BookQW = Jaw

THE QUEEN

One of the Ever-After Stories

She blew me off, but I’m not about to let her. I’ve got to know who she was. This driving force pierced my heart, urging me into a boldness I gave up years ago. Now that I’m this close, I have to get a better look at her face, but the damn fog decided to lift, and I squinted just to catch what I could.

I offered my hand, hoping she’d wrap dainty fingers around it. “Hey, I’m pretty rude. My name is Cole, Cole Masterson.” The sun dipped behind a cloud and out of my eyes for a moment.

The surprised look on her face took nothing away from the softness at the corners of her mouth. There was a sweetness fluttering gently along her jawline and around the curve of her chin, framing her simple yet amazingly attractive face.

“Cole Masterson of G.H.O.S.T.?” Her laugh was like a songbird, light and feathery. “Well, seems the joke’s on me this morning. Please forgive my rudeness.”

She knows me? I must’ve looked as perplexed as I felt because she giggled again. Her smile lit up her face and eyes, and I melted before her.

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BookQW = Long

THE QUEEN 

One of the Ever-After Stories

Climbing out of the taxi, I was dwarfed by her shadow, and more intrigued than I wanted to admit, being a skeptic.

I handed over my bags to the bell captain and stepped into the elevator outside the ship. Once on A-Deck, I slowly walked through the door and into another era. An era of 1930s glitz and glamour with a week’s worth of ocean as a backdrop. The floors gleamed and the shops glimmered with a long-forgotten style. Okay, so we’re basically in dry dock, but we are surrounded by water, and most of it the Pacific Ocean, so it was like I was about to sail away on a transatlantic adventure.

And, strangely, it felt like coming home as I boarded the ship I’d never stepped foot upon until this moment. A chill crept through me as a picture of those glamour years danced before my eyes and the iconic Titanic flitted through my mind—minus sinking into freezing cold water, of course. I was entering another world, and I felt it down to my bones.

I walked over to check in, sure the chill was anything but déjà vu. The smarmy desk clerk beamed at me, no doubt glad of the publicity I might bring to this floating hotel.

“Welcome aboard the Queen Mary, Mr. Masterson. We’ve worked hard to meet all your requirements, including making sure the other guests will not interfere with your investigation. You’ll be staying starboard side in room A105.” He handed me the keycard, then pointed toward a hallway just past a small lounge. “Enjoy your stay with us.”

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13 Reflections: A Friday the 13th Story

In Thirteen Reflections, Cari convinces Jax to let her use the Psychomanteum technique, or Mirror-Gazing. I first saw this technique in an episode of Kindred Spirits, where the paranormal investigators used it during an investigation.

Mirror Gazing was originally used in ancient Greece to contact the dead and to be able to communicate with deceased loved ones.

Here are a few links to read more about mirror gazing:

1.    Using Psychomanteum Gazing as a Method to Establish Communication with Spirits

2.    How can I have Afterlife Communication; Explore Psychomanteum

3.    Psychomanteum (Mirror-Gazing) | Psi Encyclopedia

Several 2025 Friday the Thirteenth stories are currently available for pre-order on Amazon for $0.99 or “free” with KU, with a June 13, 2025, release date. You can reserve your copy of “Thirteen Reflections” here:  Amazon/KU

BookQW = Win

THE QUEEN

One of the Ever-After Stories

What the hell? Now I was hearing ghosts? I rushed along in a hurry to get below deck.

Peering into the dim, yellowish light cast over the iron steps, I looked back, straining to see the presence that may have touched my soul for a brief moment. The light scent of lavender perfume and the faint sounds of swing music drifted over to me.

Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes, feeling transported back to the war years, hearing the moans of the sick, the tender voices of the nurses, the motion of the ocean.

Shivering, I opened my eyes, deliberately pulling away from someone else’s memories. I couldn’t let myself fall into the past or I might not come back. 

Where the hell had that thought come from? You’re the ghost disprover, remember? Get it together man, I told myself, then turned and descended into what may have been a living hell for some soldiers.

“QM, 2:30 a.m., Isolation Ward,” I said directly into the recorder.  

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BookQW = Down

THE QUEEN

One of the "Ever After" Stories

Male voices, seeped in pain, filtered through my mind. Pictures of men lying with bandages around various limbs flooded my memory banks, and I couldn’t blink them away. All of them were looking to me for help, answers, and God knew what else they thought I could provide. I needed to close my mind, lock the visions out. Only then would I dare look around once more.

I’m not sure what was going on, except I needed to get a grip.

“I hope you don’t mind if I take some pictures.” Taking a deep breath, I put the camera on burst mode, then held down the button, taking several photos continuously. Whatever was out there should show up on one of these pictures. At least, I hoped so.

“Dr. Masterson?”

The soft female voice sent a warm current through me. I turned toward it, clicking more photos as I did so. Her voice was so sweet, soothing, and gentle—and at the same time, arousing. My body hardened, and something told me it wasn’t the first time with her around. A current of heat soared through me as I gazed at the watery image of a captivating dark-haired woman in a crisp white nurse’s uniform. Her gaze one of familiarity pricked at my senses.

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BookQW = Game

THE QUEEN 

One of the “Ever After” stories. 

There was only one way to test her theory, but was she brave enough? Goodness, yes! He was worth risking her heart and her virtue. Somehow, she’d have to get him into bed. Once they made love, he’d remember her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Making him remember the summer they’d spent healing the sick and wounded was the only way to pass them both on to eternity together.

He frowned and spoke into the device again.

“Look, I’m not going to hang out here, waiting for you to make yourself known any longer. If you want to play games, it’ll have to wait until another night.”

He turned away, and she couldn’t resist touching his arm lightly, getting only a tingle as she came up against the barrier of his skin. It only made her ache all the more to touch his warm, mahogany skin, like a drunk looking for her whiskey bottle.

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April 2025 Book Birthday!

THE QUEEN

One of the “Ever After” stories.

This assignment has become two-fold and personal. Not only would I be able to do what I loved—dissecting hauntings—but now I’ll also be able to find out if, in fact, the stories about my great-grandfather were true and not the ramblings of a lonely physician treating the wounded during World War II. 

According to the tattered journal packed safely between my socks and underwear, my great-grandfather, Dr. William Masterson, fell in love with an English nurse while caring for the wounded aboard this ship called The Grey Ghost during the Second World War. He went on leave, promising to return for the young lady the next time The Ghost came into port.  

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