To visit the haunted house or not
By Maggie Toussaint
In Doggone It,
amateur sleuth Baxley Powell reluctantly agrees to visit June’s Folly, a
haunted house, with her reporter friend, Charlotte. I say reluctantly because
Baxley has a bad history with the place. The last time she went there, the
energy of the place shorted her circuits, she passed out, and her father had to
rescue her.
That was over ten years ago and she’s learned tons about
shielding herself since then. Besides, Charlotte will go out there whether
Baxley accompanies her or not. Baxley doesn’t think it’s safe for her friend to
be out there alone, so they head out there together at dusk. Charlotte’s sure
her feature on haunted houses will land on the front page and further advance
her rise to fame and fortune.
When Baxley says her expertise is in spirits from beyond,
Charlotte tells her “tough” and suggests her dreamwalker friend change her
frequency so she could talk to earthbound spirits. Baxley has no intention of
tapping into any spirit frequency in the swamp. She’s along for moral support.
It should have been so easy. Drive out there. Snap a few
pictures, peek in the windows of the abandoned mansion, and scoot back home.
Baxley does her part, shielding herself from the bad juju at June’s Folly. Even
walking up to the house, she still feels strong and in command of her senses.
Not so, Charlotte. She sinks down on the steps and can’t
manage to move at all. When Baxley touches her friend’s hand, she discovers
Charlotte is ghostly cold. Somehow, non-sensitive Charlotte has found the ghost
at the haunted house. Charlotte is none too happy about the occurrence and
demands her friend’s help.
Baxley is in a jam. If she doesn’t help her friend by
sussing out the ghost, she’ll be a wimp forever. But for her to access the
ghost, she has to lower her paranormal protection. She’ll be vulnerable to a
psychic attack, just like she was as a teenager. At 28, she’s too old to call
her dad to come get her.
The longer she deliberates, the more anxious her friend
becomes, and the guiltier Baxley feels. Why does this haunted house have to be smack
dab in the middle of a swamp?
Charlotte wants the real story of June’s Folly, but Baxley
never planned to do more than chaperone this adventure. Getting involved in the
ghost assessment was not on her to-do list. It topped the list of items not to
do.
You’ve met and
overcome all manner of baddies on the spirit side of the veil, the logical
side of her brain insists. But this place
is like kryptonite to you – you should be scared, whines her inner child.
Usually Baxley relies on her intuition to guide her, but her
senses are locked down so tight that she can’t tell if her fear is warranted or
a remnant of a childhood mishap. There’s no way she would ever consider
abandoning her best friend, and it’s tearing her up to see her friend out of
commission.
What to do? Save her friend? Risk a similar or worse fate
for herself?
Share your advice for Baxley, and be sure to enter the
drawing.
~*~
BIO. Southern
author Maggie Toussaint writes mystery, suspense, and dystopian fiction. Her
work won the Silver Falchion Award for best mystery, the Readers’ Choice Award,
and the EPIC Award. She’s published fifteen novels as well as several short
stories and novellas. The next book in her paranormal mystery series, Doggone It, releases October 2016.
Maggie serves on the board for Southeast Mystery Writers of America and Low
Country Sisters In Crime. Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com.
2 shout outs:
Paula, Thanks for featuring Doggone It here on the Great Escapes Blog Tour. I'm very happy to have a chance to interact with your blog's readers. If folks have questions, please post them. I'll do my best to answer! Also, the listing for this book on the tour is for hardcover, but it's also out in Kindle Format, fyi. Happy Reading, All!
Maggie
Baxley should use her powers to help her friend. That's why she has them, even though her extrasensory abilities come with a price. Baxley still has a lot to learn, and it's fun to watch her develop in this respect.
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