Reasons to Stay

Reasons to Stay
70 Pages
Kindle Direct Publishing
ISBN 9798689585734

16-year-old Silas had to get away for just one night. The village wasn't far, and the oppressive halls of his family's dilapidated mansion in the woods were simply too much for him. He couldn’t have known that his chance encounter with the local girl Bethany would be the catalyst for beginning to face the terrifying secrets hidden in every corner of his family’s house.

Now, with Bethany by his side, it’s time to confront his mother’s harsh words, his father’s neglect, his brother’s violence. But how can he keep his new friend safe when his memories keep slipping in and out of time? How can he face his family when he’s not even sure he can face himself?

Packed with vivid imagery, eerie secrets, and disturbing encounters, Reasons to Stay is a classic ghost story, a throwback along the lines of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" or Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle."

Emily Searle

About Emily Searle (Albuquerque, New Mexico Author)

Emily Searle

Emily Searle was born in Casper, Wyoming where she learned to accept freezing temperatures in the high mountains as part of her very being. In 1996, at age 8, she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she quickly became weakened by the hot, desert weather and is now fairly certain that she could not survive in Wyoming ever again. Emily met her highly musically talented husband in high school and married young. They live happily with their two children and a random cat who came out of nowhere but now just hangs out under their car and stares at them whenever they take out the trash. At a young age, stories helped Emily cope with her high social anxiety and she soon began creating her own worlds. It started with a talking cat named Jeff, who never really got anywhere, but is nonetheless Emily's first and favorite character. Talking-cat-Jeff isn’t afraid of anyone or anything, unlike Emily who is afraid of everyone.