Celebrating Bridget Zinn and Her Debut Novel, Poison

Bridget Zinn was a librarian and author who, by all accounts, brought joy and optimism to the world. She was diagnosed with colon cancer right after getting married, and died at age 33, shortly after selling her debut novel, Poison.

That book released this week, and the book community (readers, librarians, authors, bloggers, family, and friends) are working hard to make that debut a success. The reviews are spectacular, and the story is one that has intrigued both me and my daughters. Well, one of my daughters. The other doesn't know it yet, but she's going to love it, too. :)
I never met Bridget, didn't even know about her until this book and the efforts of her friends came to my attention. Her story broke my heart, but the sadness was overwhelmed with respect and something light and happy. Who couldn't read about her, watch her video, without feeling that mix?

For the blog tour, we were asked to talk about firsts. Our first book, if we're authors. I did that with my fellow members of Everybody Needs a Little Romance on Tuesday, so here, I want to talk about the joy of discovering a new author.

Every time I open a book written by someone I've never read before, there's a sense of anticipation, of excitement. Just like opening a present. If the first few paragraphs are awesome, if I get immediately sucked in, my day has been made. I know I can get lost in someone else's world, experience something extraordinary, meet people I could never be cool enough to hang out with in real life.

That's exactly how I felt when I opened Poison, and I'm so very sorry there won't be others to follow.

About the Novel

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about.

Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her? Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Purchase your copy

Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound iTunes Bookstore Powell's Books

About Bridget Zinn

Bridget grew up in Wisconsin. She went to the county fair where she met the love of her life, Barrett Dowell. They got married right before she went in for exploratory surgery which revealed she had colon cancer. They christened that summer the "summer of love" and the two celebrated with several more weddings. Bridget continued to read and write until the day she died. Her last tweet was "Sunshine and a brand new book. Perfect."

Bridget wanted to make people laugh and hoped readers would enjoy spending time with the characters she created. As a librarian/writer she loved books with strong young women with aspirations. She also felt teens needed more humorous reads. She really wanted to write a book with pockets of warmth and happiness and hoped that her readers' copies would show the watermarks of many bath time reads.

Bridget's (and Poison's) website A remembrance of Bridget written by her agent (with a video of Bridget that shows how vibrant and funny she was)

Bridget's path to publication—in her own words.