An avid gardener, artist, musician and writer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford has fond memories and lots of stories that evolved from a childhood growing up in a haunted Victorian mansion. Told she had a ‘vivid imagination’, the author used this talent to create stories in her head to pass tedious hours while sick, waiting in a doctor’s office, listening to a teacher drone on about something she already knew, or enduring the long, stuffy family car rides. The author lived her stories in her head, allowing her imagination to lead her into a different world, one of her own making. As the author grew up, these stories, imaginings and fantasies took to the written form and, over the years, she developed a reputation for telling a good story. Emily-Jane can now boast that she is an award-winning author of several books, including Mrs. Murray’s Ghost (Telltale Publishing 2018), Queen Mary’s Daughter (Clean Reads 2018), Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and several other books. A retired teacher of music and creative writing, she writes about the extra-ordinary in life and the fantasies of dreams combined with memories.
There is a hidden treasure in the
grand old mansion on Piccadilly Street, in a place called London, but not the
real London of English fame. There’s also a lot of mystery and a murder that’s
been unsolved for decades. But it’s the treasure that captures Mary’s interest.
Mary lives in this house along with her family, her Brownie friends and a
ghost. When the ghost reveals her secret about the hidden treasure, there’s no
stopping Mary, her Brownie friends, or her enemies to searching for this
treasure.
Why the intrigue? Apparently there’s a little bit of magic connected
with this treasure. And so the adventure begins.
Who will find the treasure
first?
Snippet:
Once the house
settled down for the night, Mrs. Murray, the resident ghost, was out on her
nocturnal prowl. Satisfied that the house was safe and secure for the night,
after all the musical vibrations that shook the rafters earlier, she took her
place at the end of Mary’s bed and waited patiently for the girl to stir from
her sleep and take note of her presence.
“What?”
Mary groaned, pulling her eyes open as she emerged from a deep sleep. “What
now?”
“We
need to talk.” The wispy figure of what was once a very distinguished looking
lady, sat down at the end of Mary’s bed and looked the girl firmly in the eye.
“Now?”
Mary groaned. “It’s the middle of the night. What time is it?”
“What
difference does it make? Sit up and let’s talk.” The ghost was not going to
take ‘no’ for an answer. And, it would appear, feigning sleep would not send
her away either. So, Mary pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed her
eyes again, hoping to eradicate the sleep that threatened to make them close.
“Where
are the others? Where’s Brunny?” she asked.
“Asleep
in their little space. And it’s not a natural sleep either. They’re all in the
deepest of sleeps, all except Elizabeth, who slipped out of the house a few
hours ago, just after the lights went out and your family snuggled in for the
night.” Mrs. Murray slid a little closer to Mary. “She’s still not right, that
Elizabeth. She’s good and well shackled by that witch.”
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