To Avoid Ghosts, Stay Outside!

            It’s February 1^st already? Or maybe if you’re experiencing cold and snow (again) like I am, you’re saying it’s finally February 1^st? If you live in a cold-weather-state, you probably spend more time inside than any other time of the year. Inside your office, inside your car, inside your house…and maybe a dash from your car to the mall once in a while. So does being inside that mean there’s more of a chance that you’ll encounter a ghost?

            Maybe.

            Most ghost stories focus on an object or a place. I recently took a tour of a local historic town and more of the passed-down stories focused on things that happened inside of the homes, shops and restaurants. Something banged the pots and pans in the kitchen when no humans were in there. Something pulled up the carpeting and left it rolled on the side of the room. Something set up all the chairs for a meeting when the hall had been empty only hours before.

            Indoors. There weren’t many tales about ghosts haunting outdoor areas.

            In my ghost series, Haunted Love, the books focus on a haunted, one-hundred-year-old apartment building. The ghosts appear in the hallway, in residents’ apartments, in elevators, and in the lobby. One of the books is set at the end of winter, and the ghost never ventures outside. Coincidentally, the other two books are set in spring and summer, and those ghosts DO venture outside.

            Obviously, ghosts don’t get cold. Or hot. They’ve passed on and they’re not susceptible to the earthly issues we have to deal with. Maybe the ghosts are out there during this cold weather, but we’re moving so fast to get back inside where it’s warm so we don’t feel their presence. Can you picture that? You’re bundled up—scarf over your mouth and nose, hat pulled over your brows. A ghost swoops in, trying to get your attention. The air around you gets cold…wait, it was already cold…so you don’t notice the change. Then, a black shadow, kind of like a mist of smoke, passes before you. Only you don’t see it because your hat has slipped down to your eyes and you can only see the sidewalk in front of you.

            Maybe the ghosts have been trying to get your attention this winter, but you’ve been too busy trying to get warm. Want to avoid them? Stay outside. They might still be there, but you won’t notice.

            Happy February! I hope you have many fun books to read in front of a cozy fire. I’m thrilled to announce that my three ghost books are now available in one print version.

 

Haunted Love...3 books of romantic ghost stories in one print version.
Available now at Amazon

 

Joya’s Bio:

     Joya Fields has had over 100 stories and articles published in local and national magazines. Her debut novel, a romantic suspense, was a NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012 and was nominated for RT Book Reviews 2012 Indie Press/Self-Published Contemporary Romance award. Since then, she’s published five more books with even more on the way.

Connect with Joya

www.joyafields.com

Twitter: @joyafields

Facebook Author Page

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Psychics...Do We All Have the Potential to be One?

Happy New Year! May it be a fun and exciting 2014!!

The heroine of my latest book, Sidelined Afterlife, is a psychic-medium. She can communicate with the dead and the almost-dead. It’s a “gift” she despises, but one that comes in handy during the course of this haunted story.

I don’t have this sort of “sixth sense” talent, so I had to reach out to friends and acquaintances who see ghosts on a regular basis when researching psychic powers. It made a believer out of me! Some of these psychics have ghosts who live with them in their homes. Others have almost had car accidents because ghosts (who appear as real as any human) jump in front of their vehicle. Imagine cruising the highway at 55 MPH and then “seeing” a figure run from the grassy knoll beside the road and in front of your car. Freaky, huh?

But do we all have this talent to “see” ghosts or other beings? I don’t profess to have the answer to that question, but it sure is an interesting topic. When we think we see a shadow…and then turn—to see nothing. Was it a ghost? When we dismiss that noise in the next room as being caused by the cat. Was it a spirit trying to make a connection? Maybe spirits are trying to communicate with us but we’re not open enough—or capable enough—to know how to listen.

Veronica Matthews, the heroine of Sidelined Afterlife, wishes she could ignore the ghosts who appear to her. But when a handsome ER doctor comes needs her help getting rid of a spirit that haunts him, she finally understands that her psychic powers truly are a gift. How about you? Do you believe in psychic powers, or have such powers?

Hope you’ll enjoy the following blurb and excerpt from my latest book, Sidelined Afterlife.

Sidelined Afterlife, Blurb

Communicating with ghosts has only ever brought Veronica Matthews pain and grief. Afraid to love and lose again, Hunter Anderson needs her help, but she resists risking her heart. Can a ghost help them break through a barrier of mistrust and guilt?

Excerpt:

   “I am an idiot. The biggest idiot ever. If you want me to pierce something for you, to prove I’m an idiot, I have some sterilized instruments upstairs in my apartment.”

   Her tongue poked against her cheek, signaling a laugh that wanted to erupt. Suddenly, he really wanted to be the one who could make her laugh. “Maybe I could do your lower lip?”

   Her short laugh erupted. A sweet, melodic sound that filled the small apartment.

   His gaze stayed on that full mouth and he lifted his fingers closer, compelled to touch her.      She stared at him with wide eyes as he traced the corner of her mouth lightly with his finger.

   “I’m a liar. I could never tarnish something as beautiful as this.”

Christ. What a line. Where had those words come from? But he meant it.

   Her breath was hot against his finger as he traced the line of her lower lip. Her gaze held his. His stomach growled again, breaking the spell, and she blinked and leaned against the sofa.

   “You know what? We never had dessert,” she said.

He had room for dessert. But not the food kind. He swallowed to quell his appetite for her. “Uh…how about I make an ice cream run? Then we’ll get to work.” Enough of this temptation. He needed to get away from her, from this pull she had on his body and emotions.

Purchase links for SIDELINED AFTERLIFE:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Decadent Publishing
All Romance eBooks

Joya’s Bio:

     Joya Fields has had over 100 stories and articles published in local and national magazines. Her debut novel, a romantic suspense, was a NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012 and was nominated for RT Book Reviews 2012 Indie Press/Self-Published Contemporary Romance award. Since then, she’s published four more books with even more on the way.

 

Connect with Joya

www.joyafields.com

Twitter: @joyafields

Facebook Author Page

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Deck the Halls with...Ghosts? #Christmas #PNR

Deck the Halls with…Ghosts?

The third ghost book in my Hauntings at Inner Harbor trilogy comes out this month and someone recently asked me why I would release a book about ghosts in a month other than October.

It got me thinking….. Yes, October is the month for all sorts of scary and haunted stuff, but ghosts don’t need a special time of year to hang around. Especially if they have a message to relay or something to resolve in this world. Every month can be a month for ghosts.

Look at Ebenezer Scrooge. The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future didn’t care that it was December—Christmas Eve, in fact. They had a message to get across and they did it when Scrooge needed to understand how his actions affected others. The ghosts from A Christmas Carol aren’t any less effective or (or scary to Scrooge) just because they didn’t appear in October.

In this world, our favorite time to indulge in ghostly movies, decorations and disguises is October but that doesn’t mean it’s the favorite time for ghosts. Have you ever experienced an encounter with a spirit? Like “seeing” someone who recently passed away or dreaming about them? As if they have one last piece of advice for you before they move on to the next world? That’s the premise of my upcoming release, Sidelined Afterlife. The ghost has no idea why he can’t cross over into the next world. So he haunts the last man who touched him before he died—a handsome ER doctor. When the doc can’t figure out who is haunting him or why, he calls on his beautiful psychic neighbor. The two of them must work together to help the ghost figure out what his unfinished business is so he can cross over.

 

Ghosts are around us year-round. They’re with us for every holiday and every season. December is a terrific month to think about ghosts and loved ones who have moved on, but are with us in spirit only through the holidays.

 

Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday this year…filled with good spirits of all kinds.

Get your Kindles and Nooks ready! SIDELINED AFTERLIFE will release very soon!

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Available December 24th!