Asbury High and the Parcels of Poison
Asbury High Book 2
by Kelly Brady Channick
Genre: YA Mystery
Asbury's fearless foursome are back! Is their favorite restaurant to blame for customers falling ill? Or is there
something more sinister at work?
After an unprecedented first year of high school, the gang is ready for a relaxing summer vacation, although in
Asbury that may be easier said than done. This summer, the Food Network is running a summer special
highlighting local hot spots; Carly, Maddie, Pilot and Cornelious are psyched to have the world's best
restaurant featured – their very own Brady's! In fact, Maddie can almost forget that her arch-nemesis, Alexis
Johnson, will also be on TV for winning the logo design for Caulfield's Candies... almost.
However, after patrons start falling ill, rumors of food poisoning cause many to point their finger at Brady's.
When Brady's threatens to close it's doors, Pilot realizes his mother's job is in jeapordy, as well as his future
in Asbury. With the aid of Cornelious' wealthy cousin Dane, who spends every summer with the quartet, the
gang is once again thrust into an investigation. Unfortunately, they find themselves thwarted by both the local
police (who believe their recent success was due to luck rather than skill), and Cornelious' father, who has
decided to run for Mayor of Asbury and cautions his son on the need to maintain a spotless public
image.
With a new pancake house on the boardwalk, Mainlanders invading their beaches, and the Pitbulls sneaking
around and terrorizing shoobies (as usual), there's no shortage of suspects. But can they solve the case
before the summer, and Brady's, are finished?
Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble
Asbury High Book 1
Asbury, although a haven to shoobies (tourists) in the summer, is a divided coastal town. With the rich half
living in the East, and the rest living in the West, most friendships stay within their boundaries. Luckily for a
spunky-smart tomboy, a clever billionaire athlete, a gossipy-in-the-know cheerleader, and a wrong side of the
tracks technological genius, boundaries are a foreign concept. In fact, Maddie, Cornelious, Carly and Pilot
have been Asbury’s strongest quartet for years, despite their vast differences. Nevertheless, after a few
weeks of starting high school, the foursome’s friendship is tested.
After a string of burglaries in East Asbury, the gang decides to solve the crime as a reason to make time for
each other. The further they investigate, the more they find themselves constantly side-stepping tweedle-dee
and tweedle-dum-like policemen, outsmarting local bully JB and his gang of misfits, and dealing with
Cornelious’ billionaire father and Governor---who has disapproved of his son’s choice of friends for years. In
addition to these obstacles, the foursome must also adapt to their evolving friendship with each other and
their peers.
With upperclassmen, teachers, and teammates vying for their attention, the gang must work even harder to
root out the red-herrings from the true thief. Aided by Carly’s gossip, Maddie’s boldness, Cornelious’ quick-wit,
and Pilot’s knack for technology, the gang soon discovers its edge over the local police department.
For as long as she could remember, Kelly Brady Channick loved making up stories, and leaving her
listeners/readers on the edge of their seats.
Perhaps that’s why she always managed to talk herself out of trouble...
After graduating from NJ’s own Ocean City High School, Kelly accepted a basketball scholarship to Holy
Family University, in Philadelphia. As a lifelong athlete, Kelly understands the importance of teamwork and
overcoming adversity, something she hopes translates into her books.
Before writing page-turners, she taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade — like a dessert menu, she
simply had to test them all out. But her favorite job is the one she’s now doing full time: writing. Kelly loves to
craft whodunit mysteries, leading readers through various twists and turns filled with red-herrings, hidden
clues, and more peculiar characters than a reality show.
Kelly lives in South Jersey with her handsome husband, energetic baby boy, two cookie-stealing dogs, and an
awfully smart cat.
If you want to know when Kelly’s next book will come out, please visit her website at http://www.kbchannick.com, where you can sign up to receive
emails providing updates for new releases, or contact her directly, as well as win fun giveaways, and receive
up to date news.
GUEST POST
Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie? If your
book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
I combined these two questions
because I felt like the same answer pretty much goes for both. With
my Asbury High series (which is already completely mapped out), I
feel like I created a whole world and can see all of the characters
and settings perfectly. Therefore, I feel as if it would be easy to
translate over onto the screen. However, because they are mysteries
and get more intensive (both the mysteries and teenage drama), as the
characters get older and progress through high school, I feel as if a
series would be better. This way no important or much-loved details
would be left out. Also, I can’t necessarily see anyone playing the
lead. If it was up to me, I would look to cast unknowns for each
role, that way they wouldn’t be known for anything else before
becoming each character.
What can we expect from you in the
future?
A lot more books! Ask anyone
who knows me and I love to talk---in addition to be voted most
athletic, I was also the class clown. Part of that goes with the
ability to tell stories that others enjoy listening to. Thus, in
addition to my seven-part Asbury High series--- which will be
released over the next two and a half years, I have also written an
adult crime novel, and have plans for three other books from various
genres.
Who designed your book covers?
Susan Schafer--- and I highly
recommend her, she is an amazingly talented artist!! Although only
one of my books in the Asbury High series is out, the second one
comes out early summer and the third is due out in September. Sue is
currently hard at work designing the covers, and I am so excited. I
have always gravitated more towards the book covers where you could
tell they are hand-drawn and not just stock images pulled together.
This way I can honestly say my books feature one-of-kind artwork---
look at the Harry Potter or Sammy Keyes covers, how could you resist
reading them after seeing those drawings?!
How did you come up with name of
this book?
As I have mentioned earlier, I
grew up outside of Ocean City, NJ. Furthermore, I wrote the first
draft of Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble when I was 18! I
specifically remember driving to high school and picturing the story
in my head (I had the idea running around my head for a few years
before I put pen to paper), and stopping on Asbury Ave. Driving past
both of my favorite bookstores--- both of which are located on Asbury
Ave, I thought, “That’s it! That’s the name of my town,” in
homage to SunRose and Bookateria II.
Do your characters seem to hijack
the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
This is a funny one--- and one
I feel that most writers will agree with. Sitting down to write,
although I have an outline and general idea of how I want the story
to progress, I think I’m in control. However, after jumping into my
character’s world, I realize that they tend to hijack my plans more
often than not. In fact, one of my characters in Asbury was meant to
be a complete jerk the whole series, but I found myself maturing and
softening him as the series continued. Which, I guess, is better than
I even planned, for I love when characters evolve.
Convince us why you feel your book
is a must read. What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired to write this
book because, and although I LOVE SCI-FY AND PARANORMAL, I wanted to
read a book where the main characters were dealing with real-life
issues, without the excuse or aid of powers. At the time of writing
Asbury High, Twilight was huge and it seemed as if every book started
having powers or paranormal happenings. Like I said, that’s cool
and I enjoy reading them too, but I wanted a book where the teens had
to overcome issues and solve a mystery that was believable.
Furthermore, I wanted to make my story have more than one main
character, and in this case there are four. Each of my characters
(Maddie, Cornelious, Carly and Pilot), are so close with each other,
but also have different strengths (and weaknesses), interests, and
even home-lives, so they each bring a different perspective to the
table.
All authors say this about their work,
but I honestly feel like this series is a MUST-READ! Not just the
first book but all seven. I will also admit something… this first
book is not the best in the series, although it is quite awesome.
Because the characters are just starting high school and only
fourteen, I didn’t want to throw all of the high school drama at
them in one year. For those out of high school reading this, think
back, it’s not as if you experienced everything high school and
growing up had to offer in one year! Therefore, as the series goes
on, the book does deal with more relationships, and tougher
mysteries. However, I will add this: JK Rowling is my favorite author
and I love how she sprinkles little, seemingly-unimportant details in
each of her books, which end up being important later on. So, if you
love series and mysteries, you NEED to read these books…and start
paying attention. I wrote each novel with all the books outlined and
knowing I wanted to hide details and future plots (and plot twists)
in each story. HAVE FUN!!
$20 Amazon
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