Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Kimber Leigh Wheaton's TOURTURED SOULS Blog Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway


Guest Post
by
Kimber Leigh Wheaton

America’s Haunted Destinations — Old Town San Diego
I’ve had the privilege of living in some of America’s most haunted cities. Yet I’ve never (yep—never) had a paranormal experience beyond simple events that can be written off as a trick of the eye or the light or just plain old imagination. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been looking for the paranormal most of my life. Ghosts have fascinated me since early childhood. So in this series of posts I’ll reveal some of the haunted destinations I’ve visited in my search for the supernatural.
The Whaley House in San Diego, CA is supposedly one of the most haunted destinations in America. When I was in high school, my drama group did plays at The Old Town Theatre just a block or so away from The Whaley House. Late night rehearsals were the norm two weeks prior to show time. We were all quite adventurous, and after rehearsals, we’d walk around Old Town looking for ghosts.
One night we were standing outside The Whaley House when we saw a curtain flutter in an upstairs window. That curtain was moving… definitely no trick of the light there! Other than that, the house was dark and appeared deserted. My friends freaked out and took off running back to the theater. I, on the other hand, was fascinated. Had they stayed, they would have seen the gentleman part the curtain and wave at me. Sorry to say, he was no ghost (I’m sure he’s happy about that fact, though).

photo courtesy of http://www.whaleyhouse.org

Did you know that The Whaley House offers night tours and ghost tours? Even back then they happened every few months. His name was Warren, a student from SDSU, there with a group of students for a parapsychology class. He was quite nice (not to mention rather cute—hard for a high school girl to resist an adorable college guy). Warren came outside to see what we were doing. Since my fair-weather friends abandoned me at eleven-thirty at night, he walked me back to my car. So I didn’t see a ghost, but I made an interesting friend that night.
Old Town is full of intriguing places. There’s a tiny, old cemetery down the block from The Whaley House that has several children’s graves. The El Campo Santo cemetery was used between 1850–1888. Even today people stop by and leave toys for the children and flowers for the graves. Some of San Diego’s most prominent founding families are buried here.
Casa de Estudillo is another interesting place. Set up as a museum with décor appropriate for the time period, it offers an inside look at aristocratic life in the 1800s. Many people have taken odd phots in this old structure. Orbs, streaks, and riots of color are not uncommon. My photos all came out pristine on my visit last year.

When you’re finished ghost hunting, stop at Coyote Café for some yummy Mexican food and great big Margaritas! If you’re under twenty-one, the virgin strawberry Margarita is quite good.



Tortured Souls
The Orion Circle #1
Kimber Leigh Wheaton

YA Paranormal Romance
June 29. 2014
Sea Dragon Press



Sometimes Rest in Peace isn't an option.

Kacie Ramsey sees ghosts—and it's ruining her life. Her mother left, her father blames her, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't keep the ghosts away. Now a new power has emerged. Nightly visions of grisly murders and a relentless predator draw her to the brink of insanity.
When the phantom appears at a party, Kacie's longtime crush, Logan, saves her. He invites her to join the Orion Circle, a group of supernatural hunters with chapters in schools all over the country. Through the Circle, Kacie learns to embrace her spiritual powers, and for the first time in her life she feels in control rather than a victim.
But the Foxblood Demon will not give up so easily. A demented serial killer in life who trapped the souls of the thirteen children he murdered, imprisoning them within the walls of his mansion. Now in death, he plots his return while drawing power from the pure souls of the children. He recognizes something in Kacie he's never seen before—a medium powerful enough to provide a vessel for his tainted soul.
Kacie can't ignore the tortured souls of the children crying out to her every night. With Logan at her side, she will fight the Foxblood Demon. But can they banish this powerful phantom, or will Kacie lose not only her body, but her eternal soul to the monster.



Excerpt:
Closing my locker, I nod and smile at him, trying to hide my anxiety. Why did I agree to go to this club meeting? What if they sacrifice goats to some pagan god or something? Laughter wells up within at the absurd image of an animal sacrifice occurring on the third floor of the Sciences building. Besides, it couldn’t be a goat—it would have to be a cat or a fetal pig since that’s what the AP biology class is dissecting this year. I guess it could be a crawfish or an earthworm since the regular biology classes dissect those.

My laughter finally bubbles out when I picture figures in black robes sacrificing an earthworm to their pagan god. I feel Logan’s eyes on me. When I glance at him, he has a strange, indecipherable look on his face.




Tortured Souls by Kimber Wheaton........ omg!! Great book!!!! This is one you don't want to miss out on.” ~ Paranormal Romance & Authors That Rock 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
“Right off the bat the characters and story line grabbed my attention. The story has a smooth flow and the author has the 2 main characters interact in a way that works great. I cannot say anything bad about this book at all. Once I started this book I could not put it down there was way too much action and suspense.” ~ Sheryl ~ Amazon Reviewer

 The Orion Circle is awesome. I enjoyed the variety of characters that are in this book and look forward to more installments of this series. I highly recommend Tortured Souls. This mysterious and paranormal adventure will entertain readers of all ages.” ~ Christy Tanner ~ Goodreads Reviewer

“I was sooo not disappointed! I mean...this has everything I love! Most of all, it was unique! I'm always on the lookout for unique books that breathe some fresh air in to the YA genre and this is one of them!” ~ Alisha Tarran ~ Reality’s A Bore
“The plot is wonderfully spooky with just the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep the pages turning.” ~ JML Graphics





                                                                                                                                                           “Tortured Souls was a wonderful YA read. It was light and enjoyable all the way through. From the romance, to the thrills, this book was fantastic. YA lovers, this is definitely a book you'll want to check out.” ~ Farrah at Imagine a World

About the Author
Kimber Leigh Wheaton is a bestselling YA/NA author with a soft spot for sweet romance. She is married to her soul mate, has a teenage son, and shares her home with three dogs, four cats, and lots of dragons. No, she doesn’t live on a farm, she just loves animals. Kimber Leigh is addicted to romance, videogames, superheroes, villains, and chocolate—not necessarily in that order. (If she has to choose, she’ll take a chocolate covered superhero!) She currently lives in San Antonio, TX but has been somewhat a rolling stone in life, having resided in several different cities and states.



Tour-Wide Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
1 Signed Print Copy - US Only
5 sets of signed bookmarks - US only
(please be patient it takes the rafflecopter a minute to load)

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for participating in the tour and for sharing my guest post!

    ReplyDelete