Shadows
of the Past
Blurb
Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has
disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in
hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.
The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient
human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of
a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens
not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of
reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its
torment.
Can Anne save her relationship and help
Genevieve find her eternal rest?
A touching, compelling story of tragedy, loss
and the power of endless love and good magic.
The twists and turns in this paranormal tale
keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a
quest to rekindle love.
Amazon
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadowsofthepast-1013184-140.html
Barnes & Noble
Eggcerpt
The
peal of the church bells from the abbey tower startled Genevieve. The sound
added to her mounting anxiety. The
massive abbey loomed over the stone paved path.
All the nuns were at evening mass.
With a bit of luck her disappearance would go unnoticed for a few more
hours. The Abbess would assume she was cleaning the toilets as ordered.
Fear
skittered through Genevieve when she turned away from the abbey towards the
path leading to town. Nothing stirred.
She hesitated. Evil emanated from
the forest surrounding the abbey. With a shiver, she leaned against the solid
oak gates that flanked the abbey's main path. They had hidden her from
detection for the past couple of hours, but how much longer would she be safe?
The
mountain shadows grew thicker and closer.
She
moved her weight from one leg to the other. They ached from so much standing,
but she lacked the strength to return to the gardener's cottage and wait for
Andrew's arrival as planned. Genevieve closed her tired eyes. The image of old
Ryan, slumped dead in his chair in his cubicle, caught life in her mind and
made her whole body ripple with fear.
She'd
rather wait for Andrew here, outside.
Had he
forgotten his promise? What if something terrible befell him during the last
three days, or he had changed his mind? Why should he risk all for an ordinary
nun?
Had his
folks talked him into giving her up, made him see reason? Helping her out of
her predicament meant a huge risk for him -- losing his family, his friends and
his position among his peers. His words echoed in her mind. "I will risk
everything for you, even life, if necessary."
* * * *
"Anne,
Anne, wake up. Wake up, please," the insistent voice whispered next to her
ear. The touch of a hand, on her
shoulder, startled Anne.
She
opened her eyes, still half between sleep and reality. Her gaze stopped on a
stranger, a woman, by her side.
The
moon's pale face, the only light, filtered through a small gap in the tent's
entrance; yet the stranger's whole body emanated a kind of soft ray, a
yellowish halo making her figure and face easy to discern.
A long,
dark robe, similar to those worn by nuns in monasteries centuries ago, covered
her body. No traditional headdress covered the woman's red hair, which fell
loosely over her shoulders in long, heavy tendrils and continued down her chest
and back.
Anne
stood up and studied the intruder with open curiosity. The stranger’s wax pale
face looked corpse like. Anne opened her mouth to ask her who she was. She
looked Anne straight in the eyes, placed her forefinger on her lips and
whispered, "Hush, come. Follow me."
Anne's
eyes widened.
The
woman, moving away from the sleeping bag, appeared to glide above the ground.
Her bare feet didn't make a sound.
As if
hypnotized, Anne followed the illuminated silhouette heading into the forest,
without questioning her own actions.
An
onrush of sensations unfamiliar to her followed. Dizziness and a malevolent
feeling of unreality suffocated her. The presence of evil, creeping up and
enveloping her, became almost palpable. Her throat turned dry, and she gasped
for air.
/ / / / / / / / /
Character
interview -Genevieve
1. Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable Miss...
"Genevieve.
My name is Genevieve, but Sister Clementa, the Abbess, and some of her followers call me The
witch."
2. Tell me, Genevieve, where are you living?
Genevieve ( a small sigh escapes her lips.
Then she shrugs) "Well, for the moment I reside at St. Mary’s Abbey. On
top of a mountain in Britain, in the...cursed forest."
3. Do you have any
schooling?
Genevieve (nods and pats and invisible crease of her
dress) "Kind Old Bertha, who took
care of me after my family perished, taught me to read and write. Not only
English but also Latin. And, most important, she taught me how to prepare
healing potions from plants and herbs. Perhaps that’s why the Abbess hates me
so much. A peasant girl of the 13th century is dangerous if she knows more than
her superiors, I think."
4. What are your worst fears or nightmare?
Genevieve
(throws a shy look around her. She shivers and her voice is small) "I fear
the cursed forest. This forest is responsible for what happened to my family.
My father’s odd behavior, the death of my siblings. All the evil that lurks in
it.
My
nightmare - the Abbess, sister Clementa, who threatens me all the time with
sending me to the stake. I can’t understand why she wants me out of the
way."
5. Is it anything
that you secretly desire?
Genevieve
(blushes and wrings her hands. Then she looks me directly in the eyes. Her
voice is strong now. ) "To become Andrew’s wife and grow a family. If his
family agrees....If the Abbess lets me go... If God forgives me for giving up being a nun.....If
I escape alive from the forest.... If....”
Author bio:
Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country
of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of
communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or
paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric
hospital if not to prison.
Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.
Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.
She has
dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote
during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s
regime in 1989, and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning
for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.
Shadows of the Past,
paranormal/light romance/light mystery/light horror was released at the end of
2012 by Wild Child publishing, USA.
Carmen Stefanescu's Links:
Thank you, Elaine, for hosting Shadows of the Past and Genevieve's interview today!
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