May 17, 2016

Black Water Tales: The Unwanted Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

http://xpressobooktours.com/2016/03/02/tour-sign-up-black-water-tales-the-unwanted-by-jeannicole-rivers/
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for BLACK WATER TALES: THE UNWANTED! I have a great excerpt from the book to share with you today - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.


Black Water Tales: The Unwanted
Author: JeanNicole Rivers
Genres: Adult Horror
Publication Date: March 31, 2016

Synopsis:

In the remote, eastern European town of Borslav there is St. Sebastian orphanage, a place where people discard their unwanted children. For the American, Blaire Baker, it’s the perfect place to volunteer her services. Paired with a cheerful volunteer nurse, Blaire is enthusiastic about the possibilities, but is quickly discouraged when she encounters the nefarious nature of the staff and the deplorable conditions of the facility and the children.

Upon arrival, one of the children informs Blaire, “There’s something in the basement.” It isn’t long before strange things begin happening, including Blaire’s flashbacks of the accident that killed her parents. The children soon suffer injuries that Blaire, first, fears may be the deeds of the callous workers but she soon thinks the abuse may originate from a source that is less than human, something unwanted.

The unwanted is coming but in order for Blaire to fight it, she must dig into St. Sebastian and herself in search of truth. Blaire wants nothing more than to help the children, but when discovers the tragedy that happened in the basement and learns that the same evil forces are still at work, it will be Blaire who needs help… There’s something in the basement.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29208077-black-water-tales
At one end of the oversized yard, a small cottage stood. In front of the cottage, a massive tree thrived, and a few yards to the right of it was a bench that sat next to a life-size cement statue of the Virgin Mary. Much further down the beach, Blaire spotted a small home that sat close to the cliff, but she would hardly have called them neighbors of the orphanage. Besides these mute companions, St. Sebastian was alone up here. Blaire turned from the shore, noticing for the first time the huge piece of litter that had once been a pool. She curled her lips in disgust.

Turning back to the sea, somehow the idea that working in this secluded place would be fulfillment of a dream was again recaptured, and she brushed off the improbability of the setting and laughed to herself. Mingled into hers she found the laughter of another. It grew louder, bellowing against hers like lumps of dense oil plopping into water, and then melting seamlessly into a soft giggling.

Blaire turned back to St. Sebastian. “Hello?”

On the other side of the pool, a little girl stood, her back facing Blaire. Her height alone told Blaire that she could not have been any older than eight. The girl wore a ruffle-drowned lavender dress that must have once been a prized possession, but was now little more than a rag. Her head tilted downward as she spoke to someone. Blaire took long strides to get closer. Auburn curls that rarely saw a comb were drawn up tightly around the girl’s neck.

“Excuse me.” Blaire called, but the child was unbothered. Delicately peeking over the girl’s shoulder, Blaire noticed a small flight of steps at the end of which was a red door that led to a basement under the building.

“Excuse me,” Blaire said touching the girl’s shoulder. The child snapped her head back to look at Blaire. Her eyes were covered with a milky white film, two purplish circles peering out blindly. Under her eyes the skin sagged as if she had never slept a day in her life. Her juvenile facial features were twisted in terror as if she had seen something that she could not un-see, something for which eyes were unnecessary.

“Ida?” the little lavender-clothed girl called out the name, as she lifted her shaking hand toward Blaire. Though the girl could not see Blaire’s chocolate brown hair, her full lips, or the deep amber hue of her skin, the girl’s film-stricken eyes poured over Blaire and the young teacher was sure that no one had ever seen her more clearly.

Blaire took a gentle hold of the lavender girl’s hand. “No, my name is Ms. Baker. What’s your name?” The girl looked back down the cement steps into the shadowy square of darkness then back to Blaire, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

“Dariya.”

“It’s nice to meet you Dariya. Did you hear me calling to you?”

“Kind of,” the girl whispered, scratching her neck furiously like a flea-ridden puppy.

Blaire looked down at the door. “Did you hear something down there?”

“Kind of.”

“What do you mean, kind of?” Blaire asked. Dariya leaned in close to Blaire who, in turn, bent further to hear, their faces now only inches apart.

“I heard it in here,” the child confided, the last word almost whistled in a breathy hiss as Dariya pointed her index finger to her temple. Blaire followed the child’s penetrating gaze as it went back down the stairs, and both of their attentions were now focused squarely on the ominous door.

I was born in the tiny, but lovable town of Centralia, IL which has a two screen movie theatre, one high school and still celebrates May Fete, so I had no choice, but to develop a fantastic imagination. Since childhood I have been writing everything from short stories to songs, but I have always aspired to compose a novel. Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers is my first novel and the first book in what will be a series of thriller novels.

Philosophy was my study in college and I received a Bachelor of Arts in the subject from Florida International University. Writing is one of my most favored artistic pursuits, but my love for the arts does not stop there, I am also a vocalist and actress and participate in local theater in Houston Texas.

Author Links:
Purchase: Amazon


Tour Wide Giveaway:
$20 Barnes and Noble Gift Card
Signed copies of both Black Water Tales books
Open to US only!










 

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