New Teen Adventure Heroine Lucy Dakota Empowers Young Women

Oct. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- DENVER, CO  October 24, 2011   Lucy Dakota is one cool girl. She climbs mountains, braves roiling whitewater and leads others with confidence. Best of all, she isn’t afraid to be herself. But it wasn’t always this way.

Lucy is a typical teenage girl:  intelligent and full of vitality, yet confused and unhappy with her lot in life. Rocky relationships with friends and boyfriends make it hard to fit in at school until she joins an adventure group and discovers the thrill of exploring Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. In the backcountry of her home state, she meets her more daring side and transforms from a timid, chubby tween who hides from school bullies to a brave, spirited, globe-trotting leader in the wilderness and beyond.

Meet Lucy Dakota in Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer —Rocky Mountain Beginnings by Denver author C. S. Shride. Lucy is the heroine of an exciting new adventure series for young adults that encourages readers to discover their strengths and take on the world, whether at school, home or, like Lucy, skipping across the continents.

Lucy is relatable because she is real. “I lived these adventures,” Ms. Shride says. “I was scared. I made some bad decisions, although Lucy makes better choices than I did! I found my way because I found myself.” Author Shride spent nearly 30 years as a high-altitude mountaineering guide, outdoor educator and owner of an adventure travel business. She saw how young women blossom while challenging themselves on outdoor adventures. “I want to bring the power of self-discovery and self-reflection to girls in a fun way. Joining Lucy on her adventures opens a new world of possibilities for girls. They realize that if Lucy can do it, they can too.”

Rocky Mountain Beginnings is the first in the Lucy Dakota:  Adventures of a Modern Explorer series. In future books, she climbs the world’s highest mountains—and loses a friend—in Nepal, lives with headhunters and faces jaguars in South America, dives with sharks in the Galapagos Islands and survives a tropical storm in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

To find tips and advice from Lucy, news on upcoming books, other cool products and to subscribe to Lucy’s blog, visit http://www.LucyDakota.com. Become a fan of Lucy Dakota on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/LucyDakota. Follow Lucy on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/LucyDakota

What readers are saying about Lucy:
"Just wanted to let you know that Sloane LOVES the book. It arrived yesterday and I finally had to tell her to put it down last night and go to sleep!” - Andrew French New Boston, NH

“I am thoroughly enjoying the book and with every chapter I’ve read about something that I can relate to in my own life.” - Deb Strom Denver, CO

“Rocky Mountain Beginnings is a powerful tale of the experience of adolescence and the everyday struggles that growing up entails. The story is packed with adventure, honesty, life lessons and moments of teenage awkwardness that everyone can relate to. Rocky Mountain Beginnings is an empowering, relatable story for girls everywhere.” - Meagan Franks Denver, CO

“Lucy's challenges make us want to test what we're made of, too.” - BlueInk Reviews

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My Piece of the Puzzle is the publishing business of C.S. Shride, author of the Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer young adult book series.