Sarah by Teri Polen

I was able to receive a copy of the book from Netgalley .com I totally enjoyed the book, as you will see by my review below. Teri Polen agreed to give me an interview to add to my review as well as an excerpt included, and a page with my bio, social media, and buy links.

If you get a chance to grab a copy of this book and like scary stories, I suggest reading it with the lights on.

Book Blurb:  

Seventeen-year-old horror fan Cain Shannon thought helping a ghost find her killers would be the supernatural adventure of a lifetime. Now, he just hopes to survive long enough to protect his family and friends from her.

A bet between friends goes horribly wrong, resulting in Sarah's death. When she returns to seek justice against those responsible, Cain agrees to help her. But when he discovers Sarah has been hijacking his body, he realizes she wants retribution instead of justice.

Terrified of what could have happened when he wasn't in control, Cain commands Sarah to leave his house - but exorcising her isn't that easy. She retaliates against her murderers in bloody, horrific ways, each death making her stronger, then sets her sights on Cain. With the help of friends, Cain fights to save himself and his loved ones and searches for a way to stop Sarah before she kills again. 

Exclusive Excerpt From Teri Polen

Squatting down to sort through the box, my elbow nudged one of the balls and it bounced across the floor a couple of times before I stopped it. When I picked it up to toss it back in the box, I noticed a splotch of red on one side. It was glistening, like the spot was wet, and after running my finger across the ball, I brought it closer for a sniff.

I knew that smell. With the multitude of soccer injuries I’d received over the years, the copperish tangy aroma of blood was all too familiar. Wait - blood? Was Eby injured somewhere up here? But I’d looked around and knew for certain he wasn’t here. Had I stepped on something and cut myself? When I looked down to check my feet, that’s when I saw it. A circular pool of blood on the floor about a foot in diameter. How had I missed this? It hadn’t been here when Finn and I were looking around last night. One of us would have noticed this.

So how did blood get here in the past twenty-four hours?

Then I felt it. Frigid air wrapped itself around me, like it was a living, breathing entity, causing me to gasp. When I let out a shaky exhale, I could see my breath. In a 90 plus degree attic. My gaze shot down to the floor where the blood had been.

It was gone.

My review
If you like ghost stories you are gonna love this book. It is creepy, scary, and even terrifying in parts.  Teri Polen has done an awesome job on this book. If it were made into a movie I would definitely go see it.

Seventeen year old Cain has a lot going on his life. He is the captain of the soccer team. He has a horrible snob girlfriend he can't stand. He has recently lost his Father to a tragic accident and has moved into a  new house.

Cain and his best friend Finn are in his bedroom one night playing video games when the attic door opens by itself and a rush of freezing air comes in. The boys go to check it out but find nothing. The attic door continues to open by itself at different times. One night while Cain is alone he goes back up to the attic to see if he can figure out what is going on. While upstairs he sees fresh blood on the floor then it disappears.  He hen finds out  Sarah a missing girl from his high school's blood was found in the attic but she was never found.

Eventually Sarah takes form and tells Can what happened that night. Cain decides to try and help her so she can rest in peace. Bad move Dude. Sarah takes advantage of Cain's generosity. She is out for revenge not for help. 

As things get deadly Cain decides to try and exorcise Sarah. Sarah isn't going to stand for this at all. Not only is she after her killers but she turns on Cain as well.

Author Bio

Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy.  The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium.  She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat.  Sarah, a YA horror/thriller, is her first novel and was a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.  Her second novel, The Gemini Connection, a YA sci-fi/fantasy, is scheduled for publication in early 2018.  Visit her online at www.teripolen.com

Buy Links:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Teri-Polen-ebook/dp/B01NBIFRF4/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485561261&sr=8-1&keywords=sarah+teri+polen

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sarah-teri-polen/1125171739?ean=9781612967912

Black Rose Writing:  http://www.blackrosewriting.com/childrens-booksya/sarah

Contact Links:

Website:  https://teripolen.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TeriPolenAuthor/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TPolen6

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16114393.Teri_Polen

Interview with Teri Polen

What is your favorite part of this book and why?  

That’s easy for me – the friendship between Cain and Finn.  The banter between the two of them was such fun to write and I never quite knew what they’d say.  They could rag on each other and talk smack all day, but each of them would take a bullet for the other.  They still talk to me sometimes.  

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

My characters are created in my head, but may possess character traits of people I’ve known or those I’ve observed while people watching (usually in airports – a fantastic place to people watch).  Sometimes it may take a couple of months to really get to know and understand my characters, but that’s part of the fun.

What made you want to become a writer?

I’ve always been a reader – I think I was born with a book in my hand.  One evening at my son’s soccer practice, a complete story occurred to me – I’d had ideas here and there, but never one for a full story.  So I wrote it – and it was just bad all the way around and nowhere near ready to be seen.  By anyone.  Ever.  But the ideas kept coming, I read books on craft, took webinars, workshops, and classes, and kept writing.  I’ve finally found what I want to be when I grow up.  

How did you come up with name of this book?

For over two years I debated on names for this book, but nothing seemed to fit.  The day before I had to turn the book into my publisher, it still had no title, but then Sarah just popped in my head and I wondered why it had taken me so long to figure it out.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

I’m a voracious reader and have been known to read up to 6 books at a time, but since I’ve been writing, it’s more like a couple.  I’d estimate about 90 -95% of what I read is horror, sci-fi, or fantasy, with the occasional mystery/thriller/suspense tossed in.  

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I’d have to say one at a time, although while writing my newest book, I’ve also written a short story to contribute to an anthology.  Ideas for new books may be floating around the brain cells, but I lack the capacity to focus on more than one major project at a time.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.