 Have you ever seen a ghost? Did you tell anyone? The few times I've seen something, people had one of two reactions when I told them. Either they thought I was crazy and "seeing things" or they had doubts but didn't overtly laugh at me. Luckily, I live in modern times. People can think I am crazy but they won't hospitalize me over it. Back in the day, women didn't have that protection. Husbands and fathers could send women to mental hospitals for no reason greater than they wanted her out of their way. Women were put away for reading books, for having opinions, or so husbands/fathers could access their land and wealth. In Anika Savoy's novel- THE GHOST IN HER, the heroine sees ghosts and is put in a mental hospital because of jealousy and fear. Ms. Savoy deals with the abuse within a mental hospital with grace. Too often, women died in there, abused or addicted to medications. The patients were little more than prisoners. While THE GHOST IN HER deals with tough topics, it also showcases the depth of love.... between two people and between a mother and child. Ms. Savoy's heroine is determined and optimistic no matter what comes her way and the story is engaging and heartwarming. You won't be able to put it down! Blurb: Seeing ghosts is literally in her blood. Life is hard enough without having to deal with ghosts following you around every day. Maggie O’Connor wishes that she did not have psychic gifts but coming from a long line of Irish female seers, she never had a choice. Faced with having to care for her departed sister’s orphaned baby, Maggie struggles to pay the rent while working for pennies at a local Bowery sweatshop. Her life goes from bad to worse when a wicked neighbor steals the baby. Things look up when the handsome son of Maggie’s employer falls for her. Gershom understands that having psychic gifts does not necessarily make a woman crazy. If only the local judge agreed. When Maggie ends up at the New York City Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, she must find a way to escape and return to Gershom’s loving arms. Will Maggie be stuck in a madhouse forever? Even if she escapes, can she and Gershom rescue the lost baby? The obstacles seem insurmountable, but anything is possible with the assistance of ghostly helpers and Andrew Carnegie, one of America’s richest men. Fairy Tales can come true- but not without suffering. Love the Gilded Age but want more magic? Grab a copy of THE GHOST IN HER, the first book in the new Ungilded series featuring magic among the Bowery Streets. THE GHOST IN HER is a perfect match for fans of Harper Lin’s Southern Sleuth Series or Christina Skye’s Draycott Abbey series. “The first book of Anika Savoy’s Ungilded series, The Ghost in Her is a dark, immersive fairy tale, dusted with Gothic whimsy. It is a story for the romantic and the history buff, a rich page-turner that forces us to consider the ongoing social ills that, to this day, continue to haunt us.”—Bestselling author- Mike Robinson. EXCERPT She took a second swig of port, this one long and thirsty. “The baby is not mine. I need to protect him. You know what happens to motherless children in the Bowery.” “Nothing good,” Gershom said. Out of the blue, she asked, “Do you believe that ghosts exist?” His eyebrows arched. “I don’t know,” he truthfully replied. “I’ve never seen a ghost, though I’m not closed to the idea that they exist.” She nodded, pensive. “I may have seen a ghost tonight.” She recalled the spectral midwife. There was a gossamer quality to her figure, like a dew-dropped cobweb glimmering in the morning sun. “You, you saw a ghost?” Gershom stammered. “Oh, it’s not that unusual,” she replied, so casually that she may as well have been discussing the weather. “I come from a long line of female seers in Ireland. My great-grandmother was found guilty of sorcery in the 1700s. She was an innkeeper and a money lender in Donegal. People went to her for healing and advice until some of her debtors grew sick and died. They thought she put a curse on them.” She flipped her hand through the air. “So off Granny went to the gallows.” “Did all of the female seers in your family suffer similar fates?” She shrugged. “I have no idea. My mother only told me about my great-grandmother and a distant cousin who fled to America in fear of persecution. Apparently, she could see ghosts and fairies. People thought she was possessed by demons.” She swallowed the remainder of the port and fidgeted in the chair, her gaze shifting from the infant to the doorway, as though planning her escape. Gershom expeditiously signaled the bartender for another round. He was captivated by the young woman’s light Irish brogue. It made every word she spoke sound like poetry. Now Available in Ebook and Print |
