Voices through Time Series

A gripping tale of sorrow and redemption. Hartstown, Virginia, holds stunning natural beauty and a close-knit mountain community. Deep in the heart of Appalachian coal country, Hartstown also suffers more than its fair share of tragedy.  Beth Azen discovers a strange ability that leads her deep into the ancient mysteries of the mountains around her. Mark Hersch finds more than he ever imagined on his lifelong quest to heal the damage left by decades of mining.  Together, they discover the deadly nature of true loneliness.  An excerpt from Songs in the Mountains: "Can you hear me?" she whispered, her cheeks turning red. She tried again, a bit louder. "Hello? I hear you talking. Is anyone there?" The song continued without even a pause. Beth scrubbed her fingers through her hair, then got as close to shouting as she dared in the closed space with people right outside the door. "Either tell me what you want or leave me alone!" The voices stopped.  Beth tried to hold perfectly still, not sure if she wanted an answer or for the whole thing to be over. She could probably adjust to not having music anymore, but not to the constant noise.  The low, empty circuit hum in her ears intensified, and a voice floated up like a distant station on her great-uncle's old tube radio. "Been wonderin' if anyone was there." The woman spoke with a thick dialect that was hard to understand, but Beth thought it had to be from close by. "Been tryin' to get through for a powerful long time." Beth opened her mouth twice before any words made it out.

Mark Hersch's life changed for the better when he met Beth Azen. Except for those long drives from Richmond to Hartstown, Virginia, to see her. Mark jumps at a surprise trip for a routine investigation of a polluted stream, never expecting anything out of the ordinary. But a bizarre secret from before the town's founding awaits. Can Mark, Beth, and their shared magic solve the deadly mystery before all of Hartstown runs out of time? An excerpt from Secrets in the Land: Sometimes, you need to leave the bad things in the past. Art smiled, but it didn't get anywhere within a mile of his eyes. "I have to ask if this is something you're willing to take on, Mark. I'm not fibbing or lying or anything else when I say I'd understand if you're not. Whatever's up there half scared the life out of me. You ever feel that way about a place?" This time Mark did shiver, and he didn't try to hide it. Maybe it was time he admitted at least a bit of what he and Beth (and Clina) had actually gotten into back in December. "Just one time. When we were taking your lost miner's bones out of that old house pit. I was sure then and I'm more sure now that he dropped the rock that hit Beth on purpose. Thing is, I know in my bones that the rock was really aimed at me."

Amy Johnstone never imagined herself as a homeowner. Yet she finds herself with a set of keys in her hand. Outside a family house abandoned for the last thirty years. And no earthly idea what to do next. Decades away leaves Amy uneasy in the woods outside Bountyfield, Virginia, unsure of friend or foe. Unsure if strange things around her come from paranoia or from an eerie, frightening reality. Can Amy put her family ghosts to rest in time to save her own sanity? An excerpt from Walking the Ghosts: Ghosts mark the passage of time in their own way. "It's all in pretty good shape down here," Amy said. "Maybe that luck will hold with the rest of the house."
 Missy glanced back over her shoulder, eyes narrowed a bit but not giving a thing away. She led the way up the stairs and through the open trapdoor and into the darkness above. 
 When Amy stepped up onto the dark hardwood floor, she scowled at a curving set of deep gouges in the wide boards. She started to stay something to Missy, but stopped cold at the look on her face.
 Missy's full lips were compressed, and her eyebrows drawn down toward her dark blue eyes. She didn't look angry, though, like Amy had just been.
 Missy looked afraid.
 "What did–" Amy started, then her gaze followed Missy's.
 She breathed in a sharp gasp of the thick, musty air.
 Gouges weren't the only thing marking the floor.


Heeding the Signs Mark Hersch enjoys a busy summer in his favorite place: with his grandparents in Hartstown, Virginia. Working, saving for college, learning to drive. Getting to know his family and himself. Then one job brings a shiver of warning. Will Mark and his Papaw recognize the danger before it's too late? A Voices through Time Story   Also available in the collection Stepping Out of Reality   An excerpt from The Perfect Shade of Haint Blue: Learning to Heed Those Strange Warnings Mark frowned, but a quick little thrill of excitement shot through his belly. The change of pace and scenery was doing him a world of good, especially since he was considering coming right back to Virginia for college in a couple of years. But he wouldn't mind a bit of mystery and adventure to spice things up. "Did something strange happen there, Papaw? At the Hartsock place?" "Well no, I can't exactly say that. It's just... I got an uneasy twinge about you going there is all." Mark's father and everyone else in the family often talked about Papaw's twinges, and hunches, and notions, and even dreams. No one ever made much of a fuss about it that Mark could tell. But they never mentioned thinking those twinges were something it was better to ignore, either.

An Uneasy Shiver of Something Wrong Returning home to Hartstown, Virginia, thrills Beth Azen and her sweet dog Janie. Taking the chance to breathe and learn to listen her heart's voice again. Figuring out where her next path in life leads. But a missed appointment sets Beth on edge for reasons she can't explain. Will she solve the mystery before it's too late?   A Voices Through Time Story   Also available in the collection Facing Down Extraordinary   An excerpt from A Soggy Brush with History: When Things Just Don't Feel Right   Even as Beth joined Janie on a quick trot in one direction on the gravel road and then back, she knew this didn't make sense. Ms. Sinnett had been so excited about this visit, sending notes a couple of times a day asking about what Beth might be interested in. She'd asked which of her several delicious cookie varieties Beth preferred (crispy ginger spice sounded best), and whether she'd like tea or coffee (coffee: always coffee). They'd shared their frustration that a couple of members of the Boun County Historical Society were being oddly stingy with time and materials. She'd even suggested ideas for areas of the town's often-tragic history that Beth might want to concentrate on during the interview. None of that added up to her just not being here.