Jessica Coltrane is a diehard sceptic who believes ghosts and paranormal activity are nothing more than a figment of an overactive imagination. That is until she finds herself locked inside a haunted house with the enigmatic paranormal investigator C.J. Dowling.
Born with the ability to see and speak to the dead, C.J. Dowling thought investigating a haunted house would be a job like many others. He’s prepared for anything—except smart and sexy Jessica.
Working together in close quarters, C.J. and Jessica discover it isn’t only negative tension between them but sexual as well. Giving in to their desires seems like a good idea until they wake and find the spirits thought otherwise. They are trapped with the ghost of a child long forgotten, an amorous entity threatening Jessica, and a powder keg of a spine-tingling mystery that might just be better left buried.
2020 was a challenging year. There have been so many people affected by Covid by either having Covid or losing their life to Covid. My heart goes out to the families who have lost a loved one. I can’t imagine how they must have felt not being able to see their loved ones in the hospital.
All the restrictions in place have been taxing for most. It's been tough for me not being able to see my family. But I know it's what needs to be to keep everyone safe. Masks have become the norm. I think it's safe to say that no one will look back on 2020 with fond memories.
During the lockdown, it has allowed people to do things they couldn't before or do more of it, like reading. I've heard from many people that they were able to read most of their To be read piles.
During the lockdown, I've had a few new releases. My current one, Secrets of the Dead, is the first in the Lost Souls series. I've always been fascinated by haunted houses, probably because I've lived in one. In my youth, my family lived on a farm where a woman had died of starvation. She would roam the house, clang around in the cupboards to make some tea, and also gave my baby sister a bottle when she'd wake up during the night.
Now I know some sceptics think its all nonsense or a figment of someone's imagination. Even though I am a believer, there are still things that I find absurd. Writing Secrets of the Dead I drew on a lot of my own experiences. But whether you’re a believer or not, I hope you pick up a copy of my book and find it as entertaining a read as I did while writing it.
Something tickled her nose. Using her hand, she tried to swipe it away and felt the brush of hair against her knuckles. Planting her hand, she felt the warm flesh beneath her palm.
Recognition hit and woke her with an angry slap. Eyes shooting open, she sat up quickly and instantly regretted it when the room spun wildly around her. Laying back down, closing her eyes, she waited out the dizziness the hangover caused. Her mind raced to the night before.
The soft ache in her loins reminded her of what she’d done. Carefully opening her eyes, she turned her head to see a naked C.J. beside her.
“Oh, God.” She looked over his naked body, remembering how good it felt having him inside her. She hadn’t been that drunk that she couldn’t remember the event, and lord, what an event it had been. They had literally torn each other’s clothing off. She’d been an animal, which was so not like her.
What did they do now? Would they go on as they had been, sniping at each other, treat this as a one-night fling and move on? In truth, the guy irritated the hell out of her, yet he’d made her feel so incredible the night before. How was she supposed to respond to him now, after sharing something so intimate?
“Dowling,” she spoke quietly. “Dowling.” When he moaned, she slapped his chest. “Dowling!”
“Jesus.”
“Wake up.”
“I’m awake.” He looked at her with a smile. “Morning.” Then his eyes went wide. “Holy hell.” He bolted upright and jumped to his feet, nearly knocking her over. “Oh, my God.”
“What the hell?” The sofa stood on its end, two sitting chairs slammed up right against it, all pushed against the window. The coffee and end tables stood one on top of the other, in front of the fireplace.
Carefully, Jessie stood up, waiting out the dizziness. She had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. It looked like a hurricane had blown through. “How…”
“I need to check my equipment.” He flew off, still nude, and she got one hell of a look at his ass.
She saw her shirt by the fireplace, straps torn. She couldn’t exactly wear it in its condition. Spotting his shirt hanging over the couch, she grabbed it and put it on. It barely covered her, but would have to do for now.
“This is incredible. The meters went off the scale. The temperature recorded several degrees below freezing at one point. It didn’t last long, though, as it rose exponentially. And we slept through it all. Damn, I have never seen anything like this before. It’s phenomenal.”
“You’re naked, you know?”
“What?” He didn’t even look up.
“You’re naked.” She tossed him his jeans, hitting him square in the face.
Unaffected by it, he grabbed the jeans and slipped into them using his free hand. It amused her to watch him shimmy into his tight jeans, jumping from one foot to the other. “The cameras!” He rushed to the video equipment as he did up his pants. “Do you know what this means?”
“That you were a busy boy last night.”
He looked at her, confused. “Beg pardon?”
“I don’t know how you managed it all alone, but I give you credit for a job well done.”
“You think I did all of this?”
“No, I know you did all of this. Boy, you’ll do anything to make me a believer.”
His eyes narrowed and his voice dipped an octave. “You think I did all of this just to make you believe there are ghosts here?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Fine.” Walking to her, he grabbed her arm and led her to the camera.
“Let go of me.”
“Not until you see this.” Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her to face the monitor attached to one of the cameras. “Watch.” He pressed play.
Folding her arms across her chest, Jessie glared at the screen. He’d recorded them having sex.
“Oh my God, you taped us making out? How could you?”
“I have my cameras set on timers that begin taping on their own. I didn’t know we were going to go at it like rabbits last night. Watch.”
“You will erase those tapes,” she insisted, then grunted when he turned her face back to the monitor. “What the hell?”
“Keep watching.”
She couldn’t pry her eyes away if she tried. The furniture lifted in the air, spun around wildly before they slammed in front of the fireplace and window. “Oh my god!”
“My sentiments exactly. I need to check the rest of the house.” He left her mesmerized in front of the TV.
Shiela Stewart is a paranormal suspense author with a writing history that stems back to her youth. Always a dreamer, wondering if her stories would ever reach an audience, she was finally published in 2006 and hasn’t stopped since. It is rare to find a stand-alone book as she prefers series stories. Her longest running series to date is her Darkness series, which is a vampire romance.
Her joy for scary suspense is evident in each of her books. She has had several accomplishments, including fighting for the top spot in the rankings with author Stephanie Myers, receiving glowing reviews as well as interviews on local television and reviews and interviews in The Romantic Times Magazine.
When not writing, Shiela spends her time with the love of her life, William, and their children and grandchildren. Her strong affection for animals is evident in the many cats she cares for.
Her favorite time of the day is at sunset.
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Thank you for having me today.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting
ReplyDeleteSounds good!
ReplyDeletesounds so good.
ReplyDeleteI love the ghostly look of it.
ReplyDelete