May 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of a creative writing career. Ther first novel in the series started as a short story entitled Unfinished Business, a Cape Cod paranormal romance set in Brewster Massachusetts. The idea came to me while opening up a summer cottage, removing dust covers and vacuuming up dead flies. I started to write a story about a woman finding a trunk of clothes in an old house and discovering the truth about the person who owned them.
My critique partners loved the story, but said it wasn’t finished. So I wrote forward, taking Liz into a new relationship that I entitled The Widow’s Walk, which was published by Soulmate in late 2014. I am thrilled to announce that it will be released in print this spring–just in time for those of you who don’t like to take your e-readers to the beach.
Originally published as a novelette in Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Breakwater Beach has been expanded into a full length novel beginning with Elisabeth and Edward and their star crossed, tragic romance turned into a happily ever after. Plans are underway to release it in late 2015–a fitting way to celebrate ten years of passionate dedication to writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy set in the real world, featuring a diverse cast of sexy, colorful characters that defy the stereotypes of middle age.
The third book in the Unfinished Business series will explore the lives of some of secondary characters, particularly Mae and Sandra. Storm Watch finds Liz, Mike and their friends facing an approaching category 5 hurricane, as well as a storm of personal challenges. The plan is to release it in 2016.
Help me celebrate by leaving a comment or a question. I will pick two of you using random.org to receive a download of Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts and The Widow’s Walk.
The Novel Fun in the Summer Sun book tour has already begun, so check out the stops between New York City and Cape Cod during June, July, and August. I would love to meet and greet and chat with you. Don’t worry if you aren’t on the East Coast of the United States, there are plenty of virtual events and contests.
Follow my updates on your favorite social media: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest or sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all the progress of The Unfinished Business Series.
Liz Levine is convinced her recently deceased husband is engineering the sequence of events that propels her into a new life. But it’s sea captain Edward Barrett, the husband that died over a century ago, who has returned to complete their unfinished business. Edward’s lingering presence complicates all her plans and jeopardizes a new relationship that reawakens her passion for life and love. What are Captain Barrett’s plans for his wife, and for the man who is the new object of her affections?
“Lizzy, look what we found pushed into the dormer under a pile of boxes. It was turned backwards and in the dark it blended in with the wall.” Mae led her into an eave of the walk in closet, which was as big as a small bedroom.
Her heart pounded when she read the shipping labels on the battered trunk, dated 1875. “Do you think there is anything still inside?” Given the layer of dust on top, Liz knew there was. Her hands shook as she undid the latches.
The lid was jammed, and Mae banged on it with one of the rubber hammers. “Oh, Lizzy, there’s got to be something in here.” She rattled and pounded again when it failed to budge.
Melancholy welled up inside imagining the woman, probably the same one whose saddle she’d found, who’d left it behind.
Mae jiggled one more time and raised the lid.
Liz scooted closer, on her hands and knees and peered inside. “Ah, look!” Breathless, she wiped her dusty hands on her pants before daring to handle the neatly packed clothing inside. What she thou
ght was a muslin wrap turned out to be a delicate chemise that resembled a long slip with lace trim, the off-white linen gentled by the patina of age. Emotion oozed out of the fibers as if the owner’s soul had been liberated from a dark, lonely prison.
Liz examined the garment. “This is English linen, Irish lace though. I believe these are whalebone buttons.”
Mae, uncharacteristically quiet, wiped her eyes. “Bless her soul, the dear that left this all behind.”
Mike and Liz Keeny are newlyweds, new parents, and the proprietors of the Barrett Inn, an 1875 Victorian on Cape Cod, which just happens to be haunted. By their own ghosts. The Inn had become an annex of Purgatory, putting Mike, Liz, and their infant son in danger. Selling the historic seaside bed and breakfast was the only answer, one that Liz and her own tortured specter refused to consider. Were they doomed to follow the same path that led to disaster in their previous lives? Was getting out, getting away, enough?
Silk rustled as she ran her hands over the dress. The lavender scent deepened as Elisabeth swirled around inside, Her mind went numb as the ghost took control. She slipped out of her clothes and stood naked in front of the mirror. She put up her hair, preening for her husband, before she stepped into the middle of the deep green skirts and pulled them up over her waist, slipped her arms into the sleeves, and twisted them behind her back to fasten the buttons. She used the buttonhook to do up the shoes, then peered out into the hallway.
Liz bundled the sweat suit into her arms, along with the soap and paper goods, and hurried to the attic door. It wasn’t until she placed her hand on the banister and started up the steep staircase to the roof that Elisabeth’s needling eased. Like an addict in the throes of withdrawal, just the promise of being up there, her spirit communing with the long lost sea captain, offered relief.
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