Persuasion Teaser Content #1

Letter to Barrie on Her 2nd Birthday

Dear Barrie,

You are two years old today. I stood by your crib when the clock struck midnight, just watching you sleep the way I do sometimes, the way I used to watch the Fire Carrier setting fire to the river every night from my balcony. I wonder if that's part of the gift, too, the instinct to stay up at night to watch him perform his ceremony. Do I feel it from clear across the country, do you think? Is that why I can never sleep?

I wonder how you will grow up without all that. No Fire Carrier, no oak-lined drive and plantation house, no maze or fountain or river. No shadowy knee-high pests that make life at Watson's Landing a hell and a delight, hiding your things, tripping people, getting back at Daddy constantly because they hate him. Oh, how they hate him! And I take satisfaction in that these days, hoping they are heaping misery on him by the bucketful so that he feels some of the pain I feel.

Will you have the migraines, too, and if so, how soon? Maybe they won't come before I die. I hope not, but I have no idea how the gift really works.

That ignorance seems so strange to admit. But so many things seem strange. How will I ever explain them all to you, and tell you what my choices have done to ruin your life?

I've written to Daddy more times than I can count begging to come home, or at least to let you go home. I've written to Pru, too, and even though I know by now Daddy won't give her the letters, I can't keep from continuing to send them. You'll understand as you get older. It's a double pull, the binding to Watson's Landing and the draw of blood. We aren't meant to leave the place. Three hundred years of magic binds us there. Duty binds us there. I learned that lesson too late, and now you will pay the price for it.

The world is a much darker place than you can possibly imagine, my sweet baby girl. But the ugliest monsters are the human ones. Always remember that.

L.

This is content related to Persuasion, Book Two of The Heirs of Watson Island Series from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse.

Persuasion is available for pre-order now and will be released October 27, 2015.

Compulsion, Heirs of Watson Island Book One is available now wherever books are sold.

Praise for Compulsion

"Boone's southern gothic certainly delivers a compelling mystery about feuding families and buried secrets, not to mention a steamy romance." - Booklist

"Skillfully blends rich magic and folklore with adventure, sweeping romance, and hidden treasure . . . An impressive start to the Heirs of Watson Island series." - Publishers Weekly

Eight Beaufort is so swoon-worthy that it's ridiculous. Move over Four, Eight is here to stay!" - RT Book Reviews, RT Editors Best Books of 2014

"A little bit Gone with the Wind, a little bit Romeo and Juliet..." - School Library Journal

"A paranormal Southern gothic with decadent settings, mysterious magic and family histories rife with debauchery" - Kirkus

"Even the villains and not-likable characters were just so engrossing. I have to say I've already put the sequel on my TBR shelf." - USA Today HEA

"Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you'll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series." - JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"The perfect southern family saga, charming and steamy on the surface, with cold-blooded secrets buried down deep. What more do you want? More time to read it, that's what." - KENDARE BLAKE, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and Antigodess

"A shivery, delicious Southern Gothic with feuding families, dark spirits, ancient curses... and caught up in the middle, a young girl learning to live and love for the first time. Atmospheric and suspenseful, Compulsion will draw you in and hold you until the very last page." - LEAH CYPESS, author of Death Sworn

"A star-crossed romance, lush gothic plantations, and an island full of intrigue-Compulsion was a heart-pounding race to the finish! A thrilling debut!" - KIMBERLY DERTING, author of The Body Finder series

"A fresh twist on the Southern Gothic - haunting, atmospheric, and absorbing." - CLAUDIA GRAY, New York Times bestselling author of A Thousand Pieces of You and the Evernight and Spellcaster series

"A stunningly magical debut with a delicious slow burn to be savored. I want to live in this story world!" - WENDY HIGGINS, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Evil trilogy

"Beautifully written, with vivid characters, a generations-old feud, and romance that leaps off the page, this Southern ghost story left me lingering over every word, and yet wanting to race to the compelling finish. Compulsion is not to be missed." - MEGAN SHEPHERD, author of The Madman's Daughter

"Ancient spirits, mystery, and Southern charm-Compulsion mixes dark magic with darker family secrets in a way that'll make you relieved there are two more books. I can't wait to continue reading about Barrie and the rest of Watson island!" - KAT ZHANG, author of What's Left of Me