DEVIL OF THE DUNES & TEACH AND REACH BY AUTHOR WENDY BYARD
Wendy Byard
AUTHOR OF
TEACH AND REACH FOR CLASSROOM MIRACLES
&
DEVIL OF THE DUNES
DEVIL OF THE DUNES & TEACH AND REACH BY AUTHOR WENDY BYARD
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
AUTHOR OF
TEACH AND REACH FOR CLASSROOM MIRACLES
&
DEVIL OF THE DUNES
- Kacie Watt
"I think you've got a hit here . . . I absolutely love the book . . . A book takes some time or me to see if I'm interested in continuing to read it. However, when I started reading this book I was captivated. I found it with extremely interesting characters. I found it delightful in the way the author incorporated areas of Michigan into her story. In other books I have read by Michigan authors I have found that they just kind of plug in the cities and the towns and the areas and they don't quite fit smoothly. This is absolutely the opposite. The author made wonderful use of different locations in Michigan and it flowed beautifully in the book. I read a lot of mysteries and I find this one is one of the best ones I've read. I'm looking forward to new books by this author."
- Sharon Clark
" I had the pleasure of reading this creative, suspenseful story.
A great page turner trying
to figure out Cadie McLeod’s
fate in this compelling novel!
I loved the characters
and can’t wait to see what happens next !
A great story Wendy Byard!
I highly recommend!"
- Leigh Maas
"Omg! It’s amazing.
The book makes you feel “all the things”. I just couldn’t put it in words. Captivating! You are totally invested from the first chapter.
The characters pull you in. Just when you think you have it figured out, another twist, another turn.
Your heart will be racing until the very end!
More please!"
- Tracy Heenan-Christian
"Oh my goodness!"
Absolutely outstanding work .
Wow!
Your style is so raw and impactful.
I can't wait to read more. "
-Bri Hartwig
WELL DONE!!!
Very detailed and descriptive.
Fun to read about
all the places.
Good character
development!
-Kerry Flynn
Hidden behind tufts of slender dune grass, the deep, dark waters of Lake Michigan just feet away, I stalk my prey. Black binoculars fixed on her every move. It’s midnight on the beach. A bright harvest moon allows me to observe closely. I am motionless - transfixed. I have never seen her more beautiful than she is tonight. Laughing and twirling in her flowing yellow sundress beside the crackling, dancing bonfire, she casually interacts with girlfriends – and a few young men in sporty swim trunks sprawled on yellow and blue beach blankets. In a sudden gust of lake wind, the young woman joyfully tosses back her crimson hair and grins at a friend. She touches the gold necklace around her slender neck. Completely at ease. A lovely, carefree girl on an idyllic beach enjoying her end-of-school celebration.
Oh, how I despise her and her happiness.
She gently lifts the floral sundress and kicks off her matching yellow flip flops. I marvel at her long, graceful legs moving in the cool water. Years of running high school track has sculpted enviable calves. She is a strong athlete.
That might be a problem.
Then I notice her perfectly formed face seems pensive and lost in thought as she toys with her necklace. Half a heart on a gold chain.
Where is the other half?
Yet, it pleases me to see her in pain. Alone with dark thoughts. I, too, have dark thoughts - not that anyone cares. Unspoken, hidden thoughts about the people who have wronged me. (There have been a few!) My high school counselor said narcissists hold grudges longer and deeper than most people. Though I hide it well, my mind overflows with frequent thoughts about vengeance and death.
How do you let go of a grudge that destroyed your life?
One day, I saw Cadie jogging down the street, her red hair blowing in the autumn breeze, not a care in the world, and I saw her happiness. It brought back all the pain, anger, resentment, and bitterness tenfold. I ruminated on my feelings for a good long while.
I decided it’s time.
SOME SAY DYING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE
When did you last read a crime thriller set along atmospheric Lake Michigan? One focused on a genius-level, 18-year-old budding female scientist who, under a midnight moon, vanishes from the dunes one night just steps away from the Great Lake’s dark waters? Probably never.
Devil of the Dunes is not your ordinary crime fiction. First, it's set in what Good Morning America called "the most beautiful place in America." The story’s locale features the soaring cliffs of Empire, the towering dunes of Sleeping Bear, shimmering waters, sugar sand beaches, picturesque coastal towns like historic Fishtown Leland and Harbor Cove, and the islands of Mackinac and Manitou. Second, in this twisty tale with a truly surprise ending, the victim is not the predictable female. Unlike most crime fiction in which victims are nameless, faceless, female afterthoughts, the ‘victim' in Devil of the Dunes is the calm, cool, and collected Cadie McLeod. In this story, the crimson haired Cadie is more valiant than victim.
Named Carolyn (and nicknamed Cadie) after Carolyn Keene, ‘author’ of the Nancy Drew Series, the protagonist is an exceptional high school senior and track star with an IQ of 160 and a singular goal: to become a forensic scientist to solve her parents’ hit and run murder. Then, Cadie disappears on the anniversary of the very night they were killed.
Six years ago, Thomas and Aileen McLeod, happy and in love, walked hand in hand down Michigan’s coastal highway M22 headed for Frosty Bar. Minutes into their walk, they were run down in cold blood. Their killer never captured. Now, years later, their daughter Cadie vanishes from an end-of-school bonfire the same night. She waves goodbye to drunken classmates huddled around the fire’s embers, enters the isolated, windswept dunes, and, like a Great Lake breeze racing across the shore, in seconds she’s gone.
The tale concludes off North Manitou Island in a raging Lake Michigan storm. On the sea-tossed mini yacht Best Revenge, a fight to the death reveals all. The killer of Thomas and Aileen and the captor of Cadie is brought to light and his dark motivations exposed. Only then do we learn the true identity of The Weirdo.
Is there a connection between Cadie's disappearance and her parents' murders? Will the mystery of their deaths finally be revealed? Will Cadie escape? Survive? Read Devil of the Dunes to find out!
TEACH AND REACH FOR CLASSROOM MIRACLES
aims to convince teachers and leaders that love is the key to miracle-filled classrooms. When Wendy Byard first began teaching, like many instructors she thought all her students needed was a good lesson plan and an educated, well-intentioned teacher. However, on her "Journey to Love," Byard realized that what every student truly seeks from a teacher love as expressed in its many forms: kindness, humility, generosity, and compassion, among others.
What are the results of classroom love? Students who find acceptance, confidence, belief, passion, self-love, and love for others - truly miraculous results!
Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles! chronicles Wendy's personal journey and shares classroom stories as well as the most compelling evidence of all for her view: excerpts from hundreds of student letters she's collected. The book's second section, "12 Love Lessons for Teachers," provides educators with concrete ways of expressing love and the means to create a more loving, miraculous classroom environment.
Byard's inspiring, challenging message can change lives. So start loving your students today! Reach for a miracle!
"This book will compel teachers to question how they teach and inspire them to approach their calling from a higher level."
- Shirley A. Harris, Psy.D., School Psychologist
Website created by wendy byard wordgirlmarketing.com
Wendy Byard uses cookies to understand who visits her site and what content interests visitors. The data is not used for any other purpose. Thank you.