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My Past, Your Future by Gabbi Grey

Deerbourne Inn Series

 

Hero’s name and rank : Corporal Elijah Freeman

Branch of the service: Army – Massachusetts 54th, 1863 (died in the second battle of Fort Wegner)

What is his most heroic trait? Belief all men are equal

What kind of man is his perfect match? During the war it was a fellow black soldier.  In present day it’s a History Professor.  A sexy red-headed Scotsman.

 

My Past, Your Future Blurb

Callum MacLaren, a professor from Scotland, visits Willow Springs, Vermont during the Winter Solstice to study and explore the rich history of St. Joseph’s Cemetery. His encounter with a sexy soldier in a tattered Civil War uniform is a captivating puzzle, and the more he learns, the deeper his attraction.

A hundred and fifty years ago, Elijah Freeman was killed during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner and woke up in Willow Springs, the only home he’d known. Alone, he roams the town, unable to leave or interact with a single soul until an intriguing Scot addresses him. Even stranger, the man can see him, hear him, and touch him–a sizzling caress that leaves Elijah aching for more.

But will Elijah return to his ghostly form when the magic of the solstice fades, or is Callum’s love enough to keep him in the land of the living?

AMAZON

 

Excerpt: 

“Why do you think you’re in Purgatory? That’s what you believe, aye?”

 

“Or some form of it.” He removed his cap, scratched his head, then put it back on. “I figure if

this were Heaven or Hell there’d be other dead people. Of course, I believed there’d be other dead people in Purgatory as well. The word just…fits.”

 

“I hate to be so direct, but what did you do?” And wasn’t that just the question he’d been

dreading? A sense of self-preservation held him back. What if the truth drove Callum to judge him  and find him wanting? What if he repulsed the man? No, better to skirt the truth and keep this new companion as long as possible. “I did something that was against the laws of both nature and man. I believe that’s why God has punished me.” Honest, if not the whole truth.

 

“In a time of war I suspect all men—and women these days—do things they’re not proud of.

Things they wish they hadn’t been forced to do. War is, by its very nature, a battle to survive. You didn’t survive, obviously, but if you died trying… I mean, was it that bad?” Even as he said the words, Callum brushed them off with the flick of his hand. “Obviously it was, but you were at war. If all soldiers kill people, why were you singled out for punishment?”

 

“I did something dishonorable. It has kept me from being with the person I most want to be with. I think…” He’d had a long time to reason this out. “I believe that, although I shouldn’t have done what I did, there were, if you will, reasons for it.” He tried out words he’d heard before. “Extenuating circumstances.” Big words to be sure. “Enough to prevent me from going directly to Hell, but not enough to protect me and send me to Heaven.” To be with Cornelius.

 

Callum’s green eyes shone with empathy. “You must have loved the lady in question.”

 

“What?” The one word came out sharper than he’d intended.

 

“You said the person you most want to be with. I think…” His gaze darted around. When he looked back at Elijah, it was focused. “I think I see true affection in your eyes.”

 

Oh, that. “The person I loved.” Might as well tell the whole honest tale. “I was a sodomite. I loved a man. When he died, I picked up my rifle with the bayonet and entered the fray, determined to kill as many enemies as possible. I also recklessly put myself in the line of fire. It took only one shot from a rifleman to take me out.”

 

Meet Gabbi Grey:  Gabbi Grey has written a lot of words and is now sharing them. She writes contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. She firmly believes in happy endings.

 

Author links:

Website: https://gabbigrey.com/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15456297.Gabbi_Grey

Amazon Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Grey/e/B07SJVFX1M

Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey

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Why do you like writing military heroes?  When I heard about the Deerbourne Inn series, I knew I wanted to participate.  It took me several months to work out the plot of the story. I wanted to tell the story of a ghost, and having a Civil War soldier was perfect.  Elijah was born into slavery, but he and his father escaped through the Underground Railroad.  His father died, and Elijah was raised as a free black man.  When the Civil War broke out, he waited impatiently to join the army.  Upon Lincoln’s declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation, black men were allowed to join the army, albeit in segregated units.  Elijah fought, and died, to bring freedom to black people everywhere.