*Audio excerpt read by author J. Rene Guerrero below*
This is a strange time in current history, to say the least. Our lives have been disrupted by multiple entities; from a deadly world-wide pandemic, to the new-era civil rights riots, to the collapse of our fragile consumption-based economy, not to mention the daily reminders of how ineffective, polarizing, and clueless our current government administration is… (I could go on and on.) At this time, I would venture to say, we are all seeking a little distraction from our new normal. So, I decided to do my part.
This is the beginning of a series to introduce you all to elements of my novel, White Rock, in hopes that it will spark your interest. I will be reciting passages from the book with some light audio sweetening to give the excerpts more of a theatre-of-the-mind feel. This is the first one out of the gate, so please be kind and excuse any inconsistencies in the video and audio files. I’m still trying to nail down my workflow. It may not be brain surgery, but it’s not as easy as it looks.
Our heroine Laura Milton has returned to her hometown of Dallas, Texas to attempt to uncover the identity of a woman who has been haunting her dreams since she was young. As a child, she saw the ghostly image of the Lady of the Lake from the back seat of her parents’ car one fateful night. Little did she know that this single chance encounter would change her life forever.
At this point in the story, Laura has been interviewing numerous people who claim to have information on the possible identity of the elusive ghost. Most people she’s spoken with have been helpful, giving in-depth, if not highly conflicting, information. It has been both encouraging and incredibly frustrating.
Both of Laura’s parents are now deceased and she has not returned to visit their graves since her father’s burial many years ago. In a highly agitated state, seeks out their plots at Calvary Hill Cemetery in hopes of mustering some emotional support simply from being near them. While there, she is visited by the ghostly inhabitants of the cemetery, who show curious empathy and compassion to the one living person who can see them, and who they can see as well.
On her way back to her hotel, she stops by White Rock Lake to get a fresh perspective. While there, she encounters another lost soul that is forever bound to the location.
The confrontations in these two back-to-back scenes confirm her ability to communicate with the dead, and prove to her that she is not delusional. Laura will need every ounce of strength to discover the identity of the disembodied spirit that has taken over her life and finally free herself from living in the shadow of the dead.
I’m really excited about this series of presentations and I hope you will be as well. For fans, hey, you get to listen to me do my thing in my own voice. Rarely do authors get the opportunity to tell their stories in their own voices, and I’m really enjoying the process. And, even though it will be presented in non-chronological installments, who doesn’t need a good ghost story to take their minds off the impending apocalypse?
I know I do.
Listen to audio excerpt from White Rock, The Novel, below