Dark
Prophecy
Soul
Storm, Book
1
by Ann
Gimpel
Publisher: Dream Shadow Press
Release Date: 12/11/14
Genre: Urban Fantasy
When
the dream world spills its murky contents, everyone’s worst nightmares run
free.
Book
Description:
Dr. Lara McInnis reads auras and
flirts with an elusive ability to foretell the future. Ambivalent about the
magic within her, she’s done a fine job ignoring other aspects of her
power—until now. After several patients—and a student or two—describe the same
cataclysmic dream, she uncovers ancient evil intent on draining her power. Lara
knows next to nothing about her psychic side, but it will destroy her if she
can’t come to terms with it.
Trevor Denoble has secrets, but he
shields them well with a stunning body and a boatload of British charm. The
airline he works for folds because there’s no fuel for the planes, and Lara’s
changing into someone he barely recognizes. Though he doesn’t know it yet, the
rest of his carefully crafted life is about to come crashing down too.
Living in a world teetering on the
edge of anarchy, Trevor and Lara are faced with a series of painful decisions.
Is the love between them enough for Trevor to swallow his distrust of Lara’s
burgeoning paranormal ability? Will their personal demons tear them apart in a
world gone mad, as shortages of everything from electricity to food escalate?
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/H2mtTvxkrT4
Excerpt:
…Hours later, Lara
let herself out of her office, reached back in to activate the alarm, and then
locked the door behind her. Arabel had gone home at six. Normally her
receptionist left a note if there was something she needed to communicate.
Tonight there hadn’t been any notes because there weren’t any patients she
needed to call. But there had been a few zucchinis from Arabel’s
lovingly-tended garden. Lara was grateful, both for the organic produce and for
the lack of patient-related affairs to attend to. She was tired and hoped
nobody had a crisis that evening.
She double-checked
the pager that lived clipped to her belt. As she moved away from the front door
of her building, she stumbled. The outside light was out—when had that
happened?—and it was very dark in the shadows of the cavernous front porch. She
made a grab for the railing to steady herself and took a tentative step toward
the street.
“Stop right
there,” a familiar harsh voice boomed from behind her.
“Mr. Beauchamp.
That is you, isn’t it?” Alarm ricocheted through her, but she knew intuitively
it was important to hide her fear. “What do you want?” Though she aimed for
nonchalance, her voice sounded thin and shaky. Is it Ken? Aw, Jesus, who else
could it be? She closed her eyes, gathering data from an unseen realm she knew
well. Once her energies were focused, she discerned his twisted energy field
throbbing against the darkness. Better the devil you know flashed through her
mind. Not necessarily came close on its heels, as she realized, with a sinking
feeling, that Ken Beauchamp really was dangerous. She’d known it the first time
he walked into her office, but drawn in by his wife’s soft helplessness, she’d
ignored her concerns, compassion overriding common sense.
“I want to talk.
No, don’t turn around.” The man’s voice held menace as it sliced into her
tumbling thoughts.
“What do you want
to talk about, Mr. Beauchamp?” With effort, she kept her voice steady. “Surely
whatever it is can wait until tomorrow. You really do need to call my office
and make an appointment.” There, that seems like about the right amount of
bravado.
“What did you tell
my wife today? When you were in the bathroom. You’d better tell me the truth.”
“Are you
threatening me? Because if you are, I’ll call the cops and have you thrown off
my property.” Anger was rapidly displacing her fear—or at least coexisting with
it. She reached a hand into her bag in search of her phone.
“That wouldn’t be
smart, Doc, not very smart at all. Take your hand out of that purse.”
Ken Beauchamp’s
voice was mild, but an ominous undertone chilled her. Sweat gathered in her
armpits and dripped down her sides. Think! she commanded herself. There’s got
to be a way out of this.
“Well, Doctor?”
Ken’s voice oozed sarcasm, with undercurrents of something darker and far more
primal. “I asked you a simple question. Answer it and we can both go home.”
What was he doing?
Lara dug deeper with her hyper-honed senses. His breathing seemed…uneven. Was
he getting off by intimidating her?
Something clicked
ominously. The snick of a gun’s safety mechanism? What else could that cold
metallic snapping sound possibly be? Fighting fear that threatened to paralyze
her, Lara asked, “How’s Bethany, Mr. Beauchamp? She’s all right isn’t she?”
Despite her concerns for herself, Lara was suddenly frantic about Bethany.
“That’s none of
your business anymore. We won’t be back. I just want to know what you told her
today.”
“Why is that
important to you?”
“I ask the
questions around here.” Yes, Lara thought as she listened intently, he was
practically panting. Oh shit, this guy’s a pervert on top of all his other
less-than-stellar attributes. She flirted with flying down the porch steps and
trying to outrun him, except she had dress shoes on and her heavy shoulder bag.
What if he really did have a gun? She hadn’t heard the metal click again.
A car pulled to
the curb in front of her building and she started, heart beating like a mad
thing. Christ, is it one of his henchmen come to help out? Practically moaning
aloud, she wondered what Ken Beauchamp had in mind for her…
About
the Author:
Ann Gimpel is a national
bestselling author. She’s also a clinical psychologist, with a Jungian
bent. Avocations include mountaineering,
skiing, wilderness photography and, of course, writing. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she
began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction
has appeared in a number of webzines and anthologies. Her longer books run the
gamut from urban fantasy to paranormal romance. She’s published over 20 books
to date, with several more contracted for 2014 and beyond.
A husband, grown children,
grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out her family
Thanks so much for inviting me back to your blog, Sue! It's such a compliment that you want to keep featuring my books. Hugs, thanks, and wishes for an epic 2015.
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