I graduated college from Youngstown State University in 2009 with a degree in theater and a minor in creative writing. I am currently living in Washington State in a little cabin in the woods with my cat Cato. I work full time at a kids camp, and spend my free time doing community theater and adventuring in nature! I am an avid geocacher, and love watching reality TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, and Big Brother! I am currently working on my next project that includes a few YA romances and a YA dystopian series!
Book Description:
After over 4 years, Olena comes rocketing back into Claire's life, changing everything for the worse. Picking up the shattered pieces, Claire is not sure who to believe. Is Olena who she says she is, or is she a killer to stay away from? Leaning on her new boyfriend Steven for support, Claire is faced with the choice on who to trust: a friend she barley knows, or a history lesson she barely remembers. Together, the three will begin a journey that will take Claire from the safety of her home to the last place she thought she would ever be: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. With the wreckage of rector four looming behind her, Claire will have to see Olena's plan through until the end if she wants any chance of making it out alive.
Once
we were in the safety of my dorm I collapsed onto my bed, my head pounding with
a sudden headache. Steven sat next to me, one arm around my waist while the
other held onto my shaking hands. Olena locked the door before turning to face
us, her look more urgent than ever.
“The
guy you found dead in the bathroom was Alexi Dyatlov,” she began, a calm
expression on her face. “He was sent to kill me back in ‘95, but my mom and I
got away. That is why I left Ohio when I did. The man he works for has been
trying to find us since we moved to the United States years ago. When we left
we headed to Canada, thinking we would be safe, but then he found us again.
That was why I needed to come find you.”
“But
why did you need to drag me into all of this now?” I asked, my voice finally
calming down some. Something about the way she stated everything as a simple
fact made me think there was even more she was not saying.
“Until
we met a few months ago they did not know you and I were connected,” she
explained. “But now they are likely watching you, making sure I do not contact
you again. I wanted to stay away and leave you out of this, I really did. But I
do not have a choice.”
With
a sigh she sat on my desk chair, a look of remorse on her face. I glanced at
Steven, his face a mask of concern and confusion. It felt good to know I was
not the only one still in the dark.
“I
had to find you in order to get the necklace,” Olena began again slowly. “The
locket I gave you is the key to all of this. I did not know it when I gave it
to you, but it is the only thing that will stop these men.”
“I
don’t have it,” I managed to croak despite my dry throat. “I left it in Ohio.”
“That
is okay,” she nodded. “That means it is still safe until we can go get it. If
we leave now we can get there while your parents are still asleep so we will
not have to involve them in this any more than they already are.”
“Wait,
you expect us to come with you now?” Steven asked. A part of me could not help but
smile to know he was going to stick with me through this. But, a bigger part of
me was still a mess of emotions trying to make sense of everything I had just
heard.
“The
longer we wait the more danger we are all in,” Olena explained. “They have been
tracking me since I killed Alexi, and it is only a matter of time before they
figure out that I came here to see you, Claire.”
I
could feel my heart pounding even more now, my pulse speeding up at all the
news Olena was presenting me with. Earlier today I was happy to be spending
time with Steven, and now I was being asked to drive to Ohio to pick up a
necklace that was the cause of Olena killing someone?
“How
do I know all of this is even real?” I asked, taking a deep breath in an
attempt to calm down.
“This
might help,” Olena muttered.
I
watched in shock as Olena stood to shed her black coat before pulling off her
black t-shirt. Standing only in her bra I sat in silence staring at her pale
skin, covered in thick red scars. Most of the scars were small, likely not too
deep. On her left side, however, was a scar that ran from her rib cage down
towards her belly button. It was jagged and darker than the other as if it had
only recently healed. Tiny puncture marks around it hinted at stitches and who
knows what else.
“The
knife was just centimeters from rupturing my lung and spleen,” she explained,
her fingers tracing the large scar. “I stopped the bleeding enough to make it
to an animal clinic. I paid a vet tech to stitch me up just enough so I could
keep driving. I had lost so much blood I thought I was going to die.”
“Why
didn’t you go to the hospital?” I asked, staring at the scars until she slipped
her clothing back on.
“They
would have turned me in to the police,” she shrugged, slipping her coat on once
again.
“Won’t
the police be able to help with this big mess?” Steven asked, his hand rubbing
soothing circles on my back.
“No,”
Olena said simply. “These men are not going to be stopped by the police.
Nothing will stop them from killing me. Getting the police involved just means
putting more people in danger.”
“So
if we go to Ohio it all ends?” I asked, the pieces slowly falling into place.
“Yes,”
she nodded. “They will follow me after I leave, so you should be safe.”
With
a sigh I turned to face Steven. His look was one of concern, but he gave a
slight nod, letting me know he was going to stick with me through this. Somehow
just knowing he was by my side made my decision that much easier.
“Okay,”
I finally mumbled. “When do we leave?”
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Check back later this week as I will be posting a review of Dana's book Locket Full of Secrets!
Other Times Dana Appeared On Sophia Tallon:
Guest Blog Post 1: http://sophiatallon.blogspot.com/2015/07/guest-blog-dana-burkey.html
Author Interview: http://sophiatallon.blogspot.com/2015/07/author-interview-dana-burkey.html
Guest Blog Post 2: http://sophiatallon.blogspot.com/2015/07/guest-blog-dana-burkey_5.html
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