Good Morning and Welcome Back to Another Edition of Saturday Spotlight,
I've been home a full week now and still playing catch-up but I 💖💖💖 my life! And, I love bringing back a previous guest with another of his or her great books.
SO grateful and happy to be back, Pam!
The inspiration for this novel came from one of my students before I retired as a psychology professor. We had just learned that he lived in a dorm room that I had lived in as a student. He and I agreed that a novel in which all the students who hang out in their favorite professor’s office mysteriously live in her former rooms would be great fun as they unravel how and why this “coincidence” happened. Since that student was an excellent writer, I suggested he write the story. He said he didn’t have the time and that I should write it. I dismissed the idea as nonsense – Me? A fiction writer? But when I couldn’t shake the idea, I wrote it.
I am now retired from teaching and working on the sequel!
Oh how fun! Give us more please...
Sure, here is the Blurb: When Samantha and her students uncover a campus death, they must draw on everything from science to seances to learn what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”
And an Excerpt: Samantha reached out to hold Chess's shaking hand only to immediately regret it. The stickiness of dried blood would have made her recoil, but she refused to desert Chess, who squeezed her hand like a frightened child. So while Allie returned Chess’s skates and answered the questions of concerned friends, Samantha stayed put. She only hoped the pounding of her own heart would not attract attention and require an explanation.
After Chess’s wound was cleaned and bandaged, Allie stated that she would drive Chess to the ER. "I can't ride in your new car. My clothes are all -" She grimaced at her blood-stained shirt.
"The blood's dry. It'll be fine. Besides, think how fast my car will get us there." She directed Chess's attention away from the injury.
Samantha pointed to Allie. "Keep it under the limit, missy." Samantha disliked conceding the role of caregiver to someone else, but Allie had things under control. Besides, it couldn't be helped.
Samantha quickly walked toward the women’s restroom, which, thankfully, was empty, went in, and locked the door. With deep, shaky breaths, and no longer fighting the tears, Samantha moved immediately to the sink where she scrubbed her hands vigorously, several times. She reached into her purse for her cell phone, scrolled quickly through her contacts, and tapped her thumb on the one she sought.
She took a deep breath when instructed to leave a message. “Debra, this is Samantha Hayes. Could you give me a call please? I need to talk to you.” She waited a moment, decided she had said all she needed to for now, then added, “Thanks,” before ending the call.
She continued to hold her cell, however, as she paced, all the while trying her best to take even, measured breaths. Think of something else. You’ve washed your hands. You’re safe. You'll talk to Debra when she calls back. Breathe. She was surprised that her reaction was this intense. The sight of blood had not frightened her this much in a long time.
As she debated whether to stay or go home to await Debra’s call, her cell rang, making her jump. With another shaky breath and a sigh of relief, she answered. “Debra? Thanks for calling… Okay… actually, no I’m not okay. I hate to bother you, but something just happened.”
