BRICK & MORTAL
Sandra Bensman
Young Adult Fiction / 70,000 words
Guided by headaches that help her predict the weather, seventeen-year-old Berit races against a mega-blizzard to save her younger brother from the same lawless crowd that took their mother's life five years ago. But instead of escaping to safety, Berit ends up trapped in Franklin's Supermarket with her brother and four others. They are completely cut off from the world. But even here, she cannot protect him from their shared past or their mother's secrets. And while Berit is convinced she knows what everyone in the store is all about, she is dead wrong.
Sandra has worked in freelance for three years. During that time, over forty of her articles have appeared in numerous publications. As one who lives between two cultures, she enjoys showcasing characters who share her cultural background. She is also committed to writing clean fiction that never includes magic, demons, or paranormal creatures of any kind. While earning a degree in Japanese Studies, she won and placed in several speech contests, including the Ehime Prefecture Speech Contest and the Salem-Teikyo University Speech Contest. As a young adult fiction author, she pitches most of her ideas to her twelve children before putting pen to page.