By Kenya Carlton
Print Length: 162 pages
Publisher: Parker Publishing Inc
Genre: Mystery/Romance with paranormal elements
Book Description:
War correspondent Mia James is back on US soil and ready to tackle a juicy political story that could make national headlines. A politician’s aid goes missing, and the son of the wealthiest family is the only suspect.
Determined to take down the mayor of the small seaside town, Mia comes up against an angry ghost with her own agenda.
Afraid she may be suffering from post traumatic stress Mia figures that she’s way over her head and enlists the help of resident black sheep Gabe Montgomery. Now, she must solve the mystery of her not so friendly ghost, stop herself from falling in love with the mysterious winery owner, all while making it out alive.
Excerpt:
Martin Conway didn’t
know what to expect. He idled in his police cruiser on the curb in anticipation
of a few ominous clouds or some menacing lightening to strike down on the
house. He wasn’t quite sure since he avoided this place as much as possible.
The manor that sat above
Vine was a picture of Victorian splendor. Or at least that’s what the welcome
brochure to all new tourists had professed.
No one had occupied the
oldest standing mansion in town permanently for years and the historical
society made sure no one probably ever would. Restrictions had been placed on
the home that most modern families weren’t willing to contend with and older
homeowners would be too overwhelmed to be bothered. The most that could be
hoped for was the occasional renter. So the mansion that encompassed every
viable asset that a haunted house possibly ever could, sat empty.
It didn’t matter that
the lawn was cut and the bushes were trimmed. Nor did it matter whether fresh
paint was applied every other year or so. Right now all that mattered was that
he, Martin Conway, had to get his butt in gear to welcome the new residence of
Holloway Manor to Vine.
As Sheriff he took his
job seriously. Crime was virtually nonexistent. A few run-ins with the local
teenagers now and again were the worse offenses he imagined but that was
expected in any small town.
Martin turned the
ignition off and grabbed his hat. Vibes of intense displeasure seemed to waft
his way from the house, with a deep breath he pushed his apprehension to the
side and sorted through his thoughts of what to say to the new neighbors of Vine.
"Good Afternoon,
Ma'am." Martin tipped his head to the cute little number at the door.
Pleasantly surprised he greeted the woman with all smiles.
"Good afternoon,
Officer-"
"Conway, Sheriff
Conway," he introduced himself.
The look on her adorable
face made him forget the regular spiel he had prepared for all the newbie’s
that entered town. She was this tiny little thing with big boobs and a nice ass
which was a win-win combination in his estimation. Her smooth cocoa skin made
his mouth water not to mention her face was kewpie doll cute but her expression
told him she was all about being bad. The pool of her brown eyes seemed to suck
him into her.
"Where are my
manners? Please come in Sheriff. My name is Tracy and this tired piece of trash
over here is my cousin, Mia." He followed the woman into the Holloway home
to find it was exactly as he had imagined.
Big and creepy!
The structure was the
only house that could be seen from the Carlisle hilltop that looked down on
Vine. From the door the stained glass windows cast a colorful dance of colors
around the front room. A bright and cheery effect that should have appeared fun
and joyful, but came across eerie and haunting instead.
White dust cloths
covered what he could only imagine was antique furniture. The unlived look
probably lent a helping hand to the spooky factor of the estate.
Entranced with the
infamous inside interior of the Holloway mansion, he almost stumbled over this
woman. Simply stunned into stupidity by her perfect face he missed the hand
that she held out to him.
"Mia James, what
can I do for you?" His tongue twisted around his mouth. Ordinarily he
would be considered a man of authority but this woman made him babble like a
fool.
"I uh, I wanted to
welcome you to Vine. I saw your truck and thought I would be first to welcome
you to our fine city."
"I appreciate
that," she replied.
"We have a little
picnic scheduled this evening at The Grove and we would be delighted if you
could join us." He flashed his pearly smile in hopes it would be enough to
persuade them to come.
"Who is we,
Sheriff?"
"The Mayor is
sponsoring this little shindig to extend his hand of thanks to the people of
Vine."
"Special thanks for
what?" Mia asked.
"Uh.” Both women
stared at him with something crossed between humor and confusion.
"He wants to thank
everyone for their support in Vine and continued support when he runs for
Congress."
"Well Conway,” Mia
began, “that's a mighty fine invitation but I think I'll pass." she
touched his elbow, with the sweetest smile. He was so enchanted with the
Egyptian shape of her brown eyes that he found himself outside of the front
door without the faintest idea how he got there. "Thank you for keeping us
in mind."
"But there's
barbecue and fireworks," he stupidly stammered.
"Sounds like a true
hootenanny of a good time. We will definitely give it some thought." He
understood a polite brush off when he saw one. Mia was so gracious he almost
didn't mind how she had just kicked him out of the house.
“Oh well.” He stepped off
the wraparound porch. Most likely he would see her again around town. Of
course, the lack of information about these women would leave room for the
Mayor to be unhappy with his fact finding duties.
Martin headed to his
cruiser and figured he would go check across town for those vandals that kept
spray painting something as silly as ‘Water’ in the quarry. It was the perfect
excuse that he was too busy to be nosey if the Mayor asked.
Amazon
About the Author:
Native of Chicago Illinois, Kenya worked in the Network operation Center for PBS and TLN television stations. Executive producer of her own production company Black R.O.K Productions Kenya produced a pilot for travel series Destination Everywhere, Independent short film Dawn shown at the Chicago Latino film Festival, and wrote and directed the documentary Our Africa. Writing titles available; Jaded, Sweet as Sin, Brazil re-issue, Devil’s Play, and Remember This.
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