One bad decision leads to consequences that Lila couldn’t begin to fathom.

It was just a tube of lipstick. Lila didn’t think too much about it when she slipped it into her pocket at the mall. When a man grabbed her arm and accused her of shoplifting, her only thought was for the trouble she was going to be in with her parents over one stupid impulse.

But then she woke up chained to the wall in a
dank, dark cellar.

In growing panic, she begins to understand the hell her world has just become. By the looks of things, others have tried to escape… but failed. And even if Lila can survive, some parts of her may be lost forever…

I’ve been locked in this basement for almost a year.

I have counted the days since I woke up that very first day here and have made a scratch right next to where the cuffs were bolted to the old stone wall.

Those first days, I just used the metal from the cuffs to make a mark in the old, crumbling paint. Later, I found a small nail, which was easier to handle. Every day since then, I’ve made a scratch on the wall.

I have had so many long hours, with nothing to do except think, that I’ve counted day in and day out. It’s almost a relief, in some ways, because counting and arranging 365 days is far more interesting than counting five days or even fifty. Maybe I’m losing my mind. Hell, maybe I lost it a long time ago. Living locked in a cellar might do that to even the sanest of people.

Today is day 364, and I am ready for anything. Anything at all. If the plan fails and I die, then at least I died trying.

Tomorrow, when I wake up, I will make one last mark on the wall. Then I’ll let the chips fall where they may. I don’t even know if I can hope for the best. I can only hope for change. Anything has to be better than the life I’ve led this past year.

If I die, then I hope beyond anything else that someone will discover this place and know that I died. That they will find the words I’ve written for my family so that they know I went down fighting. That I am gone, but they don’t have to worry about me anymore.
If I succeed… No, if we succeed, then I hope to tell them myself. There is nothing I want more than to see my mom and feel her arms around me again. To let her know that she is the other reason I survived.

It’s time.

First Reviews:

365 marks on the wall is a psychological thriller that will have you turning page after page. I quickly formed a bond with the captive and needed to escape that cellar! A fast read that will leave you up at night. I won’t be going near cellars anytime soon. ~ CJ

It’s hard to believe that “365 Marks on the Wall” is Byn’s first published novel. Gripping from start to finish, scenes from this book are so descriptive you feel like you are right there, trapped in that basement with the girls. You become invested in their escape and their future. I can’t recommend this novel enough. ~ N.J.

This is truly a book that’s difficult to put down. You come to care deeply for the main character and her battle to escape. You go on an emotional roller coaster with her and when you stop reading you feel like you’re leaving her there, waiting for you to return and help her get out. The story really makes you think about what you would feel and how you would react if you yourself woke up trapped. It’s a realistic, eye-opening experience of what a person would be thinking and feeling is such a scary situation. It’s easy to forget you’re reading a fictional story! ~ Mary