to check out The Parker House.
Audra,
Thank you for making my experience as the new kid in town easy. I thank God for how he used you to impact my life in many ways. I’m so proud of you for bravely pursuing the beautiful life you started dreaming about all those years ago.
Love always,
Alisha