Teen Author Lauren Hudson Releases New Novel 'The Deception'

Can three gifted teens remain united to fight evil, or will a grand scheme stand in the way of their quest to save humanity?

Two years after the publication of her award-winning, young adult novel "The Ascension," teen author Lauren Hudson is back with a sequel, "The Deception" (Headline Books, Inc.), raising new questions and posing new challenges for the main characters. The new novel has already been named Best Young Adult Book in the 2018 San Francisco Book Festival and runner up in the same category in the 2018 Paris Book Festival.

Part 2 of a planned trilogy, "The Deception" begins with teen triplets Felix, Jinx and Desdemona Anchor looking to add a new member to their secretive Asterian Society which strives to save the world from a dark power.

"Asterians are like angels," Hudson explained. "The novel is not religious, but there is a spiritual aspect to it. 'The Deception' is primarily a story of adventure that brings the siblings closer together."

As they discovered in Hudson's previous book, the Anchors have inherited a unique ability to see the past, present and future. Their challenge continues to be learning to use their mysterious power for the greater good, without abusing it for selfish or unethical purposes.

"...it's not good to look into other people's lives when we don't need to," Desdemona admonishes her brother and sister, with a warning that seems especially relevant to real-life concerns over increasingly omnipotent news media.

"I am concerned about how the news media intrudes so much into people's lives," Hudson said. "The siblings have a rare ability to know things about other people that ordinarily would be secret."

As readers soon learn, the siblings' super power can have unintended consequences. And just when you thought the villainous character Jane had been properly dealt with, in the previous novel, she resurfaces to cause trouble again, forcing the Anchor teens to travel across time and space.

"The Deception" is Hudson's second novel and her third book overall. At age 13, she co-authored the nonfiction "Our Best Tomorrow: Students Teaching Capitalism to America" with her father, attorney Robert Hudson. At age 17, she was named 2017 Independent Author of the Year in the Great Southwest Book Festival for her debut Y/A novel "The Ascension," which also received top honors in the Great Southeast Book Festival, the Great Northwest Book Festival, the London Book Festival and others.

A voracious reader, Hudson estimates that she had consumed hundreds of books by the time she was 12, so it is not surprising that she has excelled academically. Now at age 18, she plans to continue writing books, even as she prepares to begin working toward a degree in neuroscience. Next up will be another nonfiction book with her father, to be followed by the third and final book in the "Ascension" series."

"I could not accomplish what have, without my father and certain other people in my life," Hudson said. "The purpose of the 'Ascension' series is to show the importance of relationships with family and friends."

"The Deception" is scheduled for release on June 15, 2018 but is now available for pre-order on Amazon. More information is available at www.HeadlineBooks.com and www.facebook.com/AscensionSeriesBooks.