Reader's Choice

 
Here are a few favorite quotes readers have selected:

For the next twenty minutes, there was no haunting past and no ominous future to cloud her thoughts. There was only right now. Left on the Edge

Pulling her arms back, she couldn’t find any courage to share the truth. Words couldn’t really do justice to the horrors she had just experienced. Taken in the Woods

“I am done living my life with secrets.” Speaking to her reflection, Autumn spoke the words that set her free. “I have nothing to fear from telling the truth.” Drowned by Fear

Finding friends is hard enough; losing them is even worse. Drowned by Fear

What is your favorite quote?

Paperback and eBook available on Barnes & Noble!

The paperback and eBook for Drowned by Fear are now available at Barnes and Noble!

The books are available in store, only if you order them at Customer Service.

Drowned by Fear is released in paperback!

Right now it is only available on createspace, but that will change.
I will continually update the retail availability, for the paperback and eBook formats.

So be sure to keep checking back!

Cover Reveal for 'Drowned by Fear'!

Final edits are underway for Drowned by Fear!
I received the last marked-up manuscript from my editor on Wednesday night.
Since then I have been working feverishly to make the necessary changes.

I am still hoping to get the paperback edition out by the end of the month.

Here is a sample: 
Autumn’s senior year is filled with preparations for the future; choosing a college and a career, but when she hears her sister in California receives a note like the ones left after the break-ins, she knows the situation is bigger than she can handle. Telling the whole truth to her parents requires more strength than she needed to make friends when she first came to Woodmere. By keeping secrets from her family, Autumn discovers she isn’t protecting them or herself, but the men who haunt her past, present and future. Will she find the courage to tell her family and stop living with secrets or will she be Drowned by Fear?

Please check back for more updates!

Where to buy the Woodmere Trilogy?

Word has reached me that knowing where to buy the Woodmere Trilogy is unclear. This simply will not do. With the third and final book in the trilogy in it's final stages, knowing where to purchase the first two books is essential.

Only the new edition of the paperback is currently available:
It is important to note that new editions of Left on the Edge and Taken in the Woods are making their way through cyber hoops to major retailers right now.

Taken in the Woods (Woodmere Trilogy | Book Two)

Left on the Edge (Woodmere Trilogy | Book One)

Where to buy Left on the Edge:
Get a Paperback - Amazon | Createspace | Barnes & Noble

Get an eBook - Book Country | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Scribd | Kobo | iTunes

Where to buy Taken in the Woods:

Get a Paperback - Amazon | Createspace | Barnes & Noble

Get an eBook - Book Country | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Scribd | Kobo | iTunes

Check back for information on where to buy Drowned by Fear once it is released!

Tentative release will be in September 2014.

The Illustrations are done!

Let the cover designing begin!
The illustrations of Autumn and the cabin are finished.
The background illustration for 'Drowned by Fear' took many more hours than I had thought when I drew the ghost sketch.

Here is a look at the two finalized illustrations while I begin work on the cover design:

  

Update on Background Illustration

Work Continues...
This background is taking more time than I thought!
But I can still hear my mother's voice, "If it's worth doing, it is worth doing right!".
Memories of geometry and trigonometry have come back to me as rulers and protractors have been dug out and used for this background illustration.

Here is a look at the progress on the illustrations for 'Drowned by Fear':
 

 

Be sure to check back!
As I continue to make progress on the illustrations, I will post more pictures.
Each picture will give a better idea of what the cover will look like as a whole.

Backgound Illustration for 'Drowned by Fear'.

Starting Background Illustration
The illustration of Autumn is done!
I am waiting to reveal the finished illustration until the cover design is finished.
Work has officially begun on the background for Drowned by Fear.

Here is a look at Craig's grandfather's cabin:

Be sure to check back!
As I continue to make progress on the illustrations, I will post more pictures.
Each picture will give a better idea of what the cover will look like as a whole.

Updates to 'Drowned by Fear'

Work still continues on illustrations.
A break was taken to work on received edits for the novel, Drowned by Fear.
Advanced released copies have made it to a few Beta Readers for in put. While waiting to hear back, I have began working more fervently on the illustrations needed in the cover design.

 Here is another look at Autumn:
 

Be sure to check back!
As I continue to make progress on the illustrations, I will post more pictures. Each picture will give a better idea of what the cover will look like as a whole.

First Look at "Drowned by Fear".

As I have been awaiting to hear back from an editor, I have begun work on one of many illustrations that will be combined to make up the cover for Drowned by Fear.

Here is a first look at the preliminary illustration of Autumn for the cover:

Be sure to check back!
As I make progress on the illustrations, I will post more pictures. Each picture will give a better idea of what the cover will look like as a whole.

Free Sample!

Is Drowned by Fear out yet? 

Have you finished the next book? 
These are the two most common questions I am getting right now.

I am actively working on writing the final installment of the Woodmere Trilogy.
Editors are lined up to review it at the beginning of June 2014.
I am as excited to put this book out as you are to read it!

Here is a sneak peek into Drowned by Fear

The blindfold covering not just his eyes, but from the top of his forehead to the top of his upper lip, was removed. Relief briefly filled his lungs with fresh air. The putrid stench permeating from the rag still lingered in his sinuses, but was quickly dissipating with every breath. As his nose cleared, so did his thoughts.

Where am I? Looking around was pointless; for although the blindfold had been removed, he remained blind to his surrounds without light.

Think, he silently commanded of his mind.

Dressed as Mr. Thornton, Mason had gone out to meet Greasy Gill in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. With the revival of the industrial park into a thriving art epicenter complete with new condos, meeting in the North Loop was becoming risky. With Mr. Vaughn’s latest venture, art thefts from this area were the next logical step after residential thefts. That is if thievery was still his objective.

That’s why the last crew was left to the prosecutors. The marks had been so carefully planned. The only chance of capture was if they had been tipped off. Lights above his head briefly flickered to the rhythm of his thoughts before being plunged into the darkness once more. But why am I here?

A damp rag had covered his nose and mouth as strong arms encircled him like a bear. Breathing underwater would have been less of a struggle. He thought hard about the faint odor on the cloth. It was the smell of unconsciousness.

Chloroform. The faint smell of it dissipates long before the effect on its victim wears off. With shaky balance, he stood and began feeling his way around. A rough brick surface was cold and left his hands with a moist slimy residue. By why?

This question always remained. Why had the book been taken? Why had he been taken? Why had Mr. Vaughn taken an interest in him all those years ago? Why?

“Oh, good. You’re awake.” A voice said from his left. “Those boys get a little carried away when they are told they get to drug someone.”

“Who are you? Where am I? What do you want?” he demanded of the unidentified darkness.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Those are the wrong questions.” The reply seemed to be circling him. “So much was invested in you and that’s the best you can come up with?”

Turning his back to the wall Mason strained his ears to the silence. A casual scrape of a shoe came from his right followed by another. Someone was walking towards him. Expectations of his abilities caused his mind to falter.

Why can’t there be light? How am I going to get out of here? What do I do once I am free? Can I ever be free of Mr. Vaughn? Questions of his current situation, some pertinent while others were not, followed close behind the panic squeezing his throat like anaphylactic shock.

“While you get your thoughts and breathing under control, let’s talk about something else. How’s your wife and new baby?” That question caused Mason to stop breathing entirely. “I heard it’s a baby girl.”

“H-how did you hear about my d-d-daughter?” Mason managed to stuttered in a hoarse whisper.

“I know more than you could possible imagine.” A warm breath on his left ear came with the voice. “Sometimes it is best to let one’s child get away with little things to build confidence and trust. As a father you need to learn this. I let you keep that silly little book because you did a good job. Prison is not a desirable vacation destination. But now you are learning of things you are not meant to know. To help you out, the bottom feeder you have been associating with has been returned to his natural habitat.”

Closing his mouth, Mason knew where he was. The surface of the brick walls should have told him sooner, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly. This was the warehouse of execution near the St. Anthony Falls.

A place where murder can easily be passed off as suicide.

“Take good care of your daughter or in a few years I will need to add her to my collection, just like your niece Autumn.” As the man behind the threat began to back away, Mason’s ear felt as cold as his soul. “Success has a price, remember that.”

Hinges creaked as a heavy steel door was opened. A silhouette of black was revealed by the light streaming in from behind. The sound of rushing water drowned out the sound of footsteps approaching from the far back corner. As Mason stepped away from the wall to get a better look at the features of the dark figure, a rag was placed over his face as arms trapped him from behind. The slightly sweet smell of unconsciousness once again overtook him.

I would love to hear your comments about that little taste.
What do you think is going to happen in the third book?

Barnes & Noble selling paperback!

Having just celebrated my birthday, I had received one of the best gifts ever. 
A gift card to Barnes & Noble.
I have been gifted with the option to choose for my self the books I wanted to get for my birthday.

Browsing online I randomly check on my books. 
What I saw made me more excited than when the knight I was cheering for on my birthday, gave me a flower after he won his joust.

Taken in the Woods is now sold in paperback through Barnes & Noble!

I squealed...a lot!
Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

As the polar vortex continues to drop and snow and cold on my doorstep,
I encourage you all to stay warm and read!

Drowned by Fear

Photo taken by me,  Sarah Richards in Northern Minnesota

In the first book of the Woodmere Trilogy, Left on the Edge,
Autumn is haunted by memories. 
She believed her Uncle Mason was the culprit. 

Then in the Taken in the Woods,
she is faced with the reality her memories lied to her. 
The man she should be hiding from is called Nic Blaque. 

Lies also affected Craig life. 
Lies told by his own father, Hank and readily believed by his closest friends and most of the town. 
By telling the truth to Autumn he earned her trust and respect, and
Autumn finally told Craig the truth about her dark past when it caught up to her in the woods.

Can she learn to do the same with her parents before it is too late? 
Will her life have a happy ending or will she be Drowned by Fear?

Book Release!

"What?"
"That's it?"
"You can't just end it like that?"
"I want to know more about the secrets!"

All these responses I have heard in response to the ending of Left on the Edge.
Followed closely by
"When is the next book coming out!".

The answer is...
drum roll
NOW!

Taken in the Woods
has been released!

The formats available are paperback and eBook.
Retailers it is available through include the always popular Amazon.

For a complete list and corresponding links please visit the book's page.

Personally I find this second book more fast paced and exciting than the first.
But don't take my word for it. Read it and share what you think!

Never too old to dream.

This morning I dropped my son off at school, and then I head straight to the library to visit some old friends and make new ones as I pursued the books on the shelves.

What I encountered was so surreal that I broke the number one rule at a library.
 I squealed, loudly.

My debut book is on a shelf for others to read.
A dream I hadn't even known I was holding close to my heart had come true in that moment.

My second book, Taken in the Woods, is going to be published by October 1, 2013.
Now one of my dreams is to see it nestled next to Left on the Edge in the library.

These dreams are making me more motivated and energized to finish the trilogy than if I had drunk a whole pot of coffee. 

Dreams are amazing things.
Just because you grow older doesn't mean you stop having them.

The start of the Woodmere Trilogy begins with the main character Autumn celebrating her birthday.

"Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Autumn," Marion said. "Go on, make a wish.”
“I’m too old to make wishes,” Autumn retorted.
Leaning forward and holding her wavy reddish hair back, Autumn exhaled a small gust. I wish I could meet the man of my dreams this year, she thought before the last candle was extinguished.
(Taken from Left on the Edge)

As Autumn experiences in the Woodmere Trilogy,
dreams come true
in ways you wish for and in ways unexpected.

I first remember wanting to take care of sick animals when I was little.
My mom and dad informed me that was the job of a veterinarian.

Then I read an obscure book I picked up from the St. Charles Parish Library when I was in grade school.
Scrub Dog of Alaska by Walt Morey and it changed my mind.
I wanted to run in the Iditarod and own a dog sled team.

But like most childhood dreams there were complications.
No snow.
I was living in Louisiana.
No dogs allowed.
My mom is allergic to dogs.

I knew it wasn't going to happen, but that wasn't going to stop me from dreaming about it.
I filled page after page in my notebook in school (It was more fun than taking notes!) with drawings of mushers and sled dogs hard at work pulling loads of emergency supplies to people in need.

I never stopped reading.
I never stopped spending countless hours, days, years at the library listening to the stories come to life through my imagination as I read book after book

As my biography says, I have a Siberian Husky.
While I am not running medical supplies to those in need, the neighborhood opossums and squirrels have learned to stay away or become faster than a sled dog.
Neighbors have taken to thanking my dog with ham bones for riding their gardens of rabbits.
So in a way, my wish to help others with a sled dog has come true.
Like Autumn, it happened in ways I didn't foresee.

What were your childhood dreams? Have they come true? How have your dreams changed changed?