Welsh Road (The Depravity Chronicles) (37 page)

* * * * * *

5

They finally pulled
into the driveway that led to what used to be the mansion. Returning to the
scene was not as difficult as they thought it would be. For Jena, of course,
the property held no memories for her. At the very least, she was grateful for
that.

“This sucks,” Trevor
said.

No one answered.

No one needed to.

As they walked past
what remained of the burned mansion, no one even bothered to look at it. Once
they arrived at the river bottom, Anna opened the urn. It was difficult to
believe that this was all that remained of Anish.

“A good friend, a wise
man,” Anna said.

“A father,” Trevor
said.

“A father,” Simon
echoed.

“A teacher,” Jena said.

“A brother,” Sam said,
finishing their makeshift funeral service for the Shaman that had saved their
lives on more than one occasion.

As they spread his
ashes into the water, Anna worried that they would not be able to meet any
future dilemmas without Anish’s wisdom and strength. She knew the others were
thinking the same thing.

As they walked back up
the hill, they couldn’t help but take in the sight before them. Most of the
Brickton mansion had sunk into the ground, though a few charred structural
columns still remained.

“It’s not so bad here
anymore,” Trevor said.

The tension in everyone’s
stomachs began to fade. Gradually, by the time they reached the car, each of
them felt a little better. A little safer. After all, there weren’t any demons
left here, right?

For now.

Acknowledgements
& Afterthoughts

I would like to thank
my father, Stephen Grove, for introducing me to the literary world of
Horror/Suspense. My first venture into this genre was Stephen King’s
It.
I
was in grade school at the time, already an avid reader. Children’s books were
not really my cup of tea, so I worked my way through my father’s bookshelf
until I found something that caught my eye. Knowing he was a hardcore King fan,
I decided that was as good a place as any to start. Indeed,
It
scared me
in ways I didn’t dream possible. I slept with my bedroom light on for three
weeks, convinced that Pennywise would somehow manage to creep into my room and frighten
me to death – literally. In short, it was freaking awesome.

I would also like to
thank my mother, Karen Grove, for her words of encouragement during the writing
process. Specifically, I appreciate her asking me the following questions on a
regular basis: “Have you finished the book yet? Why not? Are you working on it?
When are you releasing it?” Thanks for being, well, for being my mom.

A HUGE thank you goes
out to my little band of editors. Any writer knows that we are often faced with
the inability to recognize certain problem areas. After all, we are attempting
to present to the reader a world that exists only in our minds. In order for
this to be successful, a writer needs “visitors” to journey through that world,
hoping they can catch any grammatical or structural problems that need tweaking
and reworking. This band of merry women includes my ever faithful and
supportive cousin Sarah Hoover. I love you and I am blessed to have you in my
life. Thank you for taking the time to read, and often reread, each chapter and
offering me sound advice, criticism, and support.

Finally, I would like
to thank my readers. You began this journey with me when you added
Crimson
Falls
to your Kindle or other e-book device, and my debt of gratitude
cannot be quantified by human measurement. I would also like to
enthusiastically welcome my new readers! Now that you have discovered the
horror and suspense of living in or around the town of Crimson Falls, I welcome
you to investigate where and how it all began by reading the first book in The
Depravity Chronicles,
Crimson Falls.
While it is true that
Welsh Road
stands alone in many ways,
Crimson Falls
provides the necessary
introduction to the major characters in this series, as well as some of the
basics in regard to the wonderful worlds of the paranormal and supernatural.  

Book Three of
The
Depravity Chronicles
is already underway and will be available in the spring
of 2014. But while you wait, you should take advantage of a different novel I
will be releasing in early 2014.
Lucifer Rising,
Book One of
The
Lucifer Diaries
, will soon be available for purchase. Although I will not
provide any spoilers or too much intricate detail,
Lucifer Rising
is a
fantasy novel, offering a unique perspective on Lucifer’s quest for perfection,
redemption, and cosmic domination. Dark humor permeates the novel, and you
might just find yourself identifying with the devil as he becomes that which he
has always hated the most…
human
.

Finally, I welcome any
and all ideas from my readers. Constructive feedback, along with a few
compliments of course, helps to make me a better writer and offers you a more
pleasurable reading experience. Isn’t that why we write? And read? There truly
is no better pastime! I can be reached at
[email protected]
.
I look forward to hearing from you!

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