My latest novel, Spell-Bound, is my first foray out of the world of YA and firmly into adult fiction. I am calling it an adult Contemporary Fantasy because Urban Fantasy doesn’t seem to fit the setting of a small, West Virginia coal town. Definitely not urban. No inner-city grit, just coal dust and cinders.

The story follows a young drifter named Jamie who rides into town on fumes and runs into trouble before he can gas up and get on down the road. In no time at all he is pulled into the lives of Gina and her eccentric aunt Eleanor as they solve the mystery of the recent run of bad luck that has befallen Gina’s diner. Jamie comes face to face with witchcraft, curses, and a growing attraction to both Gina and her sexy Aunt E as he deals with his own buried secrets.

I had a lot of fun writing this one. I like the story and the characters, especially Eleanor who is a fun, free-spirited woman and a witch with no small amount of power. I enjoyed pitting the older, self-assured woman against my protagonist, Jamie, a young man who doesn’t know what to make of her flirting and innuendo in the face of his budding and reluctant romance with Gina (he has no plans to stick around, so he’s not sure how to deal with it). It puts everyone in some unconventional situations that were fun to explore.

Those unconventional situations let me play with the adult themes in this story. Like most Urban Fantasies, this one has some heat. After an initial hesitance to write the scenes, and some good advice from writers who do, I embraced the spiciness and let it roll. This is my first try at this genre and it was a learning experience of balancing romantic elements without being a romance, sex scenes that were erotic but not erotica, and a modern take on witches and witchcraft.

Spell-Bound can be found on Amazon, along with my other books. You can let me know your thoughts by commenting here or leaving a review.

Thank you for taking a look at my latest. Happy reading.

Mike Ghere – April 1, 2023