EXPLORING THE 13th FLOOR ... a guest post from Christine Rains
If you're lucky enough, you may discover a secret floor that few others know exist. There's no number 13 on the elevator's pad. You'll have to go up through the stairwell to a landing where the light bulb always fizzles out. It's an old building; almost 100 years old. If the owners had any sense of pride, they could fix up the place and earn historical status. Thus the stairwell has a creepy old house feeling rather than the sterility of modern ones.Likely the door to the 13th floor will be open. And if you're not paying attention, it'll open a bit more with a squeak. The corridor is warmly lit with fancy brass scones. No flourescent lights here. The carpet with its dark reds, blues, and greens reminds you of a ritzy hotel. Green is your favorite color. Is there more green in the carpet now? The walls are a rich hunter green too.
There are six apartments on this floor, but you don't hear anything. Perhaps no one is home. You shiver as a cold breeze brushes over you. Glancing behind you, you notice the stairwell door is closed, and when you turn around again, all the apartment doors are open. It can't hurt to take a peek, right?
The first thing you notice about #1301 is the coffee smell. You breathe in deeply as you poke your had inside. An old couch and a huge recliner dominate the living room area. There's a television, but not much else. No decorations or personal mementos. There's a flannel shirt draped over the back of the couch. Whomever lives there is a big guy.
College students probably live in #1302. Art students. There are paintings stacked everywhere. It's more than a bit messy. The second-hand furniture is mismatched, and there's a stack of comic books beside the couch.
#1303 is definitely a man's apartment. Modern with a color scheme of black, gray, and white. There are medieval banners on the walls. Interesting hobby for someone who's likely a professional of some sort.
You gasp as you peek at #1304. It's lushly decorated with a Victorian flair. The couch likely cost more than your car. Nevermind some of the art pieces. Someone left a light on in one of the bedrooms. Not a bedroom, a gigantic closet? It's full of shoes.
Two cats glare at you as you peer into #1305. It's a cozy place. Full bookshelves and comfy furniture with a patchwork quilt folded on one end of the couch. There's a pleasant herbal scent accompanying the feeling that you're visiting your grandmother's house.
#1306 is the last apartment, and strangely, the only one with no windows. Perhaps it was a storage room before it was rented out. It's small and colorless. There's a black leather chair and couch. Nothing else. Maybe it's still used to store stuff.
Weird how each of the apartment have different layouts. Stranger yet, you think you keep hearing a girl whispering nearby. Not willing to get caught poking around in people's apartments, you hurry down the corridor and back into the stairwell. The door shuts quietly behind you.
Title: The 13th Floor Complete CollectionAuthor: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: October 13th, 2013
Blurb:
Six supernatural tenants
Living in a haunted apartment building
On a floor that doesn't exist.
Six novellas telling their tales.
A retired demon acquires a price on his head.
A werewolf is hunted by her pack.
A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.
A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.
A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.
A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.
And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.
All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.
Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.
Buy The 13th Floor eBook at:
Buy The 13th Floor eBook at:
Author Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.
Website: http://christinerains.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@CRainsWriter
