Title: Five Steps to Celestia
Author: Terry Segan
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Book Blurb:
Twenty-two years after a tragic accident claimed Joy’s memories, a chance discovery in a gift shop nudges her forgotten past to the surface. Was it the cashier’s purple necklace, the Celestia seeds, or long-suppressed recollections pushing her to remember her former life?
As she searches for clues leading home, unknown elements threaten her current happiness and those she loves. When a cryptic symbol forms on her wrist and additional instructions appear on the seed packets, they offer more confusion than clarity.
With her best friend’s help, Joy strings together the missing pieces of her mysterious provenance. Her quest uncovers those who have paid the price for her reckless youth. Will she be welcomed back with open arms or scorned for having survived?
Excerpt:
“Michael,” Joy screamed, clutching at the man in front of her. Her mouth formed his name again, but no sound emitted. Sensing weightlessness, she no longer felt the bike beneath her. As her body flew, she saw clouds, trees, dirt—it all spun. Cold air rushed past as she soared. She glimpsed Michael still clutching onto the handlebars of the motorcycle, as he flew over the cliff and was gone.
The impact jolted the back of her head. Pain coursed through her shoulders and hips. Then everything went black.
“Joy! Wake up! Joy!” Suzi stood by the bed shaking her. She never looked so scared—or so ridiculous in a baggy T-shirt and penguin pajama pants. With her blonde hair wrapped in pink curlers, she looked even more comical. Suzi continued shaking Joy even after her eyes opened. “Joy. You’re dreaming. Wake up!”
“I’m awake. What? What is it?” Joy, confusion tightening her jaw muscles, wondered why the woman woke her. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” She heaved for breath. “You were screaming. It must’ve been a nightmare. Are you all right?” Her body trembled. “Oh God, I need to sit down.” Shoving Joy over, she collapsed onto the bed.
More concerned about Suzi, she asked, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. What happened?” Suzi asked, still visibly upset, her face flushed.
Joy couldn’t remember anything except being shaken awake. They had hit the wine bottle (or two) hard before bedtime.
“You were calling out.”
“What?”
The older woman put a hand to her heaving chest. “You were yelling. Who’s Michael?”
How bizarre, Joy thought. Why would she ask her about a man who wasn’t her deceased husband?
“I give up. Who’s Michael?”
“You called his name. Hell, you screamed his name. He was either in danger, or you were having wild sex.” Suzi’s breath still came in gasps.
“I don’t remember the dream, but I doubt it was the latter.”
“You sounded terrified. Can’t you recall anything?”
“I…I don’t know. I called him?”
“Yes.”
“Did I say anything else?”
Someone banged on their hotel door. “Security! Everything okay in there?”
Both looked at each other, eyes wide. Slowly, Suzi arose and walked to the entry. Checking the peep hole, she hesitated before unlocking the bolt. Cracking the door, she said, “Yes. Everything is fine. Why?”
“Well, ma’am,” came a voice from the hallway, “someone called the front desk and said they heard screaming.”
Suzi turned her head, looked at Joy, then back through the opening. “Sorry, officer.” She lowered her voice. “My friend tends to have…ah…erotic dreams. It’s a rare condition with some long medical name I can’t pronounce. I’m sorry if she disturbed anyone. Her therapist is working on an experimental treatment, but it still has a few kinks to be smoothed out.”
No response for several seconds. “Well…ah…ma’am, maybe she could try to keep it down? People are trying to sleep.”
“You bet, officer. I’ll make sure she keeps it to a PG-13 rating.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Five Steps to Celestia is a mystical tale of discovery by a woman searching for her past. It will make you laugh, cry, and fear for the safety of her loved ones. With the intricate details and hints sprinkled throughout the chapters, you’ll want to keep turning pages trying to figure out where Joy, the main character, came from as well as where she truly belongs.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs November 25 – December 3, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on December 4, 2024.
Author Biography:
Terry Segan, originally from Commack, NY, resides in Nevada most of the year. To appease her gypsy soul and travel cravings, she’s rarely found at home on the weekends. The beach is her happy place, and her husband ensures that she gets there several times a year. Her journeys inspire the paranormal mysteries filling the pages of her books. Some of her best ideas are worked out while traveling on the backseat of her husband’s motorcycle. His only request is to be a chalk outline in one of her novels—providing she’s still writing fiction. Terry’s goals are to cause her readers to laugh out loud, cry with joy, or cower under the covers wondering if that thump under the bed was real or imagined.
Social Media Links:
Author Website: https://terrysegan.com/
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AuthorTerrySegan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrysegan