Weathering Old Souls: New release and my review @jamescudney4 @Didi_Oviatt #NextChapterPub

Weathering Old Souls

by James J. Cudney & Didi Oviatt

Genre: Metaphysical, Spiritual Historical Fiction

Blurb

Abigail has always struggled with the voices. From the relentless tyranny a woman faces on an antebellum plantation to the unknown prison camps in America during World War II, our heroine discovers the past in a way that changes her future.

Moments from the past serve as guiding posts for the country’s growth, and also mark the transitions for Abigail’s own personal history. Her best friend, Margaret, partners with Abigail to discover the identity of the mysterious voices, while focusing on her passion and quest to become a United States senator.

Through it all, a serial killer torments the country, romance blossoms between people they meet during the journey, and long-buried secrets come to light in devastating ways. As elements twist, numbers align and spiritual powers connect, no one will be the same again.

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Giveaway

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/weathering-old-souls-book-tour-and-giveaway

Didi and James are giving away 4 prizes as part of this marketing campaign. Winner will be drawn the week after release:

• $25 Amazon Gift Card
• $40 Psychic Services
• 1 eBook of Weathering Old Souls
• 1 physical book of Weathering Old Souls (US Only)

A Rafflecopter giveaway

Extract

One morning as winter should’ve been transitioning into spring, an eight-year-old Abigail awakens with a piercing scream. She bolts upright and snails herself to the edge of her bed, placing a heavy hand on her chest to help steady herself and catch her breath. Her body twinges as though she’s fallen down a flight of stairs or been slammed by a double-decker trolley. The agony starts in the muscles behind her shoulder blade. From there it feels like a rocket exploded, escaping through her chest, leaving only traces of burning gases to snake their way through the rest of her fragile body. She coughs violently as her system tries to rid itself of unknown toxins.

The bedroom is dark and frigid because the pipes broke the previous day and her father was too busy sleeping off a hangover to call a contractor to fix them. Oliver has no mechanical knowledge or experience with home repair, but he tells Abigail that the Stauntons will address the issue since their heating system has also experienced problems with the winter storms that year. It’s been an unpredictable season, much more so than the usual winter in South Carolina. Some days Abigail has played outside all afternoon, hardly catching a chill. Others she wakes to a beautifully ominous layer of frost clinging to every blade of yellow grass as if its very life depends on it. 

A thin glint of light pushes through the crack between the bottom of the broken shade and the splintered windowsill. Abigail watches as the sparkly dust settles on the foot of her bed and shines brightly. It reminds her of the quartz necklace dangling on the neck of the woman in her scary dream. It was gorgeous and made the woman feel safe and comforted as it has in every dream where it made an appearance. Abigail’s told Margaret about the necklace many times, wishing she could hop out of bed today and do it again. It’s only been two months since she saw Margaret, but missing her is more than just a faint feeling. It’s soul crushing. She aches for Margaret’s companionship like any other child would her own sibling who’s grown up and gone on without her. 

In her nightmare, Abigail was stuck inside the body of an old lady running through a field, sweat pouring from her head down the curves of her hollowed and withdrawn cheeks. It was pitch black, and there were trees all around her, the wind shaking the branches such that they whispered secret directions in an unknown language. They resembled monsters with claw-like arms and vicious teeth, ready to bite her flailing limbs. Someone had been chasing her, but Abigail never saw the figure’s face.

Confusion rocks her body. Part of her is the small innocent child who wants to scream for Elizabeth, but a stronger piece of her feels much older, more mature, as if she’s lived for decades, maybe even centuries. She shakes through the aftermath of terror, unable to make sense of what happened in her sleep. All she knows is that it was horrific and made her fear something awful was destined to happen. Abigail wonders if her nightmares relate to the bits of conversation she’s overheard between Elizabeth and Bradford in the past. Elizabeth once said something about a killer coming after them again, but they’d ultimately agreed they were much safer now.

After deliberating with Imaginary May for a few moments, Abigail announces, “I can handle this on my own. I am a big girl. Margaret’s gone, but she taught me to be strong.”

She cuddles the teddy bear that Elizabeth gifted her last month for Valentine’s Day. Elizabeth had always bought one for Margaret when she was a child, the kind of mother and daughter tradition that Abigail has always yearned for. This is the first year that Margaret has been away for Spring Break during Valentine’s Day. Elizabeth missed her daughter immensely, so she purchased two identical teddy bears at the local toy store. One for Margaret, who would be home on Spring Break soon, and one for her favorite little neighbor and second daughter.

With a heavy sigh, Abigail stretches her arms above her head, extends her legs, and spreads her toes apart. Then she drops her chin to her chest, before rolling her head around in big circles. Four times each direction, one for every major element. She studied them in school that year. With each round of her neck, Abigail breathes in and counts to ten, then she lets out the air and reminds herself of everything she has to be grateful for. Margaret once taught her this morning routine, to help her ease the body tremors brought about by a nightmare, as the last doctor she saw refused to give any pain medication or advice. The stretching and breathing exercises help, and her pains slowly evaporate like a faint mist over a swamp.

An oblong mirror that’s mounted to the wall across from her window offers Abigail a dust-clouded view of her messy hair as it knots and sticks out in every direction, along with her worn-out unicorn covered nightgown. She chuckles at the sight of herself, and the last of her anxiety and spasms disappear. She imagines the body aches to have a color, a dull shade of lilac, as they lift in a swirling pattern like hazy smoke and exit out of the beam of light coming through the window.

“Stay away, you filthy bloke,” she chastises the imaginary swirl of colorful pain. 

Purchase links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZHQPFKD

Books2Read:https://books2read.com/WOS

My review

This book starts with the vicious murder of a man called Edward Smythe. The reader quickly learns that the victim has a young daughter and that he is an abusive husband. It is also clear that the murderer has committed the crime to appease an unnamed other person.

Abigail Perry is born during an electrical storm in an ill-equipped hospital in a small town called Concepción in South Carolina. The power fails intermittently, and Abigail’s mother dies moments after her birth, leaving her motherless.

On the same day, a family of three had moved into the twin house joined to Abigail’s parents’ home. This family take over raising Abigail and become her extended family.

It soon becomes evident that Abigail is not an ordinary child. She is haunted by disturbing memories of her past lives which are so powerful, they insert themselves physically into her daily life.

The only way Abigail can find her own spiritual peace is by unravelling the stories of her four past lives which seem to interlink with the activities of a serial killer, called the Fashionista.

Abigail is an interesting character, intelligent but very conflicted and confused by her terrible memories and poor health. Her father, Oliver, never recovers from the death of her mother and is not able to adjust to caring for a child until Abigail is much older. As a result, Abigail’s care falls to their kindly neighbours and their twelve-year old daughter, Margaret.

Oliver does not believe his daughter’s stories about her past lives and the ‘people’ who take over her mind and body. This attitude, together with his poor fathering, leave her feeling unloved and rejected. These feelings are compounded when the neighbours, who have cared for her all her life, have to move away.

She shows incredible strength and overcomes all the disbelief and dislike that come her way from her fellow students, teachers and eventually her father, learning to control her ‘difference’ in public and becoming an excellent student. Abigail’s determination and strength of character are demonstrated several times during the book.

Margaret is also a strong and determined female character with a quick mind and an excellent work ethic. She pursues a career in law and then politics. Margaret’s intelligence come to Abigail’s aid during her childhood as she researches ways of helping Abigail control her frightening and physically threatening memories. Margaret gives Abigail a quart’s necklace which keep these tormentors at bay while she is wearing it. Margaret is a devoted friend and is Abigail’s supporter, confidant, and protector.

This story is unique and clever, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are so many twists and turns you have to pay attention while reading this story. This is not a book you can semi snooze through. The ending is complex, and I found myself quite amazed at how neatly all the threads were tied up into a complete picture.

About Didi Oviatt

Didi Oviatt is an intuitive soul. She’s a wife and mother first, with one son and one daughter. Her thirst to write was developed at an early age, and she never looked back. After digging down deep and getting in touch with her literary self, she’s writing mystery/thrillers like Search for Maylee, Justice for Belle, Aggravated Momentum, and Sketch, along with multiple short story collections. She’s collaborated with Kim Knight in an ongoing interactive short story anthology, The Suspenseful Collection. Most recently, she published her first romance novella titled Skinny Dippin’ which was originally released as a part of the highly appraised Anthology, Sinners and Saints. When Didi doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, she can be found enjoying a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Time spent sleeping under the stars, hiking, fishing, and ATVing the back roads of beautiful mountain trails, and sun-bathing in the desert heat play an important part of her day to day lifestyle. 

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Author links

Website: https://didioviatt.wordpress.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/didioviatt

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Didi_Oviatt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/didioviatt/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/didi-oviatt

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Didi-Oviatt/e/B00HVJJTLE

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7207389.Didi_Oviatt

About James J. Cudney

James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College, an historic but small liberal arts school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a degree in English literature and minors in Education, Business and Spanish. After college, I accepted a technical writing position for a telecommunications company during Y2K and spent the last ~20 years building a career in technology & business operations in the retail, sports, media, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Throughout those years, I wrote short stories, poems, and various beginnings to the “Great American Novel,” but I was so focused on my career that writing became a hobby. In 2016, I committed to focusing my energies toward reinvigorating a second career in reading, writing, and publishing. 

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Author links

Website: https://jamesjcudney.com/

Blog: https://thisismytruthnow.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JamesJCudneyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamescudney4

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescudney4/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/james-j-cudney

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/James-J-Cudney/e/B076B6PB3M

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17128817.James_J_Cudney