Author: K. J. Dahlen
ISBN: 978-1-62420-249-0
Email: kjdahlen1@yahoo.com
Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Suspense
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 1
TAGLINE
Bradbury Inn holds a secret Jillian
and her grandmother must find, but will they survive or will supernatural
powers take them? Can Jillian find a way to survive
when the past and the present come together under the guise of the Blood Moon?
BLURB
Jillian Caulder and her
grandmother come to the Bradbury Inn to discover the truth. Rumors claim the
Inn is haunted by the spirits of Claire and Matilda Bradbury and a man named
George Walker after fire destroyed the Inn, sixty years ago. Matthew Nixen’s
ghost returns to find his true love, Matilda. Their journey doesn’t end at the
Inn; it takes them to New Orleans where they discover Odette is the
granddaughter of Mary Dell. With their lives in danger, will Jillian and Odette
survive?
EXCERPT
As
Jillian Caulder left the town of Brandenburg, Illinois she turned right at the
intersection of Highway 13. She spent the whole morning driving here with her
grandmother, listening to her stories of the Bradbury Inn. The Inn was all that
was left of an old plantation called Bradbury Archers. She had heard these
stories all her life. This was the place her grandparents had spent the first
few weeks of their married life, over sixty years ago.
She
found several historical facts about the house very interesting; one of them
being it had been a stop on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves. As
close as the plantation was to the Mississippi River, the slaves would board
the ships taking wheat up to the northern states. From there they would travel
overland to their final destinations.
The
plantation was built in the early 1700s and run as an Inn from 1900 until the
late 1940s. The Inn belonged to the same family that ran the plantation for
generations, the Bradbury family.
When
Jillian pulled the car over to the curb it was in front of the Mom and Pop
store called Bishop's Five and Dime. She looked at her grandmother and saw a
smile on her face. "Well, it could be worse I suppose."
Odette
grinned. "Yeah, it could be a shopping mall." She opened her car door and stepped out onto
the street. Looking around, Odette turned to her granddaughter and smiled.
"At least the town hasn't changed much in sixty some years."
Jillian
grinned. "There is something to be said about living in a small town. I
much prefer it to a big city any day." She looked around. "At least
here you can breathe."
The
older woman agreed. "Oh well, let's get a few things and get on our
way."
When
they entered the shop, a bell rang over the door. A tiny old lady shuffled in
from the back and smiled at them. "Well, you're new to town, aren't you? I
don't think I've seen you two before."
Odette
titled her head. The woman she saw standing there was one she had seen before.
Jillian
noticed her grandmother's stare and turned to view the woman. Her hair, while
mostly white, still held traces of the brown it once was. The curve of her
cheeks was less pronounced now but Jillian could still see she had been a
beautiful younger woman and wondered if she had been a friend to her
grandparents at one time.
"Lila
Bishop? Is that you?" Odette asked.
Adjusting
her glasses, she peered at Odette for a moment before she asked, "Do you
know me?"
"I
was here a long time ago," Odette admitted as she patted the older woman's
arm. "Nearly sixty years ago, in fact. My husband and I spent our
honeymoon out at the Inn."
Lila
started at the mention of Bradbury Inn. She backed up a step or two and
continued to stare at Odette. "That was a lifetime ago then," she
whispered. Hesitating she looked as if she wanted to save something, then
taking a deep breath the old woman took Odette's hand. "The Inn is haunted
you know. Rumors say the old ladies who died there are still out there, waiting
for something. No one seems to know what, but they are still there." She
shuddered. "I wouldn't set foot out there for love or money. Strange
goings on and all."
"I
know," Odette told her carefully. "Matilda was a friend of
mine."
Lila
glanced from Odette to Jillian. "I heard some crazy talk about someone
coming to stay at the Inn. Would that be you and her?" She nodded toward
Jillian.
"Yes,
I need to know what really happened when the Inn burned."
Lila
patted Odette's hand, then moved away. "Well better you than me. No one
here in town goes near the place. There is something out there, that's for
sure. A young couple tried to make a go of things, but it didn't work out.
Strange things began to happen out there. They say the ghosts didn't want
anyone living there. Let me know if I can help you find anything."
"And
you believed that?" Jillian asked.
Lila
stood up as tall as she could. "Honey, I've seen some strange things in my
life. I've also lived long enough to know there are some things you just don't
mess with. Bradbury Inn falls into this category." She paused then went
on, her voice dropping to a bare whisper, "Something different is going on
out there, and it has most people scared to go near the place. Those people
brave enough to venture near the place speak of terrible things happening,
strange sounds and sightings. I won't go near the place, and if you are smart,
you won't either."
Jillian
watched as the old lady moved away. Turning to her grandmother she asked,
"Well that's a bit off putting, don't you think?
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