Excerpt

Chapter 1- The Death at Dawn

Joshua trudged through the woods, twigs cracking underneath his feet. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and was spreading across the ground. The trail that Josh walked on was dirt although it was covered in leaves and twigs. Trees reached across the path as if they were going to snatch Josh up at any minute. Josh was venturing to his tree house to get away from the fighting.

Every morning in Joshua’s house, a fight arose between his parents. The same thing over and over. His father would do bad stuff throughout the night, then come back in the morning to be welcomed with shouting and tears. By the time this all started, Joshua was usually in his tree fort in the woods. His tree fort seemed to be a sanctuary of peace compared to his house in the morning.

As the sun rose higher, Joshua reached his tree fort. A large tree with many branches filled an open area. A wooden ladder hung down from a ledge of wood boards, which his fort rested on. What seemed like a large box made of wood covered the branches. Josh eagerly stepped on the bottom step of the ladder and started climbing. It took a while to make it to the top, but it was worth it. When he climbed through the curtain that was used as a door, Joshua felt immediate peace and friendliness.

A blue rug covered the wood boards, making the fort homier. In one corner, which was his reading corner, rested a beanbag and a stack of Josh’s favorite books. There was a window in the middle of one of the walls, and a laptop sitting on a table on the opposite side of the reading section. The room was peaceful and perfect for a twelve year old boy to hide out in.

Raised voices entered the room from the door. Sighing loudly Joshua slumped into the beanbag sliding Inkheart out of the book stack. He ran his hands over the cover sadly. His dad had bought him this book for his 11^th birthday. Josh had read it more than five times. Josh set it back on the top of the stack and closed his eyes leaning back. The voices flowed into the fort, louder than any other morning. Joshua looked up suspiciously. A scream pierced the air. Immediately sitting up, Joshua leaped out of the bean bag and stuck his head out of the curtain.

This is only a section of the book. I still have more that I will post later. :D

ANGELA