by Jody Kihara
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Hi everyone!
Velvet invited me to do a guest post with a ‘fireside chat’ featuring some of the characters from my novel White Witch Pond.
The characters:
Shaya Solen - the main character
Kim and Brianne - her best friends
The chat takes place after the novel ends.
Hope you enjoy!
--Jody
The fire gave a loud crackle, making Shaya jump. She glanced over at her two best friends. Their faces glowed eerily in the firelight. Brianne looked every bit as nervous as Shaya, but Kim smiled.
“This is a bad idea,” Shaya said. “Like, really bad.”
Kim smiled more widely, and in the flickering shadows, her smile looked almost evil. “Scared?” She picked up the Ouija piece and waved it towards Shaya.
Shaya flinched away. “No, I’m not scared, it’s just… this isn’t something to mess around with.”
“Oh, it’ll be fun. Right, Bri?”
Brianne’s smile looked forced. “Sure,” she said brightly. She didn’t sound convincing.
Shaya shook her head. “Forget it, Kim, I’m not doing it. I’m going home.”
“What?” Kim dropped the Ouija piece. “Oh, come on Shay, it’s just a game. You don’t really believe in this stuff, do you?”
Shaya didn’t answer.
“What?” Kim asked. “What? Oh, come on Shaya, you have to tell us what’s going on. You’ve been acting all jumpy lately. Ever since Halloween, and you didn’t even go out at Halloween. And the night I wanted to shortcut past the pond, you had a total freaky fit.”
“Kim, I did not have a freaky f―” Shaya stopped and sighed. They were her best friends; maybe it was time she told them the truth.
“Okay,” she said. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But first I have to ask you… do you believe in ghosts?”
Brianne groaned. “Oh, that’s the lead-in to every ghost story in existence. Here’s where you try to scare Kim for trying to scare you.”
“Great, you already don’t believe me.”
“Sure we do!” Kim said. “I totally believe in ghosts. In fact…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I see them.”
Brianne frowned, unsure whether this was a joke or not. Kim picked up the Ouija piece and held it in front of one eye so that the glass centre made her eye look huge. “They’re everywhere!” she hissed.
Brianne squealed with laughter, and Shaya sighed. “Forget it,” she said.
“Oh, come on!” Kim said. “I was just joking. Okay, seriously. I’m listening now.”
Shaya looked into the fire. This was going to be every bit as tough as she’d expected. “Do you remember the story about the lady who drowned in the pond?” she asked, turning back to her friends so they could see she was serious.
Brianne shrugged. “Sure, everyone knows that story… some lady who was some kind of witch drowned in the pond years ago. End of story.”
“No,” Shaya corrected. “Beginning of story.”
Brianne sighed. “Oh, you are going to tell a ghost story. Guys, you both know I hate scary stuff, even made-up stories. Can’t we just watch a movie? A non-scary one?”
Shaya clenched her jaw. This was why she hadn’t tried to tell anyone; there was no point. They wouldn’t believe her.
“Tell me,” Kim insisted. “I want to hear it. What was her name?”
“Forget it,” Shaya said, looking back into the fire and wishing she could take her own advice. She wished she could erase the whole episode from her memory.
“Um, Brianne?” Kim whispered after a minute. “Whatever Shaya’s going to tell us… I’m pretty sure it’s true.”
“Why?” Brianne asked.
“Take a look.”
Shaya turned her head to see where Kim was looking, and glanced down at the Ouija board. The Ouija piece was moving. By itself.
And it was spelling out letters: A-I-L-I-S-H.
She was back.
~end
Guest post created for August Thrills-n-Chills event by Jody Kihara, author of White Witch Pond
© 2011. All rights reserved.
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by Jody Kihara
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* stay tuned: the White Witch Pond blog tour is coming October 9-22 with a giveaway and other details about this book -presented by Book Promotion
