Shadows Burned In

***winner of the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction*** 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 Writers 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 The 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