Ghost Agents
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently published (July 26, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 309 pages

Synopsis

 

An organization that has operated in secret for centuries… a mystery that threatens to burn it all to the ground… and she’s the only agent who can stop it…

 

To the residents and tourists of Galveston Island, Claire Abelard is the friendly young woman who works at the local candy store by day and leads ghost tours of the island’s haunted locations by night. They don’t realize this persona is a cover for Claire’s real job as an agent of the Bureau for Historical Preservation, a clandestine organization that monitors and assists energy projections, or the entities more commonly known as “ghosts.”

When projections begin disappearing from around the island, Claire worries that history may be repeating itself. She launches a dangerous investigation and uncovers a sinister, arcane organization whose agenda threatens not only Galveston’s ghosts, but everything she has worked her whole life to protect.

The truth behind the disappearances rocks Claire’s world to its core and shows her that ghosts aren’t the only things that can come back to haunt you.

Ghost Agents is a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery, with a little sci-fi, romance, and Texas history thrown into the mix!

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Guest Interview

Interview with an Agent of the Bureau for Historical Preservation

Instructor:       Congratulations on your recruitment to the Bureau for Historical Preservation and your entrance into the new agent training program.

At this point in your training, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed by all the information that’s been coming your way over the last few weeks, so we thought it might be nice for you to hear about the job from a veteran agent. So, today we’re here with Claire Abelard, the senior agent in charge of the Bureau’s team in Galveston, Texas. Welcome, Claire.

Claire:             Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Instructor:       So, Claire, tell us about how you came to work for the Bureau.

Claire:             Well, my family history with the Bureau dates all the way back to its founding in the early 1700s, so you might say it’s a family business.

Instructor:       That’s right. Pierre Abelard is your great, great… how many greats?… grandfather.

Claire:             (with a laugh) I’m not really sure. I’d have to do the math.

Instructor:       Well, however far back it goes… Hopefully, our recruits will remember Pierre was one of the original scientists who discovered that all humans give off varying degrees of energy, and that some people leave behind projections of that energy after they die.

Claire:              That’s right. He and his fellow scientists started the Bureau as a way to monitor and help the energy projections they were meeting.

Instructor:       You’ve been an active agent with the Bureau for a few years now, Claire. Can you share with the recruits your favorite thing about the job?

Claire:             Oh, that’s a tough one. There are so many rewarding things about being an agent. I think for me, the best thing would be knowing that we’re helping keep history alive and active in the minds of the general public. If it weren’t for our efforts, so much of history would be forgotten and lost forever.

Instructor:       What are some of the challenges you face on the job?

Claire:             (with a chuckle) Honestly, sometimes the projections we monitor can be a little childish. I imagine it would be a lot like refereeing a toddler soccer match.

Instructor:       How’s that?

Claire:              Well, we call them projections, but it might be more accurate to think of them as remnants of the living person’s energy. Whatever personality traits the person had when they were alive, their energy projection will be a streamlined, static version of that. Basically, pure personality without the potential for growth or development, and sometimes that can make our job challenging. But I find it’s best to just embrace the challenge and try to enjoy their personalities for what they are.

Instructor:       Thank you, Claire. Now, if you’re up for it, I’d like to open up the floor to questions from our recruits.

Claire:              I’d be happy to answer some questions.

Recruit #1:      I was curious about acumens. I know Communicative Acumen is the basic requirement for an agent, but does it really matter all that much if you have any of the other abilities?

Claire:              Actually, yes, it really can matter. Communicative Acumen is just the foundation that allows you to talk to the projections. But the job just gets a lot easier if you can bring other abilities to the table.

Recruit #1:      How so?

Claire:             Well, one example would be that Affective Acumen helps you gauge a projection’s mental and emotional state at any given moment. This gives you an advantage in regulating your own emotions to help you direct your interactions with them. Believe me, you never want to let the projection steer the ship.

Recruit #2:      Is it possible for a sensitive to develop new acumens?

Claire:              It’s my understanding that, yes, it is possible, but it takes a lot of work and training.

Recruit #2:      Have you been able to develop any new acumens?

Claire:             (hesitantly) Actually, I’ve never tried.

Recruit #2:      But you just said more acumens make the job easier.

Claire:             (nodding) They do. I’ve just never had to try to acquire any new acumens.

Instructor:       (in disbelief) You possess all the acumens?

Claire:              Well, not all of them, but the ones I do have, I’ve always had. It’s probably because I was raised in a Bureau family, but I just don’t remember a time when I didn’t have my acumens.

(murmurs among the recruits)

Instructor:       (steering the conversation back) Okay, I think we have time for one more question.

Recruit #3:      Are rogue projections really as dangerous as our training materials make them out to be?

Claire:             (choosing her words carefully) Well, yes and no. They all have the potential to deteriorate more quickly than monitored projections, but that doesn’t mean they all will. Many of them just want to be left alone. Of course, there are those who get out of line and pose a danger to livings, but our P.I.D. teams handle them.

Recruit #3:      You mean, they dispatch them.

Claire:             When necessary, but usually a warning does the trick. Honestly, most rogues just go about their business and don’t cause any problems at all.

Recruit #3:      What’s the scariest encounter you’ve ever had with a rogue?

Claire:              I’ll be honest and say I have encountered some aggressive rogues in the past, but I wouldn’t call the experiences “scary.” The living people we encounter while doing our job pose more of a threat to us than rogue projections do.

Instructor:       Well, I think that’s all we have time for today. Thank you so much, Claire, for stopping by to chat with our recruits and answer their questions.

Claire:              No problem at all. I’m always happy to help out.

About the Author

Nita DeBorde is a published author and teacher from Houston, TX. Writing and teaching are her two major passions, though traveling and being dog-mom to a crazy Staffordshire-Boxer mix named Mabel are high on the list as well.

Nita has taught high school French for more than 20 years and absolutely loves her “day job” job (about 95% of the time). She loves to travel, and not surprisingly, France is her favorite destination, though her home state of Texas runs a close second.

She is also a huge history buff, which comes through in her fiction writing, and particularly in her latest novel, Ghost Agents, a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery with a little sci-fi and romance thrown into the mix. Ghost Agents: Revelations, the 2^nd book in the Ghost Agents Trilogy, is slated for release in March 2022.

Nita’s first novel, Project Lachesis, is currently available in both Kindle and hardcopy format from Amazon.com.

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