Four Reads for October
Haunting Tales of Hope
I love me a gothic story. The creepier the better…as long as there’s a healthy dose of hope and goodness at the end. So, those are the types of stories I like to write, and here are four titles you might want to check out for the month of October.
Miri Brayden teeters on a razor's edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he'll be committed to an asylum—and she'll be sent to the poorhouse.
Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law ... from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverend John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder.
When Ethan shows up on Miri's doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit—fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.
The House at the End of the Moor
Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity.
Lost in Darkness is my attempt to honor Mary Shelley and her literary monster, Frankenstein.
In this story, travel writer Amelia Balfour's dreams of touring Egypt, but that dream is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does...in the worst possible way.
Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he's gone into practice with, but he can't stop him from operating on Amelia's brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man's death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?
Hmm…you’ll have to read the book to find out.
The story takes us to Whitby in 1890 Yorkshire, where fog rolls in and superstition clings to every street corner. The heroine, Rosa Edwards, is a sharp-minded librarian who trusts books and facts more than whispers and fears. Her world is shaken by the return of Sir James Morgan, a reclusive nobleman whose pale appearance and nocturnal habits spark rumors that he is a vampire. As suspicion grows, Rosa must decide whether to believe the fearful tales around her or to trust her own heart.
And if that’s not enough creep for you, check out my buddy Jaime Jo Wright’s creepy tales here.
