"Haunted is every bit as emotional as Spiritus.  It revolves around love.  Real love, forced love, soul mate love, puppy love… every bit of love you could hope to find, its in there.  This story has once again brought out the tears.  There is one scene, something  that has happened at Alastor’s insistence…but it brought me to tears that he had to be on the sidelines and see this happen."

Read More at Fictional Candy

Now that I'm back in my typical routine of writing and editing, I'm also back in my routine of reading every night.  In celebration of #WriterWednesday, I'm sharing my current read:  Shadow's Edge by J.T. Geissinger.

Amazon Product Description:
Deep within the primeval forests of southern England, a race of beautiful, savage shape-shifters lives hidden from the everyday world. Bound together by ancient bloodlines and a ruthless code of secrecy that punishes traitors with death, the Ikati send their leader Leander on a mission to capture one raised outside the tribe before she can expose their secret. When Leander tracks the unsuspecting outsider to Southern California, the hardened warrior is prepared for a fight—but not for the effect the sensual young beauty has on his heart.Jenna spent her childhood in hiding, on the run from someone—or something—her parents refused to discuss. She trusts no one, not since her father’s mysterious disappearance, not since her mother’s sudden death, and definitely not since she began exhibiting strange, superhuman abilities. When handsome, enigmatic Leander appears, promising answers to the mysteries that shroud her past, she knows she shouldn’t trust him either. But their connection is undeniable, and as powerful as the enemy hell-bent on destroying every one of their kind…

I've just started reading, but I'm already hooked!

Bio from Author Website:
A life-long lover of reading and a self-professed “book addict,” J.T. Geissinger didn’t realize her dream of writing a novel until a milestone birthday forced her to take stock of her goals in life. Always believing the right time to commit to putting pen to paper would magically announce itself as she helped her husband with his business and kept busy with the business of life, it took waking up one cold January morning with a shiny new zero as the second number in her age to kick start her determination. More than a year and two unsold novels later, it was time to take stock again.

But her determination matched her initial procrastination, and she kept on writing and learning and trying to improve, trusting that if it was meant to be, it would be.

Then, during a trip to Italy in honor of their 10th wedding anniversary and the honeymoon she and her husband never took, she received an email that would change her life. It was from an agent, Marlene Stringer of Stringer Literary, and it contained the three words every aspiring author longs to hear: “I loved it.”

Marlene sold the manuscript, initially titled The Skinwalker’s Daughter, to Montlake Romance who published it six months later. Hitting the Amazon bestseller lists in both the US and the UK within weeks of publication, Shadow’s Edge is the culmination of the refusal to give up (some would say grow up) with the staunch belief that all good things come to those who wait…and sometimes to those who wait longest.

Book one of the Night Prowler Novels, Shadow’s Edge will be followed by Edge of Oblivion in October, and Edge of Surrender in spring 2013.

As a paranormal romance writer, I get asked this all of this time, and each time my answer is the same:  All of them!

After all, how could I pick just one?  I love the sensual beauty of vampires and the sulking sexiness of werewolves.  Trolls, fairies, and shapeshifters....Oh my!

If I had to pick just one thing though, at the moment it would be ghosts.  I'm in the middle of the final edits for the last book in my series about a ghost haunting the reincarnation of the wife that murdered him.  So needless to say, my entire world right now is all about ghosts.

Still, even if it wasn't for my Spiritus series, I would still find ghosts fascinating.  Every area of the world has it's own beliefs and traditions regarding ghosts, but in America we take it to a whole new level!

For example, the picture above features the widow Mary Todd Lincoln and what appears to be the ghost of her husband, none other than President Abraham Lincoln!  It's rumored that Mrs. Lincoln was obsessed with spirits and the afterlife and to her, this photo proved that her husband was watching over her from the grave.  The photographer that took the photo, burned all of his negatives before his death so we will never know if this is really the ghost of our fallen leader or just a trick of the camera.

When you think about it, ghosts must interest a big part of the population since there are so many shows about making contact with the dead.  Once of my favorites, Ghost Hunters, is based on the investigations of TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society).  In one of my favorite episodes, Jason and Grant explore Waverly Hills Hospital which is very close to where I live and has been a fixture in campfire stories for as long as i can remember.

I guess it's no wonder then that I choose a ghost as the hero of my paranormal romance.  I never thought about it, but I guess living near a paranormal landmark and a rather historic town (Corydon) made a ghost the obvious choice. 

Anyway, for the time being, ghosts are my favorite paranormal creature.  What's your favorite creature of the paranormal?

For those that follow me, you know that I just got back from Myrtle Beach where my daughter's dance company competed for their nationals.  I was my chance to support my number one fan by being her number one fan.

This time was a little different though, this time I learned some valuable lessons from the dance world that I think all writers and people in general could learn from.

The Show Must Go On- This is an old tradition for the stage, but it still holds true.  These kids go on stage (of their own free will) sick, tired, and sometimes even injured.  Why?  Because they have made a commitment to their team mates and themselves.  I look at them and realize that there are no excuses for not pursuing your dreams.  The world is full of writers with full time jobs and families, if they can find a way you can find a way.  I am so often guilty of being "too busy" or "too tired", but regardless the show must go on.

If You Don't Woo, It's The Same As A Boo- This is one of my daughter's favorites.  She applauds other dancers, it doesn't matter if they are on her team or not.  She says it takes a lot of hard work to go out there and she wants everyone to "get some claps" for all their hard work, otherwise, per my daughter, you might as well boo them (which according to my daughter is the cardinal sin of any audience).  It makes me stop and think about how often I'm guilty of reading a great book from a fellow indie author and not leaving a review.  Isn't that along the same line of thinking?

It's Not Always About The Win- This year was my daughter's first year performing a duo.  In her studio, it is a huge rite of passage when you are able to audition for solo/duo/trio dances.  At nationals, their duo didn't place as well as she hoped (Of course she wanted first place).  I stupidly told her I was sorry it didn't do as well as she wanted.  She looked at me like I was crazy and said that it wasn't just about winning.  She said they went out and did their very best and next year their best will have to be even better.  I was shocked that this little girl understood that she worked hard and would just have to challenge herself to work harder next year.  She didn't cry or pout, she just smiled, applauded for the winners, and moved on to the next dance.  As adults, we get so hung up on how things should've been or could be that we don't accept the challenge to just move on.

Hard Work Pays Off- My daughter's team did very well this year at nationals and to them those long hours of class and rehearsals, passing up play dates and sleepovers, was very much worth it.  Who can argue that if you want something, you have to work for it?

So, tomorrow my daughter goes back to school and I get to focus more time on my writing.  I get to start my edits on Incarnate, the last book in the Spiritus series, but I'm going to try to apply the lessons that I've learned from her this summer to make me a better writer and maybe even a better person.

Are there any lessons that you learned from a child?  Share them