🥇 Big Haunted News: ASK THE GIRL Wins Gold!

Hey friends! Pull up a chair, grab your beverage of choice, and brace yourself for a ghostly mic drop because I have some HUGE news to share…

My YA paranormal thriller Ask the Girl just won the Gold Medal for Best Horror / Ghost Novel in the Global Book Rewards 2025! 👻🥇

I know. I had to read that sentence twice too. Then I refreshed the page, laughed, stared into the middle distance, and possibly scared my dog with celebratory shrieking. Standard author protocol.

What This Means (Besides Me Screaming in My Kitchen)

Ask the Girl is officially an award-winning book, which feels surreal and a tiny bit spooky—fitting, honestly. This story has ghosts, psychological suspense, fractured history, and teenage sister drama… and now it also has hardware. Or at least a shiny digital medal. I’ll take it!

For those new to the party:
Ask the Girl follows three teen girls—including one ghost—who unravel a century-old murder with more twists than a haunted corn maze. It asks big questions about belief, grief, mental health, and how far we go to protect the people we love.

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Why the Global Book Rewards Recognition Matters

We don’t always see horror, especially YA horror, get the spotlight it deserves. Horror isn’t just jump scares (though I do love a good door-creak moment). It’s a place to explore fear, loss, identity, and the “stuff no one knows how to talk about at dinner.”

Seeing Ask the Girl honored in the Horror / Ghost category means the work is resonating with the exact readers it was written for, and that’s huge.

Also, shoutout to all the librarians, educators, reviewers, bloggers, bookstagrammers, and readers who champion spooky YA with heart. Y’all are the real ones.

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See the Official Announcement

If you want to peek at the award site and browse the winners, here’s the link:

👉 Best Horror / Ghost Novel

(Just don’t blame me if you fall down a rabbit hole adding 14 books to your TBR. It happens.)

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So What’s Next?

Gold medals are delightful, but I’m not just here to haunt your shelves—I’m here to keep building, sharing, teaching, and talking about the tough stuff through storytelling.

Here’s what you’ll see rolling out here on Substack and beyond:

📚 Brave Bookshelf Podcast episodes (finally live!)
🧠 Book discussions that open the door to mental health conversations
🔥 YA / MG book reviews with heart and humor
✍️ Behind-the-scenes writer content (yes, even the messy drafting parts)
🗂️ Resources for teachers, parents, librarians & counselors
💀 Spooky recommendations because haunted is a lifestyle choice

This platform is where I get to talk about books that help kids and teens name their big feelings—anxiety, grief, identity, friendship, and everything in between. Stories matter. They always have.

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A Thank You (From Me & Possibly a Ghost)

To every reader who has picked up Ask the Girl, reviewed it, handed it to a student, or recommended it to a friend—thank you. You’re the reason authors keep doing the weird, wonderful creative thing.

And if you haven’t read it yet? No pressure… except that Katy Watkins (our resident ghost) has been known to linger. Just saying. 👀

Thanks for celebrating this milestone with me! More episodes, reviews, giveaways, and brave conversations ahead.

— Kim