For Immediate Release
Date: January 15, 2021
Contact: J.D. Fitzgerald, 336-926-7958, mcneairjonathan@gmail.com
Manhattan
Girls: A YA Coming-of-Age Book Series
Promotional
Use for Manhattan Girls and A Change Would Do You Good. Books Written by J.D.
Fitzgerald.
Lexington,
North Carolina-J.D. Fitzgerald is the author of an ongoing book series titled Manhattan
Girls. Two Books are now available for release. Manhattan Girls,
which is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Kobo, and various online
retailers, and Manhattan Girls: A Change Would Do You Good, which is
also now available. The series is mainly targeted to the YA audience. It is a
contemporary coming-of-age story focusing on a group of friends going through
the ups and downs of life at a New York City prep school.
“Life is a
journey. Make of that what you will.”
AUTHOR BIO:
J. D. Fitzgerald
Born and
bred in the Triad of North Carolina, ever since he was a child, Fitzgerald
always had a vivid imagination. Drawings on notebooks became ideas in written
form. By the age of fifteen, he realized his passion. He wrote his first novel,
Christine: The Strawberry Girl, along with two short stories inspired by
singers Tori Amos and P.J. Harvey. Christine: The Strawberry Girl,
unfortunately, never came into development, but elements of it can be found in Manhattan
Girls, his very first fully developed novel during his sophomore year.
Through the end of high school and his adult years, Manhattan Girls had
gone through plenty of revisions to become the novel that is now. Not only does
Fitzgerald focuses his time on novel writing, he also has two screenplays in
development. His other hobbies include studying film and television, learning
the basics of astrology, and practicing the graceful movements of interpretive
dancing. He is an avid fan of late-night ’80s primetime soaps such as Knots
Landing and character-driven teen dramas such as My So-Called Life,
which is an inspiration for Manhattan Girls. Currently, he is taking
classes at The Los Angeles Film School to learn more about the organic flow of
storytelling in film and television. You can check out his blog here: https://thestoriesofjdandivy.blogspot.com/
Synopses
Manhattan
Girls:
WELCOME
TO HAMILTON ACADEMY, THE FINEST OF THE FINEST OF PREP SCHOOLS FROM ALL AROUND,
WHERE OPULENCE DWELLS AND SECRETS ABOUND…
Fifteen-year-old
Gwen Stevenson gets a chance of a lifetime. Escaping from the depths of
small-town boredom, she finally sets her sights of embellishing the wonders of
New York City. While entering the halls of the prestigious Hamilton Academy,
she meets reserved bookworm Kyle, aspiring filmmaker Vera, Valley girl Shawnie,
and gets an unexpected reunion from her two childhood friends, Maxine, a
southern belle who plans to take over the popularity food chain, and Mona, a
reclusive rebel who dreams of becoming a rock star.
Gwen soon
realizes that she is no friend of honor society president Bianca Walworth, who
doesn’t appreciate her longtime boyfriend, Chace, making flirty eyes with Gwen.
Having a new
life in the city has never been so complicated but in the end…
Will there
ever be solace in the city?
A Change
Would Do You Good:
A NEW
DAWN AND A NEW DAY BESETS THE CONCRETE STONES OF HAMILTON ACADEMY
It is the
eve of September and a new student has arrived at Hamilton. Anita Deveraux, an
aspiring singer-songwriter from Louisiana, has set foot in New York City.
Trying to find her place in the world, she joins in with Gwen Stevenson and her
friends. They soon become enraptured by her natural vocal abilities and wistful
tales of her hometown down south. Meanwhile, Gwen is still having an identity
crisis. Worst yet, it’s only a few weeks until her sixteenth birthday. She soon
realizes that life is about taking risks, so she decides to finally fulfill her
transformation by gaining a new sense of style. Gwen’s childhood friends have
other plans. Maxine is organizing a party to impress popular senior Rain
Bosworth while setting her sights on the newly single Chace Fairbanks. Mona
Margulies and her new gal pal suddenly break the barriers of the friend zone,
which brings back what she lost in the past. Kyle Durmsdale is enjoying the
perks of being a newly ordained honor society secretary by wooing the new
president Jared Milton, but, unbeknownst to her, there is a certain someone who
wants to take Bianca Walworth’s empty nest. Upon getting prepared for the
Annual Short Film Contest, Vera Hudgens is confident with her finished project
and her new beau but Vera’s new boyfriend may not be as honest as he seems, and
when the truth comes out, it goes into a suspension of disbelief. Maxine’s new
BFF Shawnie Jenkins faces a dilemma in her love life. Being duped by who she
thought was her Prince Charming, Shawnie vows to take revenge upon Blake
Kingston…by making him jealous, of course. But as she rekindles with an old
flame, those familiar feelings makes the lessons of the past come back to the
present…
For the
girls at Hamilton Academy, change is a one-way street …
A Review
from Chick Lit Café:
“Manhattan Girls by J. D.
Fitzgerald is a story about growing up, adjusting to change, and the strength
of true friendships. The story starts with Gwen, a teenager growing up in North
Carolina. Her home life is troubled with an alcoholic father, so when her
mother gets a job opportunity in New York City working for the New York Times,
Gwen and her mother move to the big city and a new life. Gwen enrolls at
Hamilton Academy and is nervous about making new friends, having left her two
best friends back in North Carolina, but she needn’t have worried as there is a
grand reunion, and making friends is not as difficult as she anticipated. Soon
there are five firm friends, all with different characters and life stories,
but the girls blend together well as their lives unfold and they evolve and
adapt to city life.
The author, J. D. Fitzgerald, has crafted a great coming of age story, where
the characters and the situations of the girls help them to cope with their
changing roles. Take Gwen, for example, a shy girl embarrassed by her braces
and dull clothes, who blossoms into her true self with the help of her friends.
Each of them realizes their dreams as life takes them on their journey. The
author has done an excellent job molding the individual styles, home life,
experiences and characters of the girls to turn the story into a mix of Grease
meets Friends in a novel that will excite and empower every young adult reader.
J. D. Fitzgerald has skillfully written the transition from country girl to
city girl and painted a vivid and candid picture of life at a city academy,
with all the stresses of growing up and relationships, to style and personal
achievements. With a little touch of humor and personalities that will excite
and frustrate, this true to life story will have you engaged from the beginning
and satisfied at the conclusion. There is no doubt that many readers will be
able to relate to the situations the girls find themselves in, from the
makeovers to the stirring of attractions to finding one’s true identity, this
book has it all. Get ready to immerse yourself in life at Hamilton Academy and
New York City and marvel at the resilience of the girls as they set out on
life’s journey. Manhattan Girls is a great read and hopefully, the author will
have more tales to tell of the intrepid five as they continue their adventures.”
–Jewel Hart, chicklitcafe.com
A word from
J.D. Fitzgerald:
Let me be
honest with you. My chosen path of self-publishing has not been an easy one.
It’s been like two years since I’ve published my first novel and the marketing
of it was a very hard task, indeed. I’ve put my heart, my soul, every bit of my
hard-working money into this project. I’ve scoped out reviewers, promoters, and
websites just to get my work known. It was exhausting. So, I decided to put
more of my time into writing my next novel, which again took me about a good
year to get finished. I haven’t been putting my time into marketing like I should
have, but hopefully, I’ll get back in the game. Like I said in my opening quote,
“Life is a journey. Make of that what you will.” And boy, is it a journey. I’ve
dealt with a lot while focusing on my writing, but I don’t want to get too
personal. It wasn’t all bad, though. I found it exciting, putting my words into
text. Creating stories from my imagination for the world to share. I met a lot
of amazing people during my writing journey and I have no regrets. Right now, I
feel like I’m on the right path. I am getting the resources that I needed for
so, so long and I’m finally looking at the bright side of things. It’s never
too late. I’ve always realized my passion and now I’m looking forward to making
it happen. Just like the characters in my books, my life is going through a
metamorphosis. I have good moments and I have bad moments, but there is always
a balance to things. And I think I found my balance. My life is only just
beginning.
My first
book, Manhattan Girls is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, and other online retailers[vv1] .
https://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Girls-J-D-Fitzgerald-ebook/dp/B07FR7FDBF
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/manhattan-girls-jd-fitzgerald/1129217282?ean=9781723506529
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/manhattan-girls-4
My Second
Manhattan Girls book, A Change Would Do You Good, is available on Amazon
now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R5P9ZDQ
Here’s where
you can contact me:
https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.mcneair.1/
https://www.pinterest.com/mcneairjonathan
https://twitter.com/jd_fitzgearld
https://www.instagram.com/jdfitzgerald22/
I also host
a blog titled J.D. and Ivy’s Domain where I mostly write TV and Movie reviews:
https://thestoriesofjdandivy.blogspot.com/
P.S. I
haven’t exactly got an author’s website, but I will put it up real, real soon,
so keep a look out for that. Thanks!
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