Happy Halloween! I’m a big fan of anything paranormal—books and movies especially. My paranormal romance, Silver Lake, wasn’t designed to be super scary, just mysterious and spooky. However, a number of my readers have said certain parts sent shivers up their spine. Many have also said they stayed up all night reading it, but hopefully that was because they couldn’t put it down and not because they were afraid to turn off the lights!
The scariest book I ever read was The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty, in part because it’s based on a true incident that happened in the DC area, not far from where I grew up. And I think the movie is even scarier. The terrifying visuals were heightened by the unconventional methods the director used to get real reactions from the actors—slapping one actor in the face and firing a gun behind another are just two examples. Then of course there is the so-called curse surrounding the film. In the early 1970s, not everything was documented for reality TV, so there are conflicting accounts of the strange occurrences. It’s said that between 4 and 9 people associated with the film died during filming or shortly after the release. An unexplained fire destroyed the MacNeil residence movie set—with the odd exception of the character Regan’s bedroom—causing a 6 week delay in production. At the Italian premier of the film, a 400-year-old cross near the theater was destroyed by a bolt of lightning.
The paranormal element in Silver Lake is of a less terrifying variety: the ghost, Brandy, is desperate to communicate with her living friends. In order to help, Rain and Jason must reunite, and together they’ll face not only a haunted lake house, but their own painful past.
The wonderful thing about the romance genre is that readers can lose themselves in the tension of the book, knowing that eventually a happy ending is in store. If a couple seems cursed, we romance readers know they will find a way around it somehow and end up together. So while I enjoy being temporarily scared by stories of the supernatural, I prefer my “paranormal” to be followed by “romance”, so I can connect emotionally with the characters and rest assured that I will be rewarded with a Happily Ever After.
I hope you’ll check out the blurb and excerpt from Silver Lake below, and maybe share with me some of your favorite paranormal books and movies.
Blurb:
Rain Anderson can't decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.
Five years ago, Rain's tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent's deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can't let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.
Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.
Excerpt:
“I saw…a figure. A figure with dark hair, and I think it was Brandy.” She shuddered and put her forehead back on his chest.
Reluctantly, he moved their bodies apart a bit and scanned her face. He held on to her shoulders and asked calmly, “You saw Brandy? Brandy is here?”
She shook her head. “No, I saw… like… an image of Brandy. I woke up, because it was cold, and I saw something moving. It was Brandy, I’m sure of it, although I didn’t see her face clearly. And then she, um, disappeared.”
“An image of Brandy? Are you saying you saw a ghost, Rain?” He was pretty sure she’d had another nightmare, but the way she had flown out of her room gave him the impression it had been an extremely vivid one.
“I know, it sounds ridiculous. But that’s what I saw. And she sort of, well, went through the wall. I’m sure you don’t believe me,” she added miserably, lifting her stormy eyes to his.
He pulled her back into a hug before he could stop himself. “I absolutely believe you. Whether you were awake or asleep, you saw Brandy and that’s scary. I don’t think we can deny that weird things are happening here.”
Jason smoothed her hair and waited patiently for her trembling to subside. If a ghost really was lurking in her bedroom, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot he could do about that. A rare sense of powerlessness caused his jaw to clench in frustration.
He stopped watching the door and instead focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms. She clung to him, and his body responded to hers with a familiar ache. He knew he was losing the battle to keep his feelings platonic.
BUY FROM AMAZON – http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Lake-ebook/dp/B009AEE6DO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1345749376&sr=1-1
BUY FROM THE WILD ROSE PRESS – http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973
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