Spirit Lake Books i & II

Two Books in One!

Spirit Lake, Books I & II by Carol A. Guy now available from Devine Destinies Publishing in one print volume.

Spirit Lake (Book 1)

Nestled near the base of Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest is the small town of Spirit Lake. Rich in folklore, it has become a tourist attraction due to its quaint atmosphere and unique antique shops. When Erica Parkhurst flees New York City in the wake of a marital split and accidentally discovers the little hamlet she is intrigued by the ghost stories surrounding the local inn and the mist-shrouded lake nearby. Then one night she encounters a mysterious man on the dock but before she can find out his name he disappears into the fog. Did she imagine him? During a trip into town the next day she sees the man again and follows him into a dead end alley, where he vanishes once more!

Hot on the trail of his soon-to-be ex wife, Grant Parkhurst shows up unexpectedly at the inn but Erica flees out the back door into the surrounding woods to avoid a confrontation. Lost and frightened, she is met by a rescuer of the canine variety who leads her to a secluded cabin where she finally meets her elusive stranger, Joe Lakota, and his trusty wolf/dog, Mingo.

Soon Erica finds herself not only surrounded by ghostly happenings but involved in a murder case when a skeleton washes up at the edge of the lake and Joe becomes the prime suspect. Suddenly she is plagued by questions. Who haunts the inn with the troubled past and why? Is Joe a murderer? Can she risk falling in love with a man who may be a murderer? And what other secrets are hidden beneath the glassy surface of Spirit Lake?

Echoes of the Past (Book II)

It's mid-October and now that her divorce is final, Erica Parkhurst is free to return to Spirit Lake and Joe Lakota, the man she left behind. Yet she is riddled with doubts and fears. Can they rekindle their romance of the summer? And can she put aside memories of her terrifying experience at the hands of a cold blooded killer and go back to the small town in Western Pennsylvania?

A frantic phone call from the inn’s owner settles that question and Erica returns to the quaint little town with her best friend, Paula Bascilla, a self-professed psychic, in tow. “This place is alive with spirit activity,” Paula proclaims as she enters the inn for the first time. Soon, those spirits make themselves known as an evil undercurrent plagues the inn’s occupants.

When one of the guests is found dead in the lake, and more of Joe’s secret past comes to light, Erica is once again thrown into a whirlwind of turmoil. Can their love survive yet another betrayal of trust? Should it?

ISBN: 978-1554871483 or 1554871484
Price: $15.99
Paperback, 292 Pages

Spirit Lake, Books 1 & II available at www.amazon.com. Check out Devine Destinies Publishing at www.devinedestinies.com for more great reads.

Visit the author’s website at http://www.geocities.com/cguy1943/carolguy for more information about my other novels.

E mail the author at carolaguy@gmail.com.

A Chance Encounter On A Foggy Dock Changes Erica's Life Forever....

It was dusk by the time Erica took her walk down the flagstone path to the dock. It was a quiet evening, and she welcomed the solitude. The sound of the water lapping softly against the dock's pilings was very soothing, almost hypnotic.

A sudden chill raked up Erica's spine and she instinctively hugged herself to get warm. Her gaze was drawn to the center of the lake where a filmy mist seemed to be hovering just above the waterline.

All at once she had an overwhelming feeling of sadness bordering on melancholy. Tears sprang into her eyes as she watched the mist thicken, the cloud widen. Then, it swirled around even though there was no breeze.
When the aroma of jasmine rushed up her nostrils, she backed up and almost fell.

Help me.

The words seemed to spring into her mind and she looked frantically around to see who had spoken, but there was only the gathering darkness. And, of course, the swirling mist.

Okay, this is spooky. I'm out of here. I'll give this another look in the morning.

“Do you know why they call it Spirit Lake?” came a deep, resonant voice from just behind her.

Gasping, Erica spun around, her heart pounding like a jackhammer in her chest.

The moment she saw him she felt her knees go weak and grabbed the back of the nearby bench for support. He was not quite six feet tall, with dark hair and bottomless eyes. She could see that he was well built under the tan shirt and blue jeans he wore. His features were rugged, his skin the same copper tone as Evelyn's. “Where did you come from? Who are you?” she stammered, her heart racing faster as he moved closer.

Finally he sat down on the bench and looked out at the water. “This area is rich in folklore, you know. One of the legends has it that the spirits of the dead tribal leaders were confined to the lake so they could oversee their successors. That mist is them, rising out of the water.”

“I don't know much about this part of the country. I'm sorry,” she finally managed.

He turned his black gaze on her and her skin felt as though a thousand tiny volts of electricity were running just below the surface. When he got up, she willed herself to stay where she was, even though she wanted to move toward him.

“Do you believe in spirits?” he asked.

They were only inches apart as he passed by, and she could almost feel his body heat. Or was it her own? What the hell is happening to me? I can't believe this? What's going on here?

He stopped near the second bench and faced her. “You know, when the spirits talk, we should listen. They might have something important to tell us.”

She was lost in those eyes and her throat was dry as sandpaper. Finally tearing her gaze from his, she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, he was gone.