Somewhere the Bells Ring (the Wild Rose Press) is set in the gracious old Virginia homeplace, circa 1816, in the Shenandoah Valley where my father was born and raised and I grew up visiting during the holidays.
Nostalgia over the late 1960’s inspired the time period and the story opens during the tumultuous age of hippies, Vietnam, and some of the best darn rock music ever written. From 1968, the story flashes back to an earlier era, 1918 and the end of World War One.
Blurb: Caught with pot in her dorm room, Bailey Randolph is exiled to a relative’s ancestral home in Virginia to straighten herself out. Banishment to Maple Hill is dismal, until a ghost appears requesting her help. Bailey is frightened but intrigued. Then her girlhood crush, Eric Burke, arrives and suddenly Maple Hill isn’t so bad.
To Eric, wounded in Vietnam, his military career shattered, this homecoming feels no less like exile. But when he finds Bailey at Maple Hill, her fairy-like beauty gives him reason to hope–until she tells him about the ghost haunting the house. Then he wonders if her one experiment with pot has made her crazy.
As Bailey and Eric draw closer, he agrees to help her find a long-forgotten Christmas gift the ghost wants. But will the magic of Christmas be enough to make Eric believe–in Bailey and the ghost–before the Christmas bells ring?
Excerpt:
“Bailey.” He spoke softly, so as not to startle her.
Leaving the door ajar, he stepped inside. “We missed you at breakfast.”
She answered distractedly. “I wasn’t hungry.”
He limped to where she stood, the hitch in his leg a little less pronounced today. Maybe he was getting stronger. “Why are you here, looking for ghosts?”
“Or a door to the past.”
He tried to coax a smile to her trembling lips. “Did you check inside the wardrobe?”
“Eric, I’m being serious.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Leaning on his cane with one arm, he closed his other around her shoulders and drew her against him. Such a natural act, and she accepted his embrace without pulling back. She smelled of flowers from her perfume and wood smoke.
“Mercy, child,” he said in his best imitation of Ella, “it’s as cold as a tomb in here.”
“It wasn’t last night.”~
Beth, I love the idea of ghosts and Christmas! The excerpt was wonderful and I want to read more! Congratulations on a fun, holiday story!!
Beth, this sounds super good. I love the time period for some reason. And the title is a good teaser in itself.
Thanks guys. The title was fun to come up with and stems from a childhood memory of sleigh bells being rung in the meadow as though Santa Claus was on his way. We kids shot off to bed in a panic knowing we were not to be seen or he'd leave.
How very intriguing your excerpt was, Beth. Best wishes on another successful story.
Beth, who can't fall in love with a wounded hero? Even with the ghost and pot reference, this sounds like a tender love story. I can't wait to read it! Congratulations on the sale.
You are such a tease! I'm ready for this one! Tug at heart strings much?
Congrats on the new release. I like the ghosts and Christmas combination, too.
Congratulations, Beth. Looks like another great story.
Thanks all. Well, it certainly tugged at my heart strings and I'm awash in sentiment over the time period. I really liked the ghost. :)
I love a good ghost story, and a romance one to boot!
I have to put it at the top of the TBR list. I love Christmas romances and put that together with ghosts! Yes!!! You got me hooked with that excerpt!