Finding Sanctuary: A Story of Longest Night

By Kari Kilgore

A Night of Healing, Recovery, and Joy

June shares a Winter Solstice ritual of grief and letting go.
Seeking to heal herself as much as her congregation.
Ryan celebrates a loved one growing stronger.
Facing his own loss and changes at the same time.
Will June and Ryan's instant spark light the way to new possibilities?

 

Also available in the collection Uncommon Holidays: A Different Side of the Season

 

An excerpt from Finding Sanctuary:

Unexpected Joy on a Long, Quiet Night
"Thank you all for making your way here for Longest Night. Sometimes it can be hard to reach out at times like this. When you're blue, or grieving, or simply weary. Whatever your reason or what you need tonight, everyone is welcome."

June walked in a circle as she talked, looking at each person in turn. Some gazed steadily back, maybe with red eyes or wiping away tears. Some sat with their eyes closed or stared into space. A few looked at their feet or covered their eyes.

"What we offer tonight is a chance for you to do what you need. Tell your story. Sit silently. Cry. Pray in your own way. No one will judge you here. No one."

When she focused on Ryan's sister, Erin only looked back, eyes clear and steady. Ryan seemed to be concentrating intently until he caught June's gaze. Then he smiled bright as the moonlight outside.

June smiled back and kept walking, pretending her heart didn't flutter again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spiral Publishing, Ltd
• Release date: Dec 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201909789

Kari Kilgore

Kari Kilgore started her first published novel Until Death in Transylvania, Romania, and finished it in Room 217 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where Stephen King got the idea for The Shining. That’s just one example of how real world inspiration drives her fiction. Kari’s first published novel Until Death was included on the Preliminary Ballot for the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel in 2016. It was also a finalist for the Golden Stake Award at the Vampire Arts Festival in 2018. Recent professional short story sales include three to Fiction River anthology magazine, with the first due out in the September issue. Kari also has two stories in a holiday-themed anthology project with Kristine Kathryn Rusch due out over the holidays in 2019. Kari writes fantasy, science fiction, horror, and contemporary fiction, and she’s happiest when she surprises herself. She lives at the end of a long dirt road in the middle of the woods with her husband Jason Adams, various house critters, and wildlife they’re better off not knowing more about. Kari’s novels, novellas, and short stories are available at www.spiralpublishing.net, which also publishes books by Frank Kilgore and Jason Adams. For more information about Kari, upcoming publications, her travels and adventures, and random cool things that catch her attention, visit www.karikilgore.com.

Book preview

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