A Good Ghost Story

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Well, summer is almost over. For me, that means canning season is about to begin—but this year, I’ve added writing a good ghost story into the mix. In my last newsletter, I shared that I’m entering the Writers of the Future contest. The work is well underway: I now have a cover and a first draft. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be polishing it up and preparing to submit it by the end of the month.

Here’s a sneak peek from The Crossing Hour:

When Clara invests everything she has into restoring Willowshade Manor, she envisions fresh paint, polished antiques, and a thriving bed-and-breakfast. What she doesn’t expect is the house’s past reaching out to claim her. The Whitmore family’s diaries reveal unspeakable horrors, while strange symbols carved into doorframes hint at a curse that binds the living and the dead... the past and the present. Each discovery pulls Clara deeper into a web of bloodlines, betrayal, and restless spirits. Now Clara must choose—destroy the house and sacrifice everything she’s built, or risk losing her soul to the curse that has haunted the manor for generations.

Unfortunately, I can’t publish this story until after the judges make their decisions at the end of the year. It’s just a short story for now, but if it does well, I may expand it into something more. We’ll see where this journey leads.

On the home front, the Hummer project Claude and I have been working on is almost finished. We still need to replace the broken windshield and take care of a few small things, but I now have one heck of a vehicle. She’ll mostly be a driveway princess, but she’s a beauty.

For now, my focus is on getting all of my canning done and preparing for fall—along with the arrival of our first grandbaby. Yes, I’m going to be a grandma, and I couldn’t be more excited. Now, if I could just write enough books to trade in my 9-to-5 job, life would be golden. Goals, right?

Where the Compass Points

I did it again!

The first cover fell flat, so I had to redesign another cover. Here is, Where the Compass points with a new look.

Other Great Reads

Explore the Past

Maybe you'll find your next great read in this historical fiction group.

The Ancestral Pen
621 Monarch Rd, Sagle
United States of America

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