R. J. Aldern will share their opening chapter below, and they want to know what you really think. Is the opening hook strong enough? Does the world pull you in? Where would you want the story to go next?
Please keep your comments constructive and encouraging — this is an early draft, not a finished book, and honest, kind feedback helps the writer find their direction.
The Weight of Water
By R. J. Aldern (pen name). The writer has asked to keep their identity private for this entry.
A woman returns to her drought-stricken hometown to settle her grandmother's estate and finds the lake giving up more than old folklore.
Mara had learned to read the reservoir the way other people read faces. That morning it was low and grey, showing the old stone steps that only appeared in drought years, the ones her grandmother said led nowhere good. She counted them out of habit — eleven, then the water — and told herself it meant nothing.
It was only when she saw the second set of footprints on the bank, smaller than hers, still filling with water at the edges, that she understood she wasn't the first person to come looking that morning.
Genre: Suspense Drama, 90,000 words.
For readers of Tana French and Fiona Barton.
Read the first five-pages ~ COMING ON A TUESDAY IN AUGUST
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Beta Reader Request
R. J. Aldern, the writer of The Weight of Water, is seeking beta readers. Please enrol if you would like to read this story and feedback to the writer.
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