Wow! First off, thanks to everyone that took my survey. The response was just amazing and I'm thrilled to see that The Soul of the Witch avoided readers pet peeves about horror novels!
Now to the fun stuff! It's a dreary old rainy day here and I know I always like something fun to read on gloomy days, so here's another sneak peek from The Soul of the Witch.
Now to the fun stuff! It's a dreary old rainy day here and I know I always like something fun to read on gloomy days, so here's another sneak peek from The Soul of the Witch.
The Soul of the Witch - Chapter Eleven
Devan pulled into a vacant space at the apartment building and shut off the car engine. Her headache had faded to a dull throb. She rested her head on the steering wheel and took a few deep breathes.
Why do I do this to myself...Every weekend I drink too much and then swear I’ll never do it again...And here I am...
She lifted her head slowly, feeling the muscles in her neck quiver in argument. Gathering her things, she got out of the car and began walking toward her front door. After just a few steps, her phone began to ring and vibrate from inside her purse.
Struggling to dig for it, she dropped her purse and the contents spilled out into the parking lot. She bent down onto her knees and retrieved the buzzing phone first.
“Hello?” She huffed as she held the phone to her ear with one hand and gathered the few things that were in reach.
“Devan?” Her boss’s rough voice came to her over the line, “Why aren’t you at work today?”
“Didn’t you get the voicemail I left?”
“I did.”
“Well, like I said on the message, I don’t feel good,” she said as she crawled along picking up lip-gloss and tampons. “I’m sick.”
“You’ve been sick every Saturday for the past month and a half.” He argued, “How do you explain that?”
“Weak immune system?”
“No. I think it’s more likely that you’re just hungover.”
“So?” Devan said as she struggled to retrieve her wallet from under a car, doing her best to keep her voice civil. “What I do on my time is my business.”
“Yes, but when it interferes with your job that makes it my business.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m going to have to let you go.”
Devan sat back on her heels, feeling the weight of responsibility crushing down on her. She thought of the bills sitting on the kitchen table and the dim prospect of looking for another job. She felt her headache returning as the hot tears burned behind her eyes.
“Whatever,” she snapped and ended the call before she could start to cry.
She could feel the hot sun beating down on the top of her head. Her mind raced with the thought of how disappointed her Dad would be, he got her that job and now she lost it just like she lost all the others. She could almost hear his “responsibility speech” again, the one where she had to grow up and do something with her life other than just float along and how he couldn’t keep asking for favors from people and getting her jobs only to have her piss it all away.
“You need some way of supporting yourself and the world is going to get tired of giving you second chances.” Her dad warned last time they spoke, “It’s time you grew up Devan.”
She felt even more defeated at just the thought of having to sit through that again.
I need a drink...
Devan abandoned the other escaped items from her purse, got up, and went on to her apartment. She let herself in, closed the door behind herself, and leaned back against it. Immediately she saw Janesa sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in hand.
Tossing her purse to the floor, Devan walked over and sat down beside her. “I take it your mom called?”
“Yep.”
Devan took the bottle from her hand and took a long drink.
“Yep,” she said with a nod. Janesa watched her and then nodded, “I take it you got fired?”
She looked over at Janesa. “Do you want to talk about what happened at the bar last night?”
“Nope.”
Janesa took the beer back, took a drink, and leaned back. They passed the bottle of beer back and forth between them without a word. Janesa rested her head on the back of the couch and Devan did the same. They sat there for the longest time, just staring at the shadows playing across the ceiling.
“Janesa?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ll ever be normal?”
Janesa took the bottle one last time and drank the last of it. She set it aside and looked back up at the ceiling. “No. It’s too late for that.”
As we count down to the release of The Soul of the Witch on July 22, I'll be releasing more sneak peeks. Look for another chapter from Janesa's point of view tomorrow!
Did you like this teaser? Be sure to leave a comment either here or on Facebook!
Why do I do this to myself...Every weekend I drink too much and then swear I’ll never do it again...And here I am...
She lifted her head slowly, feeling the muscles in her neck quiver in argument. Gathering her things, she got out of the car and began walking toward her front door. After just a few steps, her phone began to ring and vibrate from inside her purse.
Struggling to dig for it, she dropped her purse and the contents spilled out into the parking lot. She bent down onto her knees and retrieved the buzzing phone first.
“Hello?” She huffed as she held the phone to her ear with one hand and gathered the few things that were in reach.
“Devan?” Her boss’s rough voice came to her over the line, “Why aren’t you at work today?”
“Didn’t you get the voicemail I left?”
“I did.”
“Well, like I said on the message, I don’t feel good,” she said as she crawled along picking up lip-gloss and tampons. “I’m sick.”
“You’ve been sick every Saturday for the past month and a half.” He argued, “How do you explain that?”
“Weak immune system?”
“No. I think it’s more likely that you’re just hungover.”
“So?” Devan said as she struggled to retrieve her wallet from under a car, doing her best to keep her voice civil. “What I do on my time is my business.”
“Yes, but when it interferes with your job that makes it my business.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m going to have to let you go.”
Devan sat back on her heels, feeling the weight of responsibility crushing down on her. She thought of the bills sitting on the kitchen table and the dim prospect of looking for another job. She felt her headache returning as the hot tears burned behind her eyes.
“Whatever,” she snapped and ended the call before she could start to cry.
She could feel the hot sun beating down on the top of her head. Her mind raced with the thought of how disappointed her Dad would be, he got her that job and now she lost it just like she lost all the others. She could almost hear his “responsibility speech” again, the one where she had to grow up and do something with her life other than just float along and how he couldn’t keep asking for favors from people and getting her jobs only to have her piss it all away.
“You need some way of supporting yourself and the world is going to get tired of giving you second chances.” Her dad warned last time they spoke, “It’s time you grew up Devan.”
She felt even more defeated at just the thought of having to sit through that again.
I need a drink...
Devan abandoned the other escaped items from her purse, got up, and went on to her apartment. She let herself in, closed the door behind herself, and leaned back against it. Immediately she saw Janesa sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in hand.
Tossing her purse to the floor, Devan walked over and sat down beside her. “I take it your mom called?”
“Yep.”
Devan took the bottle from her hand and took a long drink.
“Yep,” she said with a nod. Janesa watched her and then nodded, “I take it you got fired?”
She looked over at Janesa. “Do you want to talk about what happened at the bar last night?”
“Nope.”
Janesa took the beer back, took a drink, and leaned back. They passed the bottle of beer back and forth between them without a word. Janesa rested her head on the back of the couch and Devan did the same. They sat there for the longest time, just staring at the shadows playing across the ceiling.
“Janesa?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ll ever be normal?”
Janesa took the bottle one last time and drank the last of it. She set it aside and looked back up at the ceiling. “No. It’s too late for that.”
As we count down to the release of The Soul of the Witch on July 22, I'll be releasing more sneak peeks. Look for another chapter from Janesa's point of view tomorrow!
Did you like this teaser? Be sure to leave a comment either here or on Facebook!
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