 Jade's days at the Academy are over, a new life awaits in New Orleans...
When Harry offers to start a PI business with Jade, she accepts, now that her chances of joining the SPA are gone. A new life in New Orleans, her best friend, Kol, by her side, what more could she ask for? But not everyone in The Big Easy is so welcoming. The resident, self appointed Werewolf Queen is not pleased that a rogue shifter has set up shop in her territory and she tests Jade, seeking her allegiance. After a girl is found dead at her club, Harry and Jade get their first case, but is the Queen telling them everything? Life in New Orleans won't be as easy as it seems... A New Adult Fantasy Series The City For Lost Souls is a continuation of the Academy For Lost Souls series. It can be read as a standalone or as a companion story.
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 New Orleans is famous for many things, including its impressive list of ghost stories and other supernatural tales. Here are a few, the full stories can be read online.
The Casket Girls - A group of young women arrived from France as potential brides for residents of New Orleans, clutching only a small 'casket' or chest with their belongings in them. However, given their pale complexions and tendency to burn in the sun, rumors soon spread that they were vampires. They were sent to stay with the nuns in a local convent until they could be married off, but the rumors persisted and they were eventually sent home to France. The nuns kept their caskets, moving them to the third floor of the convent. However, they later found the caskets empty, but no one could get to the third floor as it was sealed off. Were the girls something more than human? The LaLaurie Mansion - Home to Dr. Louis LaLaurie and his wife, Delphine, a fire revealed a horror in the attic. They had a torture chamber set up and they used it on their slaves. They fled the city, but it is said that the house is still haunted, possibly even by Delphine herself. St Louis Cemetery No 1 - Opened in 1789. it houses many of the early residents of the city and is said to be the most haunted cemetery in the United States. Phantom figures have been spotted many times over the years.  I bind you to dread’s cold embrace
Until your truth you boldly face. Kiera never wanted to be a witch, and certainly did not desire to inherit her mother’s ancestral crown. Yet as the rightful heir to the Bargarran Coven, it is a destiny which becomes inevitable upon her parents’ untimely death. Summoned to New Orleans on Samhain night for an annual gala, Kiera struggles with her impending ascension. However, before she can make a final choice, a curse whisks Kiera through the veils of time. Trapped in Medieval England, Kiera must come to grips with her deepest fears in order to return to her own time and protect those she cares for. However the journey is complicated by both an evil presence intent on preventing her return, and a blossoming love with a noble knight, Aisling, who aids the young witch upon her quest. As Kiera is forced to face both past fears and an uncertain future, she is confronted with the greatest challenge of all. Does she give in to her heart’s desire and remain with her newfound love? Or return to her own time, to claim her rightful place within the Bargarran Coven? Both choices promise a heart-wrenching price.  Louisiana Voodoo or New Orleans Voodoo is a set of practices and beliefs stemming from Africa. Followers fled Haiti in 1791 and moved to New Orleans as free people of color. They became spiritual and political figures of powers in the following century as the practice grew in popularity.
The core belief of Voodoo is that spirits interact in our lives and it is possible to connect with them through various rituals including chanting and dance. Ceremonies are still used even today to help people suffering from various disorders including anxiety and addiction. New Orleans is home to a spiritual temple and a museum dedicated to the practices. Tours are available throughout the city including to Marie Laveau's tomb, which is a popular spot to visit.  She's the daughter of the infamous Delphine LaLaurie, serial killer of the French Quarter.
He's a broken soldier fresh from war. *** Buying the decrepit mansion in New Orleans was supposed to be a fresh start for Spencer, instead he finds his PTSD sent into overdrive. He's not just seeing his dead best friend now; he's seeing a woman haunting the rooms of his newly-acquired home too. For Marie, her spiritual torture has lasted well over a century. A new inhabitant of her prison means another chance at salvation. But sanity is a tightrope walk for both Spencer and Marie. And saving each other might mean losing their minds completely. *** Trigger Warning One of the main characters of this story is suffering from PTSD. He lost his best friend whilst serving his country upon foreign soil. Despite ‘Scatter My Ashes’ being a work of fiction, we would like to urge anyone reading who might be suffering from wounds of war to seek help. Please also know that you have our thanks and our respect.  New Orleans was founded by the French, ruled by the Spanish for forty years, before being bought by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It became the largest port in the South in the 19th Century.
Known for its jazz music, tourism and of course the annual Mardi Gras celebrations, New Orleans faced devestation in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit. Over 1800 people died and many buildings were destroyed. The residents have worked hard to rebuild the city, but faced many hardships. I chose New Orleans as the setting for my latest series because it has a rich history with magic and mystery, making it the perfect setting for a supernatural series.  Gifted to the New World by the King of France, the daughters of the Vieux Carre will rise from the shadows and into power as their sacred bloodline is awakened by a cursed love...
Setting off for a new world an entire ocean away was the beginning of my end. Aboard the ship I met a startling handsome man who changed my life... after ending it. My scent. His blood. Our fates. All intertwined in the shadows. Our mating created a dark curse and I’ve been waiting nearly three-hundred years for my Phillpe’s awakening... When my mate finally opens his eyes, instead of love and desire, I see hate and betrayal. His distrust shatters my lonely heart. We must set aside our differences to stop a feral vampire from terrorizing the streets of New Orleans. I desperately want my mate back, but first I need his help to protect the life I’ve built for us. Awakened after spending centuries locked in a cursed slumber, I discover my mate has betrayed me with the very blood she was sired with. Giselle was different from the other casket girls, I knew it from the moment I breathed in her intoxicating scent. She was a daughter of the Vieux Carre. Giving her my blood sealed our fates... But before I can uncover the secrets of the curse, I’ll have to learn to trust the dangerously beautiful one who guarded me for centuries while I slept. I have to know why she did this to me... to us. Will we ever be the mates we were fated to be or are we doomed to forever be apart? Shadowed Awakening is the first book in the new thrilling paranormal series, The Daughters of the Vieux Carré. Join this family of vampires as they awaken to a new world and changes they never expected. Shadowed Awakening was formerly titled “Phillipe”.  Marie Laveau was born in 1801, in colonial Louisiana. She was a well known practitioner of Voodoo and she worked as a midwife. Born a free woman of color, she had several children, but only two of them survived into adulthood. She married a man called Jaques Paris, who later died, leaving her a widow. She remarried and starting working as a hairdresser, where she would offer advice to her clients who were dealing issues at home. She became their confidant, helping to bolster her reputation.
Marie was respected in her community for her healing and spiritual work, but myth mixes with fact as certain records were lost or missing on her. We know she used charms and powders to help cure ailments. She has inspired many works and characters in TV shows about her, including American Horror Story, although these characters are wildly exaggerated versions of her. She died peacefully in her home in 1881. Tourists still visit her tomb today, leaving offerings to her.  Isabelle Van Helsing comes from a long and proud lineage, descended from the same man that went face-to-face with Dracula himself. Now that the world knows the supernatural exists, she is tasked with arresting and exterminating them, working for a government entity called The Initiative. And there are shadows lurking just waiting for the opportune moment to take it all down. After the death of a fellow Exterminator, Izzy and her snarky cohort and boyfriend Jonas McGrady, go to work investigating her death, finding that things aren't as black and white as they seemed.
 The month of April will be dedicated to books set in New Orleans and posts on the history of New Orleans, to celebrate the release of the first book in my new series - City For Lost Souls.
New Orleans is rich in history, folklore and magic and I will be sharing some of the most interesting stories from The Big Easy over the next few weeks. |
 
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 
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