THE MISREMEMBERED LIGHTHOUSE
P.M. Terrell
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
While researching her next book, historian and
author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The
modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that
only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long
gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains.
Hayley becomes increasingly obsessed with finding
why the spirit of Jonathan Corbyn lingers between realms. Joined by her lover
Shay MacGregor, her search will take her into a world of spies, double agents,
and espionage at the dawn of American democracy.
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Excerpt
Three:
With the moonroof slid back, I
could glance upward and see the branches intertwined as if they were people
grasping outstretched fingers. A sudden surge of apprehension washed over me.
The wipers came on, though there was no rain.
“What the—?” Mom said, glancing
down. She made a motion to turn off the wipers, but they were already off.
As we plunged more deeply into the
grove of trees, the air felt as if it was swirling around us. I nervously
watched the speedometer gain speed and wished the wipers would stop their
frantic pulsing across the dry windshield. When I glanced back at the road,
only a few yards away, a man dangled from a tree.
“Stop!” I screamed. The car
fishtailed as her foot slammed on the brakes. We came to a complete stop just
feet from where he hung. Behind us, I could hear the screech of tires as Shay
barely avoided rear-ending us.
The wipers swept to the left and
then back to the right before coming to rest. Time seemed to have slowed. He
was facing away from us, his wrists tied together behind him, the rope trailing
toward his feet, which were clad in heavy black boots with dirty black pants
tucked into them. A dusty red coat swayed in the breeze as if the front was
unbuttoned. And as my eyes traveled upward, I saw his hair. It was deep auburn
and long, reaching past his shoulders. It had been drawn into a ponytail, but
the strands had come loose, so the material that once bound them appeared ready
to slide off.
“What the hell?” Mom shouted.
I stared at her. “Don’t you see
him?” I shouted back in panic.
“Who?”
I looked back through the
windshield. He was gone.
A tap on Mom’s window caused us
both to nearly jump out of our seats. As she rolled down the window, Shay
asked, “Are you two okay now?”
“I am,” Mom retorted. “She isn’t.”
She turned to me. “Get out of my car. You nearly killed us.”
“I did not!”
“Get out!”
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Review: Staying at a historical lighthouse was fascinating for a history buff like Hayley. Naturally, she attributed the flickering lights to faulty wiring. But what kind of faulty lights would create a human-like orb to appear on her cameras?
The diary narrative of the story was descriptive and easy. There was some lag with all the history the character gets into. The history was enriching, of course, but sometimes it went a little overboard for me. The most interesting part was the ghost activity, but the storyline didn’t always focus on this, which made the read long and slow for me. This wasn’t quite the chilling ghost story I expected, but it still had that air of mystery that I rather liked. It’s just a long story to get through. I wish we could’ve skipped some of those long parts. Overall, a fairly nice read.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been
writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with
my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in
lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell
ever since.
I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a
schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my
first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman,
Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and
Drake Valley Press have published 26 books to date.
Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded
McClelland Enterprises, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area in 1984, specializing
in computer instruction for employees in the workplace. I opened another
business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused
on custom application development, programming, website design and development,
and computer crime.
I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield
County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. I also served as the Treasurer for the
Virginia Crime Stoppers Association. Since moving to North Carolina, I served
on the Robeson County Friends of the Library and Robeson County Arts Council.
I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia
Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South
Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers
Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over
to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.
Links:
Website: https://pmterrell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pmterrell.author/
Apple:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-misremembered-lighthouse/id6749962807
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-misremembered-lighthouse-pm-terrell/1148042055
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FM4D9YTB
All other eBook formats:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1832068
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GIVEAWAY
P.M. Terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
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