The Gift: A Restless Spirits Prequel Short: Restless Spirits, #0

By Jean Marie Bauhaus

Christmas, 1910. Widowed handiman Joe Bentley will do anything to give his little girl the best Christmas ever, and the family he lives with and works for is happy to help. All of them, that is, but their youngest girl, Sarah, who in her jealousy is determined to ruin it for everyone.

 

Later, after the children are dealt with and things calm down, Joe discovers evidence that Sarah's jealousy and rage go far beyond a simple childish tantrum, and for the first time senses that there is true danger lurking within this freckle-faced demon who has all but him convinced of her child-like innocence.

 

Fans of Restless Spirits will enjoy this short origin story of the animosity between Joe and Sarah and the beginning of the tragic events that lead them both to haunt the Baird house. Those new to the series will enjoy this chilling standalone story and get a glimpse of some of the characters and the thrills awaiting them in this series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jean Marie Bauhaus
• Release date: Dec 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201268091

Jean Marie Bauhaus

Jean Marie Bauhaus is a traditionally-published and indie author of five novels and counting, as well as a number of novellas and short stories. She also writes freelance articles about dogs for a living.Born and raised in Oklahoma, she currently makes her home in the middle of the woods deep in the Ozark mountains with her own dog, a fierce and mighty Chihuahua named Pete, her husband of 13 years, and a gaggle of other four-legged dependents. When she’s not writing about ghosts, zombies, vampires and other things that go bump in the night, she can usually be found hiking the side of the mountain or trading her keyboard for knitting needles and curling up with a mug of tea and a horror podcast.Or at the microwave, re-heating her tea because she forgot to drink it before it got cold. #writerproblemsJean has a Bachelor of Science in Social Science, Psych/Soc emphasis, which means she’s smart enough to finish college but not smart enough to choose a major that’s actually useful. But it comes in handy for building psychological character profiles and developing post-apocalyptic societies.Easily spooked by ghost stories as a child, teen Jean faced her fears by forcing herself to watch horror movies and read Stephen King until she fell in love with the genre. As a grown-up (more or less, depending on who you ask), her tastes expanded to include a broader range of speculative fiction and romance, but she keeps coming back to the supernatural and paranormal. She has a strong affection for all things zombie-related, which is a good thing considering she’s currently writing a trilogy in that genre. Watch for Desolation of the Damned, the third book in her Walking Dead/ True Blood mashup Trilogy of the Damned, to come out in the summer of 2020.Sign up for Jean’s mailing list at jeanmariebauhaus.com so you never miss a new release, and come chat with her on Twitter @jmbauhaus or follow her at fb.com/JeanMarieBauhaus.

Book preview

Contents

Title

Thank You

Copyright

The Gift

Dear Reader

Restless Spirits

About the Author

Also by Jean Marie Bauhaus

Thank You

I hope you enjoy this short prequel to my novel Restless Spirits. If you've already read that novel, this will give you a little more background on the century-old feud between Sarah and Joe and provide a richer context for their story. If this is your first introduction to this world, this story will work as a stand-alone and also provide a little more insight if you go on to read the first book in this series.

Restless Spirits follows the haunted and romantic adventures of paranormal investigators and sisters Ron and Chris Wilson, opening with Ron waking up to discover she's a victim of her own murder and the newly crowned subject of her and Chris's current investigation. She finds herself surrounded by an ecclectic cast of ghostly characters, but her fate becomes entwined with those of both Joe and Sarah in ways she could never imagine.

Whether or not you decide to keep going after you get to the end of this book and check out the rest of the series, I hope you enjoy this quick read, and I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

All the best,

Jean Marie Bauhaus

The Gift

A Restless Spirits