Swim Mom Marianne Sciucco has just released her long-awaited Young Adult novel, "Swim Season."
"Swim Season" is the story of swimming champion and Olympic hopeful Aerin Keane, the new girl on the team who challenges a longstanding school record with a 50,000-dollar scholarship prize. But, the author says, "The book is about more than swimming, as Aerin deals with the aftermath of her parents' divorce, a stepmother and two stepsisters she doesn't want, her mother's PTSD and drug addiction after two tours of duty in the Middle East as an Army nurse, and her best friend's cute twin brother."
"And," Sciucco says, "she's just started her senior year in her third high school. Aerin is a girl you will definitely cheer for."
Sciucco, who has never swum competitively, penned the novel after years of sitting on the bleachers for hours, waiting to watch her daughter Allison, a sprinter, swim for just a few seconds at a time.
"Like so many authors, I wear several hats, one of which is 'Swim Mom,'" Sciucco says. "I've shuttled my daughter to swim meets and swim practice for years, and now follow her across state lines during her college swimming career. All those hours sitting on cold, metal bleachers waiting to watch her swim gave me more than a sore you-know-what: It inspired me to write a book about it."
Sciucco's goal was to write a story about high school swimming and senior year. "I wanted to show others who may not be as familiar with the sport how much fun it is, and how hard these kids work," she explained. The premise of the story is pure fiction, she says, "but the dedication and determination of the girls on the team is real."
The author started writing the book in the fall of 2011, during her daughter's junior year in high school, and finished it when she started her senior year in college. "Swim Season is a project near and dear to my heart," Sciucco says. "My child inspired it. It's about a sport that's a big part of our lives. This book means a lot to me - and to many of the swimmers and swim parents I've talked to about it."
Early reviewers praise the book.
"This rich, well written story, with authentic characters participating in a demanding sport, accurately supports real life issues for teens." - Kathryn Harrison, author
"This story is about growing up, learning about the complexities of life, and how our decisions can impact our future, positively or negatively." - Vicki Tapia, author
"Aerin faces big changes and big decisions. I became swept away by the human drama portrayed through the tough decisions Aerin has to make." - Jean Lee, author
Swim Season is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
Sciucco is also the author of Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Audible.
For more information about Marianne Sciucco please visit her website MarianneSciucco.com, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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