A Place Inside My Head

“I just finished this book, and I truly enjoyed it! I am a 42 year old woman, but reading all about Kate's life and dreams, took me right back to my adolescence. The imagery Leah uses in this book is amazing!”
- Kerri Moran

“Very absorbing diary of a seventh grade girl who is struggling with typical adolescent challenges – parents, friends, school, identity – and who emerges at the end of the transformative year as a young woman with self-confidence, optimism, and strengthened relationships. Readers will enjoy this coming-of-age journey and admire Kate's introspection and wisdom, as she works through her problems while developing her talents as a writer.”
- Dr. Ellie

What if you did something so bad you couldn’t bear to think about it? That’s what Kate Brown did and instead of listening to the guilty voices inside her head, she day-dreamed – not just a little bit. A lot. So much she almost failed sixth grade. So much everyone at school thought she was weird, even Natalie, her best friend since the first day of first grade. It wasn’t until her English teacher encouraged Kate to write a journal and poetry that Kate began to deal with her buried feelings. Would Kate ever be able to forgive herself and once the truth came out, would her parents forgive her?

A graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Leah Benner majored in English. Between raising her children and making a living, she had little time for writing until she and her husband uprooted and took off in their boat. Their travels led them from Maryland to Florida to the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos. Leah and her husband now live with their two cats in Key West. If you Google "write what you know," you'll find that no one really knows where the phrase originated, but Leah believes it is sound advice. The Kate Brown series of tween books are set in Florida and the Bahamas. The main character, Kate, is a tall-for-her-age, slightly awkward teenager who likes to write poetry and so was Leah. Leah went to music camp, Kate goes to poetry camp. Leah doesn't know yet where Kate's next adventure will take her, but she is anxious to find out as she starts to write the third in her Kate Brown series.