New YA "Montana in A Minor" - Music and Romance Under Montana’s Big Sky

Sacramento, California (PRWEB) May 23, 2014

Cellist Emily Lopez, almost seventeen, feels like a discordant piece of music, full of mismatched notes that make her cringe. First, her boyfriend breaks up with her, then her dad cancels their summer together. She’s forced to go with her mom and stepdad to a dusty, old cattle ranch in Montana. How will she ever master an incredibly difficult Saint-Saëns concerto in seven weeks for a competition that will determine her future? To a San Francisco girl, Montana feels like the end of the earth. But she soon discovers it is full of surprises after meeting Breck, the summer ranch hand.

“I wrote a story filled with humor, but touching on difficult issues, which many young people face growing up,” Russell says. “Emily deals with mild OCD and the pressure of her father’s expectations for her music. Breck, half Caucasian and half Crow Indian, struggles with his identity and the obligations of friendship.”

Russell visited Paradise Valley in Montana and fell in love with the beautiful, inspiring landscape. It was the perfect setting for a misplaced heroine with preconceived notions about rural America.

Kirkus Reviews praises the novel: “In this excellent YA novel, Russell’s teenage cellist heroine Emily Lopez uses music as her framework for dealing with the world...Russell does a fantastic job creating Emily’s world, and the young girl’s voice is charming and plausible right from the start…Well written and engaging YA.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elaine Russell is the author of the highly acclaimed, award winning "Across the Mekong River" and the Martin McMillan middle grade adventure series. She has won numerous awards for her novels, short stories, and essays. She graduated with a BA in History at UC Davis, and a MA in Economics at CSU. For more information, visit: http://www.elainerussell.info.

MONTANA IN A MINOR by Elaine Russell
Date: 2014 | Paperback (170 pages) $8.59/ Ebook $2.99
ISBN 978-1494950941; Create Space | http://www.createspace.com

Available through Ingram Distributors, Baker & Taylor, local book stores, and online outlets in print and digital formats.
Contact Elaine Russell at: elaine(at)elainerussell(dot)info or (916) 425-6414

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