The author had every intention of releasing her paranormal mystery, Squatter, next month. With a big ol’ duh, she sees Halloween on the calendar. Yep, we all rolled our eyes at her. So… It will be released Friday, Halloween, but only in our bookstore. Plus, if you use the coupon code boo2you on Friday, you’ll get a 15% discount on it. It’ll be released to the retailers and in paperback next week.

Blurb: For Trinity MacNeil, life and its people are overwhelming and intrusive. So when she inherits her aunt’s house, she seizes the opportunity to escape her life, saddened only to surrender her job as librarian. In the country, a mile outside the small town of Hillmon Point, she hopes to create a self-sustaining existence—a dream come true.

She’s quick to realize, however, that the house is an unwelcoming mausoleum: her aunt’s hospice setup still there, her cousin’s room the same as the day he died nearly twenty-three years ago. Caring deeply for both, she finds it difficult to remove the last reminders of their existence and simply avoids the upstairs.

But, when a figure begins appearing in her cousin’s playroom window, that becomes impossible. Whoever—or whatever—is upstairs is pulling her attention there, and as the activity increases, she realizes she is being led somewhere.

But, where?

And, by whom?

With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, she must reach inside herself to find the power to deal with the unearthly, and outside herself to let people near enough to help.

Okay, this does seem weird to be swiping chapters of a book that has nothing to do with the DWD or our favorite dick. Regardless, for your perusal, the first two chapters of Squatter follow. If you read it, you hereby vow to donate to the Get Kate Out of the Pokey Fund, if needed.

Chapter 1

Trinity MacNeil scolded herself for feeling so excited, and yet, she could not stop the smile spreading across her freckled face. Seizing a deep calming breath, she dropped her leather satchel onto the porch, and then, her trembling hand aimed a silver key at the front door’s lock. A twist, a pull, and a timid push brought a creak that punctuated the moment, this new beginning.

Her smile widened even further when she made her first steps into the house. She spun in a circle, her eyes taking in the huge foyer. Then, she plopped onto the second last step of the staircase and released a tremendous sigh.

This was hers. All hers. Despite its drab walls and lusterless woodwork, it looked luxurious to her, the proverbial dream come true. While it hadn’t cost her a cent, it came at a very high price.

Instantly, her excitement dissipated, and sadness rushed over her. Her aunt Ronnie had died here just three weeks prior. She was her mother’s sister, and now, they were both gone. Trinity hadn’t been that close to her aunt, or maybe her regret made her believe that. They had regularly exchanged long, handwritten letters and sent birthday cards. On holidays, they had talked on the phone. Yet, she had declined her aunt’s every invitation to visit, and now, she had to live with the fact that she hadn’t seen her since the day she graduated from college, nearly six years ago. The time before that was at her mother’s funeral, only months earlier. She believed that not being a physical part of her life had a consequence: Her aunt hadn’t even told her she had ovarian cancer. The lawyer said that by the time she got diagnosed, they had given her six months to live. She chose the treatment-less route and made it barely two before she died—in this very house, this house that was now Trinity’s.

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