Now available in electronic and trade paperback formats from Hard Shell Word Factory.

a Horror Romance by Marilyn Meredith. Order as an ebook Back to Book List Read Reviews Click Here to Read an Excerpt

HISTORY OF KACHIMA SPIRIT

Two different sparks fired the genesis of Kachima Spirit.

The first came about when I visited my sister and she told me I should take a look at my teenaged-nephew's bedroom. The bedroom and its weird artifacts along with my nephew's penchant for scaring the wits out of unsuspecting relatives and trick-or-treaters transferred easily into my story idea.

A visit to a Ventura museum that specialized in the history of the Chumash Indians gave me the added desire to put what I learned to use in the novel.

When the book was finished, it was first published as an e-book by Hard Shell Word Factory. It was a finalist for the 2000 Eppie award presented by the EPIC organization for best horror novel.

Hard Shell Word Factory has followed up with the publication of Kachima Spirit as a trade paperback.

Amanda Kilgore-Huntress Reviews says:

"After a long search, Madeline Kennon has found a new home to restart her life and the lives of her children. Almost immediately, they begin making new friends, and despite claims that their new home is haunted, it seems like life could not be better. Even seeing ghosts does not really bother Madeline."

"However, things turn more sinister, and bloody. Madeline begins having strange dreams, it looks like her son is into animal mutilation, and two very different men enter her life. Then, murder occurrs. Frightening secrets from the past reach out to entangle the Kennon family in a web of deception and death. Madeline finds her heart and her family are on the line; one wrong move could cost her everything."

"In yet another thrilling novel, Ms. Meredith proves herself to be a premier writer with characters that are believeable in a situation that could be real, despite its other worldly elements. The unreal situation is presented so matter of factly that it seems to be something that could be true."

ROMCON has reviewed Kachima Spirit in this way:

"It's been a little over a year since her husband's death, but Madeline and her children are still devastated. In an attempt to start anew, Madeline moves her family to a Victorian house set outside a small town in the southern California foothills.

They soon begin to hear stories of ghosts haunting their new home and tragedies that have occurred in the house's past. Madeline and her son, Norman, have long shared a love of horror movies and a fascination with ghosts, so their reaction isn't one of fear, but one of anticipation."

"The plot of KACHIMA SPIRIT follows the trail of Madeline and Norman as they try to figure out what keeps "their" ghost tied to their new home. The search takes them through an old murder investigation that the police have never solved; and through Madeline's dreams, we follow the story of the Indian maiden who is the longest dwelling ghost of the site."

"I enjoyed the relationships of the story.: Madeline and her son, Norman, are a great pair, and the friendships those two and the younger daughter find with their new neighbors are well done. --I would probably term KACHIMA SPIRIT more a paranormal horror story than a romance, what with the decapitated heads and blood stains on the wall, but as a lover of horror, when it's all said and done, I enjoyed the story."

Melody Jacobs
Reviewer for http://www.romcom.com