"Haunted Charlottesville" by Susan Schwartz

INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY

Haunted Charlottesville
and Surrounding Counties

by Susan Schwartz

Haunted Charlottesville and Surrounding Counties by Susan Schwartz releases on 28 June but is currently available for pre-order. This book tour is hosted by Silver Dagger Book Tours and stops here today for my interview with the author and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.

Description

Charlottesville, Virginia, and its 12 surrounding counties are filled with history and charm. They also hold spirits who aren’t ready to leave their beloved homes or families behind. Visit more than 75 haunting locations with this experiential and historical guide. Shiver your way through haunted graveyards, mansions, parks, private residences, and other locations as you discover the past and learn of current lingering ghosts and the havoc they continue to instigate. Have you ever pondered about the spiritual implications from murders of olde? Think you might like to be pinched by a ghost or have your name called when no one is there? Interested in what a paranormal investigative group might find? Then make plans to explore these strange and frightening locations. Contact information is provided for those places allowing visitations. But when you visit, be ready for a haunting good time!

Praise for the Book

“I love books that feature hauntings. But I really love True haunting books the best. Susan Schwartz has done an amazing job of bringing the true haunted places together in this book. This book is about the haunted places in Charlottesville North Carolina and the surrounding counties. […] This book takes you on a armchair tour of Charlottesville point out the different places where hauntings have been reported. Some of the places are even open to the public. For these public places Susan even lists the address and if known hours. She recommends restaurants and more. She gives you some history of the place and tells you about the hauntings reported. I really enjoyed reading this book.” ~ Teresa

“The pictures included in the book really help to show the history and where the hauntings might take place. There’s part of me that really wants to go and visit some of these places while another part asks ‘Are you crazy woman?’ So perhaps I’ll just live vicariously through the stories Susan Schwartz has so kindly put together.” ~ Angie Beechan, Luv Saving Money

Interview with the Author

Author Susan Schwartz joins us today for a brief interview about her new book, Haunted Charlottesville and Surrounding Counties.

What inspired you to write this book?

My good friend, Pamela K. Kinney, had written several already about Virginia, including Haunted Richmond I, Haunted Richmond II, Paranormal Petersburg, and Virginia’s Haunted Historic Triangle. Since I live close to Charlottesville, she suggested I do that area. So, after two years, I finally decided I would give it a shot. Haunted Charlottesville and Surrounding Counties releases on 28 June 2019.

How did you come with the title of this book?

The title for the book came from the areas I covered in the book. Albemarle was heavily done so I named the book after the great city that encloses it.

What did you enjoy the most about writing this book?

I loved the travel and the research. I visited over 45 places in the Haunted Charlottesville book, and I interviewed most of those people myself. It was a fascinating journey across central Virginia learning about the different locations of cemeteries, Presidential homes, Civil War sites, and historic old houses that still stand.

Who designed the book cover?

My publishing company, Schiffer Publishing, designed the book cover from pictures I had taken while traveling.

If you had to it all again, would you change anything in the book?

I would probably try to add more locations and pictures, especially ghostly photos. They don’t always cooperate when you want them to do so. LOL!

What can we expect from you in the future?

I am currently working on another haunted Virginia book as well as a quirky kind of Richmond book. I am also working on several short stories and two novels – Paranormal Romance and a Medical Thriller.

Thanks for stopping by today, Susan. Enjoy the rest of your tour!

About the Author

Susan Schwartz RN, MSN, MSHA, has been an avid writer for around 10 years doing everything from writing freelance articles to editing manuscripts for other authors. She loves to write horror stories that have a twist at the end.

Her alter ego is a former Operating Room Nurse, current Nurse Educator who loves creating tales from the interesting and weird things she has seen. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the Virginia Writers Club where she has served as President of the Richmond Chapter in the past. She also has two novels in the works, a paranormal romance and a medical thriller. Her nonfiction book, Haunted Charlottesville, is being released in June 2019.

In her spare time, Susan loves to read, crochet, and travel to such places as Italy, Spain, Australia, and Korea.

Giveaway

Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card or a signed copy of Haunted Charlottesville by Susan Schwartz.

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"What You Don't Know" by Elka Ray

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

What You Don't Know:
Tales of Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia

by Elka Ray

What You Don't Know by Elka Ray is currently on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The tour stops here today for my review, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.

Description

An American lawyer dreams of killing his trophy wife in Thailand. A Vietnamese soldier goes mad in a haunted forest. A bereaved mother's trip to Cambodia ends in tragedy - or does it?

Take a spine-tingling journey from the jungles of Sumatra through Bangkok's seedy bars to the seemingly sedate streets of Singapore. Your traveling companions are a slew of dark emotions - fear, grief, jealousy, greed, lust and revenge. And your destination? What you don't know can hurt you.

With flashes of black humor and hard-to-forget characters, these ten stories shine light into the dark corners of Southeast Asia.

Excerpt from "The Yellow River"

It’s the quality of light that I notice first, for I have broken free of the foliage and reached the river. Although it's dark, it is slightly less dark than it was under the tree canopy. I turn and see the darker shadow of our boat. The baby’s cries seem to have ceased. Relief floods over me.

I wade through the shallows, stumbling with fatigue. The rocks are loose and slippery.

The boat is as it was when I left, still listing to one side, a rope tying it to a thick branch. I stagger towards it. I am about ten feet from the boat when I trip, my foot striking something hard yet yielding. In my panic, I fall forward, my hand touching something smooth and slippery.

It takes a moment to register, and even when I realize what it is, my mind rejects it. That cannot be Chau’s head bobbing with the current. It cannot be his hair brushing against my arms, or his bulging eyes staring up at me.

My voice seems to have left me.

[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]

Praise for the Book

"I devoured this book! Elka Ray draws the reader in from the first sentence, using her beautifully succinct style to weave thought-provoking tales full of mystery and intrigue. Having lived in Southeast Asia as an expat, I found the characters unique and relatable. She manages to be entertaining, funny AND dark, the perfect combination for a highly entertaining read. I can't wait for more!" ~ dorothy

"I just finished this collection of imaginative, well-executed stories, which were on the whole entertaining and full of surprises. The author clearly knows Southeast Asia very well and captures perfectly the spirit and atmosphere of all her stories’ settings. What will stick with me the most, however, is the author’s voice, which is compelling and distinctive throughout. Highly recommended!" ~ Hong Xiem

"What an enjoyable read! Her stories and characters are well developed, which is surprising given how short they are. Each has a twist that surprised me and left me exclaiming 'no way!'. Well done Ms Ray, when can we expect more?" ~ Cory

"Southeast Asia can be a creepy place. [...] Ray’s prose is certainly well-polished, and she’s perfectly captured the small details of life here. The stories aren’t too long; just snapshots, or postcards, some of which have a nasty edge that can cut. This is excellent work by a promising author, and I look forward to more satisfying reads from her in the future." ~ heybuddy

"I really enjoyed these short stories, which are all surprising and fast-paced with plenty of unexpected twists. Set all over Southeast Asia, the stories follow a mix of locals, travelers and expats in dangerous or dodgy situations. These aren’t typical detective stories but psychological suspense - the writer does a great job of getting you inside these strange people’s heads and making you understand why they act like they do. [...] I’ve lived and traveled a lot in this region and the stories’ settings and situations seemed authentic. If you know Southeast Asia or plan to go there, you’ll enjoy these creepy and intriguing stories." ~ Amazon Customer

My Review

By Lynda Dickson

What You Don't Know is a collection of ten short stories set in Southeast Asia.

In "Payback" Martin and Candice are on holiday in Thailand, where a lot of tourists seem to be dying. This gives Martin an idea.

In "The Yellow River" a young man patrolling the Yellow River hears a ghost story, but could it be true?

In "Cleaning Up" Hong, a maid for a Western ex-pat in Vietnam, meets up with her ex-husband a few years after their divorce. He presents her with an interesting proposition.

In "Burning Bright" Felicity and Gary are on a holiday in Cambodia when an opportunity presents itself.

In "Hot Flashes" Miriam goes on holiday in Bali to meet her online date Wayan. Things don't turn out quite as she planned.

In "Hit and Run" Dr Scott and his wife are questioned over the disappearance of their son's girlfriend in Singapore.

In "The Secret Admirer" Maddie and Moira visits a fortune teller in Vietnam, with unexpected results.

In "Killing Me Softly" Jimmy McGee is on holiday in Thailand and can't seem to get enough of the ladies. Will he ever learn?

In "What You Don't Know" Meredith in on her annual trip to Indonesia, where her son Andrew disappeared six years ago.

Set in Vietnam, in "Jungle" Nguyet has a disturbing meeting with her boss, leading to the most original murder plan yet.

The stories in this collection revolve around the themes of ghosts, revenge, adultery, and murder, with their exotic Asian settings making them truly unique. The copy I read contained numerous editing errors, especially considering the length of the book. While all of the stories held my attention, some seemed to finish a bit abruptly. Nevertheless, this collection is certainly worth your while, especially if you like suspense, ghost stories, and exotic locations. My favorite story: "The Yellow River".

Warnings: adultery, sexual references, violence.

About the Author

At the age of eleven, Elka Ray co-founded the Double Trouble Detective Agency. She’s been on the lookout for mysteries ever since. Elka’s latest book, What You Don’t Know: Tales of Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia, takes readers on a darkly suspenseful tour of the Far East. Her first novel, a fast-paced romantic adventure titled Hanoi Jane, was published by Marshall Cavendish in English and DT Books in Vietnamese. Elka’s next novel, the thriller Saigon Dark, was published by Crimewave Press in November 2016. Elka is also the author and illustrator of a popular series of bilingual kids’ picture books about Vietnam.

Elka divides her time between Hoi An in Central Vietnam and Canada’s scenic Vancouver Island. When she’s not writing, drawing or reading she’s in - or near - the ocean.

Giveaway

Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card.

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