Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway ~ GHOST WITCHING by Ally Shields


Ghost Witching (Maggie York Paranormal Mystery, #2)
by: Ally Shields
Series: Maggie York Paranormal Mystery
Genre: Paranormal Mystery Romance
Release Date: October 19, 2016
Publisher: Etopia Press


Too many ghosts is never a good thing…

Detectives Maggie York and Josh Brandt's latest murder case comes at the wrong moment. She just moved out on him and wants to "cool it." But complications throw them together more than usual. Even for New Orleans, the case is unique—with way too many suspects and creepy things—ghosts, snakes, curses, not to mention the witches.

Maggie and Josh try to make sense of it all and resist finding consolation in each other's arms. Then Josh's ex-fiancee, a curvy blonde, arrives from Boston, making a touchy situation impossible.

But this killer won't wait for them to sort out their personal lives, and the situation spins out of control…


Maggie Answers Her Toughest Question:

Maggie York stood on the New Orleans' riverbank not far from Jackson Square and gazed across the quiet water. This morning was one of those dreaded moments in life. Most homicide cops disliked press conferences, but she hated them. In the back of her mind, the possibility lurked that a hotshot reporter would reveal her secret and ask a fatal question, such as—what is it like to come back from the dead and deal with ghosts?

What in the world would she say?

That it was terrifying? Oh, God, yes. When she woke up in the hospital and first saw them, she thought the sniper's bullet had done its job and she was in purgatory. Or maybe it was a hallucinatory nightmare. Once she was certain she was alive and awake, Maggie wavered between absolute denial and fear for her sanity.

Over the next several months, the frequency of ghostly appearances lessened, and Maggie discovered the human mind—or hers, at least—was incredibly adaptable. She developed a strange form of acceptance that ghostly images were part of her new reality but not quite believing it wasn't all in her head.

Then Bobby Hurst appeared—the spirit of a murder victim, more distinct and persistent than the others. And he seemed to want something from her. She tried to run away, and she ordered him to leave her alone. She even struck out with her fist when he got too close, recoiling as her hand went right through that frigid cold.

Eventually she realized he wanted her to solve his murder so that he could move on. He didn't try to harm her, in fact, warned her of danger a time or two. And his presence seemed to keep the other ghosts away. That was a good thing.

It wasn't easy, but Maggie and Hurt developed a primitive communication—somewhat like Charades on her part—and her new boyfriend Josh, another cop, offered a different perspective, to treat the ghosts as her own unique brand of confidential informants.

If pressed, Maggie still wasn't sure she believed in magic or ghosts, although she believed in something.

But then...Maggie watched the flight of a gull overhead…she wouldn't be forced to reveal any of that. Not today. Only three friends and a couple of quirky relatives (who mistakenly thought she was a witch) knew about her ghostly visitors.

Maggie straightened, shaking off the last vestiges of tension, and turned toward her car. A confident smile tugged at her lips. She would have heard if her secret had leaked. No one would be asking about ghosts. She lifted her chin, ready to face the microphones and cameras.


“Valerie Preston, age sixty-one,” said the older of the two patrol cops who’d found the body. He checked his palm-sized notebook. “Lived alone. Widow of real estate businessman, Clive Preston, who’s been dead five years or more. Neighbor last saw her yesterday afternoon about five bringing home groceries.” He put his notes in his shirt pocket. “Looks like the snake killed her.”

“Maybe.” Josh learned forward to inspect the bite marks, and a shock of dark hair fell over his forehead. Maggie’s attention drifted to his strong profile, the sculpted cheekbones, the full black lashes. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and she imagined the dark bristles scraping softly across her skin. Whoa, girl. Another example of why they needed to step back from their relationship. They’d grown too close, too intense, placing their on-the-job partnership at risk.

A week ago, Josh had played the alpha male, stepping into a situation she could have handled, and it had nearly gotten him killed. They’d argued for days, and yesterday—after living with him the past four months—she’d moved back to her own apartment. Ostensibly to think it over, reassess. But Maggie wasn’t sure what would happen to them next. In spite of their casual, matter-of-fact conversation since he’d picked her up at her apartment a half hour ago, raw tension simmered under the surface.

The tightening of Josh’s jaw muscle, as it did when he held back strong emotion, sharpened her focus back to the scene…where it belonged. He looked up at the two patrolmen. “Hard way to die. Who shot the snake?”


Purchase Ghost Witching from:


The Maggie York Paranormal Mystery Series:
(Click on the book covers for more information or to purchase from Amazon.)

Ally Shields grew up in the Midwest along the Mississippi River, still considers herself "a river rat," and currently resides near Des Moines. After a career in law and juvenile justice, she turned to full-time fiction writing in 2009. Her first urban fantasy, Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1) was published in 2012, and she currently has twelve published novels. She loves to travel in the US and abroad and incorporates many of those settings into her books. Ms. Shields welcomes reader contact through her website and can frequently be found on Twitter.

Places to find Ally Shields:

You can follow the Ghost Witching Blog Tour here.

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33 comments:

  1. This looks like an interesting book

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    1. Thanks, Janine. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

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    2. Hi Janine.

      It does sound like an interesting book. It definitely sounds like something I would like.

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    3. Hopefully we can both read it soon

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  2. Ooo. This sounds like an awesome series and it takes place in New Orleans, my current abode. Can't wait to read this series.

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    1. I envy you living there! I love to visit, but you can't imagine how confused our cabbie was when I asked him to drive us to all these un-touristy spots that would make good scenes for the books!

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    2. Hi Rhi. I forgot you lived there. It has to be pretty cool.

      Ally, I loved that you actually traveled there and did research on the city.

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  3. Both the cover and the synopsis are intriguing! Congrats on your release and book tour!

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    1. I am blessed with wonderful cover artists! Can you believe it's the same model on book one and two? Thanks for visiting the tour!
      (trying again to get this comment posted to the right person! :) )

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    2. Hi Renee. Thank you for stopping by. The covers a good.

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  5. Thanks so much to Read Your Writes for hosting me! Such a very nice post.

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    1. You're welcome Ally. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting on and chatting with everyone.

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  6. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your post :)

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping!

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    2. Hi Victoria.

      Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Ally did a really good job. I have to admit when I was reading the guest post, my first thought was, "Oh crap. I think I'm the hotshot reporter, who asked the question." I really loved the way Ally spent the question into a guest post.

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  7. Great guest post. I'm intrigued and can' t wait to try out the series. Got on my TBR now. Maggie sounds fantastic (a strong heroine) and the series sounds great.
    I'm curious on how you came up with the concept/idea of Maggie York Paranormal Mystery series? What was your inspiration?

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    1. My other two series both have supernatural heroines, and I wanted to write about a human woman who wasn't sure having Otherworld abilities was a good thing. I'd just visited New Orleans (while writing the Elvenrude Trilogy), cemeteries and ghosts were on my mind...and Maggie was born.
      Thanks for visiting the tour and for asking your question!

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    2. Thank you for answering my question. This just makes Maggie and the series sound more interesting.

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    3. Hey Angela!

      Ally, I loved the way you came up with the series!

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  8. What books are you interested in reading in 2017? Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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  9. This book sounds like an intriguing read. Really enjoy reading about ghosts. New Orleans and ghosts just seem to go together. Can't wait to read.

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    1. Hi Dianne,

      You're right. I'm not totally sure why ghost and paranormal tend to make someone think of New Orleans. I really need to do some research.

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  10. This book sounds like an intriguing read. Really enjoy reading about ghosts. New Orleans and ghosts just seem to go together. Can't wait to read.

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  11. Love the blurb for this book & looking forward to reading it. Thank you for the giveaway & have a great week.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Margaret. The book really does sound interesting. Plus I just love the added bonus of romance.

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  12. Congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)

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    1. Hi Lisa. Thanks for stopping by and check out the book.

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  13. Oh I am so excited to read this and see what happens between Maggie and Josh! It sounds like it will have many twists and turns!

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