Title: The Spirit of Vanderlaan
Author: Susan Harris Howell
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb:
When Samantha and her students uncover a campus death, they must draw on everything from science to seances, to learn what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”
Excerpt:
Samantha's crew scattered in different directions to get to their next classes. Each promised to come by later to fill her in on the jobs and fun that had kept them busy over the summer.
Samantha's office afforded a good place for these conversations. Immediately inside the door sat a small furniture grouping, two chairs and a sofa surrounding a coffee table where countless personal problems and professional decisions had been discussed. A dish filled with candy sat in the center of the table, recently stocked with her students' favorites. With the department’s storage room on one side and a conference room on the other, voices in her office were muffled from other students or colleagues who worked on the floor. On the other side of the room, several chairs surrounded a cafeteria-length table where she and her students could spread out their research material. Her small workstation consisted of bookshelves lining the wall and an L-shaped desk extending out and around, creating a cubby of sorts where she could work, resources within arm’s reach.
On her desk, three brass frames held pictures of Samantha's family. In one, she and her husband Rob laughed into the camera while on vacation this past summer. She didn't remember what they had both found so funny. A joke maybe. More likely just the easy laughter that arises when having fun with someone you love. Either way, the picture was one of her favorites.
The other two frames sported pictures of their daughter and son, Elyse and Lucas, in academic regalia from each of their last graduations. While the physical distance made frequent visits with their grown children impossible, texting and social media kept them close emotionally.
As Samantha arrived at her office, several new students were outside her door needing her signature for schedule changes. Colleagues greeted her in the hall, asking about her summer and relaying stories of their own. She loved the excitement and promise of a new semester. If the only thing accomplished today was to soak in the positive energy around her, it would be enough.
Still, if she could cross a few things off her list, so much the better. She promptly answered several emails before tweaking her first lecture for one of her classes. Before long the first two of her crew arrived with stories to tell and problems to be resolved. Jeff plopped onto the sofa and Levi onto one of the chairs. Each helped himself to candy from the dish.
"Sam," Levi said. "I know I talk a good talk, but I've got issues."
"Say it isn't so." Samantha barely suppressed a grin as she looked up from her work. While she wasn't sure to which issue Levi was referring, she agreed that he did indeed 'talk a good talk.' His confidence and the easy banter they enjoyed brought energy to this office, just as it had done this morning in her first class.
Levi waved his candy wrapper as he chewed. "I have no idea what I want to do, and I gotta figure this out soon. I'm graduating this year. I need to get accepted into grad school and I don't know where to even apply."
She peered over her reading glasses. "You do know that most seniors are in the same boat, right? Most students have no idea what they'll be doing after graduation."
"But who am I kidding?” Levi blew out a long breath. “I won’t get into graduate school with my grades. That first year of college -" Levi gave a thumbs down and blew a raspberry.
“But your grades got better. And other experiences weigh in, too, like the research we’re doing. Don't worry. We'll get you in.”
“We will? Hmm.” He flopped his head back on the sofa.
Allie entered the office. "Hey everybody."
Levi's head popped up. "Al! I heard you got a fabulous new car over summer."
"I did," Allie said. "And I'll take you all for a ride if you want. But first I need a water. Samantha?" She motioned to the fridge.
Samantha nodded. "I stocked up. Help yourself then tell me about your car."
Allie twisted the cap off her water as she sat on the end of the sofa. She gave a modest account of her summer travels with her parents and the purchase of a car for her senior year. Samantha guessed that Allie was downplaying her own excitement out of respect for the others' monetary constraints. Nevertheless, her news was met with warm enthusiasm from each along with requests for rides. Jeff's plea rang out the loudest though when he announced that his laptop wasn't in his backpack where he'd put it.
"I know I brought it with me." Jeff stared into his backpack then around the office as if it might have walked off on its own. "I remember putting it in here. I need it for class. What did I do with it?"
"Probably in your room." Allie motioned Jeff to his feet. "Let's go. I can get you to Braddock Hall and back faster than the speed of sound."
"You live in Braddock?" Samantha asked. “I did too for a while. What floor are you on?”
“Second.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, last room on the left, overlooking the baseball field. Why?”
She laughed. “I lived there – in that room – one summer.”
“No kidding? They let you live in a guy’s dorm?” Jeff slung his backpack over a shoulder.
“They used it for women back then. Funny I've never heard any of you talk about where you live." Samantha chuckled. "I guess because most of the time you all live in this office."
Levi begged to be included in their mini road trip as they hurried from the office. Allie agreed but motioned for him to pick up speed.
"Can I drive?" Levi sprang from the sofa. "I've never driven the speed of sound, but I think I'd like it."
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Vanderlaan-Samantha-Hayes-Book-ebook/dp/B0DHV65RM4?ref_=ast_author_dp
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-spirit-of-vanderlaan-susan-howell/1146282868?ean=9781509258888
Goodreads: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DHW88GRK
What makes your featured book a must-read?
As a paranormal cozy mystery, there’s enough paranormal to keep you intrigued, enough cozy to make you feel like you’re chatting with a good friend, and enough mystery to keep you turning the pages.
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Open Internationally.
Runs November 25 – December 3, 2024.
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Author Biography:
Susan Harris Howell is a psychologist on faculty at a small university in Kentucky where she has taught and mentored young adults for over thirty years. The Spirit of Vanderlaan draws on that career to capture the camaraderie and warmth between a professor and the assortment of personalities which inhabit her office. While The Spirit of Vanderlaan is her first work of fiction, she has published extensively on equality between men and women. Her first book, Buried Talents, explores gendered socialization and was published in 2022. Susan is married to Dwayne and has two grown children, a daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson, and an incorrigible beagle, named Doc.
Social Media Links:
Website: susanharrishowell.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/susan_h_howell/
Email List & Monthly Blog: susanharrishowell.substack.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/susanhowellwriter
Bluesky @SusanHarrisHowell.bsky.social