Suspense/Romance
Date Published: 11-01-17
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Drew Duncan swore he’d never go back to Ember Falls again. After he was wrongfully charged with his high school girlfriend’s murder, he waited for a trial that never came. When he was released from jail a year later, he left everything behind. But when his sister is murdered, Drew is forced to return to the hometown where he and his sisters were brutalized by their alcoholic father.
Once back, not even his training as a Marine and point man for McAlister Security prepares Drew for what he must face--a surviving sister who refuses to forgive him for abandoning her, a nephew who trembles when he enters the room, and an entire town that thinks he got away with murder. To protect his nephew, Drew will face his most terrifying fear. Going home.
TORN AWAY Excerpt:
“My father was always mean and cruel,” Drew said. “And we never knew when he’d strike out. Smacking us with the back of his hand, giving us a kick when we didn’t expect it, but normally it was quick and it was done. Those rages he went into, they were rarer. Sometimes you could go days, other times weeks, but when they happened, it was legendary. It was three weeks before it happened again. Something set him off. Not sure what, but he came home looking for us and we knew. So I did almost the same thing again.”
“What do you mean almost?”
“Ashley begged me to hide in there with them,” Drew explained. “But I knew he’d look for us and break down the door to get to us. He was already slamming doors downstairs. So I pushed both of my sisters in there. And then I locked the door.”
Sam blinked. “You had a closet door with a lock on it?”
“We did then,” Drew said. “I’d managed to change it out after the last time. I didn’t want them getting out again. So I locked my sisters in a closet and dealt with my father. Ashley is still afraid of enclosed spaces. I did that to her. I knew they’d be stuck in there until I could manage to let them out and sometimes that was hours later, but I stuck them in there whenever I knew he was in a rage. I tried to protect them from my father, but there was nobody there to protect them from me.”
Practical Advice for Beginning Fiction
By Vincent Morrone
Best advice
ever. Let it suck.
That may sound
like really bad advice, but it’s not. Trust me.
When you’re
writing your story, you will inevitably come to a point where you get stuck.
You may know what the scene needs to do, or where you need to go with the
character, but you feel like every word you’re putting on the page is just
horrendous. The temptation is to stop, rethink and wait for inspiration to hit
you. Don’t do that. Finish the scene, put it on the page and move on. Remember,
when you get to that part where you type those infamous words, ‘The End’ it’s
not really the end. You’re not even at the half way mark. You need to read it
from start to finish, review, revise, edit, cut, and polish it until it shines.
In my first
published book, VISION OF SHADOWS, I had a scene that was important. The main
character, a 17 year old psychic named Bristol Blackburn, sits down with the
Grandfather she’s only recently met to get a family history lesson. A lot of
the information in the scene was important, but I felt like it was coming out
rather dry with two characters sitting on the back porch talking. It was
needed, but it just wasn’t great.
Instead of
stopping, thinking, and waiting for some divine inspiration to strike, I wrote
it. I put on the page what was needed, and then I moved on. As I continued to
write the book, I realized another issue was I needed to have some more
interaction between Bristol and Jay, a character that was a member of the
dearly departed club. During the revision phase, I realized this was the
perfect opportunity. Add Jay in where only she could see him, Grandpa couldn’t.
He could provide commentary, comic relief and even a sweet moment. Suddenly,
the scene came alive.
The point is,
you can’t fix a blank page. Get your story done, then go back. Fix it. Make it
shine. Remember, the end is just the beginning.
About the Author
Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Vincent Morrone now resides in Upstate NY with his wife. (Although he can still speak fluent Brooklynese.) His twin daughters remain not only his biggest fans, but usually are the first to read all of his work. Their home is run and operated for the comfort and convenience of their dogs. Vincent has been writing fiction, poetry and song lyrics for as long as he can remember, most of which involve magical misfits, paranormal prodigies and even on occasion superheroes and their sidekicks.
As they say in Brooklyn: Yo, you got something to say? Vincent would love to hear from you at Vincent@vincentmorrone.com
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