David Jackson leaves a successful law practice in the big city to return to the hometown he fled long ago. At its center stands Old Suzie’s house, a grand home once the elegant jewel of a bygone era. Now abandoned, the house stands decaying, simmering in the town’s tortured past. David thought he’d buried his childhood nightmares along with his father in the town cemetery under six feet of dirt and thirty years of grief, but they’re not finished with him just yet. His wife and daughter find themselves in real danger from the unquiet phantoms of David’s past. David Jackson’s childhood might just hold the key to what haunts Old Suzie’s house—and his family’s salvation. What Other Authors Are Saying: Chris Pourteau's Shadows Burned In turned out to be much more than I was expecting....I read a lot of books from debut authors and frankly, a lot of times it can be a chore. With SBI, Chris had me from the very beginning. This is a debut book that you really should catch....Very literary in its aspirations, an abuse story that is so much more. — Michael Bunker, author of Pennsylvania Omnibus A great start for a new literary voice…the storytelling and uniqueness of Mr. Pourteau’s voice kept me reading on. A wonderful first attempt, and a sign of great things to come. — Roberto Calas, author of The Scourge Series This is that novel of childhood's end and adult's beginning. Of saying farewell to the things you love and that scare you and hello to things you're too scared to ever stop loving…written extremely well and with incredible heart. Complex. Bittersweet. It doesn't let you go. I highly recommend this haunted tale. — Nick Cole, author of The Wasteland Saga ________________________________ “The author excels at painting scenery….[the] reader can really see and feel the locations and delves into them…. ● [Pourteau] provides lovely gems of description reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen: “spirit moaned on the wind” as an example; this is excellent writing….The reader goes back over these to enjoy them again. ● A sign of a well-written narrative….The different plot paths converge well at the end. Excellent plotting….Good tension throughout; author moves the pace nicely.”—Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards
Author
Chris Pourteau is the bestselling author of the sci-fi thriller novels of the SynCorp Saga (co-authored with David Bruns), the post-apocalyptic Serenity Strain novels, and the military sci-fi collection Tales of B-Company. His first novel, Shadows Burned In, earned the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction. The Lazarus Protocol, the first novel in the SynCorp Saga, placed in the Top Ten in Read Freely's 2018 50 Best Indie Book of the Year contest; it was the highest-rated Sci-Fi novel in the contest. He’s also edited and curated bestselling short story collections including the two animal-centric collections Tails of the Apocalypse and Tails of Dystopia (with Samuel Peralta), as well as Bridge Across the Stars, a collection of Sci-Fi stories from indie and traditionally published authors published by Sci-Fi Bridge, which Chris co-founded. His dayjob is editor-in-chief for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which researches cutting-edge technologies across the transportation spectrum. Chris Pourteau is the bestselling author of the sci-fi thriller novels of the SynCorp Saga (co-authored with David Bruns), the post-apocalyptic Serenity Strain novels, and the military sci-fi collection Tales of B-Company. His first novel, Shadows Burned In, earned the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction. The Lazarus Protocol, the first novel in the SynCorp Saga, placed in the Top Ten in Read Freely's 2018 50 Best Indie Book of the Year contest; it was the highest-rated Sci-Fi novel in the contest. He’s also edited and curated bestselling short story collections including the two animal-centric collections Tails of the Apocalypse and Tails of Dystopia (with Samuel Peralta), as well as Bridge Across the Stars, a collection of Sci-Fi stories from indie and traditionally published authors published by Sci-Fi Bridge, which Chris co-founded. His dayjob is editor-in-chief for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which researches cutting-edge technologies across the transportation spectrum. When he’s not writing, editing, or working the dayjob, Chris loves exercising regularly, watching shows like Star Trek and Stranger Things, and reading his favorite authors. Those include Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Max Collins. He lives in Texas with his wife, son, and two dogs. (He’s a HUGE dog person, by the way.) Find out more about Chris and his writing through his newsletter. Sign up and get free stuff at https://chrispourteau.com/newsletter.
