The subject of friends is very much on my mind these days, because my wonderful group of bosom buddies is doing such an awesome job of helping me with (or leading me through!) promoting my books.  Every Facebook post, every re-Tweet. . .every positive review and recommendation. . .is another step along the road for me, and I am tremendously grateful for each one!

Close friends like mine are a new experience for Tasmyn when she moves to King.  She makes her very first pals through Michael, when his buddies from childhood take her under their collective wing.  Like most of us, while Tas likes all of Michael’s crowd, she clicks with a couple of them more than the others.

Anne Lewis and Michael have been friends since kindergarten (although apparently there was unfortunate temporary rift after the Mr. Whiskers hamster care award incident in first grade).  She was the only girl in their crowd until Brea moved to King in fourth grade. And although Anne and Brea will always be close, Anne was thrilled when Michael brought Tasmyn to their lunch table.  They found so much in common that pretty soon, Michael was teasing Anne about stealing his girl.

Since having a best girlfriend is so new to Tas, she is even more excited when she realizes that there is something she can do to help out Anne.  After a few weeks of sitting at the lunch table, it becomes clear that Jim, another one of their group, has deep feelings for Anne.  There’s history between them, and misunderstanding. . but with a little encouragement and advice from Tasmyn, those two crazy kids just might work it out.

If Tas is excited to have a whole group of friends through association with Michael, she’s even prouder when she makes a connection all by herself.  Cara Pryce comes to Tasmyn’s rescue one day, and the two discover that they have a few things in common.  Cara is fairly new to King, too.  She’s struggled to make friends.  As it turns out, they may end up having more in common than Tas likes.

But then that’s a story for another day.