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).

Website  Facebook  Goodreads  Twitter

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!

Interview With Author Greta Cribbs

Another great interview today, with Greta Cribbs, author of  the paranormal mystery, Amelia's Children. Enjoy!

An Interview With Greta Cribbs

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself?

I am currently a stay-at-home mom, which is great because it gives me time to pursue my many interests, one of which happens to be writing.  I also obsessively study Spanish and take dance lessons.  I have a degree in music education which I still use, despite the fact that I am not currently employed, by teaching a small but dedicated group of piano students.  In addition to these things, I am a certified instructor of Yoga and Pilates.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest book?

The title of my new book is Amelia's Children.  It is a paranormal mystery told from the point of view of Sarah, a young woman who has just returned to her hometown after a failed attempt at an acting career.  She is immediately attracted to David, a handsome stranger who has just come into town on "personal business".  As she attempts to discover what that business is, she learns that there is more to David's story than meets the eye, and she eventually begins to suspect that it is all tied to Amelia Davis, a local woman who was murdered thirty years ago, but whose killer has never been caught.

How long have you been writing, and how many books have you published to date?

I started writing poetry when I was nine years old.  I completed a novel, a ghost story, when I was twelve, but never published it.  Throughout my teens and early twenties I was too busy pursuing my career in music to do any serious writing.  I still wrote poems, and I started working on a book here and there, but never had time to finish anything.  Amelia's Children is my first published work.

Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration?

Okay, I have to say that I hate having people inside my head, so I find this question a little embarrassing, but hey…publishing a book is about putting myself out there for all to see right?  So here goes.  Three things were going on when I started Amelia's Children. 

First of all, I had just gone through a job loss, so I threw all of the frustration I was feeling after that experience into my narrator, Sarah.  Her dissatisfaction with life and her feeling of not fitting in anywhere is exactly where I was in my own life when I was writing the book.

Second, I had just finished watching Twin Peaks, and was feeling more than a little frustrated with how all of that ended.  I mean really, weren't all Twin Peaks fans frustrated when that show came to a close?  This was the inspiration for a lot of the setting of my story.  Interestingly, though, in the beginning I tried to avoid the whole "murder in a small town" thing.  Of course I already had the small town setting, but I beyond that all I knew was that the story was going to center around David and an evil villain.  At first I had no idea what unspeakable crime the villain had committed.  Determined that it would not be a murder, I ran through multiple scenarios in my head.  It soon became apparent, however, that none of those scenarios were going to work.  I needed an event that was powerful enough to bring together all of the minor characters who were crucial in moving the story along.  An unsolved murder in a small town turned out to be the only thing I found sufficient.

Third, I am a huge fan of Supernatural, but just like with Twin Peaks, I was frustrated with the direction some of the storylines had taken over the years.  I am one of the loyal seasons one and two fans, and I miss the creepy atmosphere the show used to have.  I also loved Sam Winchester's character in the early seasons.  It was the idea of everything being somehow about him, and not in a good way, that first hooked me on the show.  A large part of David's character is drawn from that.

What did you enjoy most about writing your book?

My favorite part about writing this book was the characters.  There was an interesting evolution of this, though.  I started out being head-over-heels in love with David.  My feelings about him are why I chose a female narrator.  I needed the audience to see him the way I saw him.  But the more I wrote, the more I started to fall in love with Sarah's brother Will.  I originally intended for him to be a relatively minor character, but as the story unfolded he started to come alive for me.  He's actually at the center of what, in my opinion, is the most touching scene in the whole book--a scene I didn't even think of until I was about half-way through writing it.

What did you hope to accomplish by publishing your book?

I hope to find a connection with readers who like their fiction a little on the mysterious and creepy side.  I also hope that they will love my characters the way that I love them.  And who knows, maybe someone will see something in my book that I didn't see.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was twelve and writing that first book, being a writer was the only thing I wanted.  I already had the interest in music at that point, but I was not dreaming of that as a career.  Then high school came along and my interests changed.  The desire to write remained with me, it was just pushed down and tucked out of sight.  When I lost my job I needed a new creative outlet, so I sat down at the computer and wrote a book.

 

How do you research your books?

Because I set my book in a town very much like the one where I grew up, and based the narrator's character primarily on myself, I didn't have to do too much research for this book.  When I started writing the details of the murder, though, I wanted that to be as accurate as possible, so I visited several medical websites and read up on various ways a murder victim could die.  Creepy, I know, but it was just research for a book.  We have to get our information somewhere, right?  I also visited some psychology websites to help me in my descriptions of other characters who were affected by the crime.

What’s your next project? Any upcoming book secrets you care to reveal?

I've just started working on my next project.  It's also a paranormal book, but it is not a mystery.  It's more of a family drama that centers on a young man who was born with a very unusual psychic ability.  Yeah, I know, it's more of that Sam Winchester vibe.  What can I say?  A fan is a fan.

Author Bio:

Greta Cribbs has worn many hats over the years, from mom to schoolteacher to choir director.  She constantly seeks out opportunities to indulge her many interests, but writing is the passion that has been with her the longest.  She wrote her first poem at the age of nine and has been crafting stories ever since.  Amelia's Children is her first published work.  You can follow @GretaCribbs on Twitter for the latest information about her writing and other projects she is working on.

Amelia's Children is available at Amazon

Spotlight on Waking Up Dead

I'm showcasing a book today, the paranormal mystery, Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins:

Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins

When Dallas resident Callie Taylor died young, she expected to go to Heaven, or maybe Hell. Instead, when she met her fate early thanks to a creep with a knife and a mommy complex, she went to Alabama. Now she's witnessed another murder, and she's not about to let this one go. She's determined to help solve it before an innocent man goes to prison. And to answer the biggest question of all: why the hell did she wake up dead in Alabama?

An Excerpt from Waking Up Dead :

When I died, I expected to go to heaven.
Okay. Maybe hell. It’s not like I was perfect or anything. But I was sort of hoping for heaven.
Instead, I went to Alabama.
Yeah. I know. It’s weird.
I died in Dallas, my hometown. I was killed, actually. Murdered. I’ll spare you the gruesome details. I don’t like to remember them myself. Some jerk with a knife--and probably a Bad-Mommy complex. Believe me, if I knew where he was, I’d go haunt his ass.
At any rate, by the time death came, I was ready for it--ready to stop hurting, ready to let go. I didn't even fight it.
And then I woke up dead in Alabama. Talk about pissed off.
You know, even reincarnation would have been fine with me--I could have started over, clean slate and all that. Human, cow, bug. Whatever. But no. I ended up haunting someplace I’d never even been.
That’s not the way it’s supposed to work, right? Ghosts are supposed to be the tortured spirits of those who cannot let go of their earthly existence. If they could be convinced to follow the light, they’d leave behind said earthly existence and quit scaring the bejesus out of the poor folks who run across them. That’s what all those “ghost hunter” shows on television tell us.
Let me tell you something. The living don’t know jack about the dead.
Not this dead chick, anyway.

Waking Up Dead is available on Amazon

And for your Goodreads bookshelves

About the Author:

Margo Bond Collins lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, several spoiled cats, and a ridiculous turtle. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other monsters. Waking Up Dead is her first published novel. Her second novel, Legally Undead, is an urban fantasy, forthcoming in 2014 from World Weaver Press.

Connect with Margo:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter:  @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Facebook Novel Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Waking-Up-Dead/502076076537575
Tumblr: http://vampirarchybooks.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/