Semi Short chic: Book Tour: Soul Mirrors by Wiley A Haydon III

My love of storytelling traces back to my step-mother, who spun wonderful fantasy stories when I was child. I finished my first novel at sixteen. That first attempt was terrible, but taught me quite a bit about story construction. Though I would start numerous other projects in the following years, I wouldn't actually complete another book for another 21 years.

I wasn't idle in that time, though. I earned a degree in engineering, married the love of my life, worked as a semi- truck driver crisscrossing the country, moved from Texas to North Dakota and then came back home.

It's been a fun and interesting journey. I really enjoy engineering, but writing was my first passion, and I'm excited to share it with you.

I currently live in West Texas with my wife and our two adorable (but weird) cats.

Connect with the Author here:

~ Website ~

"No one knows how human genetics evolved to create Mirrors. No one knows how the evidence of a criminal’s last horrendous act can be confirmed in a single gaze of a child’s silvered eyes. But just because science can’t explain something doesn’t mean it can’t be used, and this gift is simply too valuable to ignore.

Twins Thomas and Ashley Ross have grown up knowing they would be used as Mirrors for the “good” of humanity. When their powers mature at age twelve, they are taken weekly to fulfill their role. By reliving the most heinous crimes from a perpetrators’ perspective, they alone can assure that no innocent people will be executed, and that the worst offenders are not set free due to lack of evidence.

Justice is not without cost, however. Taking on the memories of others is a destructive process, one that quickly consumes the children involved until most take their own lives. As despair threatens to drown Thomas and Ashley, a distant hope keeps them from succumbing: If they can make it to their eighteenth birthday, their contract with the government will be fulfilled. Changing views on the morality of their role threatens to tear them apart, but the twins struggle to cling to each other and try to construct a fragile life above the weekly flood of horrors.

As their work takes it toll, however, a new question emerges: does survival even matter when you’re already broken beyond repair?"

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Snippet #1

“Whenever you’re ready, Thomas.”

Hands that had threatened to dissolve into anxious trembles found stillness at the final
moment. Gripping the glasses from both sides, he unlocked the frames, then cautiously
slid them over his ears and off his nose. Light exploded unhindered around the plastic, and
he winced. Head tilted down so that the accused man was just out of his sight, Thomas
finished pulling the dark covers from his face and set the glasses on the table. Drawing a
final, tense breath, he looked up.

Thomas’s silver eyes locked abruptly with Mr. Carson’s deep brown, and the world
lurched.

*****

Snippet #2

Thomas curled up, pulling as much into a ball as he could. He felt tears in his eyes
but fought them down. He’d always hated crying with his glasses on; the frames trapped
the tears inside. Today, though, he didn’t want to show weakness to his jailer.

He felt Sam’s hand on his shoulder and tried to jerk away but couldn’t get any farther
from the man. He settled for burying his face away, hiding in the dark hollows of his hands.

“I want good things for you, Thomas. I want good things for Mirrors. I want you to
live a long life and find happiness.”

“Won’t happen,” Thomas shot back. “I’m going to die in a few years. You know that.”

“You’re not dead yet, are you?”

“The glass is always half full for you, isn’t it?” Thomas asked, turning back to glare.
“I guess it’s easier to be an optimist when it’s not your glass.”