KC Burn has a new MM Paranormal book out (gay, bi): West on Grainger. And there’s a giveaway.
Is Sandy Bottom Bay truly full of ghosts?
Wendell Weston is in a slump. Paranormal stories are his life. His income. His sole focus for as long as he can remember, not that he actually believes any of it is real. His obsession has complicated his love life, but for the most part, he hasnât minded. But now his muse has gone quiet. In search of inspiration, he flies across the country to the purportedly haunted bed and breakfast, just before Haunt Fest. Soured on romance by the cynicism and superficiality of the Hollywood actors he works with, heâs not expecting a chance encounter with an attractive man to go anywhere.
But Kyle Grainger isnât just a pretty face. He also hosts local ghost walks. The closest thing to an expert Wendell has encountered, and with any luck, Kyle will lead him to a spectral encounter. Before long, Wendell realizes he wants to follow Kyle anywhere, ghost or not. As a true skeptic, Wendell doesnât believe heâll see a ghost for real, but heâs going to have fun trying. Especially with Kyle. One of the many local legends will surely trigger his muse, but in the meantime, getting to know a sweet, mesmerizing man would make the trip worthwhile.
Wouldnât it be amazing to encounter a ghost?
Thatâs what Kyle thinks every time he hosts another ghost walk in Sandy Bottom Bay. Not once in hundreds of tours has he seen one, but he remains hopeful. Kyle hasnât had a lot of amazing in his life. After an injury in college, he had to pivot on his lifeâs dream. Heâs content, more or less, professionally. His romantic dry spell, on the other hand, could turn the Everglades into the Sahara. Wendell is an unexpected pleasure, one Kyle hopes is more than a Haunt Fest hookup.
What if the ghost isnât harmless?
After one of the other guests at the local bed and breakfast dies suddenly, Wendell and Kyle experience a number of odd occurrences that suggest Kyle might be more sensitive to spirits than either of them imagined. If Wendell canât shake his skepticism about the paranormal, Kyleâs sanity and even his life could be the price they pay.
Warnings: self harm (appears off page), references to murder
Universal Buy Link | Amazon
Giveaway
KC is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47288/?
Excerpt
A crash broke the silence, shattering the sense that they were alone in the world together.
In unison, they both stood up, Wendellâs heart pounding as he strained to listen.
âDid someone fall? Should I call the police or an ambulance?â He couldnât hear any cries of pain or pleas for help.
Kyle darted his gaze around. âIt sounded more like something fell? Not heavy enough for a person, I donât think.â
True. And maybe not thump-y enough to be a body hitting the ground. But better safe than sorry.
âI need to check this outâ.
âIâll come with you.â
Wendell smiled gratefully at Kyle. Heâd much rather not be alone if there was an emergency. He snatched up his phone and keyring, then led Kyle into the lobby.
âWhere do you think it came from? Upstairs?â
Kyle shrugged. âMaybe. But it sounded closer than that. I think.â
He hoped he wouldnât have to start knocking on doors. Like Kyle said, it didnât sound loud enough to be a human body, but if someone was hurt in their suite, well, he had a responsibility for that, didnât he?
They peeked into the tea room and the main dining room, both of which were dim and obviously empty. Wendell flicked on lights but that only confirmed that the rooms were empty and undisturbed, ready to serve guests tomorrow first thing.
âLibraryâs next.â Then the game room. Then opening unoccupied rooms. Not long before heâd have to figure out if he had to start knocking on doors. Pretty much the last thing he wanted to do.
Kyle nodded, and gestured for Wendell to proceed.
Wendell flicked a switch by the door and various tabletop lamps flickered to life, filling the room with a serene yellow glow. This particular room had no windowsâthe one existing window had been blocked up at some point to accommodate the later addition of a fireplaceâand as such, always required lighting.
Wendell strode into the room, almost at the far wall, when he spotted it.
âThis must be it.â He turned back to Kyle, who hovered in the doorway. âIs something wrong?â
An indecipherable expression crossed Kyleâs face, before he sucked in a breath and walked into the room.
âNothingâs wrong.â
âUh. Okay.â Something definitely was, but Wendell wasnât about to poke his new friend about something sensitive. âAnyone else here?â Wendell called out.
âDonât say that,â Kyle said from just inside the doorway.
âWhy not?â
Kyle rolled his eyes. âThis town is full of ghosts. You donât want to accidentally invite one in.â
Wendellâs eyes widened. âFor real?â
âEh. I donât know. Iâve never seen a ghost, but Eddieâheâs a mediumâand he says stuff like that all the time.â
Wendell made a mental note to seek him out at some point during his stay. Interviewing a ârealâ medium would be excellent research.
Then Kyle approached close enough to see what Wendell had found. âWhat the hell happened here?â
It looked like someone had swept an arm across an entire shelf of books, sweeping them to the floor, along with some sort of ceramic sculpture, which lay in shards on the floor amongst the haphazard pile of hardcover books. This had to be the source of the crashing sound theyâd heard.
Wendell frowned. âIf we were back home, Iâd assume weâd had an earthquake, and these books hadnât been shelved securely or something. But you donât get quakes out here, do you?â
Kyle shrugged. âNot that Iâve ever heard of. I guess thereâs a first time for everything, but wouldnât we have felt an earthquake strong enough to dump books off their shelves? Iâve never been in an earthquake.â
âYeah, we definitely would have noticed that.â
âKids, then? A stupid prank?â
Wendell chewed at his bottom lip. âThink thereâs any way outsiders, like kids from the town, could easily get in here and do this? Although I have no idea why they would.â
âThe Lady isnât exactly Fort Knox, but I also donât see any reason why anyone, kids or not, would sneak in here to do this. And itâs not like there arenât any security measures.â
âYeah, I know. So weird.â But it wasnât a prison. Any number of employees, past and present, could have either gotten around the current security. Maybe it had been a localized weather phenomenon?
And just like that, Wendell could believe it was a freak weather thing as a gust of chilly air swept across his neck.
Kyle also rubbed his arms. âItâs cold in here.â
One of the table lamps nearby flickered, then the bulb blew with a sharp pop.
Kyle yelled, and clutched at his chest. Wendell flinched, then curled a lip at the shards of lightbulb glass that had been added to the mess on the floor.
âCan you grab me a broom or something to clean this up? Iâll start putting the books back.â
Within minutes, the mess had been cleared up but the vibe between him and Kyle was still weird.
âYou sure youâre okay?â Wendell asked as they returned to the lobby.
The question got him a big sigh. âItâs stupid but Iâve never liked that room. I donât know why.â
âHaunted? The Orange Lady?â Wendell could not be that lucky. But Kyle snorted and rolled his eyes.
âNot hardly. I donât think there have ever been any sightings of her in the library. Besides, Iâm sure Iâm not sensitive to ghosts, or I would have seen one at least once during the many, many ghost tours Iâve done.â
âAnd you donât think hating a room for no good reason might be a haunting?â
Kyle smirked, and Wendell smiled back, relieved to see Kyleâs good mood returning.
âNope. Itâs probably something wonky in the proportion of the rooms and itâs messing with my equilibrium or something. Maybe asbestos.â
âAsbestos?â That was the sort of horror story Wendell was not interested in living. Not a tiny bit. âWouldnât there have been inspections or something to correct that?â
âIâm just kidding. But I wasnât kidding when I said that room hadnât been changed since the house was built.â
âOriginal? Thatâs pretty cool, actually. What about the rest of the place?â
âThe guest rooms upstairs are mostly original too.â
âI suppose so.â Nevertheless, the mental gears that Wendell had feared were rusted over for good had, well, they hadnât started moving. Nothing as solid as a faint idea. But this simple discussion tweaked something in his mind. Like it was lubing his gears, or scrubbing away the rust. Preparing for work. Too soon for hope yet, but if he relaxed and let it happen, he might be able to coax his muse back.
âAnd I guess you havenât seen the Orange Lady, have you?â
âNope. But I havenât been here overnight, either. She doesnât show herself during the day, or so Iâm told.â
Kyleâs phone buzzed and he pulled it out of a tight pocket.
âI have to get ready or Iâm going to be late for my tour.â Kyle grabbed his bag and swanned into the employee bathroom.
Shortly after, Kyle emerged wearing the same pirate-esque outfit heâd worn the previous night, except this time his eyeliner was thicker and more dramatic.
Butterflies swooped and soared in Wendellâs belly. Kyle was just so beautiful. Too beautiful for a writer nerd like him.
That didnât stop those damned butterflies.
Author Bio
KC Burn is a Canadian transplanted to Florida who writes happy-ever-afters about men loving men, whether theyâre psychics, space travelers, aliens, professors, construction workers, cops, amateur sleuths⌠you name it, sheâll probably write it. Sheâs got a pair of black cats, aka muses/nuisances, and a supportive, understanding hubby.
Author Website: https://kcburn.com
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