Friends To the End by Cherie Colyer

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cherie Colyer will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Pretend your protagonist is at school and opens his/her locker – what will we see inside?

Zach would have schoolbooks, a tattered blue backpack, a one-pound container of salt (to repel ghosts), an iron wrench (also to repel ghosts), running shoes, and a camera in his locker. Hanging from the hook would be a sprig of rosemary, another great way to ward off ghosts.

What’s your favorite sweet treat?

I can’t resist fresh-out-of-the-oven, homemade chocolate chip cookies. The gooier the better! I also love ice cream, but it doesn’t always agree with me.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

A witch. Hands down! My obsession with witchcraft started after reading Escape From Witch Mountain. I would have done almost anything to have magical powers like the kids in the book.

What candy do you give out at Halloween?

We buy large bags with a mix of chocolates. The must-haves in our house include M&Ms, Snickers, Heath, Almond Joy (for hubby), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Kit Kats. We always have way too much candy.

Coal or candy in your Christmas stocking? Why?

There was always candy in my stocking. Not that I was an angel (I was actually a bit of a rebel growing up), but I wasn’t bad and didn’t do anything to hurt others.

What superpower would you love to have? Why?

Oh, I’d want magical powers. (Goes with the whole wanting to be a witch.) But if that wasn’t an option, I’d love the ability to shape shift like Mystique from the X-Men. She’s my favorite mutant: smart, clever, and talented.

Favorite hot beverage. Why?

I’m a coffeeholic. I’ve been drinking it since I was a teen. Add a little hazelnut creamer, and it’s heavenly. It also helps me to wake up. I’m much happier after my first cup.

You’re stranded on a desert island—which character from your book do you want with you? Why?

Dom. He’s resourceful and doesn’t panic. I feel as if he’d be the first to figure a way off the island.

You’ve just won a million dollars and you’re not allowed to save any of it. What do you spend it on?

Oh, this is fun! I’d buy my dream house. Nothing crazy big, but it would be somewhere peaceful and by water. The den would have wall-to-ceiling bookshelves and a sliding ladder to make it easy to reach the books on the top shelf. I figure this might use up half of the money. Maybe more, because I’ll need to buy more books to fill the bookshelves. After that I’d travel, starting with a family and friends trip to Universal Studios in Florida. From there, I’d travel the world. There are so many places I’d love to see.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog! It’s been a lot of fun!

Twelve-year-old Zach is convinced he'll never be happy without his best friend Jeremy by his side. But both of their lives changed with a bang five months ago, and as far as Zach's concerned, it's his fault Jeremy will never see his twelfth birthday.

When Zach moves with his family to a Chicago suburb, he quickly becomes friends with a group of thrill-seeking kids trying to find a disappearing haunted house. But Zach's not worried. He doesn't believe in ghosts, so he follows them into a wild, dangerous encounter that becomes a battle to decide what's real and what's not.

Read an Excerpt

We scrambled to our feet and ran to the front door, stopping with the toes of our gym shoes just outside the worn threshold. If the house vanished at that very moment, would we vanish, too, or did we have to be inside to disappear forever?

A long table rested next to the wall in the foyer. Several black-and-white photos in tarnished silver frames sat on top of it. The women in the pictures wore large floppy hats and long dresses. The men wore white shirts and jackets like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The children had on sweaters and knee-high socks. No one was smiling.

“I thought you wanted to go inside,” I said. “Now’s your chance.”

Josh shook his head. “Not so important anymore.”

“Yeah, I can see just fine from here,” Dom said.

But Morgan was inside.

A stomp of my foot on the aging wood confirmed we were standing on an extremely solid porch. We were peering through a very real doorway. If this was the vanishing house, shouldn’t it be translucent like Ghost Girl or hazy like the car?

“Maybe we’re overreacting,” I said. Just because the welcome sign happened to have the same name on it as the guy in the graveyard, and just because the date on it was a couple of centuries old, that didn’t mean we should assume the worst. Right?

Only, the evidence in front of us said otherwise. The house was lit with candles and oil lamps. There were no televisions or radios or phones visible. The more I noticed, the more it looked wrong. The fancy armchairs and matching sofa, the family portrait above the stone fireplace, even the shoes left near the door were unlike anything I’d seen before.

Dom mumbled something inaudible and then screamed Morgan’s name.

The air in the house was cool. It pushed against the warmth of summer, fighting to keep it outside. With it came a whispered, “Don’t.”

About the Author:

C.L. Colyer found her love for writing in first grade when her class was sent to the library and asked to find a book for their first book report. While she doesn’t still have this book report, she’s very proud to say she got an A on it. Her favorite thing about the book was that it had no words. That’s right, not one! That gave her the freedom to interpret the pictures in any way she wanted and write her own story.

This sparked her love for writing essays. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she sat down and penned her first novel. This story has a special place in her heart because it’s the story that helped her discover her passion for writing. She has since written several books, many of which may never see the light of day, but all of which helped her learn to combine her passion for writing with her fascination with all things mythical. You’ll find examples of this in her novels.

She lives in Illinois with her family.

Keep in Touch:

Website: https://cheriecolyer.com/children/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cherie-Colyer-author-250631921629169
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CherieColyer
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cherie_colyer/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21748654.C_L_Colyer
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/C-L-Colyer/e/B09C6JPT3X/
Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cherie-colyer

The book is on sale for only $0.99 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BZY7JQY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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