AUDIBLE Version of EDGE OF ESCAPE Now Available

EDGE OF ESCAPE

is now available as an AUDIO BOOK from Audible.com

Innocent adoration.

Deliberate stalking.

Impulsive abduction.

Eddie Burling is a brilliant yet emotionally impaired young man whose elaborate plan to make pretty Rebecca fall for him goes terribly wrong. EDGE OF ESCAPE is a complex journey into the minds of both victim and predator. If you like fast-paced psychological thrillers then you’ll love listening to both the hunted and the hunter.

Haven't joined Audible yet? Get one month free membership and enjoy EDGE OF ESCAPE at no cost to you.

Audio Version of EDGE OF ESCAPE Now Available

EDGE OF ESCAPE

is now available as an AUDIO BOOK from Audible.com

Innocent adoration.

Deliberate stalking.

Impulsive abduction.

Eddie Burling is a brilliant yet emotionally impaired young man whose elaborate plan to make pretty Rebecca fall for him goes terribly wrong. EDGE OF ESCAPE is a complex journey into the minds of both victim and predator. If you like fast-paced psychological thrillers then you’ll love listening to both the hunted and the hunter.

Haven't joined Audible yet? Get one month free membership and enjoy EDGE OF ESCAPE at no cost to you.

EDGE OF ESCAPE, the novel - another excerpt

Rebecca awoke choking. She turned onto her side and spat out the popcorn. She felt around her mouth with her tongue for any more kernels. The long hair fell forward and she swatted at it as if she were being attacked by a furry animal. She yanked it off her head and threw it across the room. What was going on?

Light, sounds, and smells were sifting in through the open window. Someone had been in the room! She leaped up and stumbled over the backpack as she reached for the window. She changed her mind about closing it and grabbed the bag instead and headed for the door. It wasn’t locked!

She had to be careful now. She thought that Mike must be in the house. And what about Ed? Mike must have done something to Ed!

She felt woozy and her mouth was dry. Why would he stuff her cheeks with popcorn? Her mind flitted back and forth. She was groggy. Why was she groggy? How did Mike do this to her?

She ran her hands down her clothing. She was still wearing the same outfit. She hadn’t been molested, thank goodness, and she still had her shoes on.

She opened the door and listened. Stepping out, she could see into the living room. The front porch fixture was on and it shot feathered arrows of light under the drapes. She listened some more.

There was a peephole in the front door and she had to get on her tiptoes to press her eye against it. The front steps were littered. Mike must have sat here and gloated after drugging her. How did he do it? It must have been the orange juice. And if Ed drank some, too?

She turned from the door and crept to Ed’s bedroom. The door was open and she could see that it was empty. The bed wasn’t even slightly mussed.

What time was it? Twelve? Two? Three? Well, whatever time it was, she was on the run again. She took another look through the peephole and studied the dark shapes of the trees, some of the leaves clearly visible in the glow from the porch light. A few leaves moved and suddenly . . . there was Mike Sylver’s face in their place.

EDGE OF ESCAPE

EDGE OF ESCAPE - the rewrites

Working with an editor and publishing house through emails and across oceans and continents has been exciting as EDGE OF ESCAPE is now being translated into German. I have republished my English Kindle version to match. Here's a scene that was tweaked. Eddie rescued Rebecca from the one trap that he didn't set and Rebecca thinks she's safe with him, not yet realizing who he is.

Becca could not yet settle down. Desperation, tension and anxiety shook her small frame. She let herself be served by Ed. He was polite and reserved and, she had already figured out, quite shy. He set the bread and butter on the table and filled their glasses with wine. He brought the lasagna over and scooped her out a large portion before filling his own plate and setting the pan back on the stove. He sat down and put his napkin on his lap and seemed to wait for something. She wasn’t sure if she should start eating. Maybe he was going to say a prayer first. She smiled at him and said, “This looks wonderful. I’m starving.”

Ed beamed and nodded at her. “You first,” he said.
Becca took a steaming forkful and blew on it before tasting it. Ed did the same. They ate in silence for a few minutes then Becca said, “Thank you again for rescuing me. You must be curious as to how I got down there.”
Ed just shook his head.

“Well, someone was chasing me and was going to hurt me,” she recounted, despite his lack of curiosity.

She saw his face screw into a frown and he looked incredulous. “No one would hurt you,” he said shaking his head again. She thought he looked like an innocent child. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t think who. She took a bite of bread and then gulped down most of her wine.

“No, really,” she continued, “I was kidnapped, handcuffed, chased, imprisoned, trapped, and lost.” It almost sounded funny to her now. In fact she started to laugh about it. And laugh.

Edward had never seen anyone go into hysterics, but Rebecca went from laughing to crying in an instant. He got up and knelt by her chair and put his arms around her. “Don’t cry,” he soothed. “Don’t cry. It’s all right. Don’t cry.” He stroked her neck, petting her like he had petted his kittens.

Edge of Escape, now $.99 on Kindle

Here's another excerpt from chpt. 1 of EDGE OF ESCAPE:

Eddie had a crush. Becky was the cutest girl in the school. He couldn’t remember when he didn’t like her. He named all of his cats after her. There was Rebbie, Becker, and Lil Beck. Sometimes he would just watch his cats out by the tool shed as they pounced on mice and played with them. He could sit as still as they did and he mimicked their movements, snatching imaginary victims and swatting paws, slowly devouring helpless rodents. Eddie, of course, didn’t eat mice but he would pretend that he was catching a certain girl and kissing her.

At the bus stop he just stared at his shoes but his peripheral vision was extraordinary and he was aware of Becky looking at him as well as the yellow of the school bus drawing nearer. His heart began to pound harder. He could feel it in his neck and he could hear it in his ears. He would be a cat now; what would Rebbie or Becker do? If Becky was his mouse this morning could he stay still enough to catch her? The Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland grinned a lot, maybe he should smile. He raised his eyes, turned his head slightly and smiled at Becky.

Time stood still for Eddie. He looked into her eyes in that first quarter of a second and just knew that she would one day be with him. The next quarter of a second played on his mind’s eye like a tiny television showing reruns of every moment that Becky had ever shown an awareness of him. But that last half a second sent his heart rocketing down through his stomach as Becky turned away without smiling back. Eddie was crushed.

copyright 2010 by Debra Chapoton

The Abduction

Rebecca walked down the concrete corridor without suspicion. The sudden bulk of pressure that surrounded her and the hand over her mouth were as much of a jolt to her system as the drug fumes she inhaled. Her panicked thoughts raced like three marathon runners at the finish line: this was a joke; this was real; this felt nice. Then she dropped.

How much time had passed, she didn’t know. She felt someone’s strong arms cradling her, but she couldn’t pull her eyelids up to look. Her cheek was snug against a buttoned pocket and she could hear a rapid beat through the course fabric. Rebecca’s foggy thoughts fixed on the heartbeat, imagining a brave hero rescuing her. She relaxed into the safety of her supposed champion’s arms just as one thought pushed through – that she needed rescuing. A tiny drop of adrenalin discharged and she managed to force a groan through her lips.

Movement stopped. Her ears did not sense the enclosed tunnel-like hallway where she had just been, the echo was gone. Sounds fled in the open expanse. She felt her body being shifted. A car door opened. A sensation of falling filled her, as if she were a ragdoll tossed onto a child’s crib. Then that strange wet smell again. Then nothing.
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Extra scene from Edge of Escape
Copyright 2011 by Debra Chapoton