If you’d like to be included in this slot, please get in touch: estherchilton@gmail.com. Poems can be up to 60 lines and prose 2000 words. If you’d like to add a short bio and photo, then great. All I ask is that there’s nothing offensive.
My guest this week is Darlene Foster whose latest book, Amanda in Ireland – The Body in the Bog, has just been released. I’m delighted to be part of her wonderful blog tour. Huge congratulations to Darlene.
Here’s an extract to whet your appetite:
Laid out in a showcase were the bones of a young girl. A plaque noted she died of hard work and malnutrition, too poor to be buried in a coffin. Tears welled in Amanda’s eyes as she read about the girl who was laid to rest in a shroud; such a contrast between the rich and the poor, even after they died. Amanda thought about how lucky she was to have a good home and plenty to eat.
A shadow moved behind one of the large crosses, jolting her back to the present. Definitely that of the man she had been following. He slipped out a side door.
What was it about this guy? Why was he sneaking around?
She followed him out and found herself in a graveyard, a very old graveyard, overgrown with many plants. Her heart raced as she hid behind a huge tombstone. Amanda watched the creepy man step around the uneven stones. He stopped, looked back, and scratched his head. She ducked behind the monument, hoping he hadn’t seen her, then peeked around in time to see him disappear down a set of stairs. Waiting a minute, she then carefully made her way down the same stone steps into a dark, spooky crypt.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Amanda’s heart quickened. Gradually her eyes grew accustomed to the dark. She made out large stone coffins, some with lids and others open.
“Why are you following me?” An ominous voice echoed in the chamber.
Amanda froze. “I-I thought you were someone I knew.” A knot formed in her stomach. “S-Sorry. How do I get out of here?” She jerked her head back and forth, looking for an escape.
“Go back the way you came. Up the stairs. You’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
He snarled and stared at her. One eye wandered to the left. “I work here, not that it’s any of your business.”
Amanda backed away and bumped into something. She turned around to see a dead body in a coffin. She screamed.
“It’s not real, you eejit. Now leave before you get me in trouble. Health and Safety will be on me.” He narrowed his eyes, making him look even scarier.
Cringing, Amanda fled up the steps into the sunshine.
“What a jerk,” she mumbled.
To buy: https://books2read.com/u/4EYQ2A
Esther Chilton 
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