Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Secrets of the Dead

Nothing Stays Buried Forever


Secrets of the Dead

Bk 1 in the Lost Souls series
By Shiela Stewart
Genre: Paranormal Romance


 Jessica Coltrane is a diehard sceptic who believes ghosts and paranormal activity are nothing more than a figment of an overactive imagination. That is until she finds herself locked inside a haunted house with the enigmatic paranormal investigator C.J. Dowling.


Born with the ability to see and speak to the dead, C.J. Dowling thought investigating a haunted house would be a job like many others. He’s prepared for anything—except smart and sexy Jessica.

Working together in close quarters, C.J. and Jessica discover it isn’t only negative tension between them but sexual as well. Giving in to their desires seems like a good idea until they wake and find the spirits thought otherwise. They are trapped with the ghost of a child long forgotten, an amorous entity threatening Jessica, and a powder keg of a spine-tingling mystery that might just be better left buried.


GUEST POST

I've always been fascinated with ghosts. Maybe because in my youth i was told stories of a haunted house we once lived in. I don't recall anything as I was only 8 years old at the time. Unfortunately that house burned to the ground and we lost everything. 

It stirred a fascination in me with ghosts and I would often wonder if any of the houses on my block were haunted. 

Of course, because ghosts fascinate me so much, i tend to watch a lot of haunting movies and shows. 
I remember watching Amityville Horror in my teens and how terrified i was to turn out my bedroom light for fear a ghost would get me. But at the same time, it gave me a rush. That rush is what draws me to the paranormal. 

I always knew i wanted to write a ghost story and that's how Secrets of the Dead came to be.  At the time, I watched a lot of Paranormal Investigation shows, and I wondered what it would be like to be a Paranormal Investigator. I normally hate research, but this time i was excited to learn about the equipment used to detect ghosts.  I have pages of information I found. I took all of that and created a story from it.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did writing it.


EXCERPT

Something tickled her nose. Using her hand, she tried to swipe it away and felt the brush of hair against her knuckles. Planting her hand, she felt the warm flesh beneath her palm.

Recognition hit and woke her with an angry slap. Eyes shooting open, she sat up quickly and instantly regretted it when the room spun wildly around her. Laying back down, closing her eyes, she waited out the dizziness the hangover caused. Her mind raced to the night before.

The soft ache in her loins reminded her of what she’d done. Carefully opening her eyes, she turned her head to see a naked C.J. beside her.

“Oh, God.” She looked over his naked body, remembering how good it felt having him inside her. She hadn’t been that drunk that she couldn’t remember the event, and lord, what an event it had been. They had literally torn each other’s clothing off. She’d been an animal, which was so not like her.

What did they do now? Would they go on as they had been, sniping at each other, treat this as a one-night fling and move on? In truth, the guy irritated the hell out of her, yet he’d made her feel so incredible the night before. How was she supposed to respond to him now, after sharing something so intimate?

“Dowling,” she spoke quietly. “Dowling.” When he moaned, she slapped his chest. “Dowling!”

“Jesus.”

“Wake up.”

“I’m awake.” He looked at her with a smile. “Morning.” Then his eyes went wide. “Holy hell.” He bolted upright and jumped to his feet, nearly knocking her over. “Oh, my God.”

“What the hell?” The sofa stood on its end, two sitting chairs slammed up right against it, all pushed against the window. The coffee and end tables stood one on top of the other, in front of the fireplace.

Carefully, Jessie stood up, waiting out the dizziness. She had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. It looked like a hurricane had blown through. “How…”

“I need to check my equipment.” He flew off, still nude, and she got one hell of a look at his ass.

She saw her shirt by the fireplace, straps torn. She couldn’t exactly wear it in its condition. Spotting his shirt hanging over the couch, she grabbed it and put it on. It barely covered her, but would have to do for now.

“This is incredible. The meters went off the scale. The temperature recorded several degrees below freezing at one point. It didn’t last long, though, as it rose exponentially. And we slept through it all. Damn, I have never seen anything like this before. It’s phenomenal.”

“You’re naked, you know?”

“What?” He didn’t even look up.

“You’re naked.” She tossed him his jeans, hitting him square in the face.

Unaffected by it, he grabbed the jeans and slipped into them using his free hand.  It amused her to watch him shimmy into his tight jeans, jumping from one foot to the other. “The cameras!” He rushed to the video equipment as he did up his pants. “Do you know what this means?”

“That you were a busy boy last night.”

He looked at her, confused. “Beg pardon?”

“I don’t know how you managed it all alone, but I give you credit for a job well done.”

“You think I did all of this?”

“No, I know you did all of this. Boy, you’ll do anything to make me a believer.”

His eyes narrowed and his voice dipped an octave. “You think I did all of this just to make you believe there are ghosts here?”

 “Well…yeah.”

“Fine.” Walking to her, he grabbed her arm and led her to the camera.

“Let go of me.”

“Not until you see this.” Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her to face the monitor attached to one of the cameras. “Watch.” He pressed play.

Folding her arms across her chest, Jessie glared at the screen. He’d recorded them having sex.

“Oh my God, you taped us making out? How could you?”

“I have my cameras set on timers that begin taping on their own. I didn’t know we were going to go at it like rabbits last night. Watch.”

“You will erase those tapes,” she insisted, then grunted when he turned her face back to the monitor. “What the hell?”

“Keep watching.”

She couldn’t pry her eyes away if she tried. The furniture lifted in the air, spun around wildly before they slammed in front of the fireplace and window. “Oh my god!”

“My sentiments exactly. I need to check the rest of the house.” He left her mesmerized in front of the TV.

 AVAILABLE

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords * Bookbub * Goodreads

Authors Website: www.shielastewart.com

**Don’t miss the rest of the books in the series!**


Innocence of the Dead
Bk 2 in the Lost Souls Series


 Blurb

Samantha Dowling sees ghosts. As much as she hates her gift, she can’t ignore the spirit of a murdered young girl who haunts her dreams. As she digs into the death, she learns she’s not the only missing child in the city. And no one seems to be doing anything about it. Running into the very sexy Ethan Montgomery at his bookstore where she’d doing her research adds a whole new element to the mix.

From the first moment Ethan Montgomery sees Sam, he knows she’s meant to be his. Unfortunately, his soon-to-be ex-wife Gwen is determined to bring Ethan down any way she can, and his attraction to Sam is an opening she won’t pass up.

Despite her interference, Sam and Ethan’s romance blossoms. In secret. But sneaking around isn’t as easy as they thought when others discover their relationship.

And when Sam learns the identity of the murderer, it puts her in their crosshairs. Unless Ethan can get to her in time, their romance will have a deadly end.

Revenge of the Dead 
Bk 3 in the Lost Souls series

Standing over a dead body holding a gun is never a good thing. Especially when it’s your soon to be ex-wife, Gwen. And when it comes out that she’s been blackmailing him, Ethan is their prime suspect. Proving his innocence is not going to be easy. Luckily, he has his lover, Samantha is on his side.

Spiritual guide Samantha Dowling has seen pretty much everything the dead can throw at her. Just having solved a case of missing children, she’s looking forward to a life with the man she loves, Ethan Montgomery. Being woken by a nightmare of her lover standing over his wife's dead body, gun in hand, Sam knows what she has to do.

When she goes to the scene of the crime, the last thing she expects is for the ghost of Ethan’s ex to be there. Getting an entity to talk is never easy, but this time, the ghost is being spiteful. Gwen wants Ethan to suffer. Because Ethan doesn’t know she can speak to the dead, Sam has to sneak around to try and exonerate him.

Will Sam risk having her heart broken by telling Ethan, and can she get the spirit to talk before it’s too late?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Shiela Stewart is a paranormal suspense author with a writing history that stems back to her youth. Always a dreamer, wondering if her stories would ever reach an audience, she was finally published in 2006 and hasn’t stopped since. It is rare to find a stand-alone book as she prefers series stories. Her longest running series to date is her Darkness series which is a vampire romance.

Her joy for scary suspense is evident in each of her books. She has had several accomplishments including fighting for the top spot in rankings with author Stephany Myers, receiving glowing reviews as well as interviews on television.

When not writing, Shiela spends her time with the love of her life, William, and their children and grandchildren. She enjoys getting her hands dirty, working in her gardens and planting flowers. Her strong affection for animals is evident in the many cats, fish and birds she cares for.
Her favorite time of day is at sunset.

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