But what’s an indie author to do? I can’t afford to photograph my own models or hire artists to create covers from scratch, so I have to use stock photos. Just like almost every other indie author. I suppose, with only a few stock photo sites, it’s inevitable that two authors will choose the same model or graphics. But it still stings when I see it happen.
Between Dec. 1, 2014 and January 15, 2015 the first novel in the Dark Caster series is on sale at Amazon for $.99.
Cover Blurb:
Holden Clark walks into Rebecca Powell’s life, a tall, blue-eyed stranger who stirs long forgotten desires. But nothing, including this man, is what it seems. A dark necromancer is targeting Becca for a full-blown demonic possession. She is thrust into a world she never knew existed—a world where dark casters create chaos and necromancers talk to the dead.
Holden has no faith in his power. A necromancer, he communicates with the dead, but he has never embraced his gifts. Now, he has no choice. He must stop the dark caster attacking Rebecca, but accepting this mission means he’ll be delving into dangerous magics he’s never used before.
Under the protection of the damaged and mysterious Holden, Rebecca will question everything …
If you read it, please leave an honest review at Amazon and GoodReads. I would love to hear what you think!
Or, Spirits Still Linger In This Orland Park, Illinois Home
Jump to the original article here. Or read the full story below.
Senator John Humphrey House in Orland Park, Illinois:
Haunted Historic Home and Family Spirits
Written by Edward Shanahan (Sep. 2014)
The Senator John Humphrey House in Orland Park, Illinois is not only a historic location, but also a rare haunted location in Illinois for the fact in all this time, only one family has lived in the home. The John Humphrey family.
A historic family at that and one that kept the home in the family until it was turned over to the Orland Historical Society in 1987 with the death of the youngest Humphrey family member, John. That is why this haunted historic home is more special, as some location owners claim to have what they call ‘a haunted house family’ with out the true knowledge of who the family consists of in the home as there were more then one family that occupied the other homes.
The home was built in 1881 by John Humphrey and was the 2nd house built in Orland Park. I was drawn to the Humphrey House in 2007 and until then it was not know to the public as a haunted location. Walking in to the home I knew it was active, how active, I did not know. I did learn one thing that no one in the paranormal field knew at the time or until I made it public, is that Senator John Humphrey House has a major tie to Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery.
The Senator John Humphrey Family consisted of: John Humphrey and first wife Amelia and children: Libby (died within 11 months), Wilt (oldest child and lawyer), Lillian (died as a child), Thomas (died as a child), Clara, Mable (died as a child), and Maude. Amelia (1st wife) died in 1894.
Senator Humphrey then married in the same year the secretary and assistant in his law office, her name was Ida. Senator John Humphrey and Ida had one child, his name is John and he is the one that willed the Senator Humphrey House to the Historical Society.
The house has paranormal activity. I have had three paranormal teams and another Spirit Feeler with one team at the location and they confirmed what I already knew, that spirits are there and active. A couple of other teams have done their own investigations at the location and the paranormal activity held up without any questions about it.
See the ghostly reflection in the glass of a man and woman?
There was one team of three men I was told about by the Historical Society President. The three guys making up the team came running down from the second floor screaming like young teenage girls seeing a mouse. That was kind of the last of the investigation teams being allowed to investigate the home on their own. It has been proven to have activity by investigation teams in the past and the hundreds of experiences by individuals during my Supernatural and Paranormal Nights held during all these years at the location.
Senator John Humphrey died in 1914, Ida lived until the 1950’s and something rare for that time frame was done when she died. John the youngest child had her waked at the home. Being waked in the home was a practice of the past and a few of the Humphrey family members were waked in the house, in the location that I have always held my ‘Circle of Energy’ Spirit Communication Sessions. Ida being waked in the home in the 1950’s was something that was very rare.
But baby John as I call him, do to the fact he was the youngest child, he had a practice of his own that was a bit on the unusual. He owned the coffin he was going to be buried in when he died and kept it at the Humphrey House when he moved back there after his mother’s death.
Baby John while alive, found comfort in sleeping in the coffin that one day would be his final resting place. Also as one explores the home, they will come across an old rocking horse in the children’s bed room, that was baby John’s horse. There is a photo of John on it when he was a child in the book ‘The Orland Story’.
I will get in to the Bachelor’s Grove in a moment, as I want to say that the house is the one most active ‘private residence homes’ that I have been in. I been in one that was a farm up in North West IL and a couple others out of state that are open to the public. As I stated earlier, there is no doubts of who the family is providing the activity in the Senator John Humphrey House.
At one time I was holding paranormal nights at the location, this year (2014), I have been holding what I call ‘Supernatural Nights, Workshops and Spirit Communications all done on the same night. In 2014 I have been allowed access to an empty room known as the playroom, a room that was a storage area in the past. This has become the most active room at the location and is the room I now use to help open individuals open up to feeling the emotions of the spirits or those emotions that have remained in the room by the children of the past.
he Senator John Humphrey family has a couple major ties to the haunted Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and I was happy to be the able to let the Chicago paranormal field know of the connection and at times I wonder if it was a mistake due to the behavior of some individuals.
John Humphrey and first wife Amelia’s first child ‘Libby’ died at 11 months old. Mrs. Humphrey’s family (Patrick), had a family plot and family buried at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey had Libby buried with Mrs. Humphrey’s family members at Bachelor’s Grove, as the Humphrey family did not own a family plot.
The question even asked by some of the officials of the Historical Society, is Mrs. Amelia Humphrey who was found dead in the house in March of 1898 and buried at a different cemetery then her first child Libby and is buried at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery. Could Mrs. Humphrey be the woman and child seen at Bachelor’s Grove?
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
There is almost no doubt that she is, as I and others have used a specific paranormal tool for communication that has stated the fact that Amelia is the Madonna of Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery.
This year I’m writing the final novel in my Dark Caster series for National Novel Writing Month, and so far it’s going great. Maybe it’s that I’ve already written two other novels this year (Panacea and Spell of Vanishing) so I’m in the groove, but this year has been the easiest so far. I’m over 40K words and I haven’t even written the climax or resolution yet. I know I’m going to be able to finish the contest with no problems (barring emergencies–knock on wood).
I’m thrilled to get this final book finished and edited so I can share it with those of you who have been reading my Dark Caster series from the very beginning.
Every town seems to have a few places everyone thinks is haunted. That is true for most places in Oklahoma. The stories behind these hauntings are often passed down by locals and seem to get more eccentric with each passing generation. Here are some [unlikely] state hauntings.
1. Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa
Bob Wills began his career at Cain’s, and according to some people, he’s still there. Many believe that he haunts the venue that gave him his start, often appearing on stage. Other people swear to see a woman wearing a red dress, while most claim to see the ghost of a cowboy. Cold spots and light orbs have also been reported.
2. Mason’s Children’s Home – Guthrie
If you or a friend has ever considered getting married at the Dominion House in Guthrie, they may want to rethink the venue. Back in the 1920’s it was a children’s home and acts of brutality allegedly occurred there. Some people have seen the ghost of a nurse who killed herself while other people hear the cries of children. According to legend, a headmistress beat a six-year-old girl to death and her ghost haunts the building and grounds. The same headmistress also supposedly buried four boys in the basement.
3. Thunderbird Youth Academy – Pryor
Locals claim that there used to be an orphanage on these grounds, but it was destroyed by a tornado in 1942. The storm killed many of the children inside the building, and their ghosts still haunt the area. One person witnessed waking up in the middle of the night to a little girl next to his bunk. A boy named Hector supposedly roams the third platoon building, and some people believe he was killed by the cook and fed to the other children.
4. Highway 20 – Claremore
Many people have picked up a young boy hitch-hiking along this highway east of Claremore. Around Pryor, the boy asks to be let out of the car in an area where no houses are present. The boy claims he lives in the area and promptly disappears. Vanishing hitch-hiker stories occur in many towns across the United States.
5. Ghost Hollow – Cushing
In our very own Payne County near Cushing and a mile north of the Cimarron River, there is an elm tree where outlaws used to be hanged. In 1887, an innocent man was accidentally hanged, and the next day all of the bark fell off of the tree. According to legend, on the night of a full moon the tree is said to glow white as if it has no bark on it.
Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown’s soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he’s quickly driven to distraction . . .
A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .
London’s premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she’s forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren’t the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there’s more to this man than meets the eye.
OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES
Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he’s forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.
My Review:
Darling Beast is a fantastic and romantic read that I had trouble putting down. I adored the hero, Apollo, and the heroine, Lily, was sparkling from beginning to end. Indio, Lily’s little boy, was by far the best character in the novel and his early scenes are both hysterical and endearing.
My only issue with the story is that the trait that makes Apollo so interesting–his voice was literally beaten out of him–is miraculously reversed halfway through. After that, he’s not nearly as exciting. He’s just another well-dressed lord.
But I can overlook that because everything else in the story is so great. And the sex! Wow. Hot doesn’t even cover it. Hoyt has written some of the best sex scenes I’ve read in a really long time.
If you’re a fan of historical romances with hilarious kids, mischievous dogs and secret aristocrats falling in love with lowly, though spunky, actresses–you’ll love Darling Beast.
Or, An Excerpt From My New Paranormal Romance Spell of Vanishing
“Did you draw all these?” Talia ran the pads of her fingers over the illustration and felt a spark, as if the glyph itself held power. “They’re beautiful.” When Cole didn’t respond, she asked, “What’s so special about them?”
He plucked the book from her hands. “They channel black magic.”
Or, Swing By The Final 2 Stops In My Blog Tour & Enter To Win A Free Ebook
Enter to win a free ebook copy of my new release Spell of Vanishinghere.
Fangtastic Books hosted a guest blog for me today. I got to tell my very own ghost story, “I Lived In A Haunted House.” Make sure you read it here, and leave me a hello in the comments.
At my final blog tour spot today is a fun interview on Creatively Green Writer. Read it here.
I had so much fun on my blog tour, visiting new blogs and making new friends. Don’t forget to enter the contest here, and then stop by each blog using this master list.
