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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Saturday, August 4, 2018

from a deep dark grave - The Summer Sisters Series by Teresa Keefer

Wonderfully written story involving Wicca and Shamanism, not overbearing.
Gripping!
Loved it

Description:

Blessed Be #1

Alana Summers was quite content with her life. A peaceful farm tucked in a wooded area by the lake with her pets for company. A shop in the small tourist town where she sells a potpourri of items that reflect everything about her. She's at peace. She's Wiccan.

Logan Farmer is the local sheriff. Small town boy who went to the big city and joined the police force. Then he came home where he belonged. He is deeply rooted in his Native American heritage.

Both had grown up knowing that there was more to the world that could be explained or seen. But neither of them knew that their peaceful lives could be disrupted in an instant by a legend long buried. A tale that had been told to them by Logan's grandmother when they were young along with a warning that the ancient legend could replay during their lifetime.

But was it really an ancient paranormal evil come to roost or were the recent events merely the doings of a warped human mind? Or had the human's events shaped the return of the evil? 

EXCERPT

She couldn’t help it. She just had to poke the bear. It was Teagan’s way and she still harbored a little bit of guilt since she knew that her older sister had really liked Logan when they were younger. And she had been the one to ask him out just to prove to her sister that she could. It would be nice if they could maybe find their way to each other since it was so obvious to her that they wanted to be. “Are you telling me that you didn’t even think about doing the horizontal bop with him last night? Does he sleep naked?”

Groaning, Alana stood up and stretched. “I’m going to go for a walk.”

“You’re avoiding the conversation, Alana. How about I go with you?” She made a move to stand up then realized that she wasn’t going to get Alana to agree to let her come along. Maybe she could give her some time to get on her way and then follow, just to make sure that her sister wasn’t alone even if she thought she was. Or would that be like stalking her? 

“Teagan, I’ve been walking down to the inlet for several years by myself now. I do it every night that the weather permits and I do it alone. I’m not going to change that tonight.” She went over and pulled a heavier jacket down from the peg by the door and pushed her arms into the sleeves. “It’s my way of regenerating myself after a day of work.”

“Logan said that we shouldn’t go anywhere alone.” Teagan reminded her sister. Not that she would be listening to Logan or taking directions from Logan either. In fact, she was thinking about taking a drive into the city tomorrow while Alana was at the shop. Then she remembered, the funeral services for Herman Monroe were the next day. She couldn’t leave her sister to go to the services by herself.

“That doesn’t mean that I’m going to listen to him when it comes to being on my own property. I am going for a walk.” She grabbed the boots by the front door and slipped them on. “I’ll leave Buddy here with you tonight so you don’t have to be by yourself.”

“Yeah, that is real nice of you. I still have to look at that wicked cross-eyed cat.” 

Teagan grinned as an idea passed through her head. She waited until she heard the latch click on the door then went to get her phone out of her purse. Texted Logan’s number. ALANA WENT TO THE INLET BY HERSELF. SORRY. COULDN’T STOP HER.

Threefold #2

Teagan Summers has a secret that she thought she had tucked away forever. That is, until she was summoned to her home town of Lakewood to help with banishing an ancient evil that had come to pay a visit to the sleepy town. Then, she was faced with another woman whose secret wasn't so secret anymore.

Devon Brock knew he had to help his friend, Logan Farmer. Logan had helped him out too many times to turn his back and say no. However, he didn't realize that he would be called upon to pull out his law license to defend a poor woman who had killed and mutilated her husband on Halloween night. And he sure never expected to have to deal with spoiled Teagan Summers as part of it.

Devon and Teagan join forces as they work valiantly to not only defend a murderess, but to help Teagan's sisters and Logan Farmer as they battle an unseen evil that threatens to destroy the small town of Lakewood. And as they work together, they also form a tentative truce that they both know could lead to more. 

EXCERPT

Teagan stood by the door to the gymnasium and watched the dance floor which was filled with vampires, witches, zombies, a dead president or two and a variety of other costumed partiers, all oblivious to the flutter of activity brought about by the arrival of Deputy Brent Castle. Teagan could see his grim expression as he talked with Logan, whose dark eyebrows furrowed together as his deputy spoke.

Her oldest sister, Alana stood by with Georgia Monroe and Laura Hamaker and as she scanned the rest of the gym, she saw the ghostly spirit of a man weaving walking through a wall. Then she felt them. Her spirit guides, sending a prickle of awareness down her spine. She turned slightly toward the door and saw the pair of women standing off to the edge of the field beyond the parking lot of the gymnasium. Dark haired beauties with flowing peasant gowns and flowers in their hair. Her intake of breath was sharp as she watched the women smile gently and nod their heads in unison. It had been several years since she last saw them. They were the ones that gave her the strength and push she needed to remove herself from the unfortunate circumstances of her marriage. Ever present during some of the hardest days of her life. Lyuba and Nadya. Love and hope in ancient Romanian. Your strength is needed in this situation. Do not be afraid. Speak from the heart.

She watched as her sister, Riana, extricated herself from one of the older residents of their peaceful little town and looked up to lock eyes with Alana. Without hesitation or pause, she moved fluidly across the floor toward the other three women with a purposeful stride. Teagan gathered up her own skirts and made her way to the group gathered in the corner of the gym.

“What has happened?” Her green eyes darted back and forth from woman to woman. “I can feel that something is amiss here.”

“Yeah, me too. What the hell is going on?” Riana was pushing into the circle and she wasn’t being quiet or discreet about it. 

Alana put a hand on each of her sisters’ arms and spoke in her quiet and composed manner. “Stop. The last thing we want is to draw attention to this situation.” She pulled them toward the main doors and urged Georgia and Laura to follow. “Let’s not draw attention over here. It’s important that our friends and neighbors enjoy this night.” She held up a finger as Riana tried to interrupt her and continued in a soft voice. “Stanley Franklin is dead and it appears that his wife may have had something to do with it.”

“Probably served the sorry bastard right. I heard he beat on Barbara all the time.” Riana let out an exaggerated growl. “I have no respect for some damn pussy that can’t pick on someone his own size.”

Logan put a possessive hand at Alana’s waist. “I don’t know what we are going to find out there. Brent said that the dispatcher said that Barbara was really calm and matter of fact when she called in and said that Stanley was dead.” He shook his head. “The paramedic that just called in said that it is a real mess. I can’t imagine what would cause Barbara to do something like this after all these years.”

Teagan, who had been quiet for the most part spoke up. “I can.” She stepped toward Logan, her mind made up despite the questions it may raise later. “I’m going with you.”

The angular face with the strong jaw tightened. “I don’t think…”

“I don’t care what you think Logan Farmer. I know how Barbara Franklin feels and I want to help her get through this.” She looked over at her older sister with a plea in her eyes. None of them knew everything that she had been through with her former husband. She had purposefully kept it that way until she had a chance to work through the issues that had left her emotionally scarred for a long time. “She needs someone who understands. And she’s going to need a damned good lawyer.”

Namaste #3

Riana Summers had spent most of her adult life trying to find herself. The youngest of the three Summer Sisters, she just couldn't resist sowing her wild oats and she had done it across the country. When her sister, Alana, had summoned her to come home to Lakeview because she was needed to do her part to hunt down and destroy an evil entity which had been playing havoc on her hometown, she did so with the intention of returning to her stand-up comedy gig in Las Vegas. She had no idea her brief trip home would turn to months and that she would end up finding out who she really was. Or that she would find herself face to face with a man who could get her to want to settle down.

Eric Michaels had been born and raised to be a farmer. It was what he did best. So, when the opportunity to be the foreman at a farm near a place called Lakeview, he had jumped at the chance. What he hadn't planned on was getting sucked into a paranormal nightmare. Things he couldn't even begin to fathom. Including finding himself deeply attracted to a woman who could create magic with the tips of her fingers.

As the conclusion of the Summer Sisters trilogy comes to an end, will they be able to destroy the force that had unearthed itself from its deep dark grave to destroy them? 

EXCERPT

They arrived at the little Mexican restaurant with brightly colored lights twinkling around the windows. There were only two other cars in the lot, and he pulled the truck into a space. As she climbed out of the truck, the hawk landed on the awning over the doorway and squawked loudly for attention. Riana lifted an arm and the bird flew down and roosted on her coat, staring intently at her with its golden eyes. It didn’t budge, even as Eric came around the truck.

“What is he doing here? Does he follow you around or something?” He held out a hand to see if the hawk would come to him.

The hawk looked from Riana to Eric then over at a point by the evergreen shrubs at the side of the building. It squawked again and flapped its wings then pecked at her hand. “Ouch. Stop that. What are you trying to tell us?” She started walked toward the shrubs and earned another peck on her hand. Coming to a stop, she picked up the scent she associated with the fur trader. “Aw hell, that dirty bastard has been lingering around here. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s going to start terrorizing the people in this town too.” Lifting the arm that didn’t hold the hawk, she concentrated and gathered a ball of flaming purple light and aimed it at the bushes, resulting in the bird nodding its head and fluttering off.

Eric stood and gaped at the purple glow that was now surrounding the bushes. “What in the hell?”

She held out a hand. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. That took all my energy and I’m ravenous now.”

They entered the warmth of the restaurant and were immediately seated by a plump Hispanic woman. There was only one other couple dining and it made Riana wonder why the restaurant was so empty at dinner time. Her answer came fairly quickly as the woman brought them a menu and glasses of water. The chubby face creased into an apologetic smile. “Buenas tardes. My apologies in advance but we are having difficulties with our stove the past few nights. The gas company has been here three times in two days. Unfortunately, they cannot find anything wrong. We are limited to what we have already prepared and can reheat in the microwave.”

Riana smiled sympathetically. “It’s fine. Do you have chips and salsa?” She glanced at the name badge. Rosa. “And dos cervezas por favor.”

“Si, senora. I’ll bring them right away.” The woman scuttled away, her skirts swishing around her calves.
“You speak Spanish?” Eric shook his head. “Let me guess. You worked at a resort in Mexico?”

She laughed gaily. “No. Four years of Spanish in high school and some time in southern California. Do you want to hear me cuss?” She lifted an eyebrow and glanced over to see if the other couple were listening. “Tienes un buen cuerpo.”

“Why do I think you just said something vulgar?”

Riana winked outrageously. “Not at all. I just gave you a compliment. Ask me later what I said, the waitress is coming back.”

About the author:
Teresa Keefer is an indie romance author with an avid love of books. She started writing poetry in high school and after encouragement from a dear friend, wrote her first full length romance novel in 2007. Coming Home was finally released as a self-published book in 2011.

Teresa holds an MBA in Human Resources and attended law school for two years. She lives in rural Indiana with a menagerie of animals and enjoys the peace of working in the garden and yard of her home. She has three adult daughters and seven grandchildren and enjoys crafting, cooking, reading, and studying spirituality in her spare time when she's not writing or working at her day job. Her household includes a spoiled dog, three cats, two goats and a stubborn miniature horse. 

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3 comments:

Unknown said...

Very lovely book cover.

Dan Denman said...

I like the colorful book covers. These sound like good paranormal stories.

Bridgett Wilbur said...

I just love your cover and excerpt.