Sultry Apparitions

How many of you have ever taken the time to go on a ghost walk and hear the historical tales of ghouls and things that go bump in the night? Personally, I’ve gone on two; one in Philadelphia and one in Ottawa, Canada. Both, at night, in the muggy warmth of a summer’s eve, the slow saunter with a group of strangers, listening to tales of woe and sorrow, standing inside the miniscule jail cells past criminals inhabited against their will, hearing about grotesque murders and tragic suicides, courtyards haunted by unrequited lovers, phantasms frequenting aristocratic hotels, seeing ancient cemetery stones and the occasional ting of a tin can down the alley, is enough to get the hairs on the back of anyone’s neck standing up!

The architecture, the amazing withered buildings that withstood decades, even centuries of old and new, the crumbling walls, and cobblestone walkways, even the mysterious fog rolling across the ground as we walked; I can’t wait to go on another one! A few times, I could have sworn, I felt the poke in my back from someone behind me, only to turn around and find, I was the last of the group, and the space behind me empty, faint whispers in the ears, and the spine chilling tingles running throughout my body; it was fantastic!

 I wrote Savannah’s Ghost Tale, inspired by the fascinating walks I participated in, and thought to myself, what if there was this Adonis-like tour guide, a feast for the eyes with special gifts to share, and what if there was an uptight, unconventional ghost hunter out to prove it all a hoax? What would make them tick? Well, the story and characters essentially wrote themselves, my hands, merely the conduit to which the words were typed.

Cameron Evans is a genuinely nice guy, and a lonely one. His job doesn’t attract women; in fact, it repels them, most often with a terrified scream or two. Cameron is handsome, charismatic and sexy. He’s a gifted tour guide and psychic, that can’t turn off his talent. Seeing the undead is a turn off for his dates, especially since most of them have loved ones who have passed away. His sweet and tender persona remains intact, but in the bedroom (or the hot tub), he is a sexual dynamo with a deliciously dark side.

Vannah Teale is an unorthodox Ghost Hunter with an axe to grind; figuratively speaking. Repressing a dark secret for the past three years, she has turned her energy toward facing her own demons, or at least that’s what she thinks. Savannah has loved, and lost, and doesn’t believe in life after death. Not anymore. Avoiding her much needed distraction from her Ghost hunting, this romantically challenged beauty has no interest in a relationship, but her body has a different agenda. Vannah’s voracious, suppressed sexual appetite is just dying to get out, with either the living or the dead. 

BLURB:

Savannah Teale has an obsession with the supernatural—to disprove it. An unorthodox Ghost Hunter with a dark secret, she doesn’t believe in life after death. Not anymore. Being romantically challenged since the traumatic death of her fiancé, she has no interest in dating, but her sister’s loving interference has led her to accept a date for a 1Night Stand.
   Cameron Evans is one of Savannah’s most handsome, charismatic, and sexy bachelors. He’s an exceptionally gifted tour guide, and a psychic, but hasn’t learned how to turn off his gifts. Since his conversations with the dead are a turn-off for most women—to put it mildly—Cameron has turned to Madame Eve to find a woman who can accept him for himself and all he has to give.
   They may be a great match—if a certain, lingering ghost would just step out of the picture. 

EXCERPT:

What the hell is going on? A shadow flashed across the stone threshold, startling her. Her heart raced and she stumbled down the steps, her eyes flitting frantically back and forth, scanning for movement but finding none. Her clumsy feet tangling, she stumbled over a flat stone and toppled backward.

A sudden heat surrounded her and she paused in mid-fall, suspended over the dark pit of an open grave. Breathless and terror-stricken, it took her a moment to realize the warmth was strong arms wrapped around her. Back on her feet, she spun around to find Cameron, the tour guide, watching her with an amused expression.

“Are you okay?” He gripped her shaking shoulders.

“I’m fine, I just saw—I tripped.” Vannah tried to catch her breath, her mind racing with madness.

“You should watch where you’re stepping in a cemetery.”

“I didn’t expect—I didn’t realize they still buried people here.”

“You know, it’s frowned upon to be raiding graves at night around these parts.”

“I wasn’t raiding anything.” She jerked out of his hold and grabbed her bag from the ground, jamming her detector back inside. I’m glad none of my equipment ended up in that grave. She yanked her twisted camisole top and shorts back into place.

“What did you see?” His penetrating gaze sent a current through her chest.

“Nothing, I didn’t—there’s nothing to see, let’s go.”

“Whoa, whoa, hang on. Something scared you. Tell me what you saw.”

If she wasn’t throbbing with terror right now, she might have actually swooned under his gaze. “Are you deaf? I said I didn’t see anything.” She turned to walk away.

“Who is Mark?”

With a white hot jolt, her stomach bottomed out and her feet froze to the ground. “Who is Mark and why can’t he breathe?” 

I would love to hear about any ghostly experiences you’ve had, and if not, do you fear them? Are you curious? Tell me about your paranormal journey, and one lucky winner will receive a copy of Savannah’s Ghost Tale. Don’t forget to leave your email address so I can contact you! J

Happy Reading,

Kali Willows

#kaliwillows, #decadentpub, #1NS, #1nightstand, #onenightstand, #MadameEve