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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Break the Spell by A.M. Bostwick

Ethan Knight is on the run. Accused of dealing drugs and armed with nothing but a bad reputation and his motorcycle, he takes refuge for the weekend inside the old high school. Thinking no one will find him and no one does.

Description:

Published in September, 2015

Alone. On the run. Until she came along.

When Allison Evans walks out of high school the last day of her senior year, she has no idea that her carefully guarded life is about to unravel.

Ethan Knight is on the run. Accused of dealing drugs and armed with nothing but a bad reputation and his motorcycle, he takes refuge for the weekend inside the old high school. Thinking no one will find him and no one does.

Until Allison. Panicked and left with no other choice, Ethan takes her captive. It should be a nightmare, but together, both of their lives take an unexpected turn. It’s time for them both to stop running from their problems.

EXCERPT
There is a girl at my locker. 

Not that’s it really my property anymore, or anything. Wasn’t today the last day of high school for seniors? Yeah. It’s over now. Thing is, I thought I was alone. 

I’d walked in the front door of The Castle twenty minutes ago after stashing my Harley in the back shed. I’d been stationed there, under the eaves. Waiting. The shed was open. They never padlocked it. Who cared if a few snow shovels or bags of salt go missing, right? It was the perfect place to hide my bike for the weekend. Satisfied, I walked right down the high school hallway, past the principal’s office - I spent less time there than anyone thinks - and around a corner and listened to the janitor whistle as he finished pushing his broom across the floor. He shoved it into his janitor closet, washed his hands at the little sink in there and strolled down the hall. The way I’d just come. He tried each door as he passed, satisfied everything was locked. That everything was just as it should be. There was no alarm to set. He walked out the front doors, and his ring of keys clattered as he locked them tight. Still whistling to himself. Didn’t think anyone else could hear him. The doors rattled against their frames but did not open when he tested them. Then he was gone. And I was alone. 

Until now. 

I don’t even know which direction she came from. She must have been waiting in the wings like me, postponing her arrival until the janitor left. No lights are on. The hallways are all shadows. The water fountain has a steady drip. The school is a weird place right now. It’s meant to be filled with kids, ringing bells, clanging lockers. The silence is jarring. The empty school, a body with no spirit. No life. 

The girl is slight. She has this long, white-blonde hair falling in her face while she fiddles with the combination. She’s a little unkempt, but pretty. I notice right away. A backpack is on the ground next to her. It looks heavy. She looks nervous. I lean on the wall of lockers and watch, silent. She pushes a thread of hair behind her ear. It’s tangled from the rain. I can’t tell the color of her eyes, but her skin is pale. Like fine bone china. She’s wearing a dress and a denim jacket that are dark and wet. About as wet as mine. 

This girl is wrecking my plan.

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About the author:
A.M. Bostwick writes Middle Grade and Young Adult novels. Her debut middle grade novel, The Great Cat Nap, earned the 2014 Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers. An early draft of her young adult novel, “Break the Spell,” was a finalist in the 2013 Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Fab 5 Contest. She holds degrees in both art and earth science. A.M. Bostwick lives in northern Wisconsin with her husband, dog and thrill-seeking cat.


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