Another read-a-long! I do like excerpts, they're fun. You get a peek at the story, see if you like it and want to read the whole thing. For me, there's no question about today's excerpt. It's a J. A. Campbell story and I read those, she's an auto-buy. But for those of you not familiar with her works, she's touring to promote her Brown the ghost-hunting dog books and she wrote a story just for the tour. The excerpt you'll read today is not for sale anywhere; it's only available by following the tour and reading along. Follow every day and read along and you'll have read the whole story.
Follow the link to enter a contest to win a copy of
Science Fiction Trails 10 in which Brown battles Martians. US only. Julie will send
the winner a signed copy, the rest of the world, you have to take an unsigned
copy, sorry. You gotta be willing to give Julie your address.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Julie
writes fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be
found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her
side.
Find Julie Online:
Brown is a Border Collie who hunts ghosts,
and other things as it turns out, with her human, Elliott Gyles. You can find
out more about her adventures here: https://writerjacampbell.wordpress.com/eye-of-the-dog/
The Read-A-Long Schedule:
Intro - June 11th – J. A. Campbell - https://writerjacampbell.wordpress.com/blog/
Part 1- June 12th – Sam Knight - http://samknight.com/
Part 2 - June 13th – Bea’s Book Nook - http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/
Part 3 - June 14th – Amaleen Ison - http://www.amaleenison.com/
Part 4 - June 15th – Jen Wylie - http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/
Part 5 - June 16th – David Riley - http://sftrails.blogspot.com/
Interview
with Brown - June 17th – Anne Michaud - http://annecmichaud.wordpress.com
****************************************************
Brown
and the End of the Line
Kansas,
1900
By
J. A. Campbell
Part
Two
“Let me get this straight. It’s rattling the cars,
blowing wind around inside and knocking things over, especially in the dining
car, and it makes things appear on the track.”
“Yes,” Clem said.
Resting my chin on
Elliott’s knee, I listened to Clem’s story. This ghost sounded just as bad as
the one in the Saloon.
“Does it appear in
one spot, or does it affect only one train?”
“It’s happened on
several different trains, though it does seem to be localized to one spot on
the way to Dodge.”
“Do you know of
anything bad that happened out there?”
Clem laughed and
took another drink. “You name it, Elliott. This is Dodge City we’re talking
about. Train robberies, murder, theft, famous bandits, infamous ones, hell, the
Marshals were almost bigger rogues than the outlaws.”
“I see your point.
I’ll need to experience the ghost myself to trap it.”
“Understood. I
also understand that your dog helps you. I’ll make sure no one gives you any
problems about her. You can keep your stock in the livery and I’ll get you a
room for the night. Best be up early though. Train leaves as soon as it’s
loaded. Usually not too long after sunup.”
“Understood.”
***
Elliott and I were up before the sun. Breakfast was
some leftover meat scraps that tasted marvelous, though I could tell the
innkeeper wasn’t happy about having me in the dining room. However, Clem had
insisted and since the railroad owned the town, they’d done what he said. I
made sure to be on my best behavior. Once we were done, Elliott packed his
hunting bag and some clothing and we headed to the platform.
Men hurried
around, shouting above the noises from the train. A few seemed to be urging
people to get back onto the cars. I thought they might be passengers by the way
they were nicely dressed, and not coated with soot. Clem stood on the platform
and shouted orders at everyone. Following Elliott, I tried to stay out of the
way and by his side.
“Ahh. Elliott.”
Clem said when he saw us. He gestured us forward. “This is Hal, the conductor.
Hal, Mr. Gyles and his dog, Brown.”
“Nice to meet
you.” A taller, lanky man wearing a uniform with shiny buttons held out his
hand.
“Hello.”
The conductor
glanced down at me. “Is she house trained?”
I put up my paw as
if to shake.
He laughed.
“Should I take that as a yes?”
“Yes.” Elliott
sounded offended but I forgave Hal when he shook my paw.
“I’ve told the
stewards that she’s allowed and even though we officially don’t believe in
ghosts, they know why you’re here. You shouldn’t be bothered,” Hal said.
“Thank you.”
“Elliott, make
sure you get off in Dodge City. The conductors will know to let you and Brown
on the train headed back this way as soon as you are ready. If you can’t get
the ghost on the first trip, you can get it on the second,” Clem said.
Elliott smiled
broadly at the mention of Dodge City.
“Now, if you’ll
follow me, I’ll show you to your room. We’re about ready to leave,” Hal said.
We followed the
conductor into one of the train cars. The isles were narrow and smelled of soot
and lots of people and the barest hint of ghost. My hackles rose and I growled. “What’s that,
Brown?” Elliott turned to glance at me. I flattened my
ears and whined.
“She doesn’t like
the train?” Hal guessed.
“No.” Elliott
glanced around, but no one else was near. “I suspect she smells the ghost. Has
this train been haunted?”
Hal nodded after
also looking around.
“Easy, Brown.”
I huffed, but
quieted, following close behind Elliott. The conductor showed us to a small
room that smelled reasonably clean by human standards and told us to settle in. Elliott slid the
door shut after the conductor left. “Well, Brown. Our second real ghost. What
do you think?”
Using my indoor
bark, I woofed softly and thumped my tail, dropping my jaw in a doggy grin. I
was glad to have a job.
“We have awhile
before we get to the haunted spot. I’m going to do some research.”
I sighed and
jumped up on the bed, making myself comfortable. Research was boring. Dozing while
Elliott read, I dreamed of the last ghost we’d fought and how I’d teamed up
with Scoot, the sheriff’s cattle dog.
Finally, Elliott
woke me for dinner. I followed him through the train until we reached the car
with the yummy smells. My stomach grumbled and I licked drool from my lips. The
stewards brought me a plate along with Elliott and I happily dug in until
someone screamed. I
jumped up, looking around, certain the ghost was early.
***************************************************
Be sure to check out Amaleen’s blog (http://www.amaleenison.com/) tomorrow for
Part Three!
The Contest:
Thank you for having me here Bea!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure as always. :)
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