Prologue
Arianne Douglas stood over her son. Her dead son. Murder weapon in hand. Blood and tears running down her face. Helpless. Powerless. Paralyzed. Recalling his first steps, first words. There would be no more firsts. Her child was dead. Startled by the buzzing of her cell phone next to his body, she answered but did not speak.
“Ari?” her best friend said, “you called but didn’t leave a message. Andrew texted me about the fight between Reece and Nash. I’m on my way to you now.”
Silence.
“Arianne?”
“Lesley, I need you.” Arianne sobbed into the phone. “He’s dead, he’s dead… my
baby… my son… Les, he’s dead… God, please no… I’m so sorry, baby…” Her voice broke with every word.
“Arianne, I’m on my way. Are you still at the house?” Lesley Huff remembered her recurring dream, pangs of regret pelting her heart. A storm was coming.
“Yes.”
“Have you called the police?” she asked, certain Arianne had not.
“No, only you,” she cried. “My… my son…”
“Dammit Ari, call the police. Now.”
Ending the call, Lesley pressed the accelerator, speeding down West Esplanade Avenue. Arianne hadn’t said which son she had found. Thinking of her own two little girls, she choked back tears for her dearest friend.
South Lake Drive was quiet except for Lake Pontchartrain’s choppy waters lapping over the levee rocks. Lesley wrapped one arm around her chest, her breathing stifled by the heavy Gulf wind. Sirens screeched in the distance and the night sky was filled with the blue and red glow of emergency vehicles. She was glad they were close. Parking next to Arianne’s Jeep, Lesley offered a silent prayer of thanks that Arianne’s thirteen-year-old son, Pike, was with his father and nowhere near this house tonight. So was it Nash? Or Reece. Both of their trucks were parked underneath the awning. Fearful, she opened the back door leading to a dark kitchen, and a bloody Arianne cradling the lifeless body of her son.

“Holy Mary
Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death.”

So I thought as a little bonus, I’d post a few chapters and add little known facts about The Waiting Series and its characters.

-The Prologue is nearly identical to a dream I had in August of 2012. The only real difference is that in my dream, they were in a glass high rise in the sky.

-Several of the main characters came fully formed in that dream. Arianne was the first and most memorable one. Her best friend, Lesley was next.

-Since setting the book in a high rise in the sky wasn’t an option, Marie and I didn’t brainstorm for very long until she said, ‘why not New Orleans?’ It was the perfect choice, because not only do we have the lush history of one of the most beautiful and mysterious cities in the world, but we also have its surrounding areas. As native Louisianians, learning about places such as Slidell, Darrow, Des Allemands, and Mandeville has been equally as interesting as familiarizing ourselves with The Crescent City.

-Having Lake Pontchartrain in these books was paramount. You know how some people are drawn to places? I’m drawn to this lake. I can remember as a little girl seeing this massive ocean to my left as we’d drive into New Orleans… the sun’s sparkle dancing over the brackish water. And when we’d drive across the Pontchartrain Causeway… it felt like I was on a bridge to nowhere. In our past few trips down south – I still feel the same wonder and amazement each time I see the beautiful lake.

-I wrote the entire first drafts of book one and two on my iPhone, and I didn’t write on my laptop until a temporary phone problem forced me to either write on it or not write at all. I must admit, I felt a little like Samson getting his hair chopped off, but now, I love the laptop. I feel sure I wasn’t our editor’s favorite person while she was working on our manuscript because of alllllll the straight quotes. 🙂

That’s all for today!!! I’ll post Chapter One and a few fun facts about it soon.
❤ Elizabeth