A New Haunted Voices novel
@gemwriter #CR4U #romantic #suspense #supernatural Spirits of the Heart
Spirits of the Heart - A Haunted Voices Novel
An
addiction counselor and a security guard struggle to free a little girl and her
father, two lost spirits trapped inside an abandoned mental asylum.
Addiction counselor Laura Horton returns from
college to move in with an old friend and start her career. But her homecoming
is jarring. Her friend moves out, leaving Laura alone with the gorgeous but
intimidating ex-boyfriend—in a house that snugs up to an ancient graveyard.
Officer Miller Stanford is a man with a
shattered past. His alcoholic dad destroyed their family, a weakness Miller is
terrified will consume him too. The last thing he needs is a sexy, blonde
addiction counselor watching his every move. When he begins to see specters in
the dark, he starts questioning his own stability.
But Laura sees her too—a pathetic child-spirit
searching for her father. Then Laura starts digging into old asylum records . .
. Can Miller and Laura uncover the secrets of Talcott Hall without jeopardizing
their love—and lives—in the process?
Excerpt:
Laura Horton’s bad
feeling began the minute she pulled up in front of Angie’s puke green,
two-story house and parked at the curb.
Not Angie’s house, she reminded herself.
Angie’s boyfriend’s house. Although
they’d been pretty tight in high school, she and Ang had kept in touch mostly
via telephone and email these past few years that Laura had been in grad
school. Once, a few years ago, they’d gotten together for their five-year
reunion, when Laura had come home to visit her ailing dad.
That was the first time
she’d seen the compact craftsman bungalow—after dark—and she hadn’t realized it
was such an ugly color. She hadn’t met the
boyfriend, Miller Stanford, whom Angie either claimed to love with all her
heart, or wanted to eviscerate with a Phillips head screwdriver, depending on
the day. Nor had Laura noticed then that the house snugged up tight on one side
to an ancient-looking graveyard. The only thing separating the two properties
was a narrow strip of grass and a dilapidated, iron fence.
A shiver ran across her
shoulder blades as she sat in her car, studying her new surroundings. Her new home.
Holy crap.
Chillier up here.
Where’d I pack that hoodie?
She turned to dig
around in one of the boxes squashed into the back of her tiny car, quickly
realizing it was pointless. Nearly everything she owned in the world—besides a
few pieces of battered, old furniture—filled the back seat, and passenger side,
of her thrifty Kia. When she’d run out of room for boxes, she’d resorted to
folding softer items, like her sweaters and sweats, into new plastic trash
bags. Stuff crammed every nook and crevice in the car, leaving just enough
space beneath the headliner for her to see out through the rearview mirror.
There was no way in
hell she was locating her hoodie in Mt. Clothesmore.
Rubbing her hands up
and down her arms, she climbed out and sprinted up the steps to the front door.
She hadn’t been able to reach Angie by phone since she’d left Boone, North Carolina
the day before, but that wasn’t too unusual. Her friend was a bit flighty, and
prone to misplace her phone, her charger, or both. Angie had been juggling
courses at the community college with a full-time night job, tending bar at the
pub just down the street, for the past two years. Laura couldn’t blame her for
acting a bit squirrelly at times.
She reminded herself
how nice it was of Ang and Miller to rent her their spare room. When Laura
landed the job in Middletown, her initial exhilaration had been tempered by a
glaring question: where the hell was she going to live? There was no way she
could move into her father’s tiny condo with his new wife, Deirdre. And
securing an apartment on her own was out of the question, at least not until
after her first few paychecks hit the bank.
Laura squared her
shoulders, which were quaking slightly in the cool spring breeze, tipped up her
chin, and rang the doorbell.
Twice. She shifted her
sneakered feet against the creaky porch boards, folding her arms against the chill.
After another long moment with no answer, she rang the bell a third time,
holding down the ancient button a full ten seconds this time. She could hear
the electronic buzz through the peeling front door, but no other sounds at all.
Angie had to be here—she knew Laura was
coming. It was Friday, but Angie’s last term of college ended last week, and it
was nearly two o’clock in the afternoon. There was only one vehicle parked in
the short driveway, a late-model Ford pickup. But Laura wasn’t sure what it was
Angie was driving these days.
Then, she heard the
booming, thumping sound. Footsteps? Deliberate, heavy, booming steps. Did
Bigfoot live here too?
A dull click, then the
tinkle of chain skittering on the inside of the wood. The door burst open. But
it wasn’t Angie standing on the threshold.
Laura didn’t have time
to suppress the involuntary gasp that escaped from her open mouth.
The man was huge, not
only tall but massive, with a broad, muscular chest, one lightly furred with
golden hair. His bulbous biceps were
cut, sculpted like a Greek statue. And he wasn’t wearing much more than Michelango’s
David, with only a steel grey towel snugged around narrow hips to match the
steely glint in his blue-grey eyes.
She blinked and
swallowed, stumbling back a step. “Is Angie here?” she asked in a small voice.
The giant snorted and
crossed his arms over his chest. “Who’s askin’?”
Author Bio: Claire Gem
Strong Women, Starting Over
~Redefining Romance~
Claire is a multi-published, award winning author of emotional
romance—contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction. She
writes about strong, resilient women who won’t give up their quest for a
happy-ever-after—and the men lucky enough to earn their love. No helpless,
hapless heroines here. These spunky ladies redefine romance, on their terms.
Whether it’s a sexy contemporary read you’re seeking, or a
thrill ride into the supernatural world of hauntings and ghosts, Claire will
take you on a memorable journey.
Her paranormal/romantic suspense, Hearts Unloched, won the 2016 New York Book Festival. Her
contemporary romance, The Phoenix
Syndrome, won the women’s fiction division in FCRWA’s The Beacon Contest.
A New York native, Claire has lived in five of the United States
and held a variety of jobs, from waitress to bridal designer to research
technician—but loves being an author best. She and her happily-ever-after hero,
her husband of 38 years, now live in central Massachusetts.
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