Hello and welcome to Tuesday! Today we have author Stephanie Edwards in the house to talk a few things supernatural. Welcome, Stephanie!
SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
SE: Blake Nelson is a young woman from Knoxville, Tennessee, who flees her abusive fiance, Parker, and goes to her late grandmother’s beach cottage in South Carolina. She’s lost her self-confidence, but she slowly regains it as the story progresses and she uncovers a family gift and help from the Other Side.
SC:
We love family gifts here at Supernatural Central. Do you believe in the
paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
SE:
Yes. I’ve seen many ghosts and experienced things I cannot explain. When my
husband and I first got married, we lived in a haunted apartment. We heard
footsteps in our guest bedroom almost every night, and one evening I saw the
silhouette of a woman glide across our bedroom wall with a lit cigarette
lighter in her hand. When I found the cigarette lighter on my nightstand a few
weeks later, I questioned my husband. A friend had given him the lighter in
college, but he never filled it with lighter fluid because he doesn’t smoke. He
hadn’t seen the lighter in years. We couldn’t move out of that apartment soon
enough.
SC:
YOWSA! That's a good one! What titles are you working on now that you can tell
us about?
SE:
I’m working on the sequel to The Haunting on Palm Court. The working title is
Return to Palm Court. The story will be from the POV of Blake’s sister,
Brittany. There will be plenty of ghosts, eerie plot twists and romance in this
novel, too.
SC:
Well this has been fun! Feel free to stop by anytime. We'd better let you get
back to your work in progress while we take a look at today's novel.
The Haunting on Palm Court
Isle of Palms Suspense
Book One
Stephanie Edwards
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Paranormal
Date of Publication: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 9781735169101
ASIN: B089QXJHPV
Number of pages: 252
Word Count: 69,786
Cover Artist: Stephanie Edwards
Tagline: He refused to leave her alone, even after his death
Book Description:
After Blake Nelson catches her abusive fiancé, Parker, with another woman, she seeks serenity at her late grandmother’s beach cottage. He follows Blake to the island and attempts to kill her, but instead, he dies in an accident while fleeing the police.
His malevolent spirit returns to the cottage to finish what he started. The haunting intensifies when Blake reconnects with her first love, Clint. Will Blake discover how to banish Parker before it’s too late?
Excerpt:
The last bit of
winter wind pierced her flesh as she put on the cardigan. She sat down on the
worn decking boards on the widow’s walk. Pulling the sweater down over her
knees, she allowed the waves to impart their healing magic, calming her as much
as possible.
Once she had
experienced all the bitter wind she could handle, Blake went back downstairs.
She caught her reflection in the foyer mirror. Her eyes swollen and red, and
her skin chapped from the wind. Nancy reached out to comfort Blake.
“I’m staying
with you tonight. You shouldn’t be alone. By the way, Clint is sleeping in his
patrol car in the driveway.”
“Please tell him
to go home,” Blake said.
Nancy walked
outside for a moment. When she returned, she put her hands on her hips. “He
refuses to leave you.” She gave Blake a meaningful wink, but Blake was in no
place to pick up on hints, regardless of their level of subtlety.
“Goodnight,
Nancy. Thanks for staying with me.” Blake walked upstairs to her room.
She squirmed in
bed for hours. Parker had hurt her; still, his death saddened her.
After falling
into a fitful sleep, her unrest turned into a series of disturbing dreams and
frightening images. In a state between nightmare and wakefulness, she woke in a
cold sweat, with a pounding headache. A prickly sensation tingled across her
body. She turned. Parker lay behind her, smirking. Paralyzed with fear, Blake
sat frozen in her bed, staring at him. His wasn’t the first spirit she’d seen,
not by a longshot. But seeing him, her heartrate sped up, and her breathing
turned shallow.
His face
illuminated by the light of the full moon, Parker smiled and traced the outline
of her face with his index finger. He leaned in to kiss her, but she jumped out
of bed. He began inching toward her, but Blake flipped the mattress onto the
floor.
Blake turned on
the lamp on her bedside table. When her eyes adjusted, Parker had disappeared.
She bent over to check under her bed, jumping when she accidentally stepped on
one of Willow’s squeaky toys. She breathed a sigh of relief when she kicked
aside the plush stuffed animal.
Someone knocked
on her bedroom door. She called out, “Yes?”
“What’s the
matter?” Nancy asked.
Blake opened the
door. Nancy rubbed her eyes. “I had a nightmare that Parker was in bed with
me,” Blake said. “When I woke up, he was there. It’s the creepiest feeling I’ve
ever experienced.” She shivered.
Nancy gasped and
placed her hands on her cheeks. “Oh, my word! Are you all right?”
“I’m frightened,
but I’m okay.”
Blake’s chest
caved inward. Over the past year, she had faced some traumatic, life-altering
events. As an empath, Blake was no stranger to interacting with spirits, but
Parker’s was the first who had frightened her.
“Will he come
back? If he does, how will we get rid of him?”
Nancy hugged her
but didn’t say a word, unusual for her. She had to be hiding something.
“What aren’t you
telling me?” Blake demanded.
Nancy put her
finger to her lips. “It’s a long story for another day, but you’re not alone in
seeing spirits. It’s part of your family’s past, and mine for that matter. Just
trust me, it’ll be okay.”
Blake threw her
hands into the air. “But…”
Nancy shook her
head. “Shh, honey. Not right now. Please calm down. It’s late. Get some rest.
We’ll take care of Parker all in good time.”
Emotional and
physical exhaustion had taken its toll on Blake. She returned to her bed but
did not sleep for the rest of the night. Every time she drifted off, Parker’s
dead eyes stared at her, boring a hole into her soul.
About the Author:
Stephanie Edwards has been writing professionally since she landed her first newspaper column at the age of 13. Her love for the Lowcountry, the Atlantic Ocean and a good ghost story inspired her to write her first book. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Ron, and their adorable dog, Shadow.
Website: www.stephedwardswrites.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/steph_a_edwards
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/StephEdwardsWrites/
Thanks so much for fun Q&A post! 😊❤️
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