A Place Called Paradise

Honey Perkel

Description

It's good versus evil when an apparition summons a team to The Gull Cottage Motel in Seaside, Oregon in order to destroy the evil Oscar Shay. As the members of The Team prepare to save the small beach town, they discover they are battling their own personal demons as well.

Lulu Bean, owner of The Mystic Muffins Bakery, is forced to face the afternoon her mother was killed before it destroys her and the small coastal town she's come to love.

Nine-year-old Halley Bee Rice takes things into her own hands when she is introduced to the beautiful Olivia and nearly loses her life.

Ben Dunzer and Michael Matson are trained in the world of the paranormal, but are caught off-guard when it comes to love.

George and Iva Bacon, wanting justice for the murder of their daughter, are given the gift of renewed youth meant to be a cruel joke. But the couple embraces it.

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 22 février 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456624149
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A Place Called Paradise
by
HONEY PERKEL

A Place Called Paradise
 
 
Star Publications
Seaside, Oregon 97138
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2414-9
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
Copyright 2013 by Honey Perkel
 
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Praise about ~ A Thousand Summers
 
“Honey Perkel’s quirky characters and engaging plot will leave you wondering if we truly have passed this way before. It’s an enchanting read.”
 
Karen Emmerling, Beach Books
 
“Hunker down with this Seaside author’s first novel and you will be eagerly awaiting the next ones.”
 
Val Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company
 
“I love this book. Honey’s characters are quirky, yet very true to life. The way she describes those old beach cottages — I can smell the musty sea air locked within their walls. And the unexpected ending ... perfection.”
 
Gloria Stiger Linkey, author of Native American Women
 
“I Love This Book!!! I’ve read it four times!! Blessings Honey.”
 
Denise, Astoria, Oregon
 
Secrets At The Cove ~
 
“While vacationing in Manzanita this year, the biggest find was not a seashell ... it was Honey’s books. Devoured the first and am burning through the second. When the long Idaho winters drive me crazy, I will pick up one of these books and transport myself back to the beach.”
 
Stephanie, Boise, Idaho
 
“Can’t wait for the next one!”
 
Judy, Mercer Island, Washington
 
A Place Called Paradise ~
 
“The first book was the funniest. The second, the most sentimental. The third, the scariest. This is the best one yet!”
 
Lee, Portland, Oregon

 
 
A Place Called Paradise

 
discover your Paradise
 
“Life is not measured by
the number of breaths you take,
but by the moments
that take your breath away.”
author unknown

 
Books by Honey Perkel
A Thousand Summers Trilogy: A Thousand Summers
Secrets At The Cove
A Place Called Paradise
Just Breathe
The Faithful Daughter
The House of Sand

 
Dear Friends,
 
Some books just have to be written. As much as I tried to fight writing this particular novel, having packed it away on a top shelf of a closet for more than a year, I could not let go of the story. It kept haunting me. I was thinking outside of the box. Way out. Reaching territories I’d never reached, but it seemed a natural end to the trilogy ... so it came to be.
 
A Place Called Paradise is the story of good versus evil and the possibility of losing that which is most precious to us ... ourselves.
A Call To Cincinnati
“ Come ... come to the Oregon Coast .”
Lulu Bean’s heart raced. Her breath came in short gasps as she gripped the telephone receiver. She couldn’t believe she was speaking with this man.
In the kitchen of Mystic Muffins Bakery, Lulu leaned her hefty frame against the counter. Unmindful of her sticky fingers, gooey with sweet maple icing, she blindly slid them across customer order forms and business invoices. She was dizzy, only conscious of the words which echoed in her head. Bernard’s voice, so hypnotic. Mesmerizing.
“ Stay at The Gull Cottage Motel, and wait for me to contact you.”
Bernard continued to speak. Electrified, Lulu listened to the urgency in his voice. He spoke of strange things happening. Of everything being at stake. But there was something more. There was a sense of determination in his voice.
“What’s going on? Why are you asking me to come?”
“I’ve called specific people who I want to be part of a team. You’ll get the details when you arrive.”
There was no question whether Lulu would go. She didn’t dare quarrel with a ghost.
On The Highway
The coast highway threaded through miles of thick, green forest. Lulu’s red Beetle climbed into the mountains and then coasted down and around the curving road. Spirit, her black cat, lay curled on the passenger seat licking herself clean. She was a great traveling companion. Sleeping. Grooming. Sleeping some more. Using the litter box in the back of the car.
Ordinarily, Lulu would have rolled down all the windows and let the warm air rustle her gray hair. She would have turned on the radio full blast and let the music sweep her away. But that was not what this trip was all about. She’d had but one focus since leaving Cincinnati four days before: to get to Seaside, Oregon.
But why? Certainly, Bernard didn’t believe she could help him with a crisis.
Though she’d attended plenty of seminars on the spirit world, interest brought about by the death of her mother and two months later, her father, she hardly thought of herself as an expert. Certainly no match for Bernard. However, no matter what the reason, she needed to get to Seaside.
As she drove, Lulu recalled the day of Bernard’s phone call. First of all, it had been the fortieth anniversary of her mother’s murder. This followed a sleepless night riddled by her usual nightmare: dark shadows, a man dressed in black, and the terrifying smell of blood everywhere. Then came the phone call from Bernard. It had been a lot to deal with.
She hadn’t wanted to tell her business partner and best friend, Karen, that Bernard had telephoned. Karen would’ve gone banana cakes. She was protective of those she cared about. She would never have agreed to let Lulu go. But, Lulu had to explain why she was leaving the bakery. It was only fair.
“I don’t know why he’s called me to go, but I have no choice.” Lulu was honored to be called, of course. Who wouldn’t be? The reputation of this Being would impress anyone.
Karen had not been impressed; she had been frightened.
She knew all about Bernard. Having sat in many seminars and read many articles on the occult herself, she knew the kind of work the apparition did. This was no ordinary day at the beach.
“Aside from the fact that it’s Mystic Muffins’ busiest time of the year, this could be dangerous, Lulu.” Karen tried to keep her voice low so the other employees couldn’t hear. “Who knows what’ll happen.”
“I know.” Lulu had wiped her fingers on the towel she’d earlier swung over her left shoulder, “but, I have to go.”
Karen had nodded, her long, straight hair brushing her shoulders. She had reached out to take her friend’s hand.
“Be careful. I need you to come back to us.” She wrapped her arms around the large woman.
Now Lulu was nearing her destination. As was her natural tendency whenever she was nervous, she uttered a hiccup, which she did now. Also, since the terrible day she witnessed her mother’s death, Lulu stuffed her mouth when she needed comfort. And she needed comfort now! She wished there was somewhere for her to stop and get a slice of pie. Then, right on cue as she rounded the next bend, Lulu saw a roadside cafe. She pulled into a parking slot in front and got out of the car.
“Be back in two shakes of a hambone,” she said lightly, as she cracked the window open for Spirit. The cat looked at her with a scowl and whined.
Lulu stepped into the restaurant and was immediately seated at a booth near the front window where she could watch the traffic and keep an eye on her car. There were a few customers scattered in other booths, but all in all, the space was quiet. Lulu squeezed herself between the dirty gray upholstery and the chipped Formica table. The window sill was dusty. But, she ignored that as soon as she smelled the delicious odors emanating from the kitchen. Suddenly she was starving.
Lulu yearned for a donut, or a hunk of rich gooey layer cake, or at the very least, a slice of lemon meringue pie.
A young waitress approached her table. “Hi, I’m Mimi. We’re out of the pot pie, meatloaf, and the special of the day,” she announced, flashing a radiant smile. “We have everything else on the menu.” She was chatty, breezy. And disgustingly thin.
“What’s your specialty of the day?”
Mimi leaned close to Lulu, her smile suddenly dimming.
“Rabbit stew, but I never recommend it. It just breaks my heart when I think of the poor little thing.” She pulled a pencil out from behind an ear and a note pad from her pocket.
Lulu nodded with understanding. “I’m just here for dessert, Mimi.”
“Oh, well, we have a large assortment of pies. All baked fresh this morning. Apple, Cherry, the works. And chocolate layer cake. With ice cream or whipped cream, no extra charge.” She stood there and waited, her smile having returned.
“I’ll have the apple pie and a slice of chocolate cake. Whipped cream, no ice cream. And black coffee.” Lulu told the girl.
“Coffee coming right up, and I’ll get the desserts roll’n.” She flashed one more wide grin, and all but danced back down the aisle of tables towards the kitchen.
Taking a deep breath, Lulu glanced around the restaurant and tried to relax. She’d feel better as soon as she got some sugar in her. A little pie was exactly what she needed to calm herself.
The desserts were the best Lulu had ever eaten, and she washed them down with lots of hot coffee.
Mimi returned with her bright smile and the check. “Where are you headed?”
“Going to Seaside,” Lulu responded, reaching inside her satchel for her wallet.
Once more, the bright grin disappeared. The young woman became serious as she leaned over towards Lulu.
“Really? I don’t know what you’ve heard, but strange things are happening in that town.”
Lulu hiccuped, and her eyes darted to a dusty silk plant behind the woman.
“I have to go.”
The waitress stared at her. “Be ca