To celebrate the release of The Unnaturalists, first book in a Steampunk YA series, I am extremely happy to welcome author Tiffany Trent!
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Ghost Storm
By Tiffany Trent
I’ve had many paranormal experiences, to be honest, but my summer camp experience happened when I was a Girl Scout. Our camp was situated at the base of a mountain not far outside of town. We were always warned to stay in our cabins at night (as is normal, but is seldom followed) and especially not to go up the mountain, as the old McLeod homestead was up there. We could easily get hurt.
Naturally, the five of us didn’t listen. One night, we snuck out of our cabin, got as far as we could in the dark before turning on our flashlights, and then went up to the sagging house on the ridge. The pines whispered and creaked as we crept toward the house. Two of our number gave up right then. Leaving only three intrepid and rather stupid girls to climb into an open window with our wavering flashlights.
There had been many stories about this place and the people who lived and died here. Tales of a murder and the vengeful ghosts that skirted the edges of the pine forest. I wanted to know if any of it was true. I found myself secretly hoping that the ghosts would come to me first.
But if I thought I’d see any evidence of ghosts inside—though how one can judge that on appearances, I’ve no idea—I was disappointed. There was a sunken clawfoot tub in the bathroom. Scattered, warped 45” records. Ratty blankets and molten candles and more I didn’t want to know about.
It was when I put my foot on the first stair to the second story that the wind sprang up. The entire house moaned and shook. Light flashed from the upper-story windows. And that was all my cabin-mates needed. They were off. I tried to get them to stop, but they had had enough.
As we struggled through the underbrush toward the path, a great bolt of lightning hit one of the pines that leaned close to the house. I can remember how that white flash ripped the night in half, how I thought perhaps this was the ghosts’ special way of warning us to steer clear.
Deaf and nearly blind, we ran all the way back to our cabin and were thoroughly drenched by the thunderstorm by the time we got back. Our two chicken cabin- mates were asleep warm and cozy in their beds, but that didn’t deter us from wringing water out of our clothes onto their pillows.
Years later when the mountain caught fire and I watched it from the passenger seat of my dad’s Corvette, I’d wonder whether some girls had snuck up there during summer camp like we did. Maybe the McLeods were having their final revenge.
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More about The Unnaturalists:
In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.
As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
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Tiffany is offering one (1) copy of The Unnaturalists to one lucky winner!
To enter the giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
Open Internationally
Ends Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal Summer Camp giveaways)
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More books by Tiffany Trent:
Tiffany Trent is the author of the forthcoming young adult steampunk novel THE UNNATURALISTS and the HALLOWMERE series. Her first book, In the Serpent’s Coils, was named a BookSense (IndieBound) Children’s Pick in Autumn 2007 and a New York Public Library Book of the Teen Age in 2008. She was also the recipient of the 2008 SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant, and has won awards and fellowships for her nonfiction. Her short story “Blackwater Baby” in Magic in the Mirrorstone was given Honorable Mention for the Year’s Best Horror 2008.
