Letters for Lucien (Coming Jan 2024 from The Wild Rose Press)

Author's Note and Excerpt

Friends!

I'm Suzy England, author of LETTERS FOR LUCIEN. I'm excited to announce that this story is being published by The Wild Rose Press and will be available to purchase in paperback and ebook January 25, 2024! I'm touched by all the love, support, comments, votes, and DMs for Mathew and Sunny's emotional story. I hope you'll consider making a purchase once it's a traditionally published novel.

Below is an excerpt from the all new LETTERS FOR LUCIEN. Enjoy! Again, many thanks for supporting me and my work! I'm truly appreciative!

Follow me!

IG: @suzyenglandwrites

FB: @authorsuzyengland

Twitter: @suzy_england

Website: www.suzyengland.com

Chapter One

Guarded optimism and a Post-It note of encouragement were all Mathew Ellis possessed when he walked through the main doors of his office building. His first day back at work after a life-altering three week absence, he prayed for a rash of fires only he could put out--any type of corporate diversion, he wasn't picky. The silence that left him aching at home had followed him downtown, and now he listened to the sounds of his own twisted thoughts banging inside his head. Alone in the elevator, he pressed the button for the fourth floor. His stomach growled. It was then he realized he hadn't eaten a thing since lunch the day before. Things like food and sleep and even hygiene had fallen to the bottom of his list for a string of dark days. I'll ask Reagan to run out and grab us something.

Reagan, his administrative assistant, was standing beside his desk when he entered the office. Her eyes widened with surprise when he entered.

"There he is!" she said, her face bright and welcoming.

"As promised," Mathew said, trying his best to mimic her upbeat tone.

"It's so good to see you. You've been missed."

"Thank you."

"How is Sunny feeling?"

"She's doing well...and sends her love," he lied.

"Please tell her I'm thinking about her."

They continued to exchange pleasantries until a call on her cell phone drove Reagan back out to her own desk. Alone again, Mathew sank into the leather chair behind his massive desk. Expecting to find stacks of files in need of his attention, he frowned, finding the opposite to be true. The desk, he observed, was exactly as he'd left it the Thursday before Easter. The phone beside him showed no signs of activity. Not a scrap of paper or hand-scrawled message in sight. He'd been away for three whole weeks. Had no one noticed? Or was everyone hiding from him? Years of painstaking diligence had established his celebrated accounting firm so that it could thrive without him. It had been the end goal all along. But the man he'd become could not see the bigger picture. He needed distraction. He needed to feel needed. If not at home, then at least at work.

The last two days had been hard, after his father-in-law's departure. His wife Sunny's shell had become impenetrable, and her need to communicate in any form was unapparent. The ghost Mathew witnessed the day of the funeral had now taken up full time residence and the home they shared together at the desirable Bellaire address had become more like a prison. She hardly ventured downstairs, drifting silently between their bedroom and the nursery to pass the hours. He prayed that his decision to return to the office be protested, and that maybe she'd finally open up to him. But she merely nodded when learning of his plans.