A sample from the latest book edited by The Written Word
By Elyse Salpeter
The weather outside had officially turned. Without any sort of preamble, the sunny sky that had been their constant companion for the past seven glorious days had darkened, thundered sounded and a crazy-colored strobe lightning storm began to streak across the expanse in yellows, whites and now bursts of blinding red. It reminded her of the kaleidoscope flashes from a colored flashlight being turned on and off. For the few moments she could remain outside and be safe, the entire city seemed bathed in glorious color. Hayden always wanted to stay and watch the display, but invariably her Handlers would usher her and the others inside. There was no way anyone could remain outside during one of these electrical storms. Unless you wished to be electrified by the raindrops and die a horrendous end by burning to death. It was just too dangerous.
And the storms were happening more and more frequently.
The story of the child many years ago who once been accidentally left on the roof during a storm was etched into her psyche. It was a nightmarish tale the Handlers had repeated to Hayden and the others ever since they had been small, so that they would understand the sheer danger of remaining outside during an electric storm. After an exhaustive search, the Handlers finally found the boy in the vegetable garden, writhing on the ground with burns over ninety percent of his body.
He didn’t live long.
Ms. Corrine stood against the far wall, smoothing out her skirt. Her coiffed blond hair not moving an inch and her prim yellow suit, pristine as always. “I’ll shut the door after you leave.” Ms. Corrine pressed the speaker button on the wall, letting the other Handlers know the children were coming downstairs for the evening.
Hayden took that moment to turn back to watch the final colors light up the sky.
And froze.
A man stood there. Just standing on the turf at the edge of the building, staring right at her. He hadn’t been there moments before, when everyone was outside. She was sure of it. But now he was. At the exact moment only she could see him.
She turned quickly to Ms. Corrine who was still talking into the speaker.
Hayden glanced back. The man was still there. He tipped his head towards her in what seemed a greeting and then disappeared. Vanished. He simply blinked out of existence.
Hayden gripped the handles of the basket of potatoes and tomatoes hard, until her knuckles turned white. “It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real,” she repeated, whispering the mantra under her breath.
About the author
Elyse Salpeter is an author who loves mixing “the real with the fantastic” in her books. She likes nothing better than taking different scenarios and creating worlds where things just aren’t what they appear to be.
Her 6-book supernatural thriller series, The Hunt for Xanadu, The Quest of the Empty Tomb, The Call of Mount Sumeru, The Haunting of Cragg Hill House, The Search for Starlight and The Journey Back are about a brilliant and fearless young woman named Kelsey Porter, whose life is steeped in Buddhist spiritual mysteries and she is constantly discovering the world around her is not what she believed it to be.
Her paranormal suspense series, Flying to the Light and Flying to the Fire are about a young deaf boy who knows what happens to you when you die and now people are after him for the answers.
Horror novel, The Mannequins, is about a film crew that enters an abandoned mansion and disappears, while her horror collection, Ricket Row, is filled with little creepy tales, guaranteed to keep you up at night.
Her sci-fi collection called Titanium Flow is rife with alien worlds, genetic testing, trans-galaxy romance, and robots!
And lastly, her dark fantasy series, The World of Karov and The Ruby Amulet are about twins, power and magic all interweaved with the theme of good vs evil.
When she’s not writing, she’s training for triathlons and eating shock food in her Gastronaut Club. Please come on over and learn more about her at www.elysesalpeter.com, www.elysesalpeter.wordpress.com, facebook.com/elysesalpeterauthor, or follow her on twitter at www.twitter.com/elysesalpeter or TikTok @elysesalpeter
The Door on the Right
In a world devastated by a ruthless virus, 13 orphan teens cling to survival in Harlin House, a safe haven created for them by a mysterious group called the Handlers.
With no immunity to the virus and time running out, they discover that all is not as it seems, and their lives—and the world beyond theirs—are trapped in a terrifying nightmare far more hellish than they could ever imagine.
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