EXCERPT: Legacy will be available in the Spring of 2012
Prologue from Legacy: Emily Taylor Mystery #3
By Catherine Astolfo
For a long time the boy knew he was only a step away from the edge. He could feel it in the pressure on his chest, the blockage in his throat, the mist before his eyes. All he had to do was give in, go forward, use the anger. Just take that one last step.
He began to spend more time alone, less time talking to anyone. Now and then he’d be sitting somewhere, at the table or his desk for instance, and realize that he had not connected with the world for long minutes or even hours. He had always been a quiet, introspective boy, so he was not surprised that no one noticed the changes inside him. But the absence of attention exacerbated the anger. One part of him wanted someone to stop him, to pull him free.
Whenever anyone did pick up on his mood, though, he wanted to lash out. It seemed that anger was all there was left. He was holding still, waiting for the nerve to act.
Instead he would go into his room and pick the flies off the screen, stuck there in the heat. He would slowly pull their wings off, or squish them between his fingers, or just let them suffocate in his palm. Sometimes he would force himself out of the house in search of other insects or small animals to punish. In the brush and trees surrounding the backyard, he would trap ants, mice and once, a cat. He realized that this was a kind of training ground. He was getting his body and his mind ready for the stepping off.
Unheeded, those around him continued to press him, move him along the continuum. They gave him no choice. The anger and the pressure kept building.
On the day that he decided to act, he locked eyes with his brother. In that precise moment, he knew that he could do it. He stood up, retrieved the weapon from the back room and held it steadily in his arms. Then he stepped forward, deliberately, in the knowledge that once he moved over that edge, their universe would be altered forever. He felt something shift inside.
He lifted the gun and fired.
BIO SKETCH:
Catherine Astolfo retired from education to pursue her true passion: writing. She self-published a novel series, The Emily Taylor Mysteries, through her own publishing company, Moe Publications. The series revolves around an unusual heroine—the principal of an elementary school. In her late forties, Emily Taylor becomes a reluctant sleuth through a variety of external events. Some of her decisions, however, are based on a fear of discovery, for she has a mysterious past that involves her husband. Readers do not find out the details of this past life until Book 4.
In 2005, Catherine was awarded a Brampton Arts Award for the first novel in the series, The Bridgeman. Recently, she won a four-book contract from Imajin Books for the e-versions of the series.
Catherine was the 2010-11 President of Crime Writers of Canada and is a member of Sisters in Crime Toronto. She is the co-owner of an ezine for writers and readers, Scribes Digest, and of Sisbro & Co. Inc., a film production company.
Check her out at www.catherineastolfo.com
Buy the books through links at www.imajinbooks.com
Blurb about the Emily Taylor Books:
The Emily Taylor Mystery series revolves around an unusual heroine - the principal of an elementary school. In her late forties, Emily Taylor becomes a reluctant sleuth through a variety of external events. Some of her decisions, however, are based on a fear of discovery, for she has a mysterious past that involves her husband. Readers do not find out the details of this past life until Book 4. The series is not simply a mystery or crime genre. Social issues, relationships, nature, diversity and romance are all intertwined to create intriguing stories and unforgettable characters.
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