Halloween Week: Book Spotlight On The Witch of Willow Lake by Leta Hawk

Today's post for Halloween Week is another book spotlight, this time on the paranormal mystery, The Witch of Willow Lake by Leta Hawk. This is the newest edition to her Kyrie Carter: Supernatural Sleuth series, and I have a look at the book and an excerpt. Enjoy!

The Witch of Willow Lake by Leta Hawk

A book of local folklore may hold the key to solving a mystery…

Left with unanswered questions after the paranormal investigation at Willow Lake College, Kyrie Carter vows to discover the events leading up to the fire in Appleton Hall’s bell tower that took Mary Bollinger’s life in 1958. Her research leads to a book of legends written by a local historian. Kyr’s sense of obligation borders on obsession as she redoubles her efforts to locate the out-of-print book. She is cautiously optimistic when the book arrives anonymously to her workplace.

…but is it also a portal for an evil from the past?

Almost immediately, Kyr is plagued by terrifying visions—a cabin in the woods,  a mysterious woman who calls to her, ominous words chanted in an unfamiliar language. Discovering evidence of a witch in Willow Lake’s past leads Kyr to believe her visions are more than bad dreams, and that there is more to Mary Bollinger’s story than anyone realized.
When Mary’s fiancé, Warren McKnight, agrees to break his decades-long silence about the fire, Kyr and Spook return to Willow Lake. Something in Warren’s account of that tragic night tells Kyr that she was not the witch’s first target, and she will not be the last, unless she can find a way to defeat the evil spirit.

The Witch of Willow Lake is available at:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Excerpt:

Without warning, my vision suddenly narrowed as it had earlier, and Sean’s cabin again wavered and morphed into the same primitive structure I’d seen when we first arrived. The air around me shimmered, and I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. The familiar sounds of the woods faded into a muffled rushing sound that made me wonder if I were dreaming, even though I knew I was awake. I wanted to cry out, but my throat constricted so that I could barely breathe, let alone speak. I doubted anyone would hear me anyway.
The shimmering air settled, and the noise in my ears silenced. A single shutter partially covered the window of the little cabin, and I watched as a figure passed by. At the same time, I became aware of the now-familiar voice chanting inside the house. A soft gasp escaped my throat, and the chanting ceased abruptly. As though the person inside sensed my presence, she came closer to the window, and a gnarled hand threw the shutter open. I ducked behind the closest tree, which wasn’t anywhere near being wide enough to hide even my slim frame.
After a moment the figure left the window and moved in the direction of the door. My heart pounded loudly in my ears as I heard the latch being lifted, and then the door slowly opened. A short, heavyset woman stood silhouetted in the doorway. The firelight behind her made a reddish glow around her form. Although I couldn’t make out any features, I knew this woman was malicious. My eyes widened in horror as she turned to face the very tree I hid behind. She raised a hand and beckoned to me. “We’ve been waiting for you. Come; it is time.”
My feet began to move of their own accord towards the little cabin. A second voice, one I didn’t recognize, spoke in my mind. Don’t go to her! You must escape, now! Ione’s voice joined the other one. Be careful, Kyr. She means to do you harm! My own voice joined the others, screaming for my body to stop moving towards the cabin, to run in the opposite direction, but my feet would not comply. Step by halting step I kept walking towards the cabin, until suddenly, my foot came down on a twig, snapping it in two.
The sound wrenched me out of my stupor and broke whatever spell I was under. I shouted, “No! Leave me alone!” Dropping the lantern in the path, I dashed back to the outhouse, slamming the door and sitting on the ground with my back against the door, heedless of dirt, bugs, or whatever else might have been in there with me. I drew my knees up to my chest, covered my ears with my fists, and squeezed my eyes shut.

Author Bio:

Leta Hawk had her first encounter with a ghost at four years of age. Since then, she has been fascinated with ghoulies and ghosties and all things that go bump in the night, and now she writes about them. She lives vicariously as a ghost-chasing mystery solver through her Kyrie Carter: Supernatural Sleuth series, which includes The Newbie, School Spirits, and The Witch of Willow Lake.
When Leta isn’t penning spooky stories, she can be found rounding up dust bunnies, or tackling Mt. Dishmore and Laundrypile Peak in her Central Pennsylvania home, which she shares with her husband Mike, sons Wesley and Wayde, and black lab Raven (but no ghosts).

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And so ends today's post for Halloween Week, but be sure to pop by tomorrow on Halloween. And don't forget my Halloween Horror Haiku Giveaway (live until October 31st) You can find it by clicking on the Giveaway Tab at the top of the blog or this link: Halloween Horror Haiku Giveaway!