"Moon Ranger 7"
Middle Grade contemporary fiction short story
2250 words
Rights:  Available

Twelve-year old Cassie is sick of playing second fiddle to her 7-year-old brother, Jared, who has cerebral palsy. But when Jared breaks the hall lamp, the pair, for once, find a common goal. With Jared's brains and Cassie's brawn, the two constuct "Moon Ranger 7" a dishwasher-box-turned-spaceship. Later at the mall, with Jared's disability hidden, the pair's spirits soar as their family receives some positive attention for a change. Though the moment is short-lived, Cassie discovers that by entering Jared's world, she can--at least for a little while--help him to enter hers.

Smart Writers.com's Write It Now:  Shorts competition

December 2005

2nd place, Young Readers division
http://www.smartwriters.com/content/blogcategory/27/20

Praise for "Moon Ranger 7":
"Moon Ranger 7" has a lot of heart and avoids sentimentality, which is the downfall many stories, particulary those featuring disabled characters.
--Marilyn Singer, judge of the Write It Now:  Shorts competition

The Spotted Crane Summer
Young Adult contemporary fiction novel

210 pages
Rights:  Available

While spending the summer in Japan , sixteen-year-old Vivienne Leffabure discovers that by leaving her American lifestyle, language, and love interest behind, her self-confidence soars and her previously stagnant love life begins to sizzle.

In 2005, The Spotted Crane Summer was nominated for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators annual conference in Los Angeles.

Illustration by Yumiko Ueda 2007

Koji and the Dragonfly
500 words

Bilingual (Jpn/Eng) picture book written with Toshi Fujimura

Rights: Available

Bugs. Trains. Mama. Whether in America or Japan, you'll find little boys drawn to all three. Koji and the Dragonfly tackles the conundrum that many boys with bug pets eventually have to face: If you really love it, shouldn't you let it go?

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Whispers from the Desert
Young Adult historical fiction novel
Rights: Not Available

Elizabeth Fukashima, 16, a biracial teen caught between two worlds, struggles to find acceptance in both. While incarcerated at a Japanese internment camp in Arizona during World War II, Elizabeth finds that families are sometimes more than just those related to you by blood.

Early buzz for Whispers from the Desert :

SmartWriters.com's 2007 Write It Now! Competition
2nd place, Young Adult division
http://www.smartwriters.com/content/blogcategory/151/132/

WHAT IS SARA WORKING ON NOW?

"I now have THREE nibbles! The fabulous nibbling editor, or Nibbler #2, I met at the SCBWI LA Conference personally recommended Nibbler #3. Of course, I included that important piece of info in my query letter to him. I've been spending quality BIC (butt-in-chair) time recently trying to polish my manuscript to its finest. The Gotham Girls have been working overtime recently crossing all of my t's, as well as, making me tighten up my plot. Still, it is a very sloooooooow process."--September 2008.