Guest: Patricia Kiyono - Gateways to the Paranormal

Paranormal Romantics is happy to welcome Patricia Kiyono today. She's here to tell us about an anthology that paranormal romance fans are sure to enjoy.

Patricia Kiyono

Thank you so much for the opportunity to tell your readers about Gateways to the Paranormal. I am so honored to be included in this collection of paranormal romance stories, collected and published by Dingbat Publishing.

 Growing up, I learned about Japanese fables and legends, called monogatari, from books that my aunts sent us from my mother’s home country. I spent hours reading about fascinating mythical creatures, so different from the fairy tales American children learn. When I learned about Dingbat’s callout for paranormal romance stories, I knew I wanted to base it on a monotatari, but which one? I did some research and discovered one that hadn’t been included in my earlier reading, about Tsukogomami, or “tool spirits.” According to legend, once an object becomes one hundred years old, it develops a soul, can move around, and talk. Most often they get into mischief, especially if they feel they’ve been neglected or unused. There are manga books about umbrellas and articles of clothing, but for my story I decided on a 100-year-old tea set inherited by a young graduate student in Michigan. The tea set is happy to be taken out of storage, and sets about finding a suitable partner for her. Monogatari Mischief is a short novella, so I hope you’ll enjoy this as well as the other stories in the book.

Here are the fourteen stories included in the book:

The Ghostess and Mister Muir by J. L. Salter: With one haunting, Levi Muir is entranced with a beautiful ghostess. His colleague Lucy tries to convince him the supernatural is real and not to be taken lightly. She’s willing to fight for his heart, because no self-respecting Southern girl takes second place to a ghost.

Blood Defiance by April Kelly Jones: Lavender’s pre-med. studies are interrupted by a whispered voice in her head, But how can a stranger know her so intimately, and why does he want her to go hunting supernatural things with him?

My Guardian Demon by Kayla Krafts: Getting rid of a wraith shouldn’t have been an issue. But the wraith left a trace of… something in his victim, a homeless man, and now, Cecelia and Zozo worry he’s changing into something they’ll have to hunt. And who would have thought he’d clean up that nice?

Monogatari Mischief by Patricia Kiyono: Mindy Granger loves her grandmother’s tea set, but the cups seem to always be lost, and it’s driving her crazy. Maybe it’s not such a good thing when she meets her handsome next-door neighbor, even though she thinks the tea set likes him.

The Weatherboy by Lori Lapekes: Life turns stormy when Reed Darby, a sixteen-year-old aspiring meteorologist, taps into a bizarre website called Misfit Books. But once a lightning bolt creates a chunk of glass that helps him control the weather and win his girl, things really go haywire.

Ghosted by Jerri Drennen: Camila is helping a friend research the man who wrote the old letters they found in an antique desk. What they find is a handsome ghost who can’t move on, stuck in the house where he died. Can Camila help set Charles Asper free without losing her heart?

Welcome to the Hotel Fatewell… in California by Charles A. Salter: Brad is fighting a messy divorce, and it’s not looking good. But when a visitation with his daughter Carly turns into a nightmare out of an old Eagles song, he knows they’ll only survive with the assistance of the beautiful woman he can hear but not see… the woman he’s always loved, who vanished so many years ago.

Arachne's Tapestry by Kay Springsteen: Author John Mason cannot seem to start his sixth book. That is, until he meets an inspiring new friend with eight legs and a love of weaving webs. Suddenly he's got all kinds of ideas. Trouble is, what he writes is starting to come true.

Pillow Talk by Ruth J. Hartman: What happens when a tooth fairy falls in love with her dentist? The dental community may never be the same!

Love’s Fortune by Nicole Zoltan: Elizabeth needs a job, but being a fortune-teller for a traveling circus seems iffy.

Cian and Arin by Felicia Rogers: Beginning: Cian Conn hates hiding what he really is—a gray gryphon destined to protect the helpless—but the grays’ ancient rules of secrecy force him to live under cover. When a new sect of gryphons arise, declaring their independence, Cian longs for the same freedom, but he’s leery of risking such change. For their feathers have turned black, and so have their souls.

Frozen Flowers Fallen by Sara Westill: In a country obsessed with genetically inherited gifts, Bella Fenwick is no one special. Then a handsome Ruthenian walks into her life, a wolf at his side. He won’t let Bella hide behind her desk and discredit the evidence she’s discovered that could help him find a murderer.

Star of Wonder by J. Gunnar Grey: Kennie needs something to believe in and he’s sucked in when a beautiful stranger gives him a chance to escape his cynical, disappointing reality. But danger haunts Niviane’s world and Kennie can’t remain happily oblivious for long.

Garden of the Lost by D. J. Donaldson: A shocking event sends Conrad on a crazy quest that rocks his small town, uncovers its deepest secrets, and shows him there’s a lot about life—and death—he hasn’t understood.

 

Gateways to the Paranormal is available at Amazon.

 

Patricia’s Bio:

During her first career, Patricia Kiyono taught elementary school music, computer classes, elementary classrooms, and junior high social studies. She now teaches music education at the university level.

She lives in southwest Michigan, USA, not far from her children and grandchildren. Current interests, aside from writing, include sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, and making music. A love of travel and an interest in faraway people inspires her to create stories about different cultures.