Friends to the End

February 07, 2022

Friends to the End

by Cherie Colyer

GENRE: Middle Grade Action Adventure

Twelve-year-old Zach is convinced he'll never be happy without his best friend Jeremy by his side. But both of their lives changed with a bang five months ago, and as far as Zach's concerned, it's his fault Jeremy will never see his twelfth birthday.

When Zach moves with his family to a Chicago suburb, he quickly becomes friends with a group of thrill-seeking kids trying to find a disappearing haunted house. But Zach's not worried. He doesn't believe in ghosts, so he follows them into a wild, dangerous encounter that becomes a battle to decide what's real and what's not.

Excerpt:

We stopped a few yards from the cemetery, our mouths hanging open and our eyes wide.

“Please tell me you see that,” I whispered.

“If you mean the white lights floating above the ground,” Josh said, “we see it.”

“They’re orbs,” Morgan corrected, as if knowing the proper name for the glowing spheres made it okay to see them.

“Orbs?” Josh asked.

“Spirits of the dead,” I replied, remembering what Morgan had told me.

Dom scooted his bike closer. “Maybe we should ask them if they’ve seen the house.”

“Seriously?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah.”

Morgan shook her head, causing her ponytail to swing from side to side. “Oh, no! I learned my lesson the last time we were here. I’m not stepping one foot off the shoulder of the road.”

“Your right foot is in the grass,” Dom said, shining his flashlight on her sneaker.

Morgan scowled and repositioned herself to have both feet on concrete.

Three iridescent orbs floated over headstones. I thought about the movies that warned people to stay away from the light. Maybe they weren’t warning us about a bright beam of light, but instead small glowing balls. Maybe if one of them touched you, the spirit would take over your body. Maybe they were waiting for someone to be stupid enough to come closer. I suddenly wondered if I’d met anyone who’d been possessed by a spirit and immediately thought of Olivia and her strange habits.

Then I told myself I was being ridiculous.

Or was I? Think about it. How would anyone know if a ghost hitched a ride with the person in front of him or her?

About the Author:

C.L. Colyer found her love for writing in first grade when her class was sent to the library and asked to find a book for their first book report. While she doesn’t still have this book report, she’s very proud to say she got an A on it. Her favorite thing about the book was that it had no words. That’s right, not one! That gave her the freedom to interpret the pictures in any way she wanted and write her own story.

This sparked her love for writing essays. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she sat down and penned her first novel. This story has a special place in her heart because it’s the story that helped her discover her passion for writing. She has since written several books, many of which may never see the light of day, but all of which helped her learn to combine her passion for writing with her fascination with all things mythical. You’ll find examples of this in her novels.

She lives in Illinois with her family.

Q&A With the Author

When did you first consider yourself to be a writer?

I’d have to say after I wrote my first novel. It was a middle-grade fantasy featuring witches and a missing book of shadows. Sadly, I never did find a home for that book, but it will always have a special place in my heart because writing it made me realize how much I enjoyed writing novels.

What advice do you have for a new writer?

Read a lot, and everything. You can learn a lot from how others write their prose, dialogue, and structure scenes. I also recommend getting the story down. It’s very easy to keep stopping and tweaking scenes, but it’s important to finish the book.

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?

Revising. I love to jump back into a story and fine-tune it, especially after receiving feedback from my talented critique partners, beta readers, and editors.

What is your favorite part of this story?

The friendship that grows between Zach and the other characters. Zach is in a hard place when the story begins, but having good people helps him push past his internal struggles.

Which Character was the most fun to write about? Why?

Oh, this is a hard one. But I’m going to say Zach. It was so much fun to get to know him. (There were times he surprised even me!)

Which Character was the hardest to write about? Why?

Jeremy. I don’t want to give away anything, so all I can say is there is a good reason as to why Zach will never see his best friend again.

Keep in Touch:

Website: https://cheriecolyer.com/children/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cherie-Colyer-author-250631921629169

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CherieColyer

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cherie_colyer/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21748654.C_L_Colyer

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/C-L-Colyer/e/B09C6JPT3X/

Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cherie-colyer