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November 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Koehler, john@koehlerbooks.com Mobile: 757-289-6006

The Kids Aren’t All Right:
Psychological thriller about homeless youth draws emotional response

VIRGINIA BEACH – As major cities begin their homeless counts in January, a new psychological thriller will illustrate the reality of millions of young people with no place to call home. Anonymity, by national bestselling author Janna McMahan, is a hard-hitting account of the daily life of one girl alone on the streets.

McMahan was influenced to write Anonymity by a girl she saw whose face was a mask of intricate tattoos. “It was shocking and I carried her image in my mind for years. I kept asking myself why she would do that to herself,” McMahan said. “As a writer, I was even more troubled by the question of who would do that to a child. It was a mystery to me, so removed from my own life that I had to write about it.”

An idea for a story that would do the girl justice finally came to her and McMahan started research. “Gutter punks, street rats, worms are all terms used to describe the young homeless, but I found these kids to be capable and clever. They have to exist in an adult world with no resources and still keep their humanity,” McMahan said. “Readers tell me that they look at homeless people differently after Anonymity, how off their preconceived notions were. I know I came away from writing the story with a different perspective. It was a challenge, a dark story in many ways, but just like life, there are light moments too. There has to be levity for people to enjoy a book and for me to stay sane was an author.”

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