Water of the Woods is in a major revision process. Here's a sneak peak of the first chapter...

The moon’s face lay hidden behind a veil of clouds. Darkness rested on the mossy grounds surrounding the old mansion. It had been months since the old mansion had held visitors inside its brick walls. Until just one night ago. The ancient house and its harbored secrets were encroached upon by one small family and their dog. There was an eeriness tonight that quieted even the screech owl and his mate.

Penny Prendergrast, young at only sixteen years old, lay peacefully asleep in the second story bedroom of the mansion. This was only her second night to sleep in this ancient house her parents had rented. The entire house lay in a slumber of darkness. It was quiet, too quiet.

Penny woke with a jolt. It was that sound again and that chill that crept into her scalp. The blackness of night grew blacker until Penny could almost feel the darkness. This was also her second night to be awakened to the sound of movement on the other side of the wall. It was easy to excuse it the first time. An old house, new surroundings, it was easily dismissed. But now, she wasn’t so sure.

The clanking of metal sounded through the walls. How could she hear it so clearly? Penny lay frozen, waiting. A clank and then a shuffle. Penny jumped upright in her bed and snapped on the little lantern she kept on the bed stand. That sound was no longer on the other side of the wall but in her closet. She clutched at the lantern as though it was her only source of safety.

That sound again. Should she cry out? How had she not hear the intruder come through her room and enter her closet? The only way out was back through her room and out the door into the hallway. It was inevitable. The intruder would have to come back through her room to escape.

A thud, a snap, and then that jingling again. Penny jumped from bed, rushed for the door and swung it open. Slipping into the hallway she pulled the door tightly shut and breathed little gasps.

Her parents were just across the hallway in the next room. She could make a dash for it. Penny steeled herself. She was sixteen years old. She wasn’t going to wake up her parents because of a bump in the night.  Standing in the quiet hallway away from the noises bolstered more courage, until a dim yellow light shone from the far end of the hallway and out of sight. Penny’s eyes were glued to the end of the hallway. A creak and then another snap. Someone was down the hall in the library, which meant there were two intruders in the house.