Breakwater Harbor Books is excited to announce the release of Melissa Simonson's newest novel, SNUFF! Simonson is best  known for her hit  Thriller/Horror novel, Doubles, and this is her fifth  release. For a taste of  this addicting new author, read the pitch below!

Book 3 of 4 in a series involving FBI SSA Maxwell. (Can be read as stand-alones)

Brooke is found on the side of the road at three a.m., clutching a dead body and a burner cell phone. This doesn’t surprise LAPD,  who’d expected as much from the moment she went missing. What they also expect  is suicide—the kidnapped girls who turned up the same way killed themselves  within hours.

Being the sole living witness of the crime is almost more  than she can handle, but an LAPD homicide sergeant is there to hold her  restrained hand as she retraces every waking moment of the time she spent in  that dungeon with her murdered friend, Abby.

Brooke knows why the other  girls committed suicide. She might too, if she didn’t have some very complicated reasons to live.

To the dismay of Sergeant Jennings, Brooke confirms the  most troubling theory of all: the girls are being filmed those three weeks  they’re held captive. Not for their captor’s personal enjoyment, but for his  number one fan.

For more of this addicting author follow the link below to Amazon.com!

SNUFF, Amazon

Breakwater Harbor Books is excited to announce the release of Melissa Simonson's newest novel, The Young and the Reckless! Simonson is best known for her hit  Thriller/Horror novel, Doubles, and this is her fourth release. For a taste of  this addicting new author, read the pitch below!

Lila was one of many women allegedly assaulted by Bradley Holiday. Five months after the fact, a counselor tells her the only way she’ll find closure is to confront him. She never expected to stumble into a friendship  with the monster who raped her repeatedly.

But is he a monster? He can’t  remember, thanks to a head injury. Lila’s the only living witness who can say  for certain—the eleven girls before her weren’t so lucky.

An ambitious  public defender manages to negotiate a re-trial, but Lila doesn’t believe a  fresh courtroom drama will be enough to spare Bradley’s life this time,  especially not when the death penalty is back on the table. Yet the more she  learns about Bradley’s earlier years, the more determined she is to help. Even  if means getting some convenient amnesia about the events of those three days  she’d been his captive. He isn’t the same person—brain scans, neurologists, and  psychologists confirmed it. He may never remember; they confirmed that,  too.

How far do second chances really stretch? Can those types of  memories stay buried for long?
 
For more of this addicting author follow the link below to Amazon.com!

The Young and the Reckless, Amazon

Get to know the author, Scott J. Toney!
 
Five facts that people won’t know about you. Can you juggle? Ride a bike with no hands? Drink beer upside down? Something unusual… GO!
 
1. I sing all the time, in the grocery store, the restaurant, at work, at home, while gardening, heck I think I even hum while writing sometimes. I once took opera lessons and was told I should have gone into opera or some singing avenue professionally.

2. My favorite character in any novel is Don Quixote. I would rather be insane and good than sane and nasty.

3. My family holds more value to me than anything else.

 4. I would rather my writing help and move people than sell in mass quantities.

 5. I have a dark side. It's called Lasagna.


 
Five facts about your newest book that people won’t know. Some background history on one of your characters maybe? Maybe it was going to be called something completely different to start out with? Is it the same genre it started out as?...


 1. I decided to write Hearts of Avon because my wife has a great like of Nicholas Sparks' Romantic Suspense novels. 

2. The hurricanes in this book, Irene and Sandy, were both real hurricanes that hit the us east coast and Sandy actually hit as I was writing the book and made for a great addition.

3. Many bits of this book were taken from my real life experiences with my wife.


4. I did not begin writing Hearts of Avon with the intent of it having faith playing a major role, but because faith plays such a strong role in my life it easily weaved its way in.


5. I’ve had such a strong response from Hearts of Avon that a sequel is now in the works and will be released sometime in 2014.


 
Five facts about your next book… Name, genre, expected date of release…

1. NAME: Bishop: Book I of the NovaForge Trilogy

2. GENRE: Epic / PULP / Sci-Fi {Yes, I am a proud genre hopper!}

3. PITCH: On Solaris, a planet eons old, stones from the crust of a meteor give inhuman powers to their symbiotic pairs. Good battles evil to survive.

4. First chapter beginning: Darkness consumed Ineal as the voices tore at his thoughts. The sole survivor of the planet Eon, he wanted to shut off his brain, to destroy his consciousness and be
nothing. But the voices would not let him.

The stones, he thought, encased in this meteor hurtling through space. The stones destroyed us. I am the last. They take me for their own. He did not know when the glowing stones first came to his planet. Men and women claimed the gems for their own, pressing them to their bodies and allowing the stones to become necessary symbiotes of the flesh. The symbiosis with the stones gave his people powers and abilities beyond their dreams. But the price, the price of the flesh was great, and an ultimate death of sacrifice and pain was given in return. Ineal was the last, and the only being of Eon who had not taken up the stones.
 
But you took me, he thought as they spoke with their unintelligible voices, whispering in a constant
echo through his mind. When my planet died you came to me. You took my body to keep yourselves alive...

5. To be released early 2014, but a stand alone excerpt will be published in the Breakwater Harbor Books’ Anthology later this year.


Three tips that you think might be useful for other authors… anything you want. It
could be, to write a certain amount every day, only write after midnight and never get Gizmo wet (Sorry, that’s Gremlins not writers! My bad.) Maybe it’s some information that was given to you that has helped your process…


1. If you write an hour each day you will quickly realized how fast a novel can actually be written.

2. If you have faith and confidence in your writing then your work will thrive. If you doubt your abilities then that will show up on your pages.

3. Make sure to make time for family first and writing second, but always both. Without family,
writing is worth nothing. but writing, as we all know, is an integral part of every author and cannot be separated from them.


To view Scott J. Toney's Amazon Author Page follow the link below.

Amazon.com / Scott J. Toney

About you.

Name: 

Scott J. Toney

Website:
 
www.scottjtoney.weebly.com 







Other contacts/social media sites:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4883112.Scott_Toney

Link to Amazon page and or any other place that your books can be purchased:

 http://www.amazon.com/Scott-J-Toney/e/B0098JRXWC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

 https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ScottJToney

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/scott-toney?store=allproducts&keyword=scott+toney

Where did you grow up?

The Suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA

When did you start writing?

It all began as a youth when I wrote tales to go with the computer game Oregon Trail, creating stories to go with Jimmie getting typhoid or Susie getting small pox. Oh the fun of younger days... but one must advance. From there I tackled poetry and received a $100 prize in High School for winning a poetry contest. In college I earned degrees in Journalism and Public Relations.

What made you start writing?

I originally began writing as something to do with my neighbour. We both loved Oregon Trail. But the poetry… that began because of a girl. All the best things happen because of a girl, don’t they? :)

Is it something that you have always wanted to do?

I've wanted to be an author since I was in Middle School. My family and friends always said that I had an excellent voice and should pursue voice, doing opera or something else vocal, but my passion is in the written word.
 
What is your favorite genre to read, and do you have any favorite books or authors you would like to recommend?

I have two favorite genres, Fantasy and Historical Fiction, preferably a mix of the two. As for favorite authors… Here’s my current top 3.

1. Tad Williams. Read him, there is no other in the world like him and he is truly amazing.

2. Jim Darcy. Jim is publishing his first novel later this year with BHB. He is a phenom. If you miss out on Fire Lord’s Crown then I pity you.

3. Mike Lee. If you enjoy Sci-Fi then you have to run and go check out StarFire. Lee is amazing.

I could list so many more, but these are my true and honest top 3. I am a huge fan of all of our BHB authors. We have immense talent being birthed here.
 
What is your favorite genre to write?

Oh, you’ve caught me; I am definitely a genre hopper. So far I’ve dabbled in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Christian and Romantic Suspense. And up to this point, I have to say that I enjoy writing Fantasy / Sci-Fi the most. I like the chance to control all aspects of a character’s world and not be restricted by earthly
things like gravity. Who needs gravity anyway?

Do you write full time? If not, what do you do?

Right now I have 3 jobs. I’m a Stay-at-Home-Dad, full time Founder of Breakwater Harbor Books and I’ll soon be waiting tables again at TGIFridays part time. I’ll also be the Vacation Bible School teacher for a group of three year olds soon, which should be a blast. But my most important and valued
job is always that of Father and Husband. I am incredibly blessed.
 
Do you ever base your characters on anyone that you know, or are they solely from your imagination?

In case anyone I’ve based them on is reading ;) NEVER. Lol. But seriously, I’m not sure I’ve ever based a character on anyone I knew. I’ve been told that Maanta and myself in The Ark of Humanity are quite similar. That would probably be as close as it gets. I’m also told that I reflect Ben in Hearts of Avon.

Tell us about your latest book. The story/plot.


I’ll let the pitch speak for itself. The book is Hearts of Avon.


In Avon, a beach town along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Ben is falling fast for the beautiful and intelligent Caroline, even as they both deal with her stalker ex-boyfriend who has followed her south on vacation.

As Ben learns the depths of the other man's madness his and Caroline's relationship runs into another wall, level 3 Hurricane Irene moving quickly toward the Outer Banks. When the storm arrives, all of their lives will be drastically changed. 
 
How will they learn to cope with the consequences? When they are tested with a disaster on the brink of their comprehension, how will they pick up the pieces of their lives
  
What gave you the idea?

My wife is a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks, and Hearts of Avon was written specifically to dedicate something in her favorite genre to her. It is a Romantic Suspense novel with faith woven in.

Who is your favorite character?

My favorite character is probably Caroline, Ben’s love interest. I worked in some of me and my wife’s real-life experience’s between her and Ben, and so I guess that’s why I like her so much.
 
And worst? 

Caroline’s ex-fiancé John. Stalker, jerk, you get the gist.

What are your hopes for it?

Well it’s one of my most popular books so far, and so a sequel is in the works, but what I want most is to have this book forever to share with my family and know that generations to come will have it and be able to read it and know me a little better through my writing.

What’s the next project that you’re working on? 

Bishop: Book 1 of the NovaForge Trilogy, a PULP Sci-Fi novel. Talk about switching genres ;).

What’s the best piece of advice that you have been given in regards to your writing?

Stick true to who you are and write for you first. Publishers and others will tell you many things to change, and that’s good to take in and consider, but in the end you want your books to show you as a writer, not something the industry has chewed up and spat out through you. Oh and, prepare to never sleep ;).

Last year I asked on my Facebook page if anyone was willing to fill in a short survival questionnaire for me and in return I would put them in the book, or at least use their name in the book. The response was
amazing, and I got some great answers, for which I can't thank you enough.
At the time, I also filled one in. Here are my answers to the questionnaire. I'm having a great time writing Odium, and it's thanks to some of your great and not so great answers haha. I'll be posting up some of the answers that you gave me as the time draws near to publication. - Claire



----------------------------------
 
So… it’s the end of the world as we know it. 

Zombies… the dead… the living-dead… maggot infested bodies… stinking, brain eating
corpses… (well, I think you get who I’m talking about) are taking over the world. 

Your neighbors, your friends, your family members… they are all coming back from the dead, and they are hungry for braaaaaaaaaains… (and pretty much anything else they can sink their teeth into.)

Let’s test your survival skills, and I’ll decide in my book on whether you live, die, or rise from the
dead.


Survival Questions 

Q1. So, what’s the plan? You must have a secret retreat or hidey-hole you've always thought about going to if things turned ugly right? Up in the hills? The big city? (are you mad!) Board up your house and camp in the basement? Between me and you… where is it?

Well, I really shouldn't tell you if I'm honest. I mean I wouldn't want you all trying to sneak in to my hideout… Okay, I’ll tell you since you asked so nicely. It would be at my daughter’s school. There are 6-7 ft bars around the entire perimeter. There will be food there, books, first aid. There is outside space etc.  I'm pretty sure it has its own generator. I would lock those gates tight and stay
there.

Q2. Wow, great hide-out, but how the hell are you going to get there? I think we’re going to need a car at some point. What car are you going to be on the look-out for? (You can’t drive you
say! You’re doomed, doomed I tell you… Oh, so you know someone who can drive, okay, well what car are they after then?)

I’d like to say that I would run there, but I wouldn't want to get cornered so I would take our car.
 
Q3. Any clue as to where you’re going to find such a vehicle? Neighbor? Car garage? Or just see what you stumble upon? Randomly, do you think that you’re going to be looking for diesel or un-leaded?  

In the private car park at the back of the house. It’s a Toyota Rav 4 so it should do the trick,
but there are tons of other cars there also, so we should be good for any circumstances.

Q4. Phew… that was close! Right, so we’re on our way to your great hideout. We've got our wheels, but wait, we need to stock up on food! What are you going to be taking? Dry food? Fresh food? Canned food?

Since it’s only round the corner and there is food there, I won’t need to take much food. The
school should be pretty stocked with dried pasta’s and flour etc. I will take the canned food though. Shove them all in a back pack and make a dash for the car. They may weight me down, but they are also heavy if I need to swing the bag at a zombie.

Q5. Where are you going to get it from? Scavenge house to house or supermarket stop?

Just my house. Though, let’s be serious, there would be no way that I would be going to a supermarket. That would be madness. No, I would be going house to house once things calmed down. In each house there would be a possibility of finding survivors and if there were zombies, there won’t be to many in each house.

Q6. What about medicine and bandages etc? Have you already got a good medicine box or are we going to have to stop for that too? If we’re going to stop, are we going to a chemist (smaller so less risk, but also less meds) or a hospital? (more meds but bigger danger)

I've got a pretty good medicine box, and the school should have one also , but if I do ever need to get more first aid I will be going into small doctors surgeries. Never, I repeat, never a hospital!

Q7. Hey, you any good with a gun? Do you know where we can get one?

Nope, but my zombie survival team is excellent and so I think that I would be just fine. They
can always show me, and I’m a really quick learner.

Q8. Okay, so we have time to pack a ‘dream survival pack’ (I know, right!) What are you going to pack? Weapon, meds, food, space shuttle out of this madness? 

Okay, so I would pack some really sharp knives AND a knife sharpener for when it they get
blunt. I would pack some ration packs for food and some canned fruit. Fruit is going to be a luxury very soon. My medicine pack would contain, some energy tablets, vitamin tablets, painkillers, bandages, sutures, antiseptic spray/cream, safety fasteners. I would be wearing my big doc martin boots and some thick socks, a t-shirt and hoody and some cargo pants- you know the ones with tons of pockets! 

My two luxury items would be, baby wipes (because those things can be used for everything!) and toothpaste and brush.

Q9. Who would be in your ideal ‘zombie survival team’? Anyone you want,
famous or not…

My dream team would be, Tim JD (you  are a genius when it comes to making things)
San (since you have a massive stock of awesome weapons and he’s a chef) my auntie Milly (since she can cook anything and knows loads about foods and vitamins and zombie survival- she reads a lot of stuff ha ha) My best friend Kate (just because she would kick arse and I love her to death) oh, and The Australian guy who played Spartacus. The guy is hot and can fight!

Q10. Okay, now realistically, who would be in your team?

Kate, my auntie Milly, my hubby- even if he says he wouldn’t pick me (evil, isn’t he!) Duncan
and Britta because they are so clued up on a zombie apocalypse it’s amazing. 
 
These people are all easily accessible to me, since they live pretty close, and I’m sure that they would all be bringing their family along too.

Q11. Your house is being over-run. You have just enough time to grab three things- not including people- what are you going to take?

(Question courtesy of JR)

My dog. He is irritating as hell at times, but damn I love him.

My Doc Martin boots- comfy and practical.

A sharp knife!

Q12. How are you for foraging in the wilderness? Do you know your poison berries from your magic mushrooms? Any tips?

Nooooooo, I’m rubbish at stuff like this, but I’ve borrowed some books on the subject and am
learning. I’ll probably still suck at it though.
 

IT'S BETTER TO DIE BY THE GUN, THAN DIE BY THE DEAD!

When the dead began to rise and kill, the government had to make a decision- whether right or wrong- they had to protect what little society was left. 

They built walls which kept the dead out, and the live in. Other towns quickly followed suit, forcing the dead to live in the desolation that they had created. Only the zombies aren’t alone either.
These lands are not only teeming with hungry zombies, but also with the very worst of what was once a civilised society.

Nina now lives in a world where all the rules have changed. Where those who don't cooperate are tossed over the wall and into hell, and the good are rewarded with a pitiful existence.

When Nina empathises with a young girl called Emily-Rose who’s about to be thrown over the wall, her life gets a whole lot worse. The leader of the town has rules which he will not break, even if it means blood and death for the unfortunate ones, and with this in mind Nina makes the decision to go with the Emily and protect her  at all costs. However, can a woman with no fighting abilities and a penchant for spending money on expensive clothes really keep them safe?

Nina must now fight the zombies which rule the free-lands, and find a safe zone that could be just a myth.

Scared, starved and on the run from everything, Nina has everything working against her survival... but she’s not quite ready to give up on life yet, not now she has someone to live for again. 
 
Her quick wit and snarky attitude might just keep her alive long enough to find some way to protect Emily-Rose. Maybe…

Odium is an upcoming release by Claire C Riley!

Name: Claire C Riley

Website: www.clairecriley.com

Other contacts/social media sites:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17564467-limerence

https://www.facebook.com/ClaireCRileyLimerence@ClaireCRiley

Link to Amazon page and or any other place that your books can be purchased:

PAPERBACK
http://bit.ly/LimerencePBUSA (USA)

http://bit.ly/LimerencePBUK (UK)

eBOOK
http://bit.ly/LimerenceEBUSA (USA)

http://bit.ly/LimerenceEBUK (UK)
 
It is also up for free loan for KDP Select members.


 


Where did you grow up?


Manchester, the United Kingdom


When did you start writing?

I used to write tons when I was a kid, and was always shoving stories under the noses of friends and family, but then life got in the way and I forgot all about it. I’ve started with a couple of little things through the years, but never took it serious. It was September last year that I really started
again.
 
What made you start writing?

I read an article about the term Limerence and really liked the word. It felt like such a romantic
word for such a dangerous thing. I didn’t think too much about it at first, but then slowly I started to get ideas and it just wouldn’t go away so I sat down and started writing.
 
Is it something that you have always wanted to do?

Honestly, yes. As a kid I remember saying that I either wanted to be a teacher, an archaeologist or a writer.

What is your favorite genre to read, and do you have any favorite books or authors you would like to recommend?

I read anything. Literally anything, though of course I have favorites. I prefer paranormal or dystopian type books. I’m not too keen on books with ghosts or fairies in them or anything too preachy. I have a lot of favorite authors. Mark Tufo, Jesse Petersen, Charlain Harris. 

What about to write?

I tend to write paranormal books- vampires, zombies, that sort of thing. Though I have an idea
for a crime thriller and a romance in the beginning stages.
 
Do you write full time? If not, what do you do?

I write in my spare time, which is basically from about 8pm to 1am when the children have gone to
bed. I work in an office doing accounts and paperwork and other boring stuff.

Do you ever base your characters on anyone that you know, or are they solely from your imagination?

Yes and no. In Limerence a lot of the characteristics of Rachael are from my best friend Kate,
and in my new book Odium I asked on my Facebook page if anyone wanted a character named after them in return for filling in a survival questionnaire. A lot of the characters- though not all- are based on the people that filled these in. Their answers are what helped to build the characters, though I’ve obviously embellished an awful lot.
                     
Tell us about your latest book. The story/plot.

My latest novel is Limerence. 

When Mr Breckt moves to the Island, everyone’s lives are sent spiralling out of control. Mr Breckt develops a strange obsession with Mia Lawrence, one that he can’t control no matter how much he
tries.

Mia loves her fiancé Oliver and fights for their love at every turn, but can his paranormal powers win her over before it’s too late for everyone?

With his obsession spiralling out of control, he will do whatever it takes to get her. He’s not used to having to take no for an answer.

What genre is it?

 It is a dark paranormal romance.

Who is your favourite character?

Donovan, one of Mr Breckt’s henchman, and Rachael.

 And worst? 

Chris! I literally hate that guy! I was so sorry that I introduced him to the book. haha

What are your hopes for it?

Worldwide recognition, film rights, red carpets, you name it! Haha. Honestly, I don’t know. I just know that I love the feeling I get when I know someone has read and enjoyed it. If I can have that a couple of thousand times over then that would be ace.

What’s the next project that you’re working on? 

My next book is called Odium. It is a dystopian post-apocalyptic zombie book, and I am so excited for it. It’s totally different from Limerence in a lot of ways.

What’s the best piece of advice that you have been given in regards to your writing?
 
Believe in yourself.

Mary Fan, the author of the sci-fi novel Artificial
Absolutes, reviews The Beholder!

"In present day New York, Jason, an ordinary man with an
office  job at an interior design firm, learns that his nightmares are more than just  bad dreams. In them, he sees a man of great evil, Pariah, pursuing a young woman  with amber eyes. Both disturbed and intrigued, he soon finds out that the dreams  are in fact supernatural visions, a glimpse into a supernatural world of light  and dark energies.

Meanwhile, Jason hears reports of people around the world dying under mysterious circumstances. Each body is left branded with an arcane symbol. After realizing the bodies are a riddle addressed to him, Jason encounters the amber-eyed woman, Emily, who tells him that he possesses dormant abilities of great power. In addition, he may be the only person who can keep darkness from enslaving the world.

The Beholder is an imaginative urban  fantasy that takes a reader into a captivating world of magic
and mystery.  Amberlake weaves his world in vibrant images, wrapping each scene in colorful  descriptions that make the story easy to visualize. The reader follows Jason as  this world is slowly revealed to him. The supernatural elements, such as Sight  and Soulfusion, are well explained, as the reader learns what Jason  learns.

There's an ebb and flow to the pace of The Beholder, which works  well for its story line. It draws you in by setting up the mystery at the very  beginning, then slows down to let you look around. The
action scenes, each a  vividly portrayed fight between good and evil, are exciting and thrilling, and  it's easy to get lost in the language. Jason is a likable protagonist who's easy  to sympathize with, especially since Amberlake lays out his internal thoughts,  allowing the reader to see what he sees, feel what he feels. Some chapters are  written from the perspectives of other characters, giving the reader a 360  degree view of the story.

While the plot of The Beholder focuses on the  supernatural battle between good and evil,
Amberlake highlights the human  element of the struggle through his characterizations and relationships. As  Jason follows Emily into the realm of the Sighted, he also finds himself falling  for her, which adds an element of romance to the story. It also ups the personal  stakes for Jason as he heads toward the book's climatic battle. In addition,  Jason's close friends, Matt and Debbie, end up getting involved, and so by the  end, Jason is fighting not only for humanity, but for those he cares about  most.

Amberlake writes with a poetic lilt, bringing his story to life  through intricate language. For instance, here's a description from early in the  book:

"[Jason] burst through the revolving doors and into the outdoors,  and ran into a nearly solid
wall of heat. Even in the shade of the skyscrapers,  he found it difficult to breathe. He paced, restless. Needing to walk off some  of his anger, he thrust his hands in his pockets, then started roaming the  streets, weaving through the rush hour crowd."

Well written and  wonderfully inventive, The Beholder is a highly entertaining book and a  relatively fast read. The supernatural concept at the center of the story is  unique, intriguing, and leaves you
wanting more." - author Mary Fan

Follow one of these links for more and for your Kindle or Paperback copy of  The Beholder!

Amazon US

Amazon UK


Follow the link below to Mary Fan's Blog.

Mary Fan




The Beholder

Worlds of Light and Darkness are about to clash. And Jason will be in the thick  of it.  

In Asunción, Minsk and Sydney, people die under  mysterious circumstances. Each branded with an arcane sign, they are pieces of a  jigsaw  puzzle. When more people are missing, with similar signs
appearing in and   around their homes, Jason, an average New Yorker, realizes the victims are a   riddle addressed to him. He is the final piece.

Emily appears, a beauty   with startling amber eyes, and tells Jason that powers dormant within him are   about to wake. In the world of Light- and Darksighted, he is the only person  who  can prevent
Darkness from enslaving the world. 

Setting out on a  journey  with Emily, Jason discovers many improbable things like Sight (the  ability
to  see Energy Threads), Soulfusion, the Hall of Refuge, but the  greatest surprise  arrives the moment he sees Emily and finds Real Love.

Diary of the Gone is a Novel to be released at a future date!

Callum Blackwater thinks his life can’t get  any worse. But he’s wrong. 
      
Callum never felt like seeing the dead, but they kept haunting him. The only thing that  helped him not see them was a diary he had found in the basement of his house.
        
When his friend Nathan is reported missing and a  severed hand is found in the forest, Callum gets a hint as to who might be  behind it all.  
 






 EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK 
        
Chapter1

Entry #4

April 8

I step inside a Shadow. It’s a black-and-white movie  with no sound. I watch those who have only a few moments to live. While the rest  of the world passes by sightless, I see them dying, screaming into silence as if  they call for me to help them, and I just stand and watch death taking them.
        
The Shadow lasts for only a few moments, and then the movie is over.  Everything becomes colorful again, but I know the people I just saw will soon be dead.
        
Darkness closed in on Nathan and me as we trudged through the mush of  fallen leaves. The ground was a mosaic of vibrant red and yellow, with a few  patches of brown here and there. Sponge-like moss shriveled under my feet, and  as I took another step, icy cold water trickled into my new sneakers.
        
“Dammit!” I jerked my leg up but the sneaker was already soaked.
        
“C’mon, Callum,” Nathan urged, exasperated at my slowness. “We’re nearly there.”
        
Nathan hadn’t told me what he wanted me to see. As usual, he’d said, “You  have to see this, Callum.”
        
Did I have any other choice? As we threaded our way through  the darkening swamped forest I wondered why I’d listen to him and go wherever he  wished. 
        
“How much farther are we going?” I asked, with as much irritation as I  could muster.
        
He rolled his eyes and pointed ahead with his index finger.  “It’s there.”

I hadn’t been to the forest very often, but each time I  approached it, goosebumps popped all over my arms and back. This time was no  exception. My heart began racing like mad, as if warning me we’d encroached on  someone else’s territory. Someone we shouldn’t disturb.

Nathan turned his head left and right,  then exclaimed, “Here it is at last!”  
 
Twenty yards ahead of me, he crouched and started inspecting something,  and I still couldn’t see a thing. When I reached him, I gulped, cold fear  sliding down my limbs.
     
“Holy crap!” I muttered. “What the hell is that?!”

It looked like a pool of blood. Not just a few grass blades  flecked with it, but—as I looked farther—a whole field filled with dark, crimson  liquid. I gulped another time and the hairs on my neck stood on end. I turned  around to check no one was watching us—I’d had a feeling someone’s eyes were on  me, and I didn’t appreciate it that much.
        
“I came across it yesterday. Wicked, right?” Nathan looked up at me,  fascination sparking his eyes. “Seems to have grown even bigger.”

“Looks like blood,” I voiced my fear at last, a shiver traipsing down my spine.

Nathan stood up, his eyebrows knotted. “Oh, come off it. There’s too much  of it in here. And where’s the body? Or bodies?”

I let out a nervous laugh, trying to soothe my nerves—I hadn’t seen a  Shadow so far, which was a good sign. But why was I afraid to see one? They only  happened when someone was about to die, not any other way.

I picked up a dried stick from the ground and poked the crimson substance  with it. Nothing happened at first, but when I tried to retrieve the stick, it  wouldn’t budge. The liquid around it started gurgling.

“Uh-oh,” I said, letting go of the bloodstained piece of wood.
        
“What have you done?” Nathan hollered.  
        
“N-nothing,” I stammered. “We’d better go, man.”
        
“You think?” He gave me a sarcastic look.
        
I took a step back, watching the stick sinking slowly into the syrupy  liquid. When it was about to disappear, a bony hand shot out from where a stick  had just been and gripped my right ankle in a fierce vice.
        
I screamed like never before. Raw instinct to survive spurred me to  wriggle the leg out of the grip, but the skeleton fingers were too strong for  me, felling me to the ground. Nate tugged at the sleeve of my jacket, and  instead of helping me set free, he was sliding into the pool of blood together  with me. I raked the ground with my fingers, soil getting under my nails, yet I  sunk deeper and deeper. 
        
When I thought there was no hope for me, I saw my chance.   
        
“The  log! Take the log!” I pointed to a dried bough lying within easy reach of us.  Nate let go of me, sprinted towards the log, picked it up, hopped back to where  I writhed, and thrust it into the place
where the thing manacled around my ankle  was supposed to be. To my disbelief, after a few thrusts the hand let go, and I  scrambled out, helped by Nate’s trembling hands.  
        
We  bolted away from the place without looking back. I couldn’t care less about my  sneakers or jeans covered with dirt. All I could think was: Get away from that fricking hand.

After a few minutes we slowed down a bit, breathless and shaking.
        
“What was that?” I asked in between gasps as we entered Craven Street, my  voice raspy.
        
“No frickin’ idea,” Nate replied. “Right before this thing grabbed you, I  think I saw a face.” 
        
I raised an eyebrow at him. Judging by his restless eyes  and ashen complexion, I knew he was holding something back.
        
“And?”
        
“Do you remember the missing boy I told you about?  Greg Thornby?”
        
I didn’t like where this was going.
        
“Yes.”
        
“I think it was him there.”
        
I vaguely remembered the story. A boy had gone missing a month before  Mom, Beverly, and I moved to Whitecross Town, but now it caused goosebumps all  over me. His body hadn’t been found after a few weeks’ search, and the inquiry  was dropped. What if Nate was right? What if it was Greg there?
        
We walked down the street in silence. I was a real mess, with the blood  stains and dirt over my jeans.
        
Now I’ll have to come up with something to tell  my mom, I thought grimly.
        
My thoughts were interrupted by the voice I hated more than the sound of nails screeching against a whiteboard.
        
“Well, well, well, little Callie’s got poop all over himself. Did you do  it to him, Rushmore?” 
        
Cheering and clapping followed the remark.
        
I turned around, my teeth clenched. A group of teens were catching up  with us. I knew they were only half a year older than me, but they were a gang  of thugs compared to me and Nate. Stan Crosby, the boy who spoke, was in the  center, flanked by four boys and girls on either side. They made my life a  living hell. During the short time I’d been in Whitecross, he’d given me a  couple of black eyes, tripped me whenever he saw me, and humiliated in every  possible way. The son of the school principal, he easily got away with it, and I  didn’t feel like blabbering about every one of his
pranks to my mom. Just had to  live with it.

 “Back off, Stan, or—” Nathan snarled, taking a step towards  the group.
        
“What? Are you going to kick me?” Stan’s group produced another round of  cheering and
whistling.
        
“I’ll make sure you will.” Nate balled his fists and took  another step. 
        
I grabbed him by the sleeve and whispered, “He isn’t worth  it. You’ll only get another detention.” To my relief, Nate didn’t argue.
        
“Right, Nate, listen to the loser.” Stan folded his arms, a lopsided grin  playing on his face. “You are lucky we are not in the mood for kicking your  sorry asses today. But we will next time, I promise.” He turned to his cronies.  “Come on, guys, let’s go.”
        
They rushed past us, Stan giving me a hard push with his  shoulder. I tried my best not to flinch, even though the push hurt as if his  shoulder was made of rock.
        
As their silhouettes and voices retreated into the  distance, Nate and I stood watching them.  
        
For  a few minutes, I even forgot about the hand that tried to drag me into the  swamp. But something told me my bad luck for the day wasn’t over yet. If all the  bad things were bound to happen to me all at once, they would, and today would  be the day.
        
“Let’s go,” Nate said. “Wayne and Audrey are waiting for  us.”
        
*
        
Whitecross Town was a small godforsaken place, fringed for the most part  by an ancient forest. The old townsfolk said it used to be a village whose first  two streets formed a cross. They added “white” to the name because of the soil  rich in chalk. As time passed and the village turned into a small town, a few  more streets appeared here, but the name stuck.
        
The two-story cottage where my mom, me and my sister, Beverly, moved to  was perched on what Whitecross people called the Crossroads. That was where  Nathan and I headed right now. As the horrors of today played back in my mind, I  decided to break the silence. 
        
“Are we going to tell the guys what happened?” I asked.
        
“Sure. What if it was Greg there? We’ve got to find out what the  hell’s happening there.” He offered me a humorless smile, a sign he was being serious.
        
That was Nathan. Never reasonable, always dragging me into trouble.
        
“You don’t think he’s alive, do you?” I couldn’t help myself.
        
“We’ll have to make sure first.” He was serious, I had to admit to myself.
        
I started tsking and snapping my fingers, which I knew irritated him, but  at least helped me distract myself from the haunting images of the blood in the forest.
        
“By the way, here they are."
        
Wayne and Audrey. Perhaps the two people I envied most of all in the  whole world. Only a year older than me, they already held hands in public,  kissed at the back of our school, and did who-knew-what-other things that I, the  loner of Whitecross as I called myself, couldn’t afford because for starters I’d  never even had a girlfriend. For a fifteen-year-old I had way too many things  wrong about me, yet this one made me probably the most miserable.
        
Wayne and Audrey. Everyone at school compared them to Romeo and Juliet,  and now that I saw them holding hands I wished it was me with Audrey instead of Wayne.

“Hey, guys!” Nathan called.  
        
I  shot an uncomfortable look at Audrey, mumbling a hardly audible ‘Hello’ then  looked down as if in shame.
        
Well, did I mention I felt like a total loser when  girls were around? With Audrey I was a real mess. She was special, a flawless  angel with perfect auburn hair, and an aroma of peaches around her. I
turned  into a vegetable. But what chance did I have to date such a girl? Zilch.
        
We set off going down the Hill, towards our secret place—the  Underground—that was not far from my home. Located in the wood, it was a cellar  from a long demolished house that Nathan had found a year ago. We used it as our  regular meeting place during the nights.
        
“You won’t believe what we just saw in the swamps,” Nathan started his  story, but I didn’t want to hear the continuation of it. As we were about to  turn left, into Montague Street, the thing I feared
most in my existence  happened. 
        
A Shadow crept over me.         
        
Nathan, Wayne and Audrey crumbled like dust in the wind, and the world  faded to black and white in the blink of an eye.
        
At first I heard them. A low growling sound reverberated in my  head. My throat lodged, as I watched them coming for me.  
        
They  whispered something I failed to make out. My insides wobbled with fear as I saw  their mutilated faces; limbs broken and hanging limply. Rotten flesh failed to  cover their uneven, yellow teeth. Drooling, they watched me with a hunger I’d  never seen in a sane person’s eyes.
        
“Callum!” someone called out for me from a distance, and the Shadow was gone.
        
Nathan yanked me by the shoulder; I was shaking against his steady hand.
        
“Are you all right?” He looked at me, his eyebrows knotted.
        
I swiveled around to check if there were monsters behind me.
        
“Erm, yeah, sure,” I replied. “I just realized … I think I’m gonna go  home. Just remembered I promised Mom I’d return earlier today.” That was a  downright lie, but no one seemed to mind.  
        
Letting go of my shoulder, Nathan shrugged. “Sure. If you change your  mind, you know where to find us.”

I nodded, turned around and ran home as fast as I  could.

As authors, the reviews of our works on Amazon.com and other sites move us. We have no control over these. They are the true feelings of our readers, good and bad, and so when we read a review we are excited to know what people who read our books experienced inwardly as they read. They carry great value to us as authors. The Beholder, Amberlake's debut Urban Fantasy novel, is no  stranger to rave reviews and is stacking them up on Amazon.com. Here is what people are saying about The Beholder! What will you say once you've experienced this gripping, well crafted Urban Fantasy?

“I was so sure that all the supernatural worlds were already exhausted. Vampires, werewolves, aliens, ghosts… Then Mr. Amberlake’s novel arrived, took me by surprise and left me totally speechless. A world that no one has ever thought existed suddenly appeared. A world so perfectly built you wonder where it has been hiding before.” ~ Becca

“Mr. Amberlake, in my opinion, has created a literary masterpiece. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.” ~  Bethanie Armstrong

“If you are a fan of storylines similar to The Matrix,  then The Beholder could be its literary counterpart in the UF genre.” ~ Sandy,  The Reading Café

“Amberlake does an excellent job of melding plot,  fantastical concepts, darkness and light with a love story between Jason and his  very real feeling counterpart, Emily.” ~ Scott J. Toney

“The author  clearly has a deep understanding of the English language with a vast vocabulary.”
~ Lourie

The Beholder

Worlds of Light and Darkness are about to clash. And Jason will be in the thick  of it.

In Asunción, Minsk and Sydney, people die under  mysterious circumstances. Each branded with an arcane sign, they are pieces of a  jigsaw puzzle. When more people are missing, with similar signs
appearing in and  around their homes, Jason, an average New Yorker, realizes the victims are a  riddle addressed to him. He is the final piece.

Emily appears, a beauty  with startling amber eyes, and tells Jason that powers dormant within him are  about to wake. In the world of Light- and Darksighted, he is the only person who  can prevent Darkness from enslaving the world. 

Setting out on a journey  with Emily, Jason discovers many improbable things like Sight (the ability to  see Energy Threads), Soulfusion, the Hall of Refuge, but the greatest surprise  arrives the moment he sees Emily and finds Real Love.

Follow the link below for more and for your Kindle or Paperback copy of The Beholder!

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