Last year, I had an idea for a character that wouldn’t leave me alone. Well, I should say characters because the entire group of them seemed to pop into my brain fully formed. The heroine, her hero, her best friends (both living and dead—if you’ve read Zoe’s books, you know who I’m referring to), and the hero’s two goofy sidekicks.
I tried ignoring them because I was working on NSFW #3 at the time and it had been over a year since I’d released a book in that series. I wanted to finish Tanya’s story before moving on to something else. *Side note* Good news if you’re waiting for that book—I’m nearly halfway done with the first draft now. It should be available in late February/early March. Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m kind of late.
But these characters wouldn’t shut up. They wouldn’t leave me alone. It seemed as though they were talking to me day and night. Yes, in the middle of the night they would wake me up, demanding my attention.
So…I caved and I wrote the book. Don’t Wake the Dead, is the first in The Wraith Files series of paranormal romance-slash-cozy mysteries.
Why am I telling you all of this?
Well, Don’t Wake the Dead and the second installment in the series, The Dead Come Calling, are now available in Kindle Unlimited. If you’re not sure a paranormal cozy mystery will be up your alley, you can read an excerpt from Don’t Wake the Dead below.
Excerpt from Don’t Wake the Dead:
As soon as I walked through the front door, Teri materialized in the living room.
“What are you doing back so early?” she asked. “You get fired or something?”
I dropped my purse on the floor and tried to hang my keys on the hook by the front door. I missed the hook and they hit the floor with a clatter. I left them there.
“Zoe?”
“Got it in one,” I answered. “I was fired.”
“Shit. Does this mean you’re gonna move out? It’s been kinda nice having someone to talk to after all these years.”
Sighing, I kicked off my shoes and stripped off my jacket. “No, I have some money saved and the mortgage is low enough that it’ll last me a while. Thanks to you.”
Teri grinned at me. “Hey, I can’t help it if everyone in town believes the rumors about this place.”
She didn’t know the half of it. The Kenna gossip mill insisted that six people had died in this house over the years and that it was haunted by a demon.
In reality, there had been two deaths here, but nothing like they thought. The first owner had died in her sleep at the ripe old age of ninety-five. Teri had been found hanging in the garage in an apparent suicide. She was adamant that wasn’t case, that she’d been murdered. In fact, she mentioned it a lot.
Whether it was true or not, it had happened thirty years ago, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“We should get drunk,” Teri stated.
“We can’t get drunk, Teri. You’re a ghost. Ghosts don’t drink.”
“I know. I fucking miss it too. That and smoking.” She paused. “And sex. God, do I miss sex. Do you know how difficult it is to have an orgasm when you don’t have a physical form?”
I clapped my hands over my ears. “TMI! Do not tell me things like that!”
She sneered at me. “Well who am I supposed to tell? My pickings are slim for friends. You’re my best friend by default.”
“Oh great, so even the ghosts in this town would rather be friends with someone other than me,” I quipped.
“Hey, that slutty girl likes you.”
I glared at her. “Jonelle isn’t slutty. She just isn’t ready to settle down.”
“She goes through men faster than a teenage boy goes through hand lotion.”
I grimaced at her analogy. “Ick.”
Teri nodded. “Yes. It’s also accurate.”
I shook my head and walked past her toward the kitchen. I didn’t intend to get drunk but a bottle of hard cider, or two, wouldn’t be unwelcome right now.
Even though Teri is technically a secondary character in this series, I have to admit that she’s one of my all-time favorites. Believe it or not, she’s also based on a woman I know and love. She’s adopted me into her family (unofficially) and she makes me laugh all the time…even when she’s kicking my ass in FitBit challenges. She’s also very much alive and constantly providing me inspiration for more of Teri’s exploits.
I’m looking forward to sharing more of Zoe’s adventures with her friends. I have a feeling they’re in for a wild ride!
If you’d like to read the book, you can find it here:
I’ve already read this book and waiting for the next in the series. I enjoyed it very much.
Hi, Barbara! I’m so glad you enjoyed Don’t Wake the Dead. The Dead Come Calling (The Wraith Files, #2) is actually available on Amazon right now if you haven’t seen it. 🙂 The third installment will be coming out later this year.