Book Blurb:
Medium and paranormal investigator Arabella Pierce is sent
with her crew to Kingston Cottage, a haunted Maine seafarer’s cottage on an
isolated island, but for this investigation, her boss has stuck them with
skeptical reporter Lucas Brown. Though he’s hot as they come, Arabella can’t
trust a man whose sole job is to discredit her and the work she does. Not after
what happened with the last few skeptics…
All Lucas may want is the truth, but that doesn’t change her
feelings towards him. When the ghosts appear, she and Lucas must work
together—in tight quarters—to convince the resident ghosts to move on before a
storm strands the entire crew on the island. Can Arabella put aside her
prejudices long enough to see what the ghosts are trying to tell her? And if
she does, will she and Lucas have a shot at a lifetime?
Book Excerpt:
Hands on her hips, Arabella Pierce stood scowling at her
boss. “I cannot believe you’re making me do this.”
Folger Dade expressed nothing but patience as he leaned
forward in his chair and rested his forearms on his small mahogany desk––his
normal position when the two of them were headed into an argument. “It’s a
business decision that had to be made. I regret doing this to you on short
notice, but this is how it is.”
She sat down in the comfy blue wingback chair facing the
desk. “I am a paranormal investigator. I see dead people, for goodness sake!
And you want me to deal with this, this—”
“Reporter. He’s a reporter for Debunker Media, and he wants
to follow you on an investigation, as part of his series of web articles on
psychics and ghosts.”
“And you thought it was a good idea to hinder me like that?
Don’t you remember what happened with the last two skeptics you had hunt with
us?” The memory made her blood boil. Skeptics weren’t meant to go on serious
investigations—she’d learned that at an early age.
Sure, organizations like Debunker Media were necessary, to
help arm the public against frauds and cheats. Unfortunately, there were plenty
of people who were not gifted but wanted to be, as well as
quite a few fraudsters out to steal people’s money. Not to mention many
individuals who enjoyed making fun of people like her.
She pursed her lips and sat silent as Folger sighed,
pinching the bridge of his nose. Arabella knew she was the only investigator to
give him so much grief in all his long years in the business—she was certain
she was responsible for the majority of gray hair on his head. But he put up
with it from her for a reason, and that was because she was one of his two best
mediums.
He dropped his hand and met her eyes. “It’s good press, and
it’s one week with a reporter. One week that could boost our
caseload and bring in more money so we can continue to do those cases for free.
Please, don’t fight me on this one.”
She looked away from his light gray eyes. Revenant
Investigations—based in Noble, Maine—did all of their cases for free, getting
their money instead from fundraising and private donations. Folger worked very
hard to keep it that way. He had always been like a father to her, and she
didn’t want to fight with him. Yet she didn’t want a so-called “reporter”
hampering her investigation, either.
“Does he know the rules?” she asked, resignation in her
tone.
“Yes,” he said with a sigh, and a healthy dose of relief.
“And I also informed him of the other skeptics I’ve allowed on hunts, and what
I’ll do if he gives you that kind of grief.”
Yeah, doesn’t make up for sending this one along.
“And what investigation are we doing? You didn’t say.”
“Kingston Cottage.”
Arabella
stared at him, shocked. “Are you serious?”
He
nodded. “The owners contacted me last week, and informed me they need to sell
the house as soon as possible. They want to put it on the market this month,
due to personal reasons. In order to do that they need to know what’s inside
and how to get rid of it.”
“No
one has ever been allowed to investigate it…” she trailed off in awe.
Folger
smiled. “Until now.”
She
couldn’t help but return his smile. The feeling of a fresh,
no-one-else-has-done-it hunt was too much of a thrill to pass up. Historic
Kingston Cottage was located on a small island, all by itself, and had been
rumored to be haunted since before Arabella was born. She had seen pictures and
taken boat rides past the island, but she’d never set foot on the private property.
“When
do we have to be at the docks?” she inquired as she stood, grabbing her coat
off the back of the chair.
“Seven
o’clock tomorrow morning. Don’t be late. Dustin is taking you over. But,
Arabella—” She looked at him, knowing that tone. “It’s just going to be you,
the reporter, Nick, and Lena. I need the rest of the crew on a different hunt.”
She
paused at the door. Nick was one of their tech guys, and Lena was a lead
investigator, like Arabella. Five more investigators rounded off the team. But
the more she thought about Folger’s decision to use a small crew, the more it
made sense, especially within the limited space of the cottage. “Nick and
Lena,” she began, “do they know about the … ‘reporter’?”
Folger
rolled his eyes, clearly hearing the quotation marks in her tone.
“Yes. I asked them not to speak of it until I talked to you
myself. I think that was best, don’t you?”
Arabella
chose to ignore the rolling eyes. “And the reporter?”
“He’ll
be there at seven sharp as well. His name’s Lucas Brown, and he’s a serious reporter.”
She
nodded slowly, not really believing him. “I’ll check in when we get there.”
“Please
do, and be sure to pack extra clothes. You know how storms brew up suddenly
here. I don’t want you all stranded without necessities. The owners left you
some food. Expect to be on the island at least three days, maybe four. Oh, and
there’s also a generator in the basement if you lose power.”
“Good
to know, and it was nice of them to leave some food.”
“Yes.
They’re good people.”
She
found it a bit strange that the crew wasn’t going to meet the owners before the
investigation, and stranger still that she had never met them. Noble was a
small town along the central Maine coast—it was pretty rare not to put a name
to a face.
“Arabella,”
Folger called as she left his office. “Try not to push him into the bay.”
Bio:
Libby Bishop is a paranormal romance/erotic author. She
also writes dark fantasy/horror under the name October Weeks.
She loves reading, movies, Lindt dark chocolate, autumn, the
SyFy Channel (Haven and Bitten!), and spending time with friends and family.
She has one fat, fluffy, cat who thinks she’s queen of the house…and really,
she is :)
Author Links:
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00G8NZGIO
Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/libby-bishop/
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