by Rain Trueax
It has taken awhile; but finally, I am back writing the next book (contemporary paranormal, set in Tucson, Arizona). The romance involves the afterlife, reincarnation, and redemption. Big subjects and even harder if you don't have a religious agenda.
In the snippet below, Devi, a natural born witch, is soon to be married (it's unconventional as to why) and driving toward Tucson while talking to Vi, the widow she has hired to be a cook at the ranch. While this book is paranormal, it has a lot of interactions between women-- scenes I especially enjoy writing.
“You are
thinking deep,” Vi said.
Devi smiled.
“I guess I am. My wedding is tomorrow.”
“It’s a huge
decision.”
“It is.”
Even more if it was to be like her marriage—purely business.
“Are you
having doubts?” Vi asked.
Devi
entered and merged into the freeway traffic before she answered. “No, just
wondering what kind of man he is. I haven’t known him long.”
“I can see he’s complex. I wish
George had been there today. He might have some insights.”
“George is a guide for you?” She rather
doubted it given what Vi had told her.
“What else could he be?”
She glanced over and saw Vi
genuinely wanted to know. She considered what to tell her. “There are what we call ghosts,
who have refused to move on from one lifetime after they die. No authority is
over them. Their motives are suspect. So like with Maude, don't trust too much in
what they say. Guides operate under rules and with spiritual authority
over them. For a muse, you want a guide, not a ghost.” Most of all not a demon,
but she didn’t add that. She did not want to frighten Vi. Sometimes what one
thought was a ghost actually was a demon. If she met George, she’d know better
if that was the case with Vi’s spirit.
“I think he’s a ghost. I
wondered why he didn’t come with me today.”
Devi could hear the upset in her
voice. She considered that. Her wards had most likely kept him away and would
even now, so long as Vi was with her. “Do you need him to be with you?” she
asked. She could lift the ward from him. She would only do it under certain
conditions.
“I have, but…
I will think about it.”
“Good… Did
your husband involve himself with the occult when he was alive?”
“I don’t
know. What would that mean?”
“You looked
at the books at the ranch. Some were dealing with the unknown. It would mean involvement with learning spells, possibly
friends into such, meetings where you weren’t included, a sense that he knew
what others didn’t, possibly an increasing sense of his own power.” Learning
occult powers could lead to ego enhancements with no controls. It often ended
up deadly. Again, she didn’t want to frighten Vi. She’d know better only after
she met George.
“I need to
think about that.”
“Good. You can
also ask him when he returns.” She debated telling Vi about the wards. Likely
if he knew he’d been blocked, George would tell her.
“I will do
that. You can keep him away, can’t you?” Vi then asked.
“I won’t if
you’d prefer otherwise-- if he isn’t to be a problem.”
“Problem?”
“Doing
things to scare others at the ranch. Ghosts can be mischievous but also
threatening—especially if he didn’t like the changes in your life.”
This week, I changed the cover of the book and will share that at a later time. I think the new version better suits the energy of the hero and heroine.
Reflections in our creek 
