Not Quite Dead by Lyla Payne
(A Lowcountry Ghost Story)Publication date: April 1st 2014
Genres: Mystery, New Adult, Paranormal
A broken engagement sends Graciela Harper crawling back to Heron Creek with her tail between her legs, but finds the sleepy little town too changed to set her life right. Not even her budding drinking problem can obscure her Gramps’s failing health, or erase the mental picture of her first love happily married to her childhood best friend. To top it all off, she’s having a heck of time convincing the town’s dashing young mayor of her unfit-for-dating status.
When the ghost of 18th century lady pirate Anne Bonny starts insisting on a near daily audience, Graciela has to confront something else she never expected—being certifiably nuts at twenty-five years old.
Her brand new “I don’t give a crap” attitude makes it easy to dismiss the mysterious threats that seem to be tied to her search for more information on the long dead pirate, but when her family becomes a target, Gracie knows she needs to find out why the ghost insists on being a constant, reeking companion.
If Graciela can put aside her prejudice against people without a pulse, she may discover that Anne Bonny’s problems are intricately linked with her own. The past harbors answers could help the cantankerous spirit find closure, but she is, after all, already dead. If Graciela doesn’t move fast, she might find herself doing the haunting, instead of the other way around.
I
ignore the hand, getting to my feet and brushing dirt off my dress
before confronting its owner.
A man with an overly
strong jaw and wavy, sun-kissed brown hair watches me with humor
sparkling in his hazel eyes. Too bad he picked the wrong girl in the
wrong year, because nothing about getting knocked on my ass strikes
me as humorous.
Undaunted by the cocked
eyebrow I shoot his direction, he keeps a hand out, now poised for a
shake. "Beauregard Drayton."
"That’s a
mouthful," I mumble, searching the ground for my purse. It’s
lying in a puddle, which stirs up more irritation, as does the fact
that he hasn’t moved. He’s tall, at least six foot three, and
even under the blue pinstriped suit and red tie, there’s no secret
why he felt like bricks. His face is hard, too—all rough angles and
sharp cheekbones.
His eyes are soft,
though, and the enticing mixture of green, blue, and gold still
reflects amusement. "Well, what do you think?"
"About you?"
I shrug, even though I didn’t mean to study him quite so openly.
"Typical."
"Interesting."
"Actually, typical
is the opposite of interesting." I shoulder past him and
continue toward my destination, annoyance tightening my chest when
the sound of expensive shoes clicks on the sidewalk behind me.
Beauregard Drayton
catches up, then slows his pace to match mine. It would have behooved
me to drive to the Wreck, apparently. Or skip it all together, no
matter how the thought of their fish tacos makes me drool.
"You can call me
Beau, everyone does," he comments, as though we’ve been
carrying on a conversation.
"Thanks."
"What should I
call you?"
It’s clear my
rudeness isn’t going to make him go away, and the part of me that
was raised below the Mason-Dixon Line blushes in shame at my
behavior. Grams would tan my hide if she could see me now. The
thought of her stern, loving expression makes me relent, along with
the fact that my eventful morning has worn me out. I don’t have the
energy to outmaneuver him.
"Graciela Harper."
"Lovely to meet
you. Where are you going?"
The fact that he
doesn’t comment on my different name moves him up in my estimation.
Still, his nosiness makes me sigh. Loudly. "To get some lunch."
"Are you meeting
someone?"
"Yes. His name is
Vlad and he lives to drink the blood of persistent, well-dressed men,
so I suggest you run along."
"Really? Dracula’s
making a midday appearance in Heron Creek? Did you call the paper?
Danny’s is going to be mad if he misses out on the interview
opportunity."
Lyla Payne is represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com
If you're a fan of Young Adult fiction--science fiction or otherwise--please check out her work that's published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com
Author links:
https://twitter.com/lyla_payne
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6903785.Lyla_Payne
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6903785.Lyla_Payne
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