Welcome Diane Chartrand to First Page Friday. Today, Diane is sharing from her novel: Sia: Screams in the Night. Now I'm not one to read stories that have any suggestion of terror in them but there are a boatload of folks out there who thrive on the tension and there's nothing wrong with that.
I've known Diane for a long time. We met in a Creative Writing Course offered through the University of Western Ontario's continuing studies. She's a lovely lady and I know she has a passion for writing. So, without further delay, here are more details about Diane's book.
Book Blurb:
Jolted awake by the screams of a young girl,
Sia froze. The heart-wrenching sounds, a
reminder of what happened to her, in the park, at 14. Fearful for the girl, but
more afraid of her past.
Sia escaped after four years. Having testified
against her captors, she and her family now live in Witness Protection.
Sia, second-guessing
what she heard, and haunted by the fact that no one tried to find her, undertakes
an intense search for information from neighbors and police about that night.
A gut feeling. The girl is real and in serious
trouble. Only one goal. Find the girl before it’s too late.
First Page:
Chapter One
Shattered
Startle, Sia jumped up in bed. What, what? Another piercing scream broke the night silence followed by a young girl begging, "No. Please stop, please you're hurting me."
Sia went over to the bedroom window and raised the blinds. She looked out into the darkness but saw no one. The basketball court, which is directly below her second story apartment, was empty, and the small children's playground next to it appeared to be too.
She heard it again even louder this time. The girl's piercing cries ripped into Sia's soul. She could feel every bit of pain the girl was ex- periencing. Sia couldn't pinpoint the girl's location so went out on her balcony hoping to get a better fix.
The sound seemed to be coming from behind the two L shaped buildings that surrounded the basketball court and playground, sepa- rated from the townhouse complex behind it by a small grassy area, a 6-foot fence topped with barb wire, and a row of 20-foot pine trees.
A man's angry voice exploded into the silence. "This life is your only future Willow. Now shut the hell up."
Willow's gut-wrenching cries went on for over a half-hour. Sia wanted to find and help this desperate girl, but fear stopped her.
Sia picked up the receiver of the phone and was about to call the police when the night went silent. She put the phone back in the cradle and waited a few minutes to see if the cries started again.
No more pleading cries to stop. No more piercing screams. No more male voice. Did someone closer intervene? Did she get away, or was she lying there hurt, maybe dying?
Well.... wow. That's an explosive start to this story. I have a problem with though, (sorry Diane), but I'd have called the cops a whole lot sooner. Poor Willow. What happened to her?
You can find out more about Diane and what she's up to on her BLOG, until then,
Compelling start!
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