Voices (Whisper Trilogy Book 3) (35 page)

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Melody said, giving Isaac’s hand a gentle squeeze. “This is no place for people anymore.”

Isaac turned the wheelchair and pushed Melody away from the clearing, toward where Emma waited on the other side of the bridge. The wind rocked the trees, birds sang, and nature flourished where death had dominated for so long. Neither Melody nor Isaac looked back at the clearing, nor would either of them visit it ever again.

AUTHOR NOTES

Back when the idea for Whisper first presented itself, there was never any intention for it to be any longer than a short story for inclusion in Dark Corners. The initial idea was a story about a newly married couple who move into a house which backed onto a cemetery, and chronicle the weird things that happened to them. I had no idea that the story would go on to not only become a full blown novel, but would also spawn two sequels. I think the inevitable question which might be asked now is about a fourth entry in the series, and if one will ever rear its ugly head.

The answer to that is a resounding no.

I feel like I have told the story for these characters as well as I can, and feel that this particular world can be left alone whilst I move on to other things. I’ll be the first to admit, however, that knowing I will never write stories for these characters again leaves something of a bittersweet taste. On the one hand, I’m happy to have resolved the story and given it a conclusion which ties up the loose ends (or at least I hope so).

On the other, it will be with a little sadness that I close the door on this cast of characters for the final time and leave them to their own devices. I look back across the trilogy as a whole story, and like to feel I have done a decent job of telling the tale I wanted to. Sure enough, there were some changes along the way which I didn’t expect. In the first book, Donovan was only ever intended as a minor character to appear in the opening exchange with Steve and Melody as he showed them around Hope House. However, I liked the sleazy prick so much and enjoyed writing him enough to work the storyline to incorporate him more.

In hindsight, I think I made a huge mistake in killing him off at the end of the first book. There is an existing draft which is vastly different to the final published version, where the roles are switched, and it’s Donovan who survives and Steve who is killed. (That particular draft also has a much darker ending which would have made any sequels impossible.)

In Henry, I looked to create a Donovan 2.0. He’s essentially the same character with a few minor tweaks.

I hope those of you who have stayed with the books for the long haul have enjoyed the ride. I have received criticism for some of the decisions I have made along the way which comes with the territory. One was making Melody a little bit whiny and intolerable in the first book (unintentional). I also took some flak for making the town of Oakwell a hybrid of English countryside and American small town (deliberate), and for offing poor Steve at the end of the second book (sorry, but he had to go!).

I accept this and take it on the chin. This business is one in which it’s impossible to please everyone, and I, as the author, have to be prepared to accept the backlash if it comes. The flipside of that is that the praise is quite nice when it comes and the calls I made in the plot are validated.

It goes without saying that this book wouldn’t have been possible or as successful without the tireless work of Graeme Reynolds and his team at Horrific Tales publishing. He took a chance on me when I was a wet behind the ears author and helped shape the first book into something I could be proud of. When it reached bestseller status, I was more thrilled for Graeme and Horrific than myself. They really do work incredibly hard, and often receive the least credit. A lot of readers might not realize the level of work that goes on behind the scenes to turn my bloated, typo-filled rambling manuscripts into something worth reading. People like Stu Smith who consistently produces world class artwork for the books, to Lisa Jenkins for her frighteningly brutal but fantastic editing skills (which, incidentally, are yet to take place at the time of writing this), and the equally talented Simon Marshall Jones of Spectral Press, who is a multi-talented individual in his own right. And of course, Kerri Patterson and Vix Kirkpatrick, Horrific Tales wonderful, brutal, beta readers who caused me many sleepless nights during the creation of this book.

As for the story you just read, I really, really hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to do something different again to the last two books, and had no desire or intention of creating a cookie cutter sequel.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who is reading, has read or intends to read (after all we need all the readers we can get) my books, and of course my long suffering family who tolerate the hour upon hour that I spend with my nose buried in my laptop.

This then, is the end for the Whisper story. Oakwell is far behind us and fading into the dark. That shape up ahead is something new, a different world where I might just have something new to show you. I’ll see you all when you get there.

7/11/14, Leeds, England.

CHARACTER CONTEST

During the closing stages of the editing process of the book, I ran a competition on my Facebook page for two people to be immortalized as characters. Although there were only a few places, a lot of people put forward. Here are the names of those who suggested their names. Thank you all for taking part! The eventual winners are in bold! :-)

Craig Michael O Connor, Theresa Brennand, Mellissa Kilby,
Rachel Hobson
, Nadine Johnson, Jimi Hayes, Bradley Burris, Myles Fell, Rosemarie Crespin, Brian Ruden, Carola Hohenstein, Judith Jackson, Karen Paul, Ryker Robinson, Natalie Noble, Catherine Hanna, Brittany Smith, Nicola Higgins, Shari Parham Thompson Monroe, Aurelio Rico Lopez III, Sara Kinsella, Christopher Hood, Gary Williams, Paul Villarreal, Robbie Turner, Julie Washington, Jeannine Langston, Barbra Higgins, Evelyn Crawford, Pam Clarke-Hirst, Jo Ainley, Karen Eighner, Christi Thompson, Kelly Bernard, John Stagman, Katrina Foreman, Collette Noak, Vanessa Ward, James Demain, Hilary Lockman, Anthony William, Derek Mcallister, Vicky Mcpherson, Mandy Sandiford, Amber Keith, Rosie, Diane Griffin, Tara Bersano, Samantha Harrison, Donna Sharples, Mark Denniss, Gino Alfonso, Megan Ingram, Suzanne Delaney, Sandra Schneider, Andy Scobie, Tiffany Hayles Flowers Crosby, Manda Banks, Cindy Kinney Ahlgren, Debby Demain, Gary Mills Millington, Desiree Peterson, Barry Smith, Carmen Pescod, Lori Anderson Mills,
Warren Bush
, Ruth Brook, Marianne Spitzer, Natalie Noble, Christopher Curtis, Tiffanie Leach, Amanda Wimer, Rebina Henderson, Yolanda Lamas, Amanda Doherty, Bonnie KB Ryder, Matty bob Cash, Andrea Figard, Alissa Barber, Jessica Ann Mineard Held, Angela Lockwood, Paul Blanchfield, Dana Marie, Shaun Hupp, Tracy Wharton Beattie, Genevive Scholl, Linzi Foley, Emma Jane Law, Stacey Krlic, Tyrone Bleakley, Dianne Hunt, Michelle Louise Smart, Jimmy Kerr, Mariah E Wilson, Jonny Martin, Todd Barselow, Mal Dybevic,
Tanya Gaunt
, Oli Clarke, Andrea Harwood Young, Kim Shown, Becky Muth.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Bray is a Horror author based in Leeds, England. Influenced from an early age by the suspense horror of authors such as Stephen King, and the trashy pulp TV shows like
Tales From The Crypt
&
The Twilight Zone
, he started to work on his own fiction, and spent many years developing his style.

In May 2012, he signed a deal with the highly reputable Dark Hall Press to print and distribute his collection of interlinked short stories titled
Dark Corners
, which was released in September 2012. His second release was a Novella titled
MEAT
which was initially self-published before being picked up by J. Ellington Ashton Press. His first full length novel, a supernatural horror titled Whisper was also initially self-published, and following great critical acclaim, was sold to Horrific Tales publishing - his first advance paying sale.

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MICHAELBRAYAUTHOR

WWW.TWITTER.COM/DARKCORNERSBOOK

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