Two Sisters and a Book

Since my last post, life has been busy! Winter came and went and now Spring is in the air! As the leaves bud and flowers begin to bloom, my co-author and I are busy editing our second novel, the sequel to The Tortured Tyrant and second book in The Secret Keepers Series! Stay tuned for news on the release date!

In the meantime, here is an excerpt from The Tortured Tyrant to get you curious about our book and eager to read it before the sequel arrives! This scene reveals the state of our antagonist’s mother, a woman with shattered dreams that were never meant to be and whose hard, impoverished life crushed her psyche. The culmination of her choices and hardened heart ultimately damaged her son’s chances at happiness and scarred his soul, creating The Tortured Tyrant.

Adella, Rafael’s Mother:

The early evening sun burned orange through the tattered curtains, casting an eerie glow across the shack. Somewhere in a dusty corner a rat furiously gnawed on a chunk of stale bread, its claws scratching the floor in its haste. The clip clop of horses’ hooves sounded in the distance as men returned home from a day of looking for work. A man full of drink stumbled into the hut next door, dishes crashed to the floor, and soon his wife’s screams rang in the evening air. Somewhere across the street, children’s laughter turned to fearful squeals and a door slammed shut. Adela Castellano, impervious to the noise outside, shuffled across the floor. She threw wood into the fire and yellow-orange sparks scattered across the hearth. As she fell into a chair, a sob escaped her lips. A soul-wrenching heaviness weighed upon her and flooded her mind with discordant images of a lifetime of regret. She reached for the bottle and poured herself another hefty glass of wine, then angrily stabbed her finger in the empty air in front of her.

“I did everything for you, Emiliano! Like a fool, I believed your empty promises, but they were all lies! You are a snake! You took my dreams and shredded them into a million pieces!”

Adela’s face contorted, revealing her loneliness, sorrow and despair. Rafael’s young face flashed in her mind. The last time I saw you, I… Swallowing the rest of her wine, she pushed the thought away and went to the ice box for some cheese, but there was none. She rummaged inside the cupboard and found a single wedge of stale bread. As she chewed her dinner, Adela gulped down another glass of wine. The last bottle sat waiting for her on the counter. She had not worked in a long while, and as she eyed the empty cupboards, she knew she would have to hit the streets tonight.