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A dark inspiration tale
The Rosalyn Letters
An outcast’s coming-of-age story for dreamers, mystery lovers, poets at heart, and everyday philosophers
Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven" meets Nancy Drew’s dream diary
What would happen if you dreamed about a violent, supernatural transgression and the next day learned that some version of it had come true? The Rosalyn Letters is an epistolary thriller that keeps you guessing: what is real, what is imagined, and which is worth abiding?

It’s April of 1997 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and an unsolved crime has just shattered Rosalyn’s life. To cope with her heartache, she begins writing a series of private letters to Nova in her journal, where she confides a shameful secret about the night before it happened. In her anguish, Rosalyn recounts the recent dreams that still haunt her, recording them as poems, just as her grandmother had taught her as a young girl. But after she moves to New York City and her letters progress, Rosalyn begins to realize that her dreams are delivering her a series of clues that might be giving her the answers no one else could.

On one level, The Rosalyn Letters is both a suspenseful crime mystery and the introspective story of a young woman’s struggle with great personal loss. But on another level, it’s a coming-of-age story—a meditation on the meaning of the past, present, and future, and the universe of truth perhaps just outside our immediate understanding, but never outside our reach.
What others Say
“... riveting, dreamlike ... A sympathetic, tormented sister narrates this enigmatic but gripping mystery.”
Kirkus Reviews
"A captivating story that illuminates our own personal philosophical inquiry, leaving us with deeper questions we should all be asking ourselves."
Mile in New York City
"Different from anything I have read before—a bundle of personal struggle, poetry, dark suspense, and inspiration all in one."
Early reader
"...author S. Blake unwraps each layer of the mystery at a clever pace until a maddeningly perfect conclusion."
IndieReader
"A gorgeous manuscript—I spent the weekend immersed in [S. Blake’s] incredible voice, which is lyrical and distinct and wonderfully sophisticated. [S. Blake has] managed something really innovative with this novel’s structure, and it unfolds so beautifully."
Early reader
"“Wow. Just wow… So many words spoke directly into my soul.”
Lea in Richmond, VA
“I absolutely loved it! One of a kind! When is the sequel coming?!”
Ashley in Chicago
"...a wonderfully woven, intertwined tapestry of rich and robust tones and colors. Completely engrossing!!"
Andy in Richmond, VA
"I DEVOURED this book in one Saturday, during a very rainy spring NYC day. Literally couldn't put it down! ...Great characters and worldbuilding leads to an edge of your seat supernatural thriller! There's drama, magic, comedy, horror, and romance all in one tale. It feels like Stephen King meets Silence of the Lambs meets The Blair Witch Project, and I mean that in all of the best ways."
Bryan in New York City
"A captivating mystery told in letters and poems, capturing perspectives and details that bring depth and vibrancy to compliment its dark and chilling plot. The Rosalyn Letters will leave you reflecting on your own dreams, and craving a sequel."
Sydney in LA
Chapter Teasers
1. Dead Moon
Rosalyn confides in Nova about her struggles following a heinous crime and confesses a shameful secret about the night before it happened.
2. The Tortoise and the Cobra
In the wake of her sorrow, Rosalyn drifts back into memories and stories from her childhood, and grapples with a strange impulse delivered in the form of a dream.
3. One Song
Rosalyn confronts Detective Singer for more answers and comes face to face with the horrific details of the crime. Soon after, a mystical experience opens her perspective.
4. The Door with the Face
Left to her thoughts, Rosalyn reminisces about the future she and Nova had once imagined for themselves and starts to revise her understanding of reality as she considers leaving Erie. 
5. Two Lions
Rosalyn writes Nova from New York City where she has decided to move without so much as a plan or a place to stay. All she knows is where she needs to be the next morning.
6. A Ghost's Song
Rosalyn finds her new home by following a mysterious tip that seems too good to be true and tries to make sense of the strange new ways her reality and her dreams seem to be converging. 
7. Past House
Without a way to support herself, Rosalyn takes a new job at an eccentric private library run by three sisters. Here she meets Asher, and she is immediately drawn to both him and his past.
8. The Laws of Physics
Rosalyn explores the reasons behind her newfound interest in Asher. Despite her new distractions, Rosalyn’s thoughts return to Detective Singer and she wonders where things stand with the investigation.
9. The Egret
Asher and Rosalyn leave New York on a whim. While away, Rosalyn has a disturbing dream which seems to deliver a pivotal clue about the crime that destroyed her life.
10. Memento Mori
Tension builds between Asher and Rosalyn as they become closer, even as she continues to keep what happened back in Erie a secret. At the same time she seems to be gathering more clues about what took place that fateful night.
11. Everything You Need to Know
In Asher’s company, Rosalyn’s dreams grow more vivid and disturbing. Could she somehow have access to details that not even Detective Singer could possibly know?
12. Tooth Collector
Rosalyn becomes obsessed with analyzing her clues, using her workplace as her own personal research facility. Is her new preoccupation driving her and Asher apart? Her dreams are only becoming more wild.
13. The Removable Leg
Trapped between her dream world and reality, Rosalyn begins to distance herself from Asher. One night she wanders New York City and accidentally falls asleep on a bench. When she awakes she is one step closer.
14. The Workshop
Asher confronts Rosalyn about her behavior and disappears without an explanation. Things get worse as an uninvited guest comes asking for Rosalyn, but Rosalyn is too busy with a new shocking realization.
15. Poacher's Prize
Rosalyn hatches a far-fetched plan to find out if her hypothesis is true, but in order to pull it off, she’ll need help from someone she can trust.
16. Another Nova
Rosalyn makes a trip to a secluded compound deep in the woods of New Jersey in search of reconnaissance. But just as quickly as things have come together, they seem to be falling apart with a discovery that changes everything.
17. Battlecry
In a moment of clarity, Rosalyn comes to terms with what she knows she must do, even when it’s the most terrifying outcome she could imagine.
Q + A
Who is this book for?
This book is for everyone—but especially for anyone who has ever felt doubt, loss, or fear, or questioned their intuition. It’s for people who might skew to angst and introspection. It’s for those who often find themselves reflecting on the nature of the universe or our understanding of truth. It is for anyone who likes a good, old-fashioned mystery.
What’s the setting?
The Rosalyn Letters is set in Erie, Pennsylvania and New York City over the course of a year in 1997.
Is this book suitable for my kid or grandma?
This book does not contain any explicit language or sexual content. It does, however, contain descriptions of a crime of violence which resurfaces throughout the story. It may be considered disturbing for some more sensitive minds, but is not prohibitively graphic for most. The concept of death is featured prominently in this work of fiction.
What's the book's format?
The Rosalyn Letters is written as a combination of epistolary prose, narrative poetry in AABB rhyming couplets. It is a mystery thriller wrapped in philosophical and metaphysical inquiry. The format is a transcription of letters in Rosalyn's journal—a first-person narration comprised of both written entries and pencil and ink drawings. It is the world experienced through Rosalyn’s mind.
Why this format?
Poetry forces our minds to slow down and pay attention through its meter and rhyme, and a private journal is an intimate and uncensored space that offers a soft landing for free raw expression and inquiry. Thoughts have permission to exist simply as they are.
What makes this book different?
This project is a combination of several experimental ingredients including poetry, prose and visual art. This book was not produced through traditional publishing means. The entire process of writing, editing, production, illustration, design, and publishing was all done by the author with special thanks to the her family, especially the author's partner and mom, for their steadfast support, advice, second opinions, and editing.
What are the book’s themes?
A coming of age story. An ode to the 1990s. A gruesome and suspenseful murder mystery. A story about deep pain, grief and mourning. An experiment of storytelling, lyricism, and poetry. A comedy at moments, but more often a tragedy. A meditation on the meaning of dreams. An exploration of life and death, light and dark. A inquiry into the nature of our universe. A call to action.
What's the moral of the story?
That's for you to decide.
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Extras
More ideas and inspiration from the Rosalyn universe