An excerpt from Ch 9. #samplesunday

The Portal Between (Book 1 in The Portal Series)

Sam was gone, and no one knew where or why. Her car was found near the old oak tree, empty and abandoned. There was no sign of foul play, but also no sign of Sam, except for footprints that led to the oak tree…and stopped.

Two years later, her best friend Kate still cares for Sam's children, waiting for Sam to return for them. Then one day she does. "I don't have long," Sam says. "Can you help me?" Kate must help her return home from a place that is closer than you might think, but still a world away.

Sam's escape is just the beginning of her journey. Sam must go back to confront and defeat her abductor, leaving Kate to care for her children. Sam returns to the old oak tree, and the Portal to the world where she was held prisoner. In a whirlwind world of magic and monsters, where people and things are not who or what they appear to be, there are hard choices ahead, and Sam must learn if she's strong enough to make them.

From Chapter 9.

[image error]Later that afternoon Sam stood with her elbows resting on the rough wooden gate at the end of the garden. Her back was to Kate, who watched her with some concern from the kitchen window. Her hands were clasped together, fingers laced and pressed to her mouth as she leaned her head on them. Her shoulders were relaxed and she bore most of her weight on one leg while the other was bent to allow the toe of her shoe to tap slowly on the grass. Every now and then a hand would free itself to run through the still short hair that was slowly covering the scar on the side of her head. It was growing back but was still very short. She switched legs, transferring her weight to the other one.

The sun was sinking beyond her, turning the sky rich with colour. The clouds appeared almost solid in this light, lit from beneath with warm, rich red and pink. The colours in the countryside slowly bleeding into grey as the light dimmed.

Kate could hear the TV burbling in the background, glanced round to see the living room door was almost shut, and wandered out into the garden. Sam didn't appear to hear her coming. She seemed lost in thought, which seemed to be fairly standard since she got out of the hospital. Kate waited a few feet away for a moment and drank in the sight of Sam in such a normal setting with a smile playing about her mouth. She took the last few steps and slipped a hand onto Sam's waist. Sam leaned over and rested her head on Kate's shoulder for a moment before straightening back up.

"He hasn't given up you know." It wasn't really a question. Kate held on tighter as she murmured agreement. She and Lily had already mentioned the possibility more than once. "He'll try again when the boundary is weak."

"The scaly thing?" Kate had to ask, but she thought she already knew the answer. She dreaded facing that again but was more afraid of there being something worse.

"No." Sam's quiet answer confirmed her darkest fears. "That is like a guard dog, it's the Master we need to worry about." With that Sam turned away from the gate, squeezed Kate's shoulder and walked slowly back towards the house.

Other than the very short hair and fresh red scar there was no sign of the injury and surgery from only a few short weeks ago. Kate ran to catch up.

"When?" she asked, voice shaking.

From reviews:

Loved this book and the way it moved between the two worlds. All the characters are well portrayed and really come alive. Look forward to reading the next in the series.

This book makes you believe that a different realm could actually exist. The characters are so well written, one is easily convinced that these characters really lived through this experience, being transported from the world we know to one that is very foreign and intriguing. I particularly enjoyed the fact that it was penned by someone from the UK, giving the novel a rich, delicious flavor.

Want more?

Than check out other samples of this book:

The Portal Between – Amazon Kindle.

The Portal Between – Paperback

The Portal Between – Nook, iPad and other eBook formats.

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