June 1st is rapidly approaching – that means there are just eight more days until the official launch of my latest novel, Putting Down Roots. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m really excited to share it with you.
It’s the story of the Bailey family, formerly of British Columbia and now in the cozy little town of Beaverbrook, New Brunswick. They love the area, but especially the house. Everything’s off to a great start with their new life. There’s just one small problem – they’re all in mortal danger, and the threat is right in their back yard.
Here’s a short excerpt:
He awoke with a start, disoriented and immersed in darkness. The nightstand said 2:19, but it felt wrong. Matt would have sworn it should be closer to dawn than that. He sat up in bed, suddenly aware of another presence in the room with him. He held his breath and listened. A soft rustle in the bed next to him. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out Rachel’s sleeping form, softly rising and falling as she slept. Bewildered, he stared at her and tried to grasp what was going on. Why was Rachel there? She must have flown home early. Maybe I slept longer than I realized? He reached over and gently touched the form to be sure it was really her. It was Rachel. She stirred in her sleep, mumbled something incomprehensible, and went back to sleep.
Matt smiled, then shivered. The room was colder than it should have been. He became aware of the sound of rain and glanced toward the window. The curtains billowed gently in the breeze. Matt didn’t remember leaving the window open or opening it in the first place, for that matter. He got out of bed and gasped at the chill of the floor. He went to the window and realized his feet were wet. He reached to close it, but it wasn’t open. The lower pane had been broken, and small shards of glass were scattered across the floor.
“What’s going on? Why’s it so cold in here?” Rachel was awake and propped up on one elbow.
“The window’s broken. I’ll go get the broom.”
“No.” There was urgency in her voice, almost a panic. “Don’t leave us.”
He paused in the doorway and looked back at her with confusion. Don’t leave?
Us?
“Rachel, what-” her scream interrupted him. He flipped on the light. At first, he thought a huge snake was in their bed, draped over his wife and wrapping itself around her. Then he realized it wasn’t a snake. It was a tree branch. The tree was attacking them inside their own house.
Matt launched himself at the branch and tried to pry it from around Rachel. She thrashed and twisted, but it held fast and squeezed harder. Two more branches crept through the window like wet, gnarled tentacles and grabbed her. She tried to scream again but couldn’t draw a breath. She looked to Matt, who fought with renewed desperation.
One of the branches let Rachel go and wrapped itself around his neck. He tried to pry it off, but it had him in a vice-like grip. It dragged him backwards off the bed to the floor, where he landed hard on his back and head. His vision blurred, and he struggled to remain conscious. In the distance, he heard faint cries of terror and realized it was the boys. They sounded terrified and in pain. There was no way to reach them, nor any way to save any of them. In a moment, he’d be dead himself. There was nothing he could do.
Putting Down Roots is available for pre-order on Amazon, and will release on June 1st in paperback and ebook on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Head on over to my contact page and subscribe for all the latest news and updates delivered right to your inbox. Thanks as always for visiting, I hope you drop in regularly. Until next time,
Stay safe, talk soon.
-JP
Joe Powers, Author 