It’s only two weeks left until my newest short novel, ANNABELLE, becomes available digitally. To mark this moment here’s another excerpt from my book. This one is a bit shorter than the last one but gives further insight into a character who maybe knows Annabelle more than anyone else: her mother.

Frederick waited a moment to assess his writing before calling, “Next please.”

     A woman walked into the room. She was middle-aged and beautiful, her brown skin slightly gleamed and her dark hair was fashioned into a messy braid. She wore a simple grey dress with a patched blue shawl and carried a small purse embroidered with a floral design.

     “Please. Sit,” he said.

     He scrawled one last line before looking up at the woman. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her, for he knew exactly who she was. Despite this, he asked for her name. She responded somberly, “Harriet Muldoon.”

    “Would you mind telling me a little bit about Annabelle Vicstoria?” 

    The woman smiled sadly. “I remember when her name wasn’t Annabelle Vicstoria. It was Eali Muldoon and though she lived for thirty-three years I only knew her for fifteen.”

Harriet Muldoon’s Account

    Harriet remembered the day her daughter was born. 

    She was eighteen years old. Her young husband Stinlay; a handsome man with dark curly hair, kind brown eyes, and burnished bronze skin was dutifully by her side as she lay in the bed of their humble bedroom exhausted from the ordeal of childbirth. As the local doctor, a gruff man named Tillerson cleaned up in the other room together they looked upon their child for the first time in awe. She let out a beautiful, natural wail of life before eventually settling onto Harriet’s breast to feed.

    Even at that infancy level, Harriet knew her daughter would be beautiful. Her eyes, beneath long dark lashes, were a soothing brown in her round face.

The young family had many beautiful times together worth treasuring but that was not to last.

And there it is, my second excerpt which I like said before, is shorter than the previous excerpt I shared last week, but provides another look into the individuals who will be sharing Annabelle’s story. Next Saturday I will share one last excerpt. Until then, keep an eye out for more exciting tidbits about my book along the way.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a beautiful day.