In the Author Spotlight & Contest

GERALD COSTLOW

CONTEST: Gerald will pick two names (from those who leave comments), to receive a signed copy of The Weaving. Make sure to leave your email addy so Gerald can contact you for you mailing address. Best wishes!

AL: Hi Gerald Thanks for being in the “Author Spotlight” this week.

Gerald: Thanks for having me on. I’ve really enjoyed reading your author interviews and it’s an honor to be included.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Gerald: Oh, this year my wife and I are staying at home and mainly enjoying this fine Michigan summer. While sitting on a porch swing and watching the birds feed would bore lots of folks to tears, but it’s our idea of a good time.

AL: What do you currently have for us to read?

Gerald: I have an enchanting fantasy novel titled The Weaving, a romantic fable about a good witch who specializes in helping people with their quests but decides she wants a True Love of her own, destiny be darned. It can be described as a battle between good and evil woven around a love story.

AL: What other works are you deep into?

Gerald: This first novel was followed just this month by Pill Hill Press publishing my second novel, a prequel to The Weaving titled, A Plethory of Powers. It’s two shorter, novella length stories under one cover. Both are adventures that take place in the world of The Weaving and involve some of the same characters. The first adventure is a straight-out detective story called The Case of the Missing Succubus, and the second one is an old-fashioned slapstick comedy called A Conference of Powers.

AL: When did the writing bug take a bite out of you? The fantasy bug to be specific…

Gerald: I’ve always been a precocious and voracious reader, and as a young boy became enchanted with science fiction and fantasy adventures. I was also something of a loner, and would create my own make-believe worlds to pass the time. An early dream of mine was to see my own stories in the magazines that I loved to read. Of course, I ended up with a pile of rejections and it took me many years to learn how to turn a good story into a well written story.

AL: What is the most difficult part of being a writer and do you write whenever the mood strikes, or do you have a specific routine?

Gerald: The most difficult part for me, and probably for almost all writers, is handling the inevitable rejections. As for my routine, I’m an early riser so I do a lot of my writing in the early morning hours while even the dogs refuse to get up, and then I think about the scenes and dialog during the day, and do editing for an hour or so in the evening.

AL: Has an editor ever disagreed with something you’ve written and wanted a total re-write?

Gerald: Heh. Jessy of Pill Hill Press was my editor on The Weaving, and after telling me how much she loved the story, rolled up her sleeves and started marking entire scenes that she thought were confusing or unclear or needed work. And you know what? She was right. After I rewrote those paragraphs and pages, I had to admit I liked the new scenes much more than the old ones. A good editor vastly improves your finished story. A bad one, on the other hand...

AL: Now, let’s settle back and get personal – Besides writing, what other things do you like to do in your spare time?

Gerald: Nap. Read. Take my wife to the store or the dogs for a walk. Search online auctions for rock and mineral specimens to add to my collection. Play with my rock and mineral collection. Adults would probably find my life boring, but the grandkids seem to get a kick out of me.

AL: Have you always lived in Michigan? Tell me what’s one great thing about your state? Me? I like northern Michigan with all its trees and lakes. In my younger years whenever I thought of Michigan I immediately thought of Detroit (kind of like most people do with New York).

Gerald: I moved to Michigan from Ohio some years ago to take a job, and discovered it’s mostly farming country, so I felt right at home. One great thing? With the exception of Detroit, you don’t get those huge traffic snarls like you do at just about every big city out there.

AL: What favorite movie; or T.V. show makes you hunker down on the sofa and settle in for the night?

Gerald: I love animated movies and wild special effects, as long as the movie makes a passing stab at a good plot. I can and have watched some of my favorite animated movies a dozen times.

AL: Can you describe yourself in 3 sentences or less?

Gerald: I’m just a middle-aged man living a middle-class life in mid America.

AL: Silly question… If you had to go live on an island for six months, which three things would you HAVE to take with you?

Gerald: A laptop with a satellite internet connection, a generator with a six month supply of fuel, and enough diet coke to last.

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Gerald: “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” (Isaac Asimov)

AL: Thanks so much for sharing with us this week, Gerald. If you’d like to find out more about Gerald please visit:

http://www.pillhillpress.com/
http://theweaving.blogspot.com/

FEATURED TITLE: THE WEAVING

Blurb:

Rose, the Witch of the Woods, twists destiny when she embarks on a campaign to find true love. During her quest for happily-ever-after with her familiar-turned-husband, Tom, Rose accidentally releases Lilith, a powerful demon, from her ancient prison.

Rose and her allies battle Lilith in an epic struggle of destinies woven together by fate. With help from the Three Ladies, telepathically linked oracles, Rose struggles to vanquish Lilith from the realm and restore peace to the kingdom.

Throughout her journey, Rose discovers the true meaning of magic, devotion, and most importantly, love.

Excerpt:

She searched for the right words to say. "Is it really so important that you remember? Aren't you happy the way we are now?"

He took her hands in his. "Very happy. I wake every morning in amazement at my luck in finding you. But I lie awake at night sometimes, wondering who I am—who I was, before you rescued me and gave me this wonderful life. I don't feel complete. I'd like to know, Rose. I think I need to know."

She felt a tear starting and resolved not to cry. This was the moment Rose had been avoiding for the past two years, but she'd always known it couldn't be put off forever. "What if...what if you already have a wife, maybe children?" she asked. "What if there's a family out there, and they want you back?"

"Is that what you're afraid of? It never occurred to me" He paused, then shook his head. "It's disturbing to think there might be a family out there I left behind. I suppose if that were true, they'd consider me dead by now. Maybe I could keep it that way. It could get complicated, but I'd never leave you."

He gently wiped the tear from her cheek. "I'm more afraid it would turn out I'd been an outlaw, some bandit who escaped the King's justice. What if I'm a murderer or rapist? How could you still love me, then?"

Rose laughed, needing the relief. "Oh, Tom, people don't change what they are by losing a few memories. You're an honest, caring man. You didn't get that way overnight." She could see the pleading in his eyes, but he’d promised to take her advice. He’d walk away from the Lady if she told him to. Maybe one day he would walk away from her as well, in search of his past.

She did what she had to do. "Tom, ask the Lady your questions. Then together, we'll go find out who you were. I won't even eavesdrop this time." She sniffed and managed a smile. "I can say I've never been happier in my whole life. Maybe when this is through, you'll be able to say the same."

She walked back up the path, leaving Tom and the Lady alone to conduct their business. For the first time, she wasn't at all excited or happy about going to battle as the Witch of the Woods. She wished she was just an ordinary woman whose biggest challenge was getting her husband to take a bath more often.

REMEMBER: Gerald will pick two names (from those who leave comments), to receive a signed copy of The Weaving. Make sure to leave your email addy so Gerald can contact you for you mailing address.

Roundhouse Kick!

Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink!

In the Author Spotlight & Contest

MECHELE ARMSTRONG

CONTEST: You don't want to miss out on this! One lucky winner will receive a promo pack of Mechele Armstrong goodies plus signed copy of Dinah’s Dark Desire. Make sure to leave your email addy along with your post for a chance to win!

AL: Hi Mechele Thanks for being in the “Author Spotlight” this week.

Mechele: Thank you so much for having me! I’m excited to be here.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Mechele: I just returned from Savannah! Went there with my youngest’s Girl Scout troop. Had a wonderful time.

AL: You have many sizzling tales for us to read. If possible, please pick one and tell us all about it.

Mechele: Seek and You Shall Find is my first release from Liquid Silver. It’s the story of a prince who must find his way to safety and the irresistible woman who will become whatever he most desires. Blackguard has to fight his attraction to Annalisse as he ushers them to safety while Annalisse finds out the woman that Blackguard wants isn’t that different from the woman she is.

AL: What new works are you deep into?

Mechele: I’m working on a story about a geek. LOL. It’s about a computer programmer and the woman who has his heart but doesn’t know it.

AL: What got you jumping feet first into erotica?

Mechele: I always liked reading books where the bedroom door was open. Hated books where you weren’t sure if they had sex or not. This led to me keeping the bedroom door open when I write. I find that so much can happen in the bedroom to move the relationship along and I think it helps take the writing of the characters deeper. At least for me as an author.

AL: What do you like best about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

Mechele: My favorite thing is making up my own universe. I love the power of creation. My least favorite thing is commas. They are my bane!

AL: What do you hope for your writing career in the next few years? Any goals that you have yet to obtain that you have set for yourself?

Mechele: I’d like to see my pace pick up a little. I’ve slowed down to focus on the books and also this past year on my oldest before she moves to middle school. I’d like to see my writing take more chances. I keep saying I would love to write a thriller or romantic suspense one day but haven’t yet.

AL: All right Mechele, let’s get personal … Sometimes people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. I like to set them straight, so tell us what’s the most unglamorous thing you’ve done in the past week?

Mechele: LOL. Oh yes, very glamorous. Cleaning the litter box, cleaning up cat puke and pooper scooping the back yard from the dog rank among my unglamorous items. And cleaning the toilet. Ick.

AL: If I asked your best friend what type of person you are, what would he or she tell me?

Mechele: I would hope they would say I’m a good listener and kind-hearted.

AL: You’re in line at the movies. Which one do you go see, The Last Airbender or Eclipse? Why?

Mechele: The Last Airbender. *ducks* I’m not a big Twilight fan. I’ve tried reading the first book and saw the first movie. For whatever reason, it just doesn’t appeal. Now the Last Airbender looks intriguing with a boy who grows into his powers.

AL: What's your favorite music?

Mechele: LOL. Right now, I’ve been listening to a lot of Jonathon Coulton and Paul and Storm. I’m not sure what to call what they play. They write humorous (especially Paul and Storm) and geeky (definitely Coulton). Coulton has a lot of science in his music. I tend to listen to alternative (Green Day, Eve 6, Bowling for Soup (even their kids’ music) or country (Sugarland).

AL: Silly question… You’re the actress in a must see blockbuster movie that everyone’s been waiting all summer for. A) What’s the movie about? B) Who’s your character? C) And who’s your leading man?

Mechele: The movie is either a futuristic romance or a romantic comedy. It’s about a ship trying to make it out in space (like Serenity but not exactly) or a comedy about a writer pulled into intrigue (maybe spying). My character is the shy geek turned heroine. In the futuristic she’d be a scientist. In the comedy, she’d be a writer. *cough* my leading man is played by Nathan Fillion.

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Mechele: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”—Albert Einstein

AL: Thanks so much for joining us this week, Mechele.

Mechele: Thank you so much for having me. I do appreciate it.

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Mechele please visit:

http://www.mechelearmstrong.com

FEATURED TITLE: SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND

Blurb:

Blackguard only wants to get back to the war his planet is fighting, but instead, he's picking up a woman. A seeker morph. She's been promised to him to cement an alliance his world desperately needs. When he's betrayed and all his men are killed, he's forced to flee without his promised morph.

Only a pod opens in the back of his shuttle.

The seeker morph, Annalisse, emerges. She's awake from stasis and is now in a sexual heat. Her body is demanding that she bond, and Blackguard is only too willing to fulfill her needs, except that he also must keep them safe from the enemies who betrayed him. Annalisse will become whatever the man she bonds with desires, only she finds Blackguard wants a woman much like she already is.

It's a race to a communications array that will allow him to get them off the planet in one piece. But once they lift off, Blackguard must resume his duties as ruler, which requires him to abandon Annalisse.

Will Blackguard seek out the woman he never knew he sought? Will Annalisse find the man who allowed her to stay true to herself?

Excerpt:

Then, with a downturn of the shock wave, he crashed.

On the planet of his betrayer.

His head bleeding, he cursed everyone involved from here to eternity as his shuttle skidded to a stop.

They were all dead.

He struggled to look behind him at the roaring inferno. No one could have gotten out of there alive.

If he'd stayed, he'd be dead now, too.

He swallowed. Now was not the time to dwell on the losses. Now was the time to get off his ass and back to his planet. There, he could sort things out and figure what his next move should be.

Vengeance.

The pod that he'd seen the crane load started beeping from behind him.

"Shut up." He tried to circumvent failing systems to get the shuttle back up in the air as he took off his harness. A no-go. Too much damage had been done to the small craft. "Shut up." The persistent beeping annoyed the hell out of him as he kept trying to access the systems even as they failed on him. He might be stuck at the crash site. He couldn't even get a radio signal out from this small of a ship to the other ship unless he cleared the atmosphere. It would be several more hours before they'd launch a rescue on their own.

He drew his phaser and turned around, ready to shoot the offending pod's controls to silence the beeping, only to find it had opened. The crash must have broken down the locks on the thing. It had unlocked whether he wanted it to or not. "This isn't a good time." Watch it be something alive like parsec beetles, a delicacy for some races, or psi-cats, a pet. Just what he needed all over the dying shuttle.

The cover slipped open as the beeping subsided.

Blackguard kept his gun trained on the pod, even as the heady scent of spices met his nose. What could it be, a spice delivery? He turned toward the back, facing all the way around, to get a better look.

A woman sat up with a stretch of her body. Her pert mouth yawned. A naked, beautiful woman lay in the pod. With big breasts. Long dark hair. Green eyes. Big breasts. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her. He reacted as if he'd been struck in the gut with something heavy. Could hardly get breath out of his lungs.

He blinked, not having expected a person to be in the pod, especially not this lovely creature. The gun shifted downward. Even with the surprise and the circumstances, lust filled him at her appearance. His cock tightened. He'd never seen a female so delicate looking. So beautiful.

He'd never scented anything like her either. Something resided below the spice's scent, which had to be her. His cock rose up as his heart pounded. The adrenaline raised by his getaway channeled to his libido. His whole body reacted to this woman and wanted things with her, that even in his wickedest days, he couldn't imagine. Until now.

He shook his head to clear the fog. This was a bad time for arousal.

Her gaze centered on him as an unsteady smile graced her lips. "You must be Blackguard. I'm Annalisse. Yours to do with what you will." Her voice sounded throaty. Husky. It ran along his spine like a rolling river with a sharp dip down to his heavy cock.

He almost groaned at the impact of her words. Annalisse. Beauty had a name. His arousal grew tenfold, which hardly seemed possible. Oh, yeah.

Maybe it was a good time after all.

REMEMBER: You don't want to miss out on this! One lucky winner will receive a promo pack of Mechele Armstrong goodies plus signed copy of Dinah’s Dark Desire. Make sure to leave your email addy along with your post for a chance to win!

In the Author Spotlight & Contest

CAROLINA MONTAGUE

CONTEST: Carolina has a contest running on her website for The Entrancement. There are three questions there for readers to answer – two answers can be found in her website and the third is an open-ended question. The first prize is a paperback copy of her murder, magic and mayhem in the middle ages medieval paranormal, Door in the Sky, and a copy of Writing Romance, with romance writing tips from SFA-RWA authors like Barbara Freethy and Karin Tabke (and a chapter by Carolina!). The second and third winners each receive a copy of Door in the Sky. The questions and instructions for the contest can be found at:

http://carolinamontague.com/blog/contest-for-the-entrancement-faith-healersnake-handler-meets-erotic-bluegrass-fiddler/

AL: Hi Carolina Thanks for being in the “Author Spotlight” this week.

Carolina: Really glad to be here, Ann. 

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Carolina: Work at the University never seems to slow down, even in the summer. The students will be coming back soon, so we’re getting ready for them. My son is finishing up at community college and deciding where to transfer. He’s an artist so we’re looking at art schools.

I guess the biggest thing is that I’m going back to an ashram in India in September. I just went to get my Visa renewed in San Francisco today. Now all I have to do is book my flight, get a lot of rupees and pack for Chennai.

AL: Tell us about your new or upcoming release.

Carolina: I had two books come out this year. First, The Entrancement, my snake-handler/faith healer meets erotic bluegrass fiddler came out in March from Champagne Books. In May, Sacred Guardian, my dark angel book, was released by The Wild Rose Press.

AL: What other works are you “whipping” up for us?

Carolina: I love that term: “whipping up!” Right now I am working on the sequel to Door in the Sky. I felt I was unfair to the Inquisition soldier at the end of Door in the Sky – he was a villain who turned into a hero (think Ralph Fiennes – he can look tortured and lethal at the same time) - I didn’t let him get the girl. The sequel is his book and his love interest is fifteen years older than him and an Irish Wisewoman. This book takes the Inquisition soldier and his love interest (they really fight the overwhelming attraction to each other) from Ireland to Avebury in Britain, to Paris, and finally to Damascus and the Holy lands where the Inquisition soldier goes on a crusade for Saint Louis of France.

AL: When did you know you had to be a writer?

Carolina: When I was about six or so I had to tell stories to my little sister to get her to shut up and go to sleep so I could get some rest. It worked so I kept telling her adventure stories where she was a magical creature and then I started writing them down.

AL: When you write do you do a detailed outline before you get started or do you have the idea then just 'fly by the seat of your pants'? :-)

Carolina: I’m a “pantser” – I love to be surprised. I always know the beginning and the end of each book but the rest just flows on out. Usually a character starts to bug me. For example, in the Entrancement it was the hero. This was really odd because though I was raised Christian, I’ve been Wiccan for the past 40 years or so. I completely respect all faiths but when this faith-healer preacher started to bug me I wondered what was up. I knew he lived in the South and I knew his story was kind of quirky and not a standard romance, but I gave up fighting him, sat at my computer and allowed to story to take off.

AL: What do you feel is the most important thing that a first-time author should know?

Carolina: Don’t quit your day job! Of all the authors I know, very few write for a living. All the rest, including me, have jobs.

AL: Now, let’s take a splash in the pool…Summer is here! What is your favorite part about this sunny season?

Carolina: The ice cream truck! It sounds silly, but we still have one here that visits the neighborhood park. I used to get treats for my son when he was little and I was walking with him back from his YMCA Kid’s Club Afterschool program. I remember fun stuff like bubble gum and spider man ice cream. When I hear the truck it brings that all back.

AL: What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

Carolina: When I first went to the ashram in India in 2006 the airplane I was on nearly shook apart because the pilot kept trying to land in Hong Kong during a huge cyclone with tons of rain and wind! I remember seeing the sides of the plane bulge and the woman I was paired with (because she was afraid of flying!) grabbed my hand. The pilot finally gave up and we had to land in mainland China. They wouldn’t let us get off the plane and we were all on the same plane for 35 hours. We missed our connection in Singapore and our ride to the ashram but it all worked out.

AL: If you could meet someone famous in either history, or present day…who would you like to meet and why?

Carolina: I’d like to meet Nelson Mandela. I heard from a Teacher that he needed to be in jail for so long to deeply learn to forgive, that the man who went into jail was not the same man who emerged so many years later.

AL: What annoys you enough to be considered a pet peeve?

Carolina: I get annoyed when I can’t find something. This bugs me at work; it bugs me at home, even in my car. “Now, where did I put that CD? I know it’s here somewhere . . .”

AL: Silly question… You have just won five thousand dollars! But...you have to spend it all today. What will you buy?

Carolina: Probably an E-Reader and a few hundred book-downloads. Music as well – can’t forget that!

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Carolina: From the movie Lord of the Rings, spoken by Cate Blanchette

“The world is changing. I can feel it in the earth; I can feel it in the air.”

AL: Thanks so much for sharing with us this week, Carolina.

Carolina: Thanks for the chance to talk to you!

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Carolina please visit:

www.carolinamontague.com

FEATURED TITLE: THE ENTRANCEMENT

Blurb:

Laney Parker has a secret. She is completely devoted to her church, but to support herself and her disabled child, she plays the fiddle in an erotic bluegrass band. The women wear overalls and are completely naked underneath. The lead singer wears a codpiece, an item that grows in size as he sings. No way can she let anyone know what she has to do for a living!

Jesse Murdoch has a secret too. Born with a Healing Gift, Jesse serves in his father’s church. However, Jesse’s gift has a price; its use requires him to experience extreme sensual experiences. When this cost becomes deadly, he flees his parents and becomes Pastor of Laney’s church. No way can he let anyone know what he must do to appease his Gift!

Worlds collide when Jesse meets Laney. He must hide his Gift’s price and she must hide the fact that she plays the fiddle onstage with barely a stitch of clothing. When a Hollywood agent discovers the up-and-coming Tennessee Tussle band, and Jesse’s Gift makes greater demands for its use, the jig is up.


Excerpt:

“Alida, get out of there!” Laney stretched to see around the bushes. “Someone’s coming.” She smoothed her hair and skirt.

Alida slid out of the door and was under the police tape before Laney could finish her second sentence.

“Why, Pastor Jesse.” Alida put her arm around Laney’s back and pinched her. “Laney was just showing me the damage the old ghostie made.”

“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Jesse glanced over Alida’s shoulder but turned to Laney. “Ms. Parker.”

“Laney,” Alida corrected him. “I know those rules.You’ve had your date, so you’re on first name terms now.” She leaned way over the police tape and stared into the shadowed office. “Did that brother of hers behave himself?”

“He didn’t eat anything but a handful of raspberries.”

“Well of course he wouldn’t eat! He’s still Johnny Reb until after Gettysburg.” Alida’s mouth set in a straight line. “Then he’ll be going back to his woman, and… Yow!” Alida jumped back. “Lane!” Her face had turned green-gray and her fingers dug into Laney’s arm.

“It’s okay, Lida. The ghost never comes out here.” Laney tapped Alida’s death grip on her arm where her skin was purpling underneath Alida’s nails. “Come on now. That hurts!”

“But Lane, I can see him!” Alida let go but jumped behind Laney. “And he’s lookin’ at me!”

Jesse reached for Laney’s arm and trailed his fingers over her bruised and dented skin, leaving a path of teal light and a liquid melting inside her middle that was so sweet it fair curled her toes. Laney startled and glanced at Alida, but her friend was looking away from her, still staring at the

church office doorway.

“Can’t you see him there?” Alida’s voice had a ragged huskiness to it. “Tell me I’m not just seein’ things.”

Jesse squinted at the doorway and pointed to the top left corner. “Right there. Either he’s floating, or he’s over seven feet tall.” He pulled the police tape up over his head and motioned the two women to step inside the perimeter.

“B-but the police…”

“It’s my church.” Jesse took Laney’s arm, but no glow formed where he touched. “What?”

“It’s not happening because Alida’s watching,” Laney whispered as she stepped underneath the tape. She turned to face Alida. “Come on now, Alida. Remember Ghost Patrol? No ghostie’s a gonna get me,” she lilted.

“That was a movie, Laney.” Alida stepped from foot to foot, but finally ducked under the tape. “What’s the ghost’s name?”

“If the accounts are accurate, we’re dealing with a single entity, the late Pastor Blackstone.”

“He won’t bust me up like he did the room, will he?” Alida hung back while Laney and Jesse moved forward. “Hey, I’ll just keep a lookout here,” she hollered.

“Oooo. Cold spot right here in the doorway.” Laney chafed her hands together and blew on them. “It’s so cold I can see my breath.”

“You’d better stay back, Laney.”

“Why?”

“The ghost is looking at you in a way I don’t like.”

“And just what way is that?”

“Have you had an experience with this entity before?”

“He stole my slip once.”

“What!” Jesse swiveled in place until he was standing in front of her. “Your slip?”

“We’d all changed into Christmas costumes. I was Mary Magdalene that year, and my slip showed under the costume.” She shrugged. “When I came back it was gone.”

“Was it ever found?”

“Nope.”

Jesse stared at her. “Anybody else could have taken it. Maybe a boy who liked you took it, or someone did it on a dare.”

She reached up to smooth her hair, avoiding his eyes. “No sir. The room was locked during the ceremony and Mrs. Downing had the key. Later on, I felt this cold spot in the corner where he’s standing.” She glanced at the apparition. “It was the ghost.” The good Pastor Blackstone looked sad. “Jesse, he doesn’t seem mean or anything. Maybe he just wants to be noticed.”

“I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before and I still don’t like the way he’s looking at you.” Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “He destroyed the property of this church and either directly or indirectly caused the deaths of several men. I intend to do something about that.”

Jesse looked down and took a breath, one huge inhalation. Laney thought he’d never stop, but once he did, he blew the air out fast. When he finished exhaling, he looked up. His midnight blue eyes had gone flat and an electric current ran all around his form tinting the edges of his arms and hands with clear blue light. “Pastor Blackstone.” His voice was quiet, but commanding, and it had a ringing to it that reminded Laney of when she’d used a wooden stick to strike the brass bowl Alida had gotten when she’d gone through a Buddhist phase back in high school.

Laney looked back at Alida. Her friend made the cuckoo sign around her ear, but Laney shook her head.

Jesse pivoted back to face the destruction of his office. “Come out where I can see you better.”

The ruined desk rattled and the door bowed inward. Alida squeaked and grabbed at the police tape.

“I said show yourself.” Jesse took another deep breath and exhaled again. “Now!”

A Bible Jesse had used for sermons before the ghost had destroyed the office floated into the doorway. Pages in it turned until it came to a stop and stayed there, floating in the air.

Laney looked back. Alida was right behind her now, breathing on her shoulder in quiet little moans. “Quiet, Lida. You wanted to see this.”

“I didn’t know it was like, for real.”

“Shhhh.”

Jesse stepped forward into the room. “Do you know Who I represent?”

The Bible stilled, but tipped so the page could be seen. Jesse didn’t pause. He reached for the Bible and plucked it out of the air. “It appears to be smudged over a passage.” His thumb worked at the dirt that covered the page. “It’s Acts 2:17a. ‘I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.’”

Laney jumped, her elbow jabbing behind her, hitting

Alida.

“Ow!”

“Lida, I’m sorry.”

“S’okay.” Alida looked up at Jesse. “What does it mean?”

Laney tried to look at Jesse, but couldn’t meet his flat, all-seeing eyes. Anyway, he just looked at the Bible, a line forming between his brows. Laney tugged Alida back toward the police tape and whispered, “It’s from the Book of Acts. I think it was Peter’s words. At the time of the Pentecost.”

“The whatacost?” Alida poked her. “Remember I’m some kind of dumb about the Bible and just tell me what it means.”

Jesse looked up and closed the Bible, but recited, “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…’”

Laney shivered and completed the verse, “‘and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” So there was the context of her Scripture Box verse. She shivered but looked right into Jesse’s eyes now. He stared at her but she thought he wasn’t seeing her.

Alida shoved Laney aside and passed her hand right in front of Jesse’s face and he didn’t blink; he just kept staring. “Oh, man, this is too end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, Laney. Will he be okay? Can’t we just, you know, leave him here?”

“You stay right where you are, Alida Johnson.” Laney grabbed her friend’s arm. “Is it possible that this ghost came to my house, Jesse?” Laney trembled and made sure Alida was watching when she touched Jesse’s arm.

He stirred. “Don’t worry. It’s not end of days, Ms. Johnson.” When he looked Alida full in the face, Laney felt her friend’s arm slacken. “Not yet.” He caught Laney’s gaze. She couldn’t look away.

“The ghost can’t leave the place where the old church stood.” His words were reassuring, but his eyes weren’t. She could see a roiling in their depths, a black cloud so deep that it should have seemed cold.

But it wasn’t. Heat reached out from his eyes and seared Laney.

“Oh, Lord.” She had to use her fingers to force her eyelids down, evading his blazing eyes. “Send him to his rest, Pastor Murdoch. He just needs to go home. Please?” A swift touch on her arm and a rustling noise told her Jesse had turned.

She kept her hands over her eyes but peeked out from under them. Jesse was looking away from her, at the transparent figure of a man dressed in garments from well before the Civil War: a long coat, brocade waistcoat and tight pants of fine cloth. This was no poor country parson. Laney

took her hands away from her eyes and moved toward Jesse. “Give him some peace, Pastor.” She touched his arm again.

Jesse looked back into her face. She caught the edge of the seeking heat of his eyes, but he only said, “For you I will do this,” and turned to the ghost.


REMEMBER: Carolina has a contest running on her website for The Entrancement. There are three questions there for readers to answer – two answers can be found in her website and the third is an open-ended question. The first prize is a paperback copy of her murder, magic and mayhem in the middle ages medieval paranormal, Door in the Sky, and a copy of Writing Romance, with romance writing tips from SFA-RWA authors like Barbara Freethy and Karin Tabke (and a chapter by Carolina!). The second and third winners each receive a copy of Door in the Sky. The questions and instructions for the contest can be found at:

http://carolinamontague.com/blog/contest-for-the-entrancement-faith-healersnake-handler-meets-erotic-bluegrass-fiddler/