This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dianne Hartsock will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
In this sequel to ALEX and THE SHED, Alex wonders if he’s seeing ghosts. His friend Justin has bought the Fulton place, a beautiful old mansion on the edge of Oakton. But something’s wrong in the house. Alex has visions of a small boy, trapped in the basement, and a man at the top of the stairs who won’t let him leave.
And Logan Fulton has come to town, Helen Kramer’s cousin, a psychic medium who wants something from Helen, whatever the cost. He and Helen had spent time in the Fulton house as children and Alex suspects Logan has something to do with the spirits now awakening in the old mansion. But whether Logan is calling them forth or if something else is controlling them, Alex can’t be sure.
The child’s spirit calls to Alex, as do others trapped in the house. There is a dark entity holding them there, keeping the child forever in the basement, the others for his amusement. But Alex has never believed in ghosts, so what is really going on? As he strives to learn the boy’s secret, his friends are one by one pulled to the Fulton place and put in danger while Logan works against Alex, having an agenda of his own. Will Alex be able to solve the haunting of the old house, or will he and his friends be taken one by one, doomed to walk the dark hallways forever?
Something tugged his coat sleeve. Startled, he looked down. Nothing. Goddammit.
“Either help me or get away from me,” he muttered, nerves pulled taut. He moved into the room and gasped as the light on the walls disappeared, the candle’s flame the only illumination. It flickered on the surface of the inkblack liquid in the basin, drawing his eye. Without thought, he crossed the room and crouched opposite Logan, but instead of looking into the bowl, he searched the slack continence across from him.
Logan kept his gaze focused on the bowl as if unaware of Christopher’s presence. He appeared pale, hollow-cheeked, haggard, a death mask, and Christopher sucked in a breath.
“Logan? Are you okay?”
No reaction. Logan remained frozen in place. A slow shiver traveled through Christopher. What did he see in those dark depths? The water stirred, radiated outward as if a breath had touched the surface. The candle’s flame flashed, light splintering through the liquid. Christopher bent closer to the bowl. Had something moved in there? He parted his lips on a hiss of dawning horror as eyes, dark as pitch, appeared, the image of a terrible face taking shape.
He pulled away, his limbs unaccountably heavy as he struggled to his feet, the terrible face breaking the surface, continuing upward, a dark figure climbing into the world. The room grew cold, ice forming where the creature stepped out onto the wooden floor. The air seemed sucked from the room. Unable to scream, Christopher stumbled back until he came up against the wall. The specter moved closer, and Christopher’s chest heaved, fear holding him immobile.
She now lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. Dianne says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee in her hands, which kindles her imagination.
Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.
Blog: http://diannehartsock.wordpress.com/
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/diannehartsock
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4707011-dianne-hartsock
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dianne- Hartsock/e/B005106SYQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Dianne-Hartsock-Author-107985445959828/
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Basement-Dianne-Hartsock- ebook/dp/B07MCVMFJN/ref=sr_1_18
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130301217
Solstice Publishing: http://www.solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=102
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me today!
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt. Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rita!!!!
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