Please welcome talented writer, Claire Gem, and her book Spirits of the Heart, a finalist in the "I Heart Indie Awards"!
An addiction counselor & a security guard struggle to free
two, lost spirits trapped inside an abandoned mental asylum.
Laura Horton returns from college to move in with an old friend & start her career. But her homecoming is jarring. Her friend has moved out unexpectedly, leaving Laura alone with the gorgeous but intimidating ex-boyfriend—in a house that snugs up to an ancient graveyard.
Officer Miller Stanford is a man with a shattered past. His alcoholic dad destroyed their family, a weakness Miller is terrified will consume him too. The last thing he needs is a sexy, blonde addiction counselor watching his every move. When he begins to see specters in the dark, he starts questioning his own stability.
But Laura sees her too—a pathetic child-spirit searching for her father. Can they unravel the mysteries of Talcott Hall without jeopardizing their love—and lives—in the process?
~~~
Here's
an excerpt showing one of Miller's first encounters with the child-spirit:
“Hey.
Little girl. Let me help you,” Miller tried again, and the child finally
lowered her hands. She was younger than he’d first thought—ten, maybe. Tears
streaked her reddened cheeks, glistening in the beam of his headlights. Her
pale, golden hair was baby fine and wispy, but tousled and disheveled. As
though it hadn’t seen a brush in good long time.
She
met his gaze with eyes like the man’s, clear and blue and strangely
luminescent. The sadness Miller saw behind them made his chest ache.
“Where
did your friend go, sweetheart? The man who came out with you. Where did he
go?”
She
stared at him with lips quivering before her face crumpled again. “I don’t
know. I don’t know where Daddy is. I’ve been looking and looking for him. Every
time I think I’ve found him, he goes away.”
Miller
swallowed. Yeah, that’s one way to describe the mysterious vanishing act.
He
drew in a breath and tried again. “What’s your name, sweetie? Was that your
daddy with you?”
Head
bobbing, the tears flowed freely now, and she wouldn’t take her eyes off
Miller’s face. He felt a lump growing in his own throat, as though she was
somehow transferring her pain to him. His hands, clasped in front of him, began
to shake.
When
she spoke again, her voice took on an echoed quality, as though she were
receding into an empty culvert. “I’m Greta. And I’m looking for my daddy. He
used to live here. But I keep coming back to find him, and nobody knows where
he is.” She dropped her chin to her chest and ground her knuckles against her
eyes.
“Greta,”
he repeated, a stab of pity piercing his gut. So freaking pathetic. A forlorn
little girl . . .his own memories rose up like foul-smelling steam. Swallowing
hard, he pressed on. “Greta, honey, what’s your last name?”
When she looked up, Miller
gasped. Behind her, against the fence, a bright red McDonald’s French fry box
clung to the base of the chain link. Directly
behind her, yet he could see it clearly. That’s when he realized he could see
. . .right
. . .through her.
~~~
Author
Bio & Media Links:
Claire
is a multi-published, award winning author of five titles in the genres of
contemporary romance, supernatural suspense, and women’s fiction. She
also writes Author Resource guide books, and presents seminars on writing craft
and marketing.
Her
supernatural suspense, Hearts Unloched, won the 2016 New York Book Festival and
is a finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Her contemporary romance, A Taming
Season, is a HOLT Medallion Award finalist, and her women’s fiction, The
Phoenix Syndrome, is a finalist in the National Reader’s Choice Awards.
A
New York native, Claire has lived in five of the United States and held a
variety of jobs, from waitress to bridal designer to research technician—but
loves being an author best. She and her happily-ever-after hero, her husband of
38 years, now live in central Massachusetts.
Media Links
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