You Only Witch Once

It’s the summer of 2002, and Winnie Winchester is a normal mother. She has the same highs, the same lows, and the same fears as any other mother of a fourteen-year-old girl. Of course, since she’s a witch – and her daughter can talk to ghosts – those fears are amplified to an unnatural degree. When camp counselor Donna Wilder goes missing, Winnie volunteers her services (and those of her sisters and persnickety aunt) so the Winchester witches can take over the extended weekend camp. Local police detective Terry Davenport is running the boys’ camp across the lake, and everyone is looking forward to a weekend of fun and frolicking. It’s all going as planned until Bay Winchester does what she always does and sees a ghost. Like a stack of dominoes, things start falling and normal childhood hijinks turn into days of torture for Bay and her cousins, Clove and Thistle. That’s on top of a visit from second-cousin Rosemary, who has the personality (and warmth) of a snake. The girl immediately aligns herself with Bay’s sworn enemy, which means things are going to be bad before they get even worse. Bay is on a mission to help the ghost cross over, and it’s up to her mother and family to make sure she doesn’t get hurt in the process. Note: This is a short novella set in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest world. It is set back in time so you can't read it out of order. It is approximately 25,000 words, and will not take the place of regular installments in the series. It’s just a short snapshot so you can get to know some of the other characters in Hemlock Cove. Thank you for reading.