She had arranged to meet
her husband in Northern Ireland for a second honeymoon, but when Charleigh
arrives at the remote castle, she receives a message that he won’t be
coming—and that he’s leaving her for another woman. Stranded for the weekend by
a snowstorm that has blocked all access to the castle, she finds herself three
thousand miles from home in a country she knows nothing about.
She is soon joined by
Sean Bracken, the great-grandson of Laird Bracken, the original owner of the
castle, and she finds herself falling quickly and madly in love with him.
There’s just one problem: he’s dead.
As the castle begins to
come alive with secrets from centuries past, she finds herself trapped between
parallel worlds. Caught up in a mass haunting, she can no longer recognize the
line between the living and the dead. Now she’s discovering that her appearance
there wasn’t by accident—and is more sinister than she ever suspected.
THE INSPIRATION
The
inspiration for A Thin Slice of Heaven
came from two books: What Dreams May Come
and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
Years
ago, I read What Dreams May Come by
Richard Matheson. It was a book unlike any other I’d ever read. It is the story
of a couple in love; their lives together cut short by the sudden death of the
husband. But that is where the story begins, as we are led through the veil to
another realm. The concept has fascinated me for years and I particularly find
it intriguing when I discover a story from a child who remembers past lives and
things they could never have known—or those who encountered near death
experiences and returned to tell fantastic stories of the other side.
I
also love The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by
R.A. Dick. Though it is a short story, it brings to life a home on the coast of
England that is haunted by its original owner, a sea captain. However, there
were two things that made the book (and subsequent movie) feel incomplete to
me: first, when Mrs. Muir turns to another romantic interest, and second, that
her relationship with the captain did not go far enough.
It
left me wondering what if? What if it
was possible to transcend the veil between the living and the dead, and have a
relationship with a spirit that was as real as two humans? What if, despite the
fact that the man had died a hundred and fifty years prior, it became the most
satisfying and loving relationship one could imagine?
I
am a stickler for research so of course I began researching spirit sightings and why some remain on earth to
haunt their old homes despite the centuries that follow.
I
also researched the three stages of dying, which had originally been told to me
by hospice personnel when a dear friend was passing. I placed it all together
into this romantic suspense: a living being in more need of romance than even
she could realize; a spirit able to pull her beyond the veil; a mass haunting
reconstructing a battle that killed and wounded many; and a love that transcends
through time itself.
A recent survey cited that 91% of all people believe in ghosts. Do you? Leave a comment and let me know!
For a chance to win this suncatcher, all you need to do is follow my tour and comment. The more times you comment, the better your chances of winning!
Here's a list of the tour stops scheduled through the end of this month:
http://girlsheartbookstours.blogspot.com/2015/05/touring-now-thin-slice-of-heaven-by-pm.html
