Sharon Baldacci,
Author
"A Sun Dog Moment" is engaging, original, and inspirational. This beautifully written
first novel proves that brother David isn't the only Baldacci who inherited the writing
genes."

-Richard Paul Evans,
New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box and A Perfect Day


"A stunning debut novel...beautifully told with humor and warmth... You will love this
story!"

-Adriana Trigiani,
Author of the Big Stone Gap trilogy and many other wonderful books.
Thank you so much for your emails of encouragement. I have been touched by your personal
stories of hope.

I am working on a sequel to sundogs but for the last few years I've been writing and rewriting
my second novel, REFLECTED LIGHT. I would like to share some of this with you now and
perhaps in time share a little more. Thanks again.

sharon
sharon@sharonbaldacci.com


    ***********************************

        “REFLECTED LIGHT"
                                                           Sharon Baldacci
                                       


Copyright 2010

Every soul mirrors what feeds it the most: love, hate and all the shadows in between. It's
important because the consequences are eternal.

                                                              Glory Lee Ward from the in between place

Prologue

The alarm clock screamed loud and long before Glory Lee Ward finally flung out a hand to
silence it. She groaned when she saw the time. Thanksgiving day was barely five hours old. It
was her first break since starting college here in the city and instead of doing what she
wanted, which was going back to sleep, she had to do what her mother wanted.  
  
    She forced herself to sit up and swing both legs to the side. She was going home this
morning, even if it killed her. And she would help her mother do every bit of cooking and
cleaning, regardless of what she said. She pushed back the tousled blonde hair and rubbed
her eyes. She hoped she could ease into the day, even if she wasn't looking forward to what
most of it would bring.
  
    She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to think that way. Instead she filled her mind with
something brighter, the miracle of her little sister Katie. A smile lit up her face as she clicked on
the lamp by her bed.
  
    She was so glad she didn't have to live in a college dorm on campus. Instead she was living
by herself in a small townhouse complex that hugged the eastern side of the campus. Her
father had bought it as an investment years ago. It was perfect when she decided to come here
to study.
   
   The sight of this room was always soothing. Spare, uncluttered, it was so unlike the
bedroom she would be sleeping in tonight at the family's historic farm in Westmoreland
County.  A huge yawn escaped and she shook her head.

   She stood and stretched out with arms extended, feeling each muscle slowly wake up.
A hot shower energized her. The long wavy hair was dried and pulled back from her face by a
black hair band.

   She slipped into black jeans and loose green sweater that would make the long drive home
comfortable. Dark wool socks and leather shoes warmed her feet.
   
   Awake and ready for whatever the day brought, she walked towards the kitchen, flipping on
lights, thinking of coffee and bagels. She should be leaving very early.

   She grinned, thinking of the surprise on her mother's face. Thank God she had packed
everything last night. It was all tucked into the trunk of her car.

   Just as she passed the hall to the laundry room, she stopped abruptly.  Out of the corner of
her eye she saw a shape, a shadow that seemed out of place.
    It moved.

   Her heart stopped and then started slamming inside her with an intensity that kept her from
hearing anything except the fear in her head. It paralyzed her vocal chords, stripping her lungs
of breath.

   Before she could react, before her mind could think to escape, there was an explosion of
pain, more pain than she ever imagined existed. It bubbled up and washed over her, throbbing
with every beat of her heart, crippling her legs, the floor jerked up to grab her as she fell.

   For one long moment, its intensity scorched through her, making her world intolerable and
inescapable and then - everything stopped.

   It was the pause between this world and the next, the in between place where decisions of
life and death are made. But not this time.

   Instead, Glory stared as the previous day was rewound but this time she was allowed to
view all that had been missing in life. She saw everything and everyone that had conspired to
create this moment and what had just happened.

   She also heard the prayer that was the reason she was offered this extraordinary gift.

   She began to watch.