EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Fractured
by Erin Hayes
Fractured is currently ON SALE for only $0.99, so grab it at this special price while you can. Fractured is on tour with Xpresso Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Blinded by a mysterious seizure when she was three years old, Bash Martin has managed to carve out a normal life for herself as an adult. Yet she still yearns for a deeper connection with her twin sister Lily, who has always been jealous of the attention their parents bestowed upon Bash due to her disability.
A dream vacation seems like the perfect chance to heal their relationship, but Bash soon realizes there is something terribly wrong with Lily and that her sister is hiding a dark secret. And when a supernatural fire engulfs their hotel and corpses come back to life, the sisters are plunged into a nightmarish world that threatens not only their lives, but their very souls.
Excerpt
Lily felt awful.
While everyone else seemed to be rejuvenated by the mountains and the air, she was fighting to keep down that filet o’ fish sandwich she’d picked up at a McDonald’s on the way.
She barely managed to keep her composure as she lugged her duffle bag up to their room. Standing in the entrance to room 409 with Rick and Maria, she saw the two queen beds, the window, and the balcony that overlooked the forest. There was something oddly familiar about the place, like she’d been here before, although she knew that she hadn’t.
She had been the one who picked out this hotel. Why had she chosen this hotel? Sure, it looked nice online, and everyone else agreed that it was perfect. Now that they were here, she felt an ominous shadow over her. There was no other way to describe it.
Liiii-iiillly, the voice called out to her, stronger now.
She gagged. She needed to be alone.
She dropped the duffle on the bed closest to the bathroom. “Excuse me,” she muttered, pushing past Maria. Rick called after her, but she ignored him. She flicked on the light in the bathroom and slammed the door. It echoed against the tile floor, filling the space inside her ears. She was already hiccupping vomit when she rushed to the toilet, some of it landing on the floor before she got there. She didn’t care. She fell onto the porcelain bowl, puking up everything that was in her stomach. She hugged the basin and convulsed several times, retching up whatever was left. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Lily was frightened. She’d had some bad hangovers before, but this felt different. She hadn’t been that hung over that morning.
She wiped remnants from the corner of her lip, then covered her mouth, sobbing into her hand, trying to muffle it so that Rick and Maria couldn’t hear her. For some reason, whether it was the voice in her mind or something else, she didn’t want them to see her like this. She shuddered, trying to hold herself together.
What was happening to her?
Liiii-iiillly. We’re here, Lily.
“I’m ignoring you,” she whispered.
Shaking, she crawled in to the shower and turned it on, clothes and all. The cold water hit her like an ice storm pummeling her body. She welcomed it, glad that shivering took over from the writhing in her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sat in the corner, rocking herself back and forth.
You’re about to meet your destiny, Lily, the voice told her. You want Seth, don’t you?
She bit the back of her hand, trying to keep from screaming. She really was going crazy. Maybe she should have seen a psychiatrist long ago. Even now, she was seeing things, like little filaments of light falling around her. The walls of the shower seemed to pulsate around her, like it was a living thing that had its own heartbeat.
Over the rush of the water and the turmoil in her mind, she heard a knock at the door.
“Hey, Lily?” It was Rick. “Darius is ordering pizza. What do you want?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek, willing herself to sound normal when she answered. “Anything!” she yelled back.
Luckily, Rick didn’t press. There weren’t any more knocks, leaving Lily alone. Or as alone she could be with another voice in her head.
Let me take over, Lily. It will all be over soon and you’ll have Seth. You two are meant to be together.
She screamed into her hand as the tears fell down her face.
Featured Review
By E.MacCallum
I love horror when it's more than just gore, bloodshed and ultimate revenge stories. I found Fractured was an intriguing mystery, psychological scream-fest with, of course, horrific action that kept me on my toes. It's more intense when you care about the characters and Erin Hayes did just that.
From what I've read of this author, this is her first "horror". I certainly hope it's not her last. She did explain how it was a difficult thing to write but the effort she put into this novel unveils itself in a beautiful, bloody and entertaining way.
Bash and Lily are twins. Bash, the "good" one was blinded at the age of three. She's a sweet girl whose concern for her sister, Lily is often perceived as a nuisance. Lily, the "bad" one has had a bitter go at life and we watch as she struggles to correct herself only to slip in a vat of temptation wherever she goes. You can tell they're close in spirit despite not being very much alike in personality. Theirs is a complex relationship that I had a great time watching unfold.
Their trip to the hotel starts off innocently enough though there's an air of mystery. Something is about to go terribly wrong and while you're trying to figure out the pieces, more crazy things are going on in the background. The author reveals just enough to engage the reader but doesn't spill the beans until the riveting end.
I was really impressed with the writing. It was brutally awesome and an amazing first horror book! I think fans of psychological and action-packed horror will love this!
About the Author
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist, Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books, like the fantasy mystery Death is but a Dream and the sci-fi middle grade book Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average.
You can reach her at tiptoegirl87@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card.
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