Tuesday, October 10, 2023

An Angel’s Obsession by Celia Breslin #HauntedHalloweenSpooktacular



Celia’s Picks: Spooky Spots in San Francisco


My hometown is a beautiful combo of nature and architecture, has some of the nicest weather year round (including the awesome fog), excellent cuisine, abundant arts, and... for you lovers of the paranormal, there are a ton of spooky spots to explore, some of which make an appearance in my Tranquilli Bloodline vampire series. Here are my top five picks for Halloween chills and thrills in San Francisco!


1. The Armory
Located in the Mission District, this 200,000 square foot reproduction of a Moorish Castle was constructed in the early 1900s and used by the San Francisco National Guard. From 2006 until January 2018, it was owned by an adult entertainment company, and tours were available for all five floors of the historic building. My favorite floor by far is the wonderfully creepy basement:  a vast, cavernous space with visible remnants of its days as an armory (indoor rifle range!). Water runs through wide cracks in the basement floor's exposed concrete, adding to the spooky vibe.


2. Alcatraz Island
Also known as “The Rock,” Alcatraz sits in the San Francisco Bay, and is home to a large seabird population, the West Coast’s oldest functional lighthouse, and, of course, the infamous maximum, high-security prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. You can guess the spookiest part, right? They say ghost of ex-cons haunt the prison. Take a nighttime tour and let them shut you in one of the 9ft by 5ft cells...if you dare.  *shiver*


3. Sutro Baths, Ocean Beach
Once upon a time (1896), this bathhouse was the world’s largest, indoor swimming facility. Located near Ocean Beach and below Cliff House, Sutro Baths burned to the ground in 1966 (arson). Today, you can hike around the ruins then venture into the spookiest spot of all: the cave. For the best spine-tingling experience, try it at night, when the fog swirls, the wind wails, and waves crash over the beach. Some say if you light a candle and leave it in the tunnel, a ghost will pick it up and fling it into the ocean...


4. Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park
Modeled after NYC’s Central Park, Golden Gate Park is a gorgeous expanse of greenery in San Francisco. Stow Lake (located west of the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden), is a great spot for picnics and a boat ride. If you venture there at night, beware of the lake’s resident ghost, the White Lady. They say that in the early 1900s, barefoot and dressed in a white dress, the White Lady lost her baby in the lake then drowned herself. There’s also a statue near the lake of a woman and two small children. Local gossip says it moves when the White Lady is on the prowl.


5. Mission Dolores Cemetery
What’s spookier than a cemetery? Mission Dolores Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in San Francisco and the resting place of city founders and thousands of First Californians (the Ohlone, Miwok, and more). It’s also one of the locations in Hitchcock’s 1958 classic film, “Vertigo.” You’ll find the cemetery next to Mission Dolores, the oldest building in San Francisco. Tour both, but don’t be surprised if the hairs on your nape stand at attention as you wander among the ancient tombstones and silent sentinel statues in the cemetery gardens. Spooky energy, even on a sunny day...



An Angel’s Obsession
The Cupid Dating Agency
Celia Breslin

Genre: Paranormal romance, fantasy romance, angel romance
Publisher: Celia Breslin
Date of Publication: May 2023
ISBN: 9798223559672
ASIN: B0C6V1R1FW
Number of pages: 120
Word Count: 29K
Cover Artist: Brantwijn Serrah

Tagline: An angel on a mission. A Celtic god seeking forgiveness. A passion that can’t be denied…

Book Description: 

Warrior-class angel and God’s messenger Gabrielle has spent an eternity in service, protecting the innocent in all dimensions. When the cupids and the Big Guy send her team to Cute Town, California, USA to run love-adjacent businesses like her beloved gym, she has no problem settling into the new assignment. Then a blast from her passion-filled but heartbreaking past literally rips holes in the fabric of reality separating Hell and Earth, and it’s up to Elle to locate the troublemaker and make him pay. All while protecting her heart.

Lugh, Celtic god of sun, light, and storms and all-around fun guy, has been nursing his broken heart for ages, and no amount of partying with pals in Hell or in the Sonoma wine country can ease the loss of the angel he let slip through his lightning-infused fingers. Luke would do anything to win back his fierce yet vulnerable Firecracker, so he’s elated when she crashes back into his life with a well-earned smackdown for his accidental role in the chaos messing up her new hometown.

Elle wants nothing to do with Luke, but when God and the cupids pair them up to investigate and resolve the real source of the problem, she has no choice but to comply. And maybe, just maybe, they can find a second chance at a forever love…


Amazon US     Amazon CA     Amazon UK       Angus&Robertson

Apple        BN     Kobo     Smashwords     Scribd     Vivlio


Luke was cannon-balled out of slumber by the sudden presence of one hundred-and-fifty pounds of hound landing on his back.

Facedown atop a supremely soft mattress with his arms stretched wide and his head hanging off the foot of the bed, it took him a second to rally his speech center. “What the actual bloody hell,

Bolt?”

Bolt ignored him, bouncing around Luke’s body, pitching him side to side, up, down, up, down.

“For feck’s sake.” What the double bloody hell was Bolt on about with all the yapping and yipping and bashing of Luke’s kidneys with his big paws?

Luke rolled onto his back. “Enough, Bolt. Sit.”

Eyes closed, he batted a hand at his hound, warding off the canine’s attempts to lick his face. “Go chase a squirrel, will you? Crikey.”

Bolt whined and smacked one large paw down upon Luke’s bare chest. Ouch. “Duuude,” he drawled. “Chill.”

Fingers snapped, silencing his dog lickety-split. Bolt plopped down next to him, tail thwacking against Luke’s leg right where his board shorts ended above the knee.

He elbowed his dog in the side. “Cut it out, cur.” Hold on. Snapping fingers… Who possessed the ability to boss his animal around and convince the stubborn bugger to obey?

Only one person in any dimension wielded this kind of puppy power. But no, it can’t be her. She’d made it clear he remained persona non grata in her life with her recent no-show in the Underworld.

With his heartbeat jackhammering in his chest, he sucked in a deep breath, soaking in the unique floral scent of the woman who broke his rarely used heart, hoping this was no mere post-party hallucination.

“Gabrielle,” he whispered. God’s messenger and elite warrior, the angel he’d admired and cherished. “Elle.” The woman he’d let down, and who ultimately walked away.

A grin spread over his face and happy chills frolicked down his body.

“Angel baby. You’re here.” He cranked open his eyelids to gaze up at her in wonder.

Lightning crackled in the depths of her glittering green eyes as she loomed over him, her unhappy expression promising pain. Yep, his angel was clearly not as thrilled as he was about this unexpected reunion.

Years of yearning crashed to the forefront. He ached to caress her smooth, cloud-pale skin, to bury his fingers in the long fire-red hair she always kept swept up in a high ponytail. Memories surged, of her curves pressed against him while they kissed under the stars in Faerie, of her wicked strong legs wrapped around his torso while they made love against his castle wall, on the spiral staircase, in the sky—

A snarl escaped his angel’s throat, and her arm shot downward, her fingers of steel snagging him by the throat and squeezing his windpipe.

“Luke.” She uttered his name as if it were the vilest curse word in any dimension, then lifted him with little effort and slammed him up against the wall…


About the Author:

Celia lives in California with her family. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, angels, and the Fae. When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to fantasy TV shows and movies.








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1 comment:

Celia Breslin said...

Thanks for hosting Elle and Luke on your blog. Happy Halloween month! :-)

 
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