Young Adult Novels

Omega Highland is the original series about Joanna Conors, her twin brother Christopher, and the people of this small town in Minnesota.  Publishing these first editions has led me to the decision to rebrand my series while it is still young.  Here is what changes will take place:

1. The Town's Name, Omega Highland, will become Woodland Hills.  I created the name "Omega Highland" when I was a child, when I first started developing the characters in my mind.  The name is sentimental to me, formed from the happy memories of our family vacations.  However, I think my small Minnesota town's name should have a more "woodsy" or "northern" ring to it.  So, Omega Highland's new name will be "Woodland Hills" when the series is re-released.

2. The German Titles:  Although the current trend in publishing is screaming for diversity, German doesn't seem to count.  Thank you to my readers who took a chance on me and read the books anyway, even if you don't speak German! The titles of the first two books, Freundschaft and Tanzen, are German words that were carefully selected after much deliberation about their meaning in the stories.  Those that have read the books understand the connection and agree that these titles make sense, but unfortunately, this isn't working for most of the world.  Freundschaft's new title is After Tomorrow, and Tanzen's new title is Chasing Summer.  As the series continues, all titles will be in English.

3. The Book Covers:  Although I like using my own artwork for the covers, I'm ready for a more professional look.  The Woodland Hills series will have professionally designed covers to look more "Minnesota," and appeal to my teen/young adult audience.

4.  My Author Name: I started writing when I was in high school, and I drafted many of my storylines when I was in college.  The foundation of my work was formed before I was married.  When I officially became an author, I thought I'd need a more 'unique' name than just "Amy Gleason."  Putting my maiden name in there was a way to both honor the time of my life when my characters were formed, and make my author name more unique.  After going through the publishing process, however, I've decided that keeping things simple - Amy Gleason - will be easier for cataloguing and for readers to remember.  You can find my work under both names: Amy Schire Gleason and Amy Gleason.

5. Genre: While Freundschaft and Tanzen are listed as "YA fiction," they were written with an adult audience in mind.  But after getting so much positive feedback from current teenagers, I have cleaned up a few things and tweaked the stories a bit to make them truly for a Young Adult Fiction audience.