Reunion fun!

Today, I'm welcoming fellow TWRP author, Kathryn Knight. She's brought a topical subject for me - reunions. I've just had a fantastic reunion with 5 other girls I was at school with. They all came to stay at my house for the weekend and we got really caught up, even though it was our third meeting this year.  Some of our group first met each other 45 years ago but what about Kathryn's story....

Read about Kathryn later on!

Thanksgiving break is often the season of reunions.  At the risk of dating myself, this November brings my 25^th high school reunion, which I somehow ended up planning.  I was never class president or even an officer of any kind, but a friend roped me into helping plan our 5^th year reunion when it seemed as though no one else would step up.  That one was easy: it’s not all that hard to find people five years after graduation.  We rented out a hall at The Knights of Columbus and bought a keg and it was a great success.  Then came the tenth year reunion, which was a little more comprehensive: a popular sports bar and some finger food. 

  

Then I went all out for the 20^th, much to my detriment.

I’d been so impressed by my husband’s 20^th reunion, planned by a pair of high school sweethearts who are now happily married, and I wanted to make ours a night to remember as well.  By this point in everyone’s busy lives, however, the reunion “committee” had shrunk to me and one other person.  But together we persisted.  We had a ball room in a hotel, buffet, bar, DJ, photographer…I unearthed our senior slide show, gave a speech, and awarded prizes to classmates (“classmate who came the farthest distance”, etc.)  It was a great night—and I was absolutely exhausted!  The adrenaline that carried me through the days leading up to it lasted only until about 10 pm, the wine kicked in, and I was done for the night, just when everyone was gearing up for after-parties at the local bars.  

This time around, I’m letting a classmate who now owns a successful restaurant take the lead with food and beverage.  Social media is a huge help in getting the word out.  Still, though, I have to wonder why I’m doing this to myself again.  I guess the answer is that I love reunions.  Reconnecting with the friends that shared your childhood and teenage years is a wonderful trip down memory lane.

The characters in Silver Lake are also having a reunion of sorts—a private reunion with an emotional goal: to solve the mystery of their friend Brandy’s disappearance.  When Brandy vanished during their senior year, their tight-knit group unraveled.  Jason and Rain went their separate ways, never getting the chance to explore their forbidden attraction.  Now that Brandy’s ghost has brought them together again at Silver Lake, will they take a chance on love?

I hope you’ll read the except from Silver Lake below, and share any funny reunion stories you have!  

Blurb:

Rain Anderson can't decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.

Five years ago, Rain's tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent's deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can't let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.

Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.

 Excerpt:

            “I saw...a figure.  A figure with dark hair, and I think it was Brandy.”  She shuddered and put her forehead back on his chest. 

Reluctantly, he moved their bodies apart a bit and scanned her face.  He held on to her shoulders and asked calmly, “You saw Brandy?  Brandy is here?”

            She shook her head.  “No, I saw… like… an image of Brandy.  I woke up, because it was cold, and I saw something moving.  It was Brandy, I’m sure of it, although I didn’t see her face clearly.  And then she, um, disappeared.”

            “An image of Brandy?  Are you saying you saw a ghost, Rain?”  He was pretty sure she’d had another nightmare, but the way she had flown out of her room gave him the impression it had been an extremely vivid one.

            “I know, it sounds ridiculous.  But that’s what I saw.  And she sort of, well, went through the wall.  I’m sure you don’t believe me,” she added miserably, lifting her stormy eyes to his.

            He pulled her back into a hug before he could stop himself.  “I absolutely believe you.  Whether you were awake or asleep, you saw Brandy and that’s scary.  I don’t think we can deny that weird things are happening here.”

            Jason smoothed her hair and waited patiently for her trembling to subside.  If a ghost really was lurking in her bedroom, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot he could do about that.  A rare sense of powerlessness caused his jaw to clench in frustration.

He stopped watching the door and instead focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms.  She clung to him, and his body responded to hers with a familiar ache.  He knew he was losing the battle to keep his feelings platonic. 

Buy link Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Lake-ebook/dp/B009AEE6DO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1345749376&sr=1-1

Buy link TWRP: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973

More about Kathryn:

As a child, Kathryn Knight kept her parents on a constant quest to find enough reading material to last her through each week.  An early fondness for books about horses later gave way to a lasting preference for both love stories and ghost stories; as a writer, the paranormal romance genre is a perfect fit.  Silver Lake is Kathryn's first novel; her second novel, Gull Harbor, has also received a contract from The Wild Rose Press and will be released in 2013.  She lives in New England with her husband, her sons, and a number of rescued animals.  Please visit her at http://kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com/.

Thank you, Kathryn, for sharing your stories with us, and best wishes with Silver Lake.

Slainthe!