Clara's Wish by S. M. Senden
I became friends with this author at Mayhem in the Midlands--and am thrilled that S. M.'s book is now available!
About the Clara's Wish:
A little romance,
prophetic dreams with spectral apparitions and a touch of murder.
Silence hangs in
the air; a valuable diamond ring, taken from the
skeletonized hand of a corpse, lays untouched on the Sheriff’s
desk. Bergin Halverson wrestles with the ghosts of his past, and
his fears that have kept him silent for decades. He recognizes that
the truth, which only he knows, must eventually be told so that the
ghosts of his past may finally be put to rest.
skeletonized hand of a corpse, lays untouched on the Sheriff’s
desk. Bergin Halverson wrestles with the ghosts of his past, and
his fears that have kept him silent for decades. He recognizes that
the truth, which only he knows, must eventually be told so that the
ghosts of his past may finally be put to rest.
In a voice barely audible Bergin Halverson relates that it all began
with the wish of a pretty young woman back in December of
1923.
He says her name, almost as if it were a caress; Clara Lindgren.
Link to buy
I love a good mystery and this one is an
outstanding read. It will keep you spell bound and wanting to keep reading!
That is what I look for in a great book. When I don't want to put it down and I just have to spend every free
minute reading the story to unfold more and more, I know I have found a winner.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a riveting story of a
dark past unfolding bit by bit. Then just when you think you have it, you
don't. A punch in the end will have you saying "WOW, NOW I WOULD NEVER
HAVE FIGURED THAT OUT!" --Susan Kata
If I pick up a book
and finish it within 24 hours that only means the book is fantastic and I could
not put it down. YES, I finished it and LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT. --S. Henning
It is riveting. --H. Tottier
What Carolyn Major had to say about Clara's Wish ~
Your book is awesome, just finished it. I really
liked it, started this morning and didn't put down til just now when I finished
it. Really keeps you wanting to read more. Thanks again!!!
December 1923
Clara Lindgren stood at the edge of the
desolate field as the chilly December wind whipped about her. The fields were barren now; winter had come
to the land. The broken corn stalks,
once so full of potential, lay scattered in the fields, the wind tossing them
about as it played in the ruins of the harvest.
She felt that the land was a metaphor for
her life, barren, and the springtime of her days were far behind her. She shivered against the cold that penetrated
her thick, woolen sweater as she thought about her life.
She was twenty-three now and feared that
she was doomed to spend her years as a spinster, to live as a maiden aunt and
help raise one of her siblings’ children if one of them would be kind enough to
take her in under their roof. Clara
would cook, clean and do all the menial chores of a servant in exchange for her
room and board.
It wasn’t how she had wanted her life to
turn out. Clara still held onto the
tattered hopes that someday she would meet that someone special. But that dream faded more and more with each
passing season. Life was passing her by,
and she didn’t know if there was anything she could do to change it.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Clara's Wish came from some old
newspaper
stories about a missing girl, her father's persistence to get the law to
search for her, and what happened when they found her. It was a
compelling story that would not let me forget. I sat down to write
the story, and it blossomed rapidly. I always like to look at old
stories for inspiration. I love history and do copious research on an
era to get things right. Too often writers take an era and plop
modern people into them, and for me that does not work. Each era
has its aura, a special undercurrent that makes that decade special,
especially to those who lived it, for it formed them in so many
ways.
stories about a missing girl, her father's persistence to get the law to
search for her, and what happened when they found her. It was a
compelling story that would not let me forget. I sat down to write
the story, and it blossomed rapidly. I always like to look at old
stories for inspiration. I love history and do copious research on an
era to get things right. Too often writers take an era and plop
modern people into them, and for me that does not work. Each era
has its aura, a special undercurrent that makes that decade special,
especially to those who lived it, for it formed them in so many
ways.
Author Biography
S. M. Senden was raised in Winnetka,
a north shore suburb of Chicago. From an early age reading and writing were
passions as was travel. Senden has
studied, lived and worked in the USA,
Europe, the Mid-East and Africa, spending a
number of years as an archaeological illustrator for various expeditions. S. M. Senden earned a Masters Degree and has
studied creative writing, play writing and screenwriting.
Publications include: Two history books, Red Oak and Montgomery County, Iowa
published by Arcadia
in the Images of America series. Short
Stories: The December Bride in Winter Wonders an anthology published by
Whimsical Publications, and Christopher’s
Egg in the anthology Change is in the
Wind published by Second Wind.
Articles and mediations in both The
Clergy Journal and The Word in Season
and a number of ghost stories in various magazines.
S. M. Senden currently resides in the greater Omaha
metro area and is working on another historical mystery Lethal Boundaries, as well as a modern day series involving
forensic artist, Dr. Kate Ashton.
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