Hello everyone!

I hope your week is going well! Soul Touched releases next week and I couldn't be more excited. As a special thanks for subscribing to my newsletter, I've added some of the first chapter below to give you a preview of Thea's story.

And if you still haven't preordered, grab a copy soon! The 99 cent promo only lasts for the preorder period and the weekend of the release.

Soul Touched - Chapter One Sneak Peek

A crisp breeze sent leaves skittering across the cracked and overgrown cement path at my feet. I stared straight ahead at the charred remains of the small family home, colorful graffiti covering every area that wasn’t stained with matte black soot. Another gust of wind sent the decrepit wooden gate behind me slamming on its hinges, the sudden smack of rotting lumber and rusting metal startling me into action.

I pulled my leather jacket tighter against my body, hands tucked into the pockets, and strode up the path without hesitation. Sure, I was trespassing, but I used to live here. That had to count for something, right?

Granted, I hadn’t lived here in about ten years, and time had done a number on the place, destroying and crumbling everything the fire had left untouched. The signs posted across the windows and partial door that remained warned me of the safety issues such ravages created, but I ignored them all as I pushed into the home.

I had to get one last look at it before I left. The fire had taken my family from me, but I wasn’t going to let the state of the building stop me from saying my goodbyes.

It was the first step of my plan to get out of here.

New York City might be glamorous to most of the people that passed through, but for me, it was a reminder of everything the fire had taken from me and the foster families I’d bounced through for the past ten years. Now that I was on the edge of eighteen, I was leaving these run-down suburbs once and for all. I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to go yet, but anywhere was better than here.

My boots crunched on shards of broken glass when I passed through the main entry way. I slowed my pace, sure that no one could see me from the outside thanks to the gloomy dusk settling over the world, and decided to take my time moving from room to room.

There wasn’t a lot to see in the one-level home. A tiny foyer-style room we’d always used as a library sat directly off to the right of the front door. The large mahogany bookcases that I’d remembered my father carefully handing me books from were completely gone, but a few burnt pages and covers remained scattered across the mildew-ridden carpet.

I quickly passed by, my heart panging, and headed into the attached dining room and kitchen. Both rooms were totally devoid of furniture, soot and smoke staining the once welcoming warm orange wall paint. In the kitchen, the oven and fridge stood open, all kinds of insect droppings and questionable tarry substances caked around their edges.

The living room and two bedrooms at the back of the house were much the same, and I eventually came to a stop in my parents’ bedroom. I stood in the middle of the floor, hugging my arms around myself. It was getting colder, probably due to the last traces of light fading for the day and the chilly September weather.

I shivered a little, not able to drag myself away from the remains of the bed frame. It had held up surprisingly well through the fire and the years of exposure, though the mattress and sheets were completely gone, simply turned to ash in the middle of the floor.

A flicker of something moving in the corner of my eye caused me to whip around and face the door, but there was nothing there. Only dark emptiness stretched out of the room and down the narrow hall back to the front door of the building.

Despite how quiet everything was, I couldn’t help the way nerves danced their way through my torso. Something was putting me on edge, and while I wanted to attribute it to the grim conditions I found my old family home in, I wasn’t sure that was the case.

Thoughts of crazed individuals hiding out around the shadows of the place filled my mind, and I decided that my visit would be cut short. The last thing I needed was to get stabbed, or worse. That would definitely put a damper on my plans to get out of this town.

With a sigh, I carefully trudged back through the hallway and down to the small foyer area that led to the front door. Chills crept their way up my spine as I went, and I found myself glancing behind me every so often, the sensation of eyes on my back unnerving me.

I was never one to believe in ghosts or haunted buildings, but if any space was a candidate for a haunting, it would be this one.

The sound of wood snapping echoed from behind me, the sound filling the otherwise silent home. My heart rate increased ten-fold, the heady sensation of adrenaline making me momentarily dizzy. It was undeniably time to get out of here – I didn’t know if there was a wild animal or something worse creeping around this place, but I wasn’t about to stick around to find out.

“Thea…” The voice was breathy, carried to me from the back of the house on a cold breeze. “Thea, don’t leave.”

Soul Touched

That's all for now! I'll be in touch again next week to celebrate the release of Soul Touched.

As always, thank you for reading, and have a wonderful rest of the week.

Sincerely,

Emily Frances

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