Monday, December 3, 2012

Book Spotlight: Red House by Sonya Clark


Title: Red House
Author: Sonya Clark
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: December 3, 2012


Book Blurb:


There's high water everywhere and she's about to drown on dry land.

Roxie Mathis lost her home and her livelihood to a devastating flood. She's lucky to be staying with her vampire ancestor Daniel but she wants to put the pieces of her life back together. Trouble is, Roxie's lost her mojo. The trauma of almost drowning and losing her home left a deep mark on her.

Blake Harvill left a mark on her too and she's been missing him in the four months since he left town. Now he's back with plans to stay. Roxie wants him like she's never wanted anyone else but can she trust the sexy sorcerer with her guarded heart?

Hired to evict ghosts from the bed and breakfast called Maple Hill, her confidence takes another hit when she encounters a violent spirit she's crossed paths with in the past. When the spirit traps innocent people in the house Roxie's going to have to tap reservoirs of magic she's never touched before. Like physics, everything in magic has an equal and opposite reaction, and Roxie can only hope her desperate spellwork won't kill her--or conjure up something even more dangerous.

Excerpt:

I didn’t have to wonder long if he’d use the shotgun. The blast echoed in the hallway, followed by him pounding on the door.

“Okay, okay.” With my boot I cleared the salt out of the way as I quickly rolled down my sleeve, wrapping the door knob in cloth to protect my hand from burning as I twisted it.

Daniel burst in the room and I slammed the door behind him. “Are you hurt?” A letter opener stuck out of his left shoulder at an odd angle. Blood on his face was the only evidence of cuts that had already healed. More blood stained his shirt.

“One of them chased me, the same one that ran me out yesterday. What did you see?”

He shook his head as if he didn’t want to tell me. “I don’t think everything here wants to be here.”

That tracked with the emotions I was picking up. There was as much fear as anger in the house. “Yeah, that’s what I’m getting. I can feel it. How can you tell?”

He yanked out the letter opener, letting it fall to the floor with a clang. “Ever seen one ghost hurt another ghost?”

Sickening dread leached through my veins. “No, but I’ve heard stories about ones that can.” Sweat slicked my skin as my nerves jangled. We had to get out, fast.

The spirits pressing through the wallpaper became more agitated, shaking pictures off the walls and tearing the paper. Their moans filled the room with a terrible racket. A chill shook me as the temperature dropped. Everything not nailed down began to move, rattling like a violent earthquake. Suddenly the spirits disappeared, leaving a taste of fear in their wake.

The door boomed open, a ghost I recognized filling the frame, one bad enough to make me wish for the soldier. He wore hand-sewn clothes from another time, washed out in that gray murky way of incorporeal beings. Except for the splashes of scarlet on his shirt and coat, his sallow face. The bloodstains shone like liquid rubies and leached out of his form to blend with the haze that covered the entire house. Malevolent energy flowed from him in a noxious wave.

The ghost’s form took on a more solid appearance, his familiar flat black eyes freight-training terror through my blood. My heart slammed out of control as I began to hyperventilate. I may have whispered no, or maybe it was a prayer that passed my lips. The ghost stretched his thin lips into a smile and I screamed.

Daniel erupted in flames.



Come back on December 10th to find out more about Sonya Clark.


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