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Happy Wednesday, everyone! I have been working on the final details for Book 3 of The Claire Wiche Chronicles, and it will be live for Halloween, as planned. I’m thrilled, and nervous – this one is a bit different from the last two books. But I’m getting great feedback so far.

Now for the sneak peeks.

Here is the gorgeous cover.

 

 

The artwork is once again by my friend, and the incredibly talented artist, Nadica Boskovska, and the cover design is by Christine Pope at Indie Author Services – who seriously rocks. (She will be redoing my cover for Rest For The Wicked so it matches the other two. Can’t wait to unveil the new version!)

And here is the second sneak peek – an excerpt from the book. Just for you.

 

Humming Monster Mash, Claire reached up to hang another bat in the window display, then stood back to assess.

She loved Halloween—and not for the obvious reasons attached to her name, or her reputation as the local witch. For her, it was all about the kids.

Their laughter as they ran from door to door, the costumes that ranged from an old sheet to designer worthy, the joy and excitement they left in their wake. All of it had her decorating weeks earlier than she needed, just to see the anticipation. And keeping a stash of candy under the counter for those bold enough to ask.

Now, with Halloween tomorrow, she put aside the headaches, the vision, the dream, and embraced the sheer fun of the holiday. Already, the preparation eased the weight of the fist pressed against her heart. She stood back, assessing what she hoped would be the last touches to her window—

“More decorations? Jeez, Claire, did you leave any for the rest of town?”

She turned to find Annie leaning against the front counter, arms crossed and a wicked smile on her face.

“A few. And look who’s talking about overkill—this is, what, your fifth costume change in as many days?”

Annie twirled, her heavy black cloak belling out around her. “I came as myself today. A witch.”

Claire shook her head and skirted the counter, pulling out her costume for the day. When she appeared wearing the veiled witch’s hat and velvet cloak, Annie burst out laughing.

“Great minds think alike.” Leaning in, she poked at one of the plastic spiders caught in the net veil covering Claire’s face. “Nice touch. Skin crawling, but nice.”

“I thought so.” Claire reached under the counter, grabbing the already full bowl of candy—and spotted the extra-large smoothie sitting on the granite, along with a sandwich that could have fed both of them. “Is that just breakfast? Or can I spread it out?”

“Aren’t you the funny girl today?” She slid the smoothie forward, smiled over it. “Breakfast.” Then the sandwich. “Midmorning snack. We’ll talk about lunch—I’m thinking the twelve ounce porterhouse from Billie’s Pub—”

Claire nearly choked. “Twelve ounce—”

“With the extra portion of wedge fries.”

“Heaven above, Annie.” She shook her head. “You’ll be rolling me out of here in a week.”

“Ah—but you haven’t heard the rest of my master plan. Tomorrow: salad day, with some fish on the side. Then we bulk the next day. It goes on, trading off heavy with light. And you spend more time with your sensei, building up your strength along with your fighting skills.”

“Okay. A master plan.” Claire rubbed her face. “Do you have charts?”

Annie grinned. “And a graph.”

Laughter burst out of her. It felt good to laugh again. Really laugh. She planned on doing a great deal of it. “Can you open up? I know it’s a few minutes early, but I’m in the mood for people, and some fun.”

“You’re the boss.” With the cloak swirling around her, Annie strode over to the door—and jumped backward when it burst open just after she flipped the deadbolt. “Son of a—hey, are you okay?”

Claire took off her hat and moved to the door, understanding Annie’s question when she saw the woman’s face. She wrapped one arm around the trembling shoulders, led her to the reading table at the back of the shop and lowered her to the one of the chairs. Kneeling in front of the woman, Claire took her hand.

“Just relax, now. Take your time—you’re safe here.”

Dark brown eyes stared at her, nearly black in her shock pale face. Swallowing, she clutched Claire’s hand, her voice so low Claire had to lean in to hear it.

“I don’t know if you remember me—my name is Regina, my daughter and I come into your shop every year, during the Summer Solstice . . .”

“The festival. Yes, I remember.”

Some of the panic eased from her face. “My daughter, Hillary loves it here so much—I’m recently divorced, and we decided to make a new start. I bought the big Victorian on the hill—”

“The devil house?” Annie shrugged when they both looked up at her. “Sorry—just popped out. We all thought it was haunted when we were kids. The man who lived there—Mr. McCarran—completely creeped me out.”

Claire raised her eyebrows, decided to save the tongue lashing for later. “Are you quite finished?”

“I just thought you might—yeah.” Hunching inside the cloak, she crossed her arms.

Claire almost smiled—until she turned back and met Regina’s eyes. “Children’s tales, Regina, nothing more—”

“I think she may be right.” Her grip on Claire’s hand became a vise, the rings Claire wore digging into her skin. Ignoring the flare of pain—she had felt worse, not so long ago—Claire sandwiched her hand. “Oh, God—what if she’s right?”

“Take a breath, Regina. That’s it.” Claire couldn’t use her power to soothe anymore, so she used her voice, her tone gentle, soothing as she talked Regina down from a panic attack. “Slow breaths, just focus on each one.” The death grip on her hand eased. “Now, tell me what brought you here.”

“I heard,” embarrassment flashed over the fear, “that you can see ghosts, sense them.”

Claire didn’t know how, but what happened up in Huntsville leaked out, and she instantly became the resident ghost expert, along with Simon. To say his church board was not happy would have been a gross understatement. But his congregation already adored him, and to a person, stood in his defense.

“I can. What is—”

“It’s my daughter, Hillary.” Tears slid down Regina’s face. Claire tightened her grip. “I think—oh, God—I think she might be haunted.”

~*~

 

And to celebrate the release, I am joining a group of authors who write in the witch way for a special promotion.

From October 30 to November 1, you will be able to download some magical books at great prices – and many for free!

There is also a giveaway, for 2 Amazon gift cards and a couple other fun prizes. Find the details and the books here. Just remember to check prices if you decide to download in advance – some of the deals will only be available during the promotion.

But Rest For The Wicked is free – so go ahead and grab your copy while you’re there, or just click here.

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks. I’m gearing up for Halloween – and yes, I do dress up as a witch, with my spider adorned hat. It’s where I stole – er, got the idea for Claire’s.

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time – read on.

cheers,

~Cate