* * *
The Blackmail
of Evelynn
Faust
Shirley Anne Edwards
YA Contemporary w/Romantic Elements,
73k
Evelynn
Faust suffers from horrible insomnia and
paranoia. The summer before her senior
year of high school should be one of the
best summers of her life. But she’s
tormented by guilt and an addiction that
haunts her every waking moment. Evelynn
is a drug dealer who also craves the drug
she sells. The money and the
popularity that come with it aren’t bad
either. But when she’s caught dealing
on school property by Eric Wagner, the
respected and admired police chief’s son,
the game is over.
He won’t snitch on her, unless she gives him whatever
he wants - her.
She’s
being
blackmailed.
Evelynn has no one to turn to for help. Not her
parents who don’t understand her rebellious
nature or her circle of friends who
only care about partying and getting high.
When Adam Tristen moves in across
the street, and he wants to get to know her
better, it all seems too good to be
true.
She
must make a pact with the
devil.
Evelynn now looks over her shoulder wherever she goes,
waiting for Eric to act on his threats. But
Adam, the charming college sophomore,
sees something special inside Evelynn, and
he wants to help her fix mistakes. In
order to do that she must confront a dark
secret from her past that could
destroy her family…her life…and her entire
world as she knows it.
She
must take a leap of
faith.
Releasing on May
25th !!
Pre-edit
Excerpt:
The Blackmail of Evelynn Faust by Shirley Anne
Edwards. Evelynn reveals one of her dark
secrets to Adam…
“How was your party?”
“You
should have come. A lot of people crashed
it.” I held the metal chains and
twisted left and
right.
He
swung back and forth as I twisted. “Maybe
if someone asked me to be their date,
I would have then.” He swung slightly to
the side and bumped my hip with his.
“Wouldn’t
have been a good
idea.”
“Why
not?” Again he tapped his hip to
mine.
“Adam,
I’m not dating or girlfriend material. I’m
just looking for a warm body to use
so I can forget about life for a while. I
know you don’t want to hear that, but
it’s the truth.”
He
stopped rocking and reached over to take my
hand. I moved my arm away, but he
wouldn’t let me, and linked his fingers
with mine. “For some reason I can’t
leave you alone, and even though you act
like you only want me for sex, or
whatever else, I don’t think that’s so.
What I do think is that you have a lot
on your mind and want to tell someone, but
not sure how.”
“What
am I, your project for school? Trying to
psychoanalyze me?”
“No.
I want to be your friend and help erase
those shadows in your eyes. That’s
all.”
I
looked right at his face, at this big brown
eyed, caramel skinned boy…man who
was too good for the likes of me. My
stomach cramped because I was going to
tell him one of my dark secrets. Why? It
just felt right to do in this dark,
wet morning surrounded by metal, and dirt
and rocks where I once played,
unaware of how horrible my life would
become.
“My
shadows, as you say I have, weren’t always
there. I guess it was a gradual
thing starting when I was around thirteen.
You think I’m something special, but
I’m not. There’s not much to recommend
about myself, other than I like jazz,
jogging, actually love playing with my
younger sister, and I enjoy…smoking up.”
“Smoking
up? Meaning something harder than
cigarettes?”
The
look on his face was of surprise and not
horror as I’d been expecting.
“Yeah.
I’ve been a big pot smoker ever since I was
in eighth grade. I need to smoke
every day. I think I’m an
addict.”
He
stood up from his swing and bent down,
grabbing both my hands in his. “At least
you admit it. It’s the first
step.”
“I
wish it was the easy. My habit is out of
control. I’m stuck in a corner with no
way out.”
“What
do you mean?” He gave me a tender smile. It
made my chest constrict.
I
stood and my knee cracked. Holding back a
grimace, I shook out my leg while I
squeezed his hands. “A…friend, who wants to
be more than that knows I’m using,
and he caught me doing it at school. He’s
threatening to tell my parents,
unless I do what he wants. He’s more than
willing to be that warm body I could
use.” The need to tell Adam all the facts
was strong, but I held back. Part of
it was because I still felt leery of him.
He may come across as a good guy who
wanted to help, but he could always be like
Eric underneath a great package.
“Oh.”
He let go of my hands and stepped back,
rubbing his mouth. I saw the outline of
a beard on his chin and cheeks. I longed to
rub my fingers over his rough,
bristled skin.
“See
the problem? I either give this guy what he
wants, or tell him to get lost and
hope for the
best.”
“I
know you don’t want to tell your parents, but
what would be the worst thing
that would happen if you told
them?”
I
scraped my shoe across the pebbled ground
and put my hands back in my pockets.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. I…I can’t
really explain why, but just take my
word for it.”
He
didn’t look like he believed me. I swore my
heart stopped beating for a second.
“You’re not being totally honest with
me.”
Damn.
“Adam, the situation is more complicated
than I make it sound. If you know too
much, it could get difficult for you. Plus,
your brother is a high ranking
official in town. If he found out because
you slipped up or mentioned something
to him, things on my end would go downhill
and fast. I’m not the only one
involved in this.”
“You’re
not only worried for yourself but the
others you care about, right?”
I
nodded. “You could say
that.”
He
gave me bright smile. “See, you’re not
hopeless as you think you are. You’ve
just proven to me you’re worth something
because you care and don’t want those
in your life to get hurt.
Correct?”
I
scratched my ear. I wasn’t sure where he
was going with this. “Yeah so? It
still doesn’t help the situation I’m
in.”
“Well,
not necessarily. But it’s a start. If you
can trust me with this small piece of
information, than you’ll eventually trust
me enough to tell me the whole
story.”
I
couldn’t hide me smile. His joy was too
contagious. “We’ll see.”
“Are
you’re feeling better
now?”
I
rocked my head side to side. “Maybe I’ll
feel better if you give me another
massage.”
He
pulled me to his chest and rubbed his
scruffy chin on my forehead. “If I give
you another one, will you open up to me
some more?”
“You
want me to bare my
soul.”
“Just
a little bit. Haven’t you heard absolution
is good for the soul?”
I
titled up my face. “Sure you’re not
studying to be a priest?”
“I have no desire to enter the
priesthood.”
His mouth landed on mine, and his kiss
proved that perfectly.
About
the
Author:
Shirley
Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who first
found her love for books when she
read Nancy Drew's The Secret of the Old
Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found
her love for writing at a very young age,
and since then has let her
imagination run wild by creating quirky
characters and vast worlds in her head.
Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in
the entertainment industry in New York
City.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain:
"Life is short, Break the Rules.
Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly.
Laugh uncontrollably and never regret
ANYTHING that makes you
smile."
For more information about Shirley and her
writing journey:
Website link:
http://shirlwriteredwards.wordpress.com/
Twitter:
@ShirleyAWriter (link:
https://twitter.com/ShirleyAWriter)
Facebook
(
https://www.facebook.com/shirley.edwards.31924)
Amazon
author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Anne-Edwards/e/B00N87EEAO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1426708495&sr=8-1
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