I’m super excited to be participating in the October Frights Blog hop, hosted by Clarissa Johal! Thanks so much for having me!
My October release is a paranormal Gothic thriller, The Guardian of Blackbird Inn, which is part of All Romance Cafe’s WICKED series. The novella releases today! It was so much fun writing an atmospheric, moody piece with a curses, ghosts, and demons…
About The Guardian of Blackbird Inn:
Saving the inn might mean losing her life.
Sophia Yates travels to the famed and haunted Blackbird Inn to help its mysterious owner, Garren Amsel, research its history. The state wants to claim eminent domain and take the property, but the historical inn has been in Garren’s family for generations and he can’t bear to lose it.
After learning the truth behind the inn’s biggest mystery, and why Garren stays, saving Blackbird Inn may cost Sophia her life. How far will she go to protect him?
Available at: All Romance | Goodreads
(will be available at Amazon and other retailers in another week)
Excerpt:
“I’ll show you your room.”
Oh, he was good at playing the part of the spooky innkeeper. No wonder tourists flocked to the out of the way inn. Everyone liked a good, safe scare and obviously Garren was used to performing. She stuck her hands in her pockets and followed him down the hall. Well, she was at the inn on business and Garren was going to have to cut the act or they’d never get anything done.
Mr. Beck expected things to be mostly in order when he flew in on Friday night, and if they weren’t, she might not get paid. He’d been quite insistent when he’d hired her to research that she get things done promptly. Not getting paid would be unacceptable. She needed the money.
The sound of the rolling suitcase on the heavy wood floor reverberated off the wallpapered hallway. Sconces lit the path, albeit dimly, and they passed door after dark door with large brass numbers.
Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen…
At the end of the hall, Garren stopped. “Your room is upstairs.” He motioned to the staircase, enclosed in one of the inn’s two hexagonal towers.
The wide steps meandered up in a gentle spiral of stone or maybe marble. What a grand sight the place must have been when it was built. People probably hadn’t seen anything like it unless they were from the city. She gazed up the stairs. Amazing. She tucked her hair behind her ears, prying the damp locks from her neck. A hot shower would feel really good about now.
A column of tall, stained glass windows ran up the height of the tower to the third floor. With pointy arched tops and red glass, they looked more like windows one might find in a cathedral than an inn. She sucked in a breath as lightning lit the staircase and the stairwell glowed bloody red. Why think blood? Why not rose red?
“After you,” he said. “Second floor.”
She ran her hand along the cool handrail and started up the stairs. “How many floors does the inn have?”
Garren lugged the suitcase and, for a moment, Sophia regretted packing so heavily.
“Only two for guests,” he said. “Third floor is my residence, and then there’s the attic.”
She nodded and headed up the steps, careful not to let her wet shoes slide on the slick stone. Heavy rain beat against the red windows like a cat scratching against a fence post. The storm had grown heavier since she’d been inside, and she wondered if it would continue all night.
The inn was exactly the type of place she would’ve loved to explore when she was in college. Historical and full of character, the inn felt alive with its creaks and groans. Dark shadows loomed in every corner and she wondered how much sweeping it took to keep the cobwebs and mustiness at bay.
She pushed open the heavy oak door that opened onto the second floor and Garren moved past her with the suitcase.
“Not much farther.” He struggled with the heavy bag. “You coming?”
Taking one last look down the staircase, she nodded. A bright flash of white caught her eye and she stopped, ice running through her veins. The white, almost translucent blob flew up the staircase, winding toward her. The thing pulsed and gave off iridescence like it was lit from within, and it trailed a shower of tiny sparks.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
Lightning flashed in the stairwell again, and the blob disappeared. Frozen, she craned her neck to see if anything else was coming up the stairs. The stairwell was much cooler than it had been moments ago. Not just cooler. Cold. Her heart hammered and she put her hand over her chest, as if that would calm her. Her breath came out in puffs of condensation, like tiny clouds in the dark.
“Sophia?” A hand clamped down on her shoulder.
She screamed. Not a girly scream, but an all-out scream of terror.
“Sophia!”
Please feel free to explore my site. I write in a variety of genres including: M/M, Erotic romance, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Shifters, Dystopian, Science Fiction and Fantasy. There’s really something for every reader!
Also, I’m really excited, I’m headed to The Stanley Hotel Writer’s Retreat in a few weeks. I’ll be staying in Room 418, which has some of the most reported paranormal activity in the haunted hotel. I’ll also spend 4 hours writing in the infamous Room 217 (Where Stephen King stayed when he pondered the idea for The Shining) and will participate in a paranormal investigation and write-in in the haunted ballroom.
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