Erik will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Here's the link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1907
Blurb
The last thing Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt—especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes ‘bump in the night’ is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.
Excerpt
Listen.
That’s my father’s favorite word. I’m pretty sure that’s why he left my mother and me: we never listened. What does he expect? My mother hides behind a computer sixty hours a week, and I’m only fifteen. It’s not in our nature to listen. Case in point: I think my mother just asked a question I didn’t catch—which is bad—because she hates repeating herself almost as much as I do. My best defense is to keep staring out the car window, pretending I didn’t hear.
“Well?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “I get it. You hate me.”
“Kaylee, I don’t hate you. And we both know you brought this on yourself.”
“Me? How is this my fault? I haven’t done anything—”
“Exactly. It’s been three weeks since we moved here, and in that time you’ve made zero effort to make friends or leave the apartment. If it wasn’t for Anna, you wouldn’t do anything but come home from school and sulk in your room.”
I slunk down further in the passenger seat. “Yeah, and if it wasn’t for Anna I wouldn’t even be here right now.”
“Well, I think it was very generous of these girls to invite you over tonight, so at least try and make an effort. It’s only for a few hours.”
I scowled out my window, knowing it was pointless to argue. Once my mother made up her mind it took an act of God, or an argument with my father, to change it.
That’s my father’s favorite word. I’m pretty sure that’s why he left my mother and me: we never listened. What does he expect? My mother hides behind a computer sixty hours a week, and I’m only fifteen. It’s not in our nature to listen. Case in point: I think my mother just asked a question I didn’t catch—which is bad—because she hates repeating herself almost as much as I do. My best defense is to keep staring out the car window, pretending I didn’t hear.
“Well?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “I get it. You hate me.”
“Kaylee, I don’t hate you. And we both know you brought this on yourself.”
“Me? How is this my fault? I haven’t done anything—”
“Exactly. It’s been three weeks since we moved here, and in that time you’ve made zero effort to make friends or leave the apartment. If it wasn’t for Anna, you wouldn’t do anything but come home from school and sulk in your room.”
I slunk down further in the passenger seat. “Yeah, and if it wasn’t for Anna I wouldn’t even be here right now.”
“Well, I think it was very generous of these girls to invite you over tonight, so at least try and make an effort. It’s only for a few hours.”
I scowled out my window, knowing it was pointless to argue. Once my mother made up her mind it took an act of God, or an argument with my father, to change it.
Author bio and links
Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering for his oldest daughter’s volleyball team, or chilling on the PlayStation 4 with his thirteen-year-old. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only seven places in the world UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.
Website https://www.eriktherme.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/erik.therme
Twitter https://twitter.com/ErikTherme
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7831573.Erik_Therme
BUY @ AMAZON http://tinyurl.com/zdxwebl
Website https://www.eriktherme.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/erik.therme
Twitter https://twitter.com/ErikTherme
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7831573.Erik_Therme
BUY @ AMAZON http://tinyurl.com/zdxwebl
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHappy Tuesday to you and everyone here! My question for today is inspired by a guest post by two other authors so I would be interested in your take on it. Eventually an author is going to experience a bad review or negative criticism. How do you deal with the feedback?
ReplyDeleteIf someone tags me with 1-star and just writes "it sucks" (or something like that), that seems kind of pointless for everyone involved. BUT, if they go on to explain "why" they felt it sucked, I'm good with it. Not every book will resonate with every reader, and negative reviews are just part of the business.
DeleteThanks for having me, and I'm happy to answer any questions that come my way. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure having you here, Erik. Hope your tour goes fine.
DeleteHello again, Erik. Happy Tuesday! My question for you today, if you don't mind me asking, is whether or not your children have read your book and if so, what did they think of it?
ReplyDeleteMy 13-year-old read it in 2 days and loved it! The 17-year-old (who the main character is based on) picked it up once, read a few pages, and never picked it up again. I guess you can't please everyone. Ha!
DeleteI liked the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking a look, Rita. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your post :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can read the book for free through Amazon's newly launched PRIME READING: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/prime-pr
DeleteCongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDelete