Hollowed (46 page)

His eyes scan
the room rather than looking at me. "Yeah, well. It's yours, so. If you need anything."

As he speaks, a faint breath brushes the back of my neck. I rub at it absently. It spreads to a tickle in my head, like fingertips tracing the inside of my skull. Oh, not now, not now...

"No, I'm okay. Thank you." The sensation lures me over to the window, which is casual enough, so I can steal a glance outside. Snowy fields and trees and...a figure.

A tall, shadowy figure standing in the middle of the fields.

Ridley's eyes linger on me a few moments. Then he leaves, closing my door behind him. It's been days since I've really, truly been alone for any length of time, and now I'm sort of wishing I wasn't. My bedroom overlooks a portion of the fields, stretching toward the forest. I can see a barn, part of the covered parking and Uncle Walter's truck...and the ghost, standing in the snow.

Home sweet home.
Some things never change.

This has been a fast and wild ride, let me tell you.
 

The decision to self-publish was a difficult one, and I've had a lot of people ask, "Why? You've already been traditionally published. Why take a step backward?"
 

Truth be told, I don't view self-publishing to be a step backward
 
or
 
forward from traditional publishing. These days, a lot of authors are turning to it. In part because they want more say in things publishers normally take out of their hands, or because the publishing industry is so packed full of books, that even
 
great
 
stories are being passed up. With the economy being what it is, many publishers are taking fewer risks. They get the books they know will sell. It's a smart business decision.

Still, there's a stigma attached to self-published books. I fought to make sure HOLLOWED was the best it could be. I edited again and again. I corrected typos people caught in the ARCs so they didn't reach the final version. I slaved over a cover I thought would be pleasing to the eye and attract attention. I marketed, I arranged a blog tour. It was exhausting and it gives me a new found respect for people who primarily self-pub and do this themselves all. the. time.
 

That being said, I didn't do this alone. I'd like to extend my humblest and sincerest
 
thank you
s to these people:

My beautiful wife, who is both my biggest fan and my biggest critic. For encouraging me every step of the way, and for being the creator of characters like Daniel. Without her, Daniel wouldn't exist, and Oliver would be alone. He's grumpy when he's alone. I really don't know that I'd be anywhere without my wife nudging me along when I need it most. I never would have published HUSHED, and I never would have finished writing HOLLOWED.

My critique partner, Nyrae Dawn a.k.a. Kelley Vitollo. She fangirls over my characters and is always right there when I need something read, or need help realizing I
 
can
 
do this. To her, and to Jolene Perry, for answering all my questions about self-publishing and being enthusiastic about me taking the dive into it.
 

Jamie Manning, who has been my reader and friend since HUSHED, and who took the time to give me a list of things to fix from the ARC he received. You can give him a hug as thanks for not having to stumble across so many of my finger hiccups.
 

And to every blogger who offered to help me with my cover reveal, blog tour, and reviews. The response I received was so overwhelming and kind. Every one of you made this experience much less frightening than it originally was, and I cannot thank you enough.
 

Lastly, to you, my readers. For giving me a chance. Be it for the first or second time. May these characters become as real in your mind as they are in mine.
 

All the best,

Kelley York

Kelley York was born and raised in California, where she still resides with her wife, step-daughter, and an abundance of pets. She has a fascination with bells, music boxes, and snow globes, and spends her free time losing her mind over video games. Give her a dark, weird, and edgy book and she'll love you forever. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or at least write about them.
 

Kelley is a proud of member of two young adult group blogs:
 
YAtopia
, and
 
For the Love of Contemporary
.
 

Places you can find Kelley on the web:

Flowers for Ghosts

GoodReads

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