The Empty Room
by Sarah J. Clemens
GENRE: Mystery, Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The small town of Eastbrook, Maine seemed like the
close-knit community where newlyweds Dean and Elizabeth Montgomery could begin
their lives together, and the 1901 Victorian seemed like the house they’d
always dreamed of owning. The only condition for purchasing the property was
that it was sold in “as-is” condition.
When the couple arrives in Eastbrook, they receive
anything but a warm welcome from the local residents. And when they realize
that as-is condition meant that the previous owner of the house had left every
worldly possession behind, the dream of the small town life starts to take a
mysterious turn.
Day after day, Dean and Elizabeth uncover more truths than they could have ever imagined, or ever wanted to know about the secrets that were hidden in the small town of Eastbrook. And as neighbors become growingly hostile with every encounter, this young couple searches furiously to uncover what the residents are trying to hide.
As their journey unfolds, Elizabeth goes missing and
Dean must turn to the very neighbors he fears may have known what would happen
to her from the moment the couple arrived for help. Because in this town, some
secrets are better off hidden.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
The
car grumbled to a stop at the end of the gravel driveway. The three-day car
trip was finally over. The gas station food and bathrooms stops were all behind
them. They were home. The house might have been filled with someone else’s
belongings, but they owned it now.
The house looked like a postcard from the outside. Small
shrubs lined each side of the driveway as it suspiciously winded its way to the
front porch. The grass was wet with dew after the recent rain.
As though looking at a piece of abstract art, Dean and
Elizabeth both leaned forward in their seats toward the dash and squinted from
inside the window of the car. Their eyes moved from left to right, making sure
to taste every detail that first met their view.
“It’s gorgeous.” Elizabeth peered out from beneath the
windshield.
With her eyes squinted and her mouth opened slightly, she
studied every feature of architecture as though the house would greet her with
an exam before allowing her to enter. She broke her concentration from the
house and pressed her hand to the passenger side window, looking up and down to
visually imprint every detail that awaited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sarah J Clemens is the author of the debut novel, THE EMPTY ROOM. She
began writing THE EMPTY ROOM in 2008 and formed her own publishing company in
2016 called Off the Page Publishing.
Sarah was born in California and now lives and
works in Boise, Idaho. In addition to writing fiction, she is a legal assistant
with an Associate of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.
BOOK VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTgMqK8Ihi0&sns=em
Website: http://www.sarahjclemens.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sarahjclemens/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_j_clemens/
Buy Links:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY:
Sarah J. Clemens will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and
Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for featuring The Empty Room on BookLover Sue today!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome!
DeleteHave you written any other novels in collaboration with other writers?
ReplyDeleteHi Mai, not in collaboration with any other writers but I did just finish the first draft of my second novel as part of CampNanoWriMo. I can't imagine how tough it would be to work with another writer on a fiction story but I would love to take that on some day.
DeleteI loved the excerpt, I am looking forward to checking this one out! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeletePlease do, Victoria! I really hope you enjoy the story. :)
DeleteGreat excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and I enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting excerpt.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the best book that you have read recently? Thanks for the giveaway. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteOf course! The best book that I've read recently would have to be Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. I had such a strong connection to her first novel To Kill a Mockingbird and it was one of the first books I remember reading in school. I was so excited to hear that she was finally releasing Go Set a Watchman after all these years.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a mystery in a few years, and now I think it's time to change that. "The Empty Room" sounds truly intriguing!
ReplyDeleteA few random notes/thoughts:
- LOVE the "O"s in the book's cover. Brilliant! And, excellent design overall.
- [From the Blurb.] "Dean must turn to the very neighbors he fears may have known what would happen to her from the moment the couple arrived for help." ...Here is where I think that I really got hooked. Wow! The "Who can you trust?" element, and the paranoia-- I'd love to see how this plays out in the book. (Note: My professional background/training is in Clinical Psychology.)
- [From the Excerpt.] "Their eyes moved from left to right, making sure to taste every detail that first met their view." I LOVE the sensory description here! Tasting the details with their eyes; taking it all in... Amazing.
Thank you for introducing me to this book!
--Ann