by Marlo Berliner
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: November 17th 2015
Summary from Goodreads:
***FINALIST in the National Indie Excellence Awards for Young Adult Fiction 2016***
Can Michael get to heaven before the devil gets him first, and if it means leaving Sarah is he sure he still wants to go?
Michael Andrews had everything - a loving family, a great girlfriend and a promising basketball career. That was before the accident that took his life. Now, he's a ghost, wandering among the living, struggling to understand why he's stuck. All he wants is to move on.
That is until he meets Sarah, an attractive young girl who died just as tragically as he did. The only trouble is falling in love and binding oneself to another soul is forbidden, for it may keep one or both of the souls bound to earth for longer than they should be.
To make matters worse, there's also a danger in going too far with Sarah, because the "joining" of two souls in the afterlife is also strictly forbidden and they don't know what will happen if they do go that far. Each time they touch they can feel the boundaries of their energies slipping perilously into one another.
Things get even more complicated as Michael learns he's being pursued. Demons are after him because he's a marked soul, a soul the devil wants very badly for some unknown reason.
So, maybe falling in love in the afterlife isn't such a good idea.
THE GHOST CHRONICLES by Marlo Berliner is a YA paranormal with romantic elements and adult crossover appeal, perfect for fans of If I Stay and the movie, Ghost. The book was inspired by the legend of a haunting at the Angel of the Sea bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ.
Buy Links:
Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Indiebound│Amazon CA│Amazon UK
Excerpt:
Spread out on his right
was the largest and most spectacular Bed & Breakfast he’d seen so far. A
bright, colorful painted sign on the lawn read, Angel of the Sea. The driver
stopped out in front and began to explain to his passengers a little of the
history about the inn.
“The Angel of the Sea
consists of two buildings that appear to have been built at an odd angle to
each other and almost mirror one another,” the driver said. “In reality, the
two halves were originally part of one building which was split, allowing for
it to be moved to its present location. Upon arrival however, it proved
impossible for the construction crew to join the two halves together again.
Now, a large walkway separates the two structures and leads to a small garden
in between. Each floor of the grand Victorian building has wrap around porches
adorned with white lights and ornate scrollwork. The turrets, balconies and
Mansard roof are all classic Victorian architecture.”
But it wasn’t the
grandeur of the place that got Michael’s attention.
Pointing to a small
brass plaque below the large painted sign, the driver said, “The Angel of the
Sea is famous for having its own resident ghost. The sign below details how a
young girl fell to her death and is believed to still haunt the place.”
Michael jumped down
from the carriage to read the whole inscription:
In
1965, a young Irish girl by the name of Sarah McConnell died tragically from an
accident, while staying here at the Angel of the Sea. She will forever be our
‘angel’, for her playful spirit walks these halls still.
Interesting. If any
place down here had a real chance of being haunted, this was it. They’re practically advertising they have a
ghost.
Movement on one of the
floors above drew his attention. Sure enough, as he glanced upward, he saw the
ethereal vision of a young woman gliding across one of the topmost balconies.
Dressed in a flowing white gown, her thick red hair falling softly onto her
shoulders and in waves down her back, she moved like a delicate ballerina. She
was about his age and quite attractive, her curvy body evident behind her thin
gown. He watched for a moment or two magnetized, as the woman moved gracefully
above him. This has to be the girl who
died here.
She didn’t see him gazing up at her, for
the girl was too preoccupied playing with the old wooden rocking chairs on the
porch. If anyone alive had looked up at that moment, they would’ve thought only
the breeze caused the chairs to rock, but Michael knew better.
Guest Post:
The
setting for most of THE GHOST CHRONICLES was inspired by The Angel of the Sea,
an award-winning bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ that I visited several years
ago. This spectacular inn has been featured on several television programs and
in magazines throughout the world. Most notably, it was chosen by Oprah Winfrey
as one of the “Best Vacations in the World” and included in her television talk
show. The Angel of the Sea is one of the most recognized Victorian structures
in the United States. Legend has it that in the late 1960’s, a girl fell to her
death at the Angel of the Sea and did at one time, haunt the inn. The story of
the girl has been included in several non-fiction books about ghosts in Cape
May. My heroine in THE GHOST CHRONICLES, Sarah McConnell, was inspired by this legend.
I did extensive
research on the legend surrounding Sarah and the haunting at The Angel of the
Sea. News stories about the death say that the young girl, whose real name was
Sarah Brown, was an Irish exchange student rooming at The Angel and working at
the nearby Christian Admiral Hotel. The story goes that she returned to her
room at The Angel to shower and change for church, but discovered she had left
her keys at work. Since she didn’t have time to retrieve the keys and still get
ready, she attempted to shinny along a ledge to get in through the window. But
when she tried to pry the screen off it suddenly broke free, smacking her in
the forehead and sending her tumbling to her death.
Over the years, guests
at The Angel of the Sea have attributed a number of experiences to the girl’s
playful spirit. It is said she has an affinity for electronic devices. Lamps,
radios and televisions have all been known to turn on and off by themselves
from time to time. Guests and staff have noticed items disappearing from one
spot only to reappear mysteriously in another. Objects also fall from tables
and dressers as if knocked off by unseen hands. Furniture and pictures have
been seen wobbling or shaking for no explainable reason.
Most notably, the girl
seems to have an aversion to locked doors. Given the fact that a locked door
contributed to her death, it is not surprising that her ghost has been said to
lock and unlock doors in certain parts of the inn, and in particular, the door
to her own room has been found inexplicably unlocked.
Angel
of the Sea B&B, Cape May, NJ
About the Author
Formerly an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company, Marlo is currently a full time writer, as well as, a freelance editor at Chimera Editing. Marlo writes young adult, women’s fiction, and short stories. THE GHOST CHRONICLES is her first novel and was awarded FINALIST in the National Indie Excellence Awards for Young Adult Fiction. Her second novel in a new series, SECRETS BENEATH, will be released in the fall. She is currently working on a sequel to THE GHOST CHRONICLES, as well as, her third and fourth novels.
When she's not writing or editing, Marlo loves reading, relaxing at the beach, watching movies, and rooting for the Penn State Nittany Lions. After having spent some wonderful time in Pittsburgh and Houston, she’s now back in her home state of New Jersey where she resides with her husband and two sons.
When she's not writing or editing, Marlo loves reading, relaxing at the beach, watching movies, and rooting for the Penn State Nittany Lions. After having spent some wonderful time in Pittsburgh and Houston, she’s now back in her home state of New Jersey where she resides with her husband and two sons.
Book Blitz Organized by:
0 comments:
Post a Comment