Mystery in Post-it Notes?

Intrigue plays a bit part in my YA novel The Monster Within. My MC Sam faces mystery after mystery from the moment she’s brought back from the dead. One of those mysteries involves yellow Post-it notes that come to strike fear in Sam. Check out this scene that occurs immediately after Sam has one of her Mr. Hyde attacks:

My head felt woozy, like I was hung over, but I hadn’t had anything to drink. I slowly got to my feet, still scanning the yard, looking for whoever had done this. Maybe it was the same person who had stolen my necklace. I thought back to the guy who was peeking in the window. The one who’d broken into the house. He knew my name. He knew I could kill with my bare hands. It had to be him. 

Suddenly the realization that I was outside alone in the dark with a stranger lurking around set in. I ran back into the cottage and locked both locks behind me. I went around the house checking all the windows, too. He wasn’t getting inside again.

I pulled the curtain back into place after checking the lock on the window above the kitchen sink. I was breathing hard. I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face. No way would I be able to go back to sleep after all this, so I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed my face, trying to think of how I’d pass the time until morning without waking Ethan. I reached for a second paper towel when I saw the note on the counter. A yellow Post-it note. I froze.

My eyes zeroed in on the handwriting. Every letter was perfectly straight.

Where’s your necklace?

Those three words sent terror coursing through my body. Whoever had given me the necklace had been in my house tonight. He—or she, now I wasn’t so sure—had come into the cottage while I was out in the yard having a vision and trying not to die.

Two break-ins in one night? It was hard to believe, but it had to be two different people. One stole my necklace, and the other wanted to know why I wasn’t wearing it anymore. How had so many people discovered where I lived?

Are you intrigued? If so, check out The Monster Within.

The moment seventeen-year-old Samantha Thompson crawls out of her grave, her second chance at life begins. She died of cancer with her long-time boyfriend, Ethan, by her side—a completely unfair shot at life. But Ethan found a way to bring her back, like he promised he would. Only Sam came back wrong.

She's now a monster that drains others' lives to survive. And after she kills, she’s tortured by visions—glimpses into her victims would-have-been futures had she not killed them. Barely able to live with herself and trying to make things right, Sam ends up a pawn in a vicious game of payback within the local coven of witches.

But when the game reveals what Ethan had to do to save Sam, she must make a choice that will change all their lives forever.

Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as a freelance editor for small presses as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets. Visit her website: http://www.kellyhashway.com.