The lovely Ellie Thomas is back on the blog! Today, she’ll share a little about her latest release, The Unquiet House. Welcome, Ellie!

Thank you, lovely Ofelia, for having me as a guest on your blog again. I’m Ellie, I write Historical Romance novellas, and I’m here today to chat about my brand new Halloween release. The Unquiet House is the second novella in my Regency Paranormal series and the sequel to The Monk’s Lair, the first story to feature my couple Christian and Sam. 

Like the first story, The Unquiet House is told from the point of view of Christian Maxwell, a rather delicate young man with uncertain health with an unusual psychic gift. When he touches organic material like stone or wood, he is able to perceive the history and events that the object or building has experienced. 

In The Monk’s Lair, Christian’s gift leads to a dangerous adventure for him and his new acquaintance Sam near the atmospheric ruins of Tintern Abbey on the Welsh borders. So in The Unquiet House, my challenge was to find a different but equally compelling setting. 

As readers of my stories already know, I like to have a familiarity with the settings of my stories. If I can see a place clearly in my mind’s eye, then hopefully, I’ll be able to transfer that to the reader through my words. 

So when I was visualising Haverford House, the ancient haunted manor in the story that Christian and Sam are requested to investigate in The Unquiet House, it seemed natural to base the building and history on Littlecote House, near Hungerford, where I passed many a weekend afternoon on guided tours as a child. 

After so many visits, I can still recall the main rooms of Littlecote House, so it was fun to tweak my memories for Christian’s impressions. Naturally, many of the details are embellishment or pure fiction, but the basic layout consisting of the Elizabethan Great Hall and the Georgian Chinese Drawing Room, plus the magnificent Red Staircase are borrowed directly from Littlecote. Not forgetting the secret passages behind the walls of the house.

That’s not all! Although The Unquiet House isn’t precisely a ghost story, I borrowed one of Littlecote’s most famous ghosts, the lady who resides in the Haunted Bedroom. I gave her a different backstory for the encounter with Christian, but the bedroom and the landing can be found at Littlecote. Although I’ve never encountered an unquiet spirit on my many visits, I can verify that the temperature in this part of the house is distinctly chilly, which dissipates as soon as you move onto the next room.

I wanted a vivid and atmospheric backdrop for the twists and turns of Christian and Sam’s paranormal investigation and the continuation of their love story, and for this particular adventure, Littlecote House fitted the bill perfectly. 

Blurb:

After barely surviving their terrifying encounter with the spectre of the hooded monk during the previous autumn, Christian Maxwell and Sam Gillespie have consolidated their romantic relationship and are starting to gain a reputation for dealing with the unknown.

For this reason, they receive an invitation to Haverford House in Wiltshire during the spring of 1817. The owners of the historic haunted manor house, Mr. and Mrs. Huxley, are being afflicted by a series of inexplicable incidents.

With his sensitivity to atmosphere, Christian is immediately alerted to danger. Yet, despite their best efforts, neither he nor Sam can discern the cause, although their search brings them closer as a couple and as a team. As sinister events develop, can our devoted duo unmask the culprit without putting themselves in danger?

Excerpt:

Christian regarded the stolid group of middle-aged people surrounding Sam, including the extra vicar, with a darker shade to his complexion from the Caribbean sun. Sam had already struck up an animated conversation with the colonel’s lady. His face, shaded by candlelight into fascinating planes and hollows, was alight with interest. Christian was so distracted that he lost the thread of Mrs. Huxley’s discourse.

“You’ve met my husband, of course.”

Christian dragged his attention away from Sam to regard his host. “And near to him is Ernest Bell, a distant relative of mine. It’s very good of him to support us in our endeavours since our son Gordon returned to university after the Christmas vacation. Of course, Ernest’s very fond of the place. He was a regular visitor in my Cousin Grenville’s day.”

Christian placed Mr. Bell in his early thirties, somewhat younger than the Huxleys. There was little or no family resemblance to the fair and even-featured Mrs. Huxley. The man was dark haired and had a strong craggy face. He seemed completely at ease, conversing easily as though taking his cue from his hosts. 

As the meal commenced, Mrs. Huxley was monopolised by the gentleman on her other side, allowing Christian to absorb the surrounding ambience. The candlelight flattered the diners and the ready supply of wine increased the merry flow of conversation. 

The food is excellent, Christian thought, nibbling on a chicken leg. The dishes were removed by a small number of well-trained staff. The Huxleys clearly hadn’t stinted on the domestic sphere of their enterprise. 

“Have you come far?”

A gruff male voice broke into Christian’s preoccupations.

“Not at all. Only the other side of the county,” he replied.

“We hail from Suffolk.” 

Unprompted, the gentleman leaned over the lady sitting between them and launched into a treatise on the historic sights of that region. Thankfully, he required little in the way of a response. Without having to pay much attention, Christian simply interjected the occasional, “Oh really? How interesting.”  

In such congenial surroundings, Christian almost forgot that he and Sam weren’t invited to enjoy the convivial atmosphere.

When the hair rose on the back of Christian’s neck, at first, he assumed it was due to a stray draught, understandable in such an ancient and large space. Rather than easing, the sensation continued to intensify. Christian felt his shoulders tense, as if braced for attack.

He felt a sudden burst of malice like a silent cackle of mocking laughter. 

Again, he couldn’t place the source of ill-intent until a footman leaned between Christian and Mrs. Huxley to place a covered salver on the table. 

As the servant reached across to lift the lid, Christian hissed, “Don’t!”

His voice was low, but his urgency transmitted to his hostess and the footman, who hesitated in mid-action.

Mrs. Huxley threw a startled glance towards Christian. However, her voice was calm as she said, “Take it away, please, Simon.”

The young server obeyed without question. Mrs. Huxley murmured, “Excuse me.” She accompanied the footman from the room without attracting any attention. 

Christian’s collar felt constricting and the candlelight too bright for his strained nerves. He took a sip of wine to steady himself before he glanced around the table.

There was no discernible change in the level of chatter and general merriment. Christian attempted to focus in vain. He could no longer sense the slightest whiff of the ill-feeling that had vanished like a puff of smoke in a strong breeze.

He jumped at the light touch on his shoulder.

“May I borrow you for a moment?” Mrs. Huxley asked. 

Christian turned to see that his hostess was pale, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Yes, of course.”

He rose to follow her, unnoticed except by Mr. Huxley, briefly hesitating in mid-comment, and Sam, who quickly looked up before resuming his discourse.

Christian followed the lady into the service region of the house. In a pantry, the silver salver sat alone on a shelf, guarded by the footman. 

“I thought you ought to see this for yourself.” 

Mrs. Huxley nodded to the footman, who lifted the lid without ceremony. Instead of the expected delicacy, on the gleaming silver platter lay a dead rat with a candied cherry in its mouth.

Book Links:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK6M9TPR/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

Universal Book Link:

https://books2read.com/u/3RjvBx

Publisher:

https://www.jms-books.com/ellie-thomas-c-224_420/the-unquiet-house-p-5224.html

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220492048-the-unquiet-house

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https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-unquiet-house-by-ellie-thomas

Bio:

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Website: https://elliethomasromance.wordpress.com/

Facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/8308047409266947

Twitter/X: @e_thomas_author

Bluesky: @elliethomas.bsky.social

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19835510.Ellie_Thomas

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ellie-thomas