Award-winning
Southern author and Georgia native Maggie Toussaint is published in mystery and
romantic suspense and in science fiction under the pen name Rigel Carson. Gone
and Done It and Bubba Done It, the first two books in her new paranormal
Dreamwalker series, are available now. Learn more about Maggie and her books at
her website and blog.
Smarty Pants Phones & Dreamwalking
Are you smarter than your phone? I’m fairly certain
my phone is running circles around me.
Phones help us remember birthdays, appointments, and
anniversaries. They prompt us to wake up or to take medicine. Heck, we even
allow them to tell us how to get from Point A to Point B.
It’s easy to see how multi-dimensional and complex a
smart phone can be. Just as easy to see how, if you don’t understand the lingo,
even the smallest operation can be baffling and bewildering. Apps, permissions,
passwords, battery life, and pocket calls all take on new meaning in the
context of these popular hand-held devices.
Why isn’t there a glossy handbook in bright primary
colors and large font? I’ve said that a lot more times than I care to admit.
Frustrations are universal when it comes to learning
something new. My amateur sleuth, Baxley Powell, got all bent out of shape when
she took up dreamwalking. For years, Baxley blocked her paranormal senses.
“Normal” is what she wanted more than anything, but it wasn’t to be.
The County Dreamwalker job was literally killing her
dad. He weakened with every crossing. Clearly, another family member had to
step up and assume his position. Baxley quickly did the air math. Two
candidates existed, herself and her daughter. No way was she letting a ten-year-old
walk among the dead on a regular basis. Much to her dismay, Baxley became the
Dreamwalker.
Only, there were no written rules, no glossy
handbook, no classes she could take to come up to speed. Dreamwalking involved
on-the-job training of the scariest kind.
Oh, the mistakes Baxley made. She accidentally let an
entity through the Veil of Life, and it nearly killed Verbena. Another time she
inadvertently dragged the sheriff to the spirit world and got stranded. She got
them home, barely, thanks to her parents and their friends.
Did I mention the demon that marked Baxley with her
tattoo? Baxley knew she wasn’t supposed to make deals while on the Other Side,
but that was the price she was willing to pay for the entity to bring her dad
back from beyond the bridge.
Time and time again, Baxley begged her dad for a rulebook
and full disclosure. He refused. Said dreamwalker lore was available only on a
need-to-know basis. Said he was doing this for her own good.
Grr.
Talk about frustration!
I hate being kept in the dark, and so does Baxley.
Whether the topic is dreamwalking or smart phones,
there’s a steep learning curve. Count on missteps and new opportunities,
heartbreak and joy.
Do you share Baxley’s frustration over lack of
knowledge?
Bubba Done
It
Amateur sleuth and dreamwalker Baxley
Powell is called in on a stabbing case. She arrives in time to hear the dying
man whisper, “Bubba done it.”
Four men named Bubba in Sinclair County,
Ga., have close ties to the victim, including her goofball brother-in-law,
Bubba Powell.
She dreamwalks for answers, but the dead
guy can’t talk to her. Baxley sleuths among the living. The suspects include a
down-on-his-luck fisherman, a crackhead evangelist, a politically connected
investor, and her brother-in-law, the former sweetheart of the new widow.
The more Baxley digs, the more the Bubbas
start to unravel. Worse, her brother-in-law’s definitely more than friendly
with the new widow.
Between petsitting, landscaping, and
dreamwalking, Baxley’s got her hands full solving this case.
