SEPTEMBER: Author Spotlight, Young Adult & MG Paranormal Author, L.A. Starkey - LG O'Connor

SEPTEMBER: Author Spotlight, Young Adult & MG Paranormal Author, L.A. Starkey

Laurie headshotJoin  me in welcoming, Laurie “L.A.” Starkey, today on Creating the WRITE Reality! I met Laurie through the Rave Review Book Club, which you can find under #RRBC on Twitter. It's an active author community that promotes the books of its members, and much more. Laurie is on fire, finishing 17 books since January! She's joining us today to share an excerpt from the upcoming Young Adult / Middle Grade paranormal story collection that she has contributed to, Darkness Echoes. Other authors included in the anthology: Kelly Hall, D.E.L. Connor, Chess Desalls, CK Dawn, DB Nielsen. Darkness Echoes is out October 6th! To add it to your Goodreads shelf CLICK HERE

Welcome, Laurie!

Share something with us about your story… 

The title of my short story is Til Death Do Us Part. It's tagline is, “A love that stands outside of space and time….” I'm thrilled to be part of this anthology with these other authors: Kelly Hall, D.E.L. Connor, Chess Desalls, CK Dawn, DB Nielsen. Darkness Echoes is out October 6th!

Here's the cover of the anthology and the blurb for my story:

Darkness Echoes 3D Image of Book Cover Black

Jennifer and Zach have been best friends since birth, but as their senior year approaches, things change drastically. With little time left to reveal her heart before college, Jen plans a night to remember at the old haunted Vandercamp Mansion for Zach's birthday. It's just to be the two of them, and no one was to know, but upon arrival, they realizes that their presence was expected. Their connection is forged as realization of their past is granted. A love that stands outside of time and space will not rest – Til Death Due Us Part.

Wow, L.A., that sounds great, and I love the cover!

Now, and excerpt from Til Death Do Us Part:

Vandercamp Mansion, a Place for Mentally Challenged Youth

“Zach?” I called out and moved up the four concrete steps that led to the large white and grey house. The property was overgrown and though a lake sat out to the left of it, I could barely make it out because of the bushes and trees. The home had at least fifteen bedrooms from what I recalled. I'd read bits of the story when I was in junior high and went through a phase of being completely obsessed with finding ghosts.

After getting into high school, my main obsession was not letting Zach find out how much I was in love with him. That alone was creepy.

The front door opened slowly on its own and I pressed my teeth into my bottom lip as a smile lifted my lip. “No way…”

“Boo!” He jumped out, holding an old timey lantern.

I screamed and took a step back, losing my balance. “Oh hell.”

He reached out quickly and took my hand, pulling me toward him. I crashed into him, which was better than rolling backwards down the stairs. Glancing down, I realized my hands were on his chest and the fabric of his t-shirt was awfully thin… too thin.

“All these years of trying to scare you, and all I had to do was jump out of Vandercamp Mansion? Jeez. This would have saved me a lifetime's worth of planning.” He smiled and brushed my hair off my shoulder. “I missed you this week.”

I nodded and side stepped him. Too much. Too fast.

“I missed you too.” I kept my voice nonchalant and very friend-like. “How's your mother?”

“She's not doing so well.” He moved up beside me as we walked into a large ornate hallway.

I glanced over toward him as sadness rolled over me. “I'm sorry. You want to talk about it?”

“Nope. I want to spend my birthday with my favorite girl in the universe.”

“Oh? Sadie's coming?” I chuckled as he reached out and took my hand.

He lifted my fingers to his face and brushed a soft kiss over my knuckles. “No. I wouldn't want to be with anyone but you. Ever.”

I didn't know what to say. The softness of his kiss left me mesmerized and a thousand ghosts could have come and danced around us and I'd not have paid them a bit of attention.

“Let me show you where everything is.” He winked and pulled our hands down, keeping a light hold on my fingers.

“Yeah. That would be great.” I sounded like a robot and couldn't do a damn thing about it. I wanted another kiss… lots of kisses.

He turned us to the left and nodded at his bag on the ground. “Put your stuff over there. This used to be an old waiting room. You know these people had like ten foster kids, but the father actually held a practice here too.”

“He was a doctor?” I tossed my bag toward his, flinching as the dust from his rose up and made a mushroom cloud. “Gross.”

“Yeah, it's nasty in here. We should have brought masks.” He tugged on me and I moved back to the hall, pausing as I glanced over my shoulder.

I forced myself to imagine the room filled with women and children from the nineteen-thirties. The vision of them sitting and chatting, reading magazines and laughing came to life in front of me. It was as real as me and Zach.

“He was a brain surgeon. The stuff I read said he was the most brilliant man of his time.”

I turned around and stiffened. Various figures moved around the house, some nurses, some patients, but it was the tall, handsome man in a lab coat at the end of the hall that scared the hell out of me. It wasn't that I could see him.

It was that he could see me.

About Laurie (aka L.A. Starkey)

Laurie headshotL.A. Starkey is the author of the upcoming Soul Keeper Series, a supernatural young adult series, and The Liarus Detective Series, a supernatural middle grade series.

She is a CPA by trade, a church planter and entrepreneur at heart; however, writing and reading are passions she just can’t help but indulge in. With more ideas than one person should be allowed, she is blessed to have a muse that doesn’t seem to take a vacation and more energy that one might consider healthy.

She writes under the following pen names:

Kate Thomas – NA/Adult Paranormal (Check out her site here!)

Contact Laurie here:
Website – http://www.lastarkey.com
Reader's Group – http://eepurl.com/9Nrc1
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/L.A-Starkey/e/B00N51UAO2
FB – https://www.facebook.com/L.A.StarkeyAuthor?ref=hl
Twitter – https://twitter.com/lastarkey

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