Ghosting Done Right!
Ghostly Excerpt Preview!
This picture made me laugh as I’m a huge fan of Halloween and September truly seems like a placeholder for the end of October. Halloween is finally right around the corner which means so is my wedding anniversary. I asked my then boyfriend was there a special day he wanted to get married. He said yes, on his favorite holiday. You guessed it, Halloween : ) This year is one of those monumental wedding anniversaries. All I can say is how time flies!
One of the reasons I love writing fantasy, and especially ones with time travel, is because I can manipulate time. Oh how I wish I could do it in real life too! One of the devices I like to use when my characters are time traveling is having them enter a new time in ghost form.
Ghosting someone in my fantasy world is done the right way. Besides ghosting as a time traveler, sometimes when my characters ghost someone they are actually turning them into a ghost.
The perfect example is shown in an unedited excerpt from my up coming book release The Challenge of Magic. the fourth book in The Genie and the Magical Apprentice Series. It will release the end of next month! This excerpt highlights a section in the book when the lead characters, Wesley, the genie, and his lady apprentice, Georgina, take on the form of ghosts to spy on her parents. Here is the scene. I hope you enjoy it:
Georgina stands up and faces me. “I need you to ease my curiosity. I wish you to turn me into a fly on the wall so I can hear and see every detail of my parents evening. Will you grant my wish?”
A crooked smile crosses my genie face. “I have something far better in mind.”
Georgina throws back her shoulders in defiance. “I thought my idea would be quite effective for spying on my parents.”
I crinkle my nose at turning into such a filthy disgusting creature. “Who wants to be a tiny vulnerable insect? It is far better to take the form of a ghost.”
A smirk forms on her face. “You are not going to kill me, are you?”
Uncrossing my arms, I take in her assumption that one must die to become a ghost. “What a tempting idea.”
Before I can stop her, Georgina darts for her sewing basket and hurls two skeins of green embroidery thread at my chest. They hit their mark and then fall to the ground. She claps her hands in triumph. “Bulls eye!”
I try not to show any amusement at her antics. “So much for you exhibiting any kind of lady-like decorum.”
Georgina bats her eyelashes as if she has transformed back into Emily again. She pretends to fan herself with an invisible fan “Why, sir, what ever can you mean.”
Time to get back to the business at hand. I snap my fingers, and a large screen appears on the only clear wall space in her bedchamber. “We can also view the dinner in the comfort of your room.”
Georgina’s eyes grow wide as she takes in the image on the screen. “It’s Charles’s dining room!”
I beam. Even an experienced genie such as I never tires of people being impressed by our magic. “Yes, when you gain enough magical powers, you will be able to conjure a viewing screen of your own.”
She sits in wonder taking in all the details of Charle’s dining room having been there once herself. I point to the screen that shows Charles’s butler and a maid putting the finishing touches on the table. The maid fusses with the elaborate floral display taking up residence in a large silver centerpiece. Time for her to decide how she wishes to spy on her parents. “What is it to be? The viewing screen or becoming a ghost?”
Georgina shifts nervously like one of the twins eyeing a plate of sweets. “A ghost.”
With a snap of my fingers the viewing screen disappears. I need to give her a word of caution about her transformation. “I suggest you close your eyes. Turning into a ghost can be traumatic the first time.”
She closes her eyes, but curiosity forces one of her eyelids slightly open. Her body shimmers as a magical lavender mist rains down on her. Georgina holds out her arms and watches as her body slowly turns transparent. Her eyes close and when she opens them again, she is standing inside Charles’s home in ghost form.
To make sure she is handling her ghostly state well I slide into her mind. “Your parents should be here any moment. Let the games begin.”
It’s time for Baking with Books! For Halloween I’m offering up these super cute peanut butter spider cookies. They are super easy to make and kids and adults alike should really enjoy them. You can even leave a bowl out for your resident ghost! As usual the recipe is from scratch. If you would like a copy, email me at karindehavin@gmail.com
Here is my book recommendation for October, a great horror book from author, Grady Hendrix, How to Sell a Haunted House. Just in time for a fun Halloween night read!
Here is the book description:
When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.
But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…
This book is a slow burn and you don’t quite know where it’s headed and that is part of the fun. The lead character, Louise, is engaging and you feel for how reluctant she is to return to her family home. To return to all the memories of her mother’s unusual collections. Once the reader meets Mark, her brother, you understand even more why Louise is so torn about returning home. First a warning. If you are creeped out by haunted dolls and puppets than this book isn’t for you. I think Grady has a wonderful writing style which makes the creep factor bearable because he breaks up the tense moments with some humor. The twist at the end is well done. I recommended How To Sell A Haunted House if you like horror that is creepy, gets under your skin, but doesn’t send you screaming for the hills.
Here’s hoping on All Hallows Eve you spy some creatures in the clouds!
See you next month!