Miranda: A Rowan Gant Investigation

By M. R. Sellars

SOME EVIL JUST WON'T STAY DEAD

How do you kill someone who has already been dead for better than 150 years? Weird question, I know, but I'm serious, believe me.

My name is Rowan Gant, and I'm the Unofficial Witch of the Saint Louis Major Case Squad. I was branded with that title for two reasons: I'm a Witch, and I consult for the police. You see, I'm not a normal Witch. I'm afflicted with a terrible curse--I can hear the voices of the dead. The loudest are always those of murder victims, hence the gig with the cops. Honestly, it has brought me nothing but trouble--like the need to kill someone who is already dead, for instance.

Some months back I was involved in an investigation that culminated in the capture of a sadistic serial killer who called herself Mistress Miranda. The thing is, the woman who is now behind bars is Annalise Devereaux. She's not innocent in this, trust me, but Miranda herself is the real problem. Long story short--Miranda is the spirit of a long dead, 19th century serial killer, and spirits aren't deterred by prison bars and razor wire. Sounds crazy, I know, but it gets even weirder. It turns out that Annalise is a half-sister my wife never even knew she had until this mess hit the fan and the sins of the father were laid bare.

However, don't let the soap opera of adultery and illegitimate siblings fool you. This is a real horror story; just ask the victims... Better yet, just ask me. You see, now that Miranda's corporeal host is behind bars, she is looking for a new body to use, and she's keeping it in the family--by that, I mean she has set her sights on my wife, Felicity, and I don't intend to let that happen.

Unfortunately, how this drama plays out may not be up to me at all...

• Language: English
• Publisher: WillowTree Press
• Release date: Aug 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452483955

M. R. Sellars

A member of the ITW (International Thriller Writers), M. R. Sellars is a relatively unassuming homebody who, in his own words, considers himself just a “guy with a lot of nightmares and a word processing program.” Legend has it he started making up stories to entertain a stuffed bear during his single digit years, then began writing them down sometime around his early teens when the growing catalogue of fiction started causing him to experience migraines. Although he had several short stories and newspaper articles published during his early adult life, it wasn’t until 2000 that his first full-length novel, Harm None: A Rowan Gant Investigation, hit bookstore shelves, officially launching the acclaimed paranormal thriller series. Sellars says that the biggest adjustment he has had to make with his writing career is coping with the time spent away from his family while traveling on promotional tours. Still, he approaches the necessity of public appearances with the same humorously deadpan and satirical wit that he applies to life in general, stating, “As long as I have an RC Cola and a bag of peanuts, I’m all good, Bubba.” All of the current novels in Sellars’ continuing Rowan Gant Investigations saga have spent several consecutive weeks on numerous bookstore bestseller lists as well as a consistent showing on the Amazon.com Horror/Occult top 100. In 2010 a short e-novella featuring a supporting character from the RGI cast spawned a new series, The Special Agent Constance Mandalay Novels, the first in the spinoff being IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, which hit the streets November 2011. Sellars currently resides in the Midwest with his incomparably amazing wife, equally fantastic daughter, and a pair of felines he describes as, “the competition.” At home, when not writing or taking care of the household, he indulges his passions for cooking and hanging out with friends. In order to satisfy his lifelong dream of being a satirical humor columnist for a major metropolitan newspaper, twice each week he removes his glasses, dons blue tights and a red cape, then blogs about the incredibly bizarre world that is his life as a writer, husband, and father. It has been said that his blog articles sometimes blur the line between fiction and reality. To that Sellars responds, “What line?” M. R. Sellars can be located on the web wherever there is a virtual bar serving virtual single malt Scotch, single barrel bourbon, good Irish whisky, and decent beer. In other words, look for him on the major social networking sites.

Book preview

[tldegray-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

How do you stop the dead? It seems that any time she wants Miranda can leave Annalise and possess Felicity, at least for a short period of time. Miranda won't be happy until Felicity is entirely hers and Rowan won't be happy until Felicity is safe.

This book, in particular, of the Miranda series was frightening to me. It was Felicity's fright that got to me, her own doubts about her sexual preferences, and her own reactions to some terrible family secrets.