Hi guys, we have Stephen Osborne popping in today with his upcoming release Raven’s Rest, we have a great guest post and excerpt so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
Raven’s Rest
Stephen Osborne
Michael Cook has left his abusive lover and settled in the small town of Banning, Illinois. Having nowhere else to go, he checks into the Raven’s Rest Inn and soon learns that the haunted reputation of the hotel is well deserved. Michael gets a job at a local café, where he meets Trey Ramsey. Though Michael has misgivings about starting up a new relationship, Trey seems to be the complete opposite of Michael’s controlling ex, so he decides to give Trey a chance.
Life at the Raven’s Rest becomes increasingly frightening when the ghost of Coleman Hollis appears in Michael’s room. Coleman seems to want something from Michael, and the mystery deepens when Michael discovers he’s the spitting image of Coleman’s lover from years ago. Together, Michael and Trey must discover why Coleman’s spirit is drawn to the Raven’s Rest—and to Michael.
Stephen Osborne!
A Haunted Inn
In Raven’s Rest, available Sept. 23 from Dreamspinner Press, we are told by the owner’s son, Lonnie, that there are at least three spirits haunting the halls of the Raven’s Rest Inn. While the inn itself is fictional, it is, in part, based on a real place. The Inn at Aberdeen is in Valparaiso, Indiana, and it is happily haunted.
Here is am excerpt from my book South Bend Ghosts and Other Norther Indiana Haunts.
She’s often seen standing at the foot of the stairs, looking very sweet and innocent. Sometimes she’s known to wander down the hall or visit people in their rooms. In her more mischievous moods she’s known to move things around in the guest’s rooms…she’s also vanished right before their eyes.
Back in the days when the Inn at Aberdeen was just a farmhouse, there were several deaths, although none by violence. Two little girls died in the house by natural causes, but some people believe the haunting comes not from someone who lived there, but from a lithograph that graces the wall at the top of the stairs. Haunted paintings and lithographs aren’t uncommon. You can even find haunted paintings sold on eBay! This lithograph, by E. C. Barnes, shows a little girl in a long nightgown, holding a kitten in her arms, while a puppy rests at her feet. It’s very Dickensian, but people who have seen the ghost at the Inn at Aberdeen swear the spirit resembles the girl in the picture!
While there is a little girl who haunts the Raven’s Rest, she’s not the spirit Michael Cook encounters. His first night in the inn, he learns that there may be something to the stories Lonnie told him. Michael isn’t in his room long before he hears a voice saying the name Bryan.
~~~
I blinked, certain that I’d heard someone speaking, saying a name. It sounded so close, I glanced over at the shower curtain, sure that someone was lurking behind it. “Hello?” I said aloud. “Anyone here?”
I walked out of the bathroom, certain that Lonnie had returned and had gotten my name wrong. No one was there. Sure that I’d heard a voice, I even opened the closet and peered in there. No, I was alone in the room. Maybe it was one of the ghosts Lonnie had told me about. I chuckled to myself and went over to the bed.
Sitting on the edge, I removed my shoes and massaged my feet for a moment. I’d imagined the voice, of course. I was just nervous. It was my first night away from Kevin. Naturally I was going to be jumpy.
I lay back on the bed, which was wonderfully firm and warm. Would I be able to sleep? I was exhausted, true, but that didn’t always mean you could sleep. Maybe I could find some boring movie on television to help lull me off to dreamland.
Something cold touched my cheek. It felt like icy fingers brushing my skin. The sensation lasted a mere second, but it was enough to make me jump to my feet, sure that someone was behind me on the bed.
Of course no one was there.
And Michael Cook’s troubles are just beginning…
About Stephen
Stephen Osborne lives in Northern Illinois with Christine, the diva border terrier mix, where he works at a food packaging plant, testing food. So basically he makes brownies for a living. His loves include Doctor Who, Dark Shadows, and Broadway musicals. A mystery fanatic, his favorite authors are Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, and the wonderful Agatha Christie. His goal: to be the Phantom of the Opera. Not play the part…he wants to find an opera house to haunt!
