Shadows of Things to Come

In the tradition of Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson comes a psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the shocking conclusion.   Starting a new relationship is always hard, but it's not often dangerous.   College first year Megan McCleod feels bad about breaking up with her boyfriend, Keith. After all, they've been together for years. But now they're going in two different directions, and she just doesn't see how things can work out between them. Too bad the day she picked to break up with him was the same day he'd picked to ask her to marry him.   Sophomore Tony Driscoll is all for the break-up, however, because he wants Megan all to himself. He's convinced, from the first moment he sees her in that coffee shop when she's breaking up with Keith, that they belong together. Now all he has to do is make her feel the same way about him. Megan is charmed by him from the very first moment their eyes meet. Then she starts hearing things - about how Tony killed his mother and kidnapped one of his ex-girlfriends. But Tony seems so nice. She just can't believe he would hurt a fly. ...Until he asks her to marry him on their third date, and then he storms out in a rage when she refuses him. And it's doubly suspicious that Megan gets attacked on the street as she's trying to get back to the dorm that night.      Is Tony trying to hurt her? Has his love for her taken an obsessive, psychopathic turn? Can she discover the truth before it's too late?   This, the first book in a series of psychological thrillers, Flashes of Time, from Amazon bestselling author Mishael Austin Witty introduces us to Megan, her friends, and one very dangerous enemy. This action-packed novel geared toward young adults will certainly  keep you guessing as to what could possibly happen next. Here's what readers are saying about SHADOWS OF THINGS TO COME:   5 out of 5 stars "Shadows of Things to Come is one of the best books I've read in a long time!" - A teen reader   4 out of 5 stars "Shadows of Things to Come was an enjoyable read. It weaves a striking tapestry of suspense, romance and college life with heavy threads of faith throughout. While it has many elements to it, I would say this is an all-out suspense that keeps you guessing til the final, shocking end." - Itsthecaffeine   5 out of 5 stars "There is quite a bit of religion mixed in with murder, romance and mystery. This story ends with a major twist at the end that keeps you from having closure. I didn't want the story to end." - Lauren Alumbaugh   If you love psychological thrillers, you're going to love Shadows of Things to Come!  

It all started back in 1986. I was nine years old, and The Monkees were having their big revival tour, complete with old TV episodes re-run on Nickelodeon. I fell instantly in love. I watched every single episode I could and immediately ran out to the record store (remember those?) and bought every single cassette tape I could find. I soon became one of the biggest Monkees fans ever.
 
Fast forward a year or so...In addition to being a big Monkees fan, I was also a huge book nerd - and an avid writer. One day, I was listening to Mike Nesmith sing, "The Kind of Girl I Could Love", and my warped young brain took that song lyric and turned it into "The Kind of Girl I Could Murder". Just like that, I had (what I thought) was a great story idea. So I wrote it.
 
The first incarnation of that tale (printed out from my parents' old Apple IIe on dot matrix printer paper) is long since lost in the dark recesses of my parents' basement (or maybe it's languishing in a landfill somewhere. Who knows?). But the original story idea stayed with me. For years.
 
Twenty years later, I heard about Nanowrimo and I read Chris Baty's book, NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM! Being the kind of warped individual that I am, I thought: 'I can do this. I can write a book in 30 days. Why not?' So I took that original story idea of THE KIND OF GIRL I COULD MURDER, plotted out some scenes, and started writing.
 
Thirty days later, I had an almost completed novel. I edited it and added some things and, in a few months, I had (what I thought) was a pretty darn good Christian thriller. It's mainly a CHRISTIAN thriller because the MC is a Christian (and she's a very committed one). I tried shopping it around to different publishing companies (not even agents - I went straight for the publishing companies), but I didn't have much luck. I got impatient to see that thing in print (even though I was probably going about things the wrong way). And then I found out about Lulu.com (this was in 2007, and Amazon hadn't quite developed CreateSpace). I uploaded my book, bought a few dozen copies, and called myself a published author.
 
Five years later, I decided to switch from Lulu to Amazon, to join the digital book revolution. And, a year after that, I finally figured out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing as an indie author of both print and digital books.  Well...at least, I now know more than I did then...way back when.
 
So. That's the full "story behind the story" for SHADOWS OF THINGS TO COME, and it's really the story of how I became an indie author. I was driven by my own impatience to have a book in hand. Life as an indie author certainly is not easy, but it's well worth it, and I'm glad I gave it a try.
Happy reading!