Today, Carol Riggs is joining us for the 9th day of 10 Days of Halloween! She’s sharing a little bit about her book Junction 2020 and the boogeyman! Ooooo….
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Hello! I’m Carol Riggs, and I like to read and write books with a twist of weird.
Most of my YA novels have a sense of mystery, maybe because I grew up reading Nancy Drew books. I also enjoy science fiction and fantasy elements, so I throw those in there too. THE LYING PLANET, my third published book, was born one night in 2010 as I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep…and I thought I heard a noise out in the living room. Nothing was really there, but my mind started spinning scenarios about What If. I figured this could be the initial pivotal moment of a YA novel, the story about a teen lying in the darkness of his room, and hearing…something.
More recently, my JUNCTION 2020 series involves portal travel to a dimension built by my 5 main characters’ sweetest dreams and worst nightmares. It’s been loads of fun! From magical music rooms to awesome lighthouses, and vampire spiders to street gangs, the alternate-dimension landscapes challenge my characters like nothing else. Each book in the 5-part series is written from the viewpoint of one of the characters. Book 3 of JUNCTION 2020 is Lauren’s book, and is called SILENT SCREAM. Interestingly enough, it also involves a character lying in bed and hearing something creepy (do I detect a pattern here?).
EXCERPT from Silent Scream, Chapter 3:
Stray thoughts tumble through my head, blurring with images of me blowing on my steaming mug of hot chocolate and swinging my arm to throw snowballs. I’m drifting off into serious drowsiness, when I hear a distinct and prolonged metallic creak.
Blinking, I lift my head. What was that?
I heard it loud and clear. Is someone walking around, maybe Stefanie in the outer hall as she heads to the bathroom? Except the creak didn’t quite sound like a floorboard, and it didn’t sound like the noise came from the hall.
It sounded like it came from inside my room.
I sit up, breaking into a clammy sweat. Impossible. There’s no one in here except me. I’ve got to be imagining things.
Squinting around the moonlit semi-darkness of the room, I see the tall, solid-wood dresser against the wall, the motionless, thin curtains over the window. Across the room the closet is silent, but its door stands ajar a few inches.
Crap. Wasn’t that door shut before I got into bed?
Creak.
That’s the metallic noise I heard earlier, I’m sure of it. It’s the rasp of a squeaky hinge. And right as I’m watching, the closet door opens wider. Slowly, inching its way outward.
Creak. Creeeaaaak.
The gap is now a spooky wedge of blackness that makes an instant lump form in the pit of my stomach.
Creak. The gap widens further yet. A foot and a half of sheer terror.
A hoarse breathing begins—and it’s not mine.
I clutch the quilt to my chest, paralyzed on the bed. My lungs forget how to work. Only my mind is whirling. It’s been nine long years, but I know exactly what’s behind that door. In this landscape, my nightmares have caught up with me at last.
It’s the Boogeyman.
He’s real. And he’s coming to get me.
More about Junction 2020:
It all started on New Year’s Eve, 2019. Despite being hearing impaired, Lauren Carnes was determined to go to Stefanie Anders’ party and celebrate the holiday like everyone else. But instead, she and four others got blasted through a portal into another dimension. They ended up with strange triangular marks branded on their forearms.
Worse yet, the whole thing happened again ten days later. Instead of a creepy landscape built by her new friend Mari’s dreams and nightmares, they fought to survive in a world built by Tony Rodriguez. In both of these alternate realities, ruthless black-cloaked Shifters tried to capture and exploit them as Mainworlders.
The third time is not a charm. Because on this journey, it’s Lauren’s fascinating—and dangerously silent—landscape everyone is stuck in.
Purchase your copy of Junction 2020!
For anyone who comments on this post, there will be a drawing for a giveaway. The winner will get the choice of an ebook or (if a U.S. winner) a signed paperback of THE LYING PLANET or a JUNCTION 2020 series book.
About Carol Riggs:
Carol Riggs is an author of young adult fiction who lives in the beautiful green state of Oregon, USA. She enjoys reading, drawing and painting, writing conferences, walking with her husband, and enjoying music and dance of all kinds. You will usually find her in her writing cave, surrounded by her dragon collection and the characters in her head.
Follow Carol Riggs:
EMAIL: carolriggsauthor@gmail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.carolriggs.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CRiggsAuthor
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CarolRiggsAuthor?sk=wall
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8055261.Carol_Riggs
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carol-riggs
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