About Dust and Violets
Written by Mike Shade
124 pages / 53000 words
ISBN: 1-933389-14-1
Available file types - html,
lit, pdf, prc
You think you have do it yourself problems? When Jason buys Violet House and starts to remodel, he finds he’s gotten far more than he bargained for. The house has a current inhabitant, and Jason discovers that doesn’t mean mice or squirrels. See what happens when the new homeowner meets the household spirit.
Review
AJ Grant, contributor to Naughty, writes:
Dust and Violets by Mike Shade is a gripping, atmospheric tale with plenty of heat and spice. The story's title is based on Violet House, an old Victorian home that Jason York buys with the hopes of rebuilding it and finally finding a place to call his own. However, Jason is not the only occupant of his new residence. As he works he discovers that Violet House has a life of its own, and it's one that extends far beyond the personality brought about by the distinctive architecture.
Part ghost story, part love story, Dust and Violets takes us through Jason's time in Violet House and the changes that living there inspires in him. Like so many of us, Jason wants a lover to call his own, but it isn't until Violet House that he begins to discover that love comes from unexpected places - even to those who find themselves believing in the supernatural.
Mike Shade tells the story with a deft hand for detail. Readers will feel as though they are walking through the dusty corridors along with Jason, and jumping at those errant and naughty breezes. Scary and sexy, dramatic and charming, Dust and Violets delivers.
Alexa Snow, author of the upcoming ''Clear Cut,'' says:
When Jason York finishes his degree in architecture and buys a run-down Victorian to renovate, he gets more than he'd bargained for. The house, in poor condition after many years of temporary owners coming and going, isn't as empty as it appears, and soon Jason finds himself involved in a relationship that surpasses his wildest dreams, the kind of relationship that burns hot and bright and sets the stage for Jason's future.
This story, with its evocative style, will appeal to both those with a romantic nature and those looking for well-written erotica. It contains a plethora of erotic scenes, interesting characters, and a setting rich with its own personality: Violet House, as it's called, is as much a character as any of the others, and the reader discovers its wonders right along with Jason, exploring the house's hidden secrets and going along for the ride as it's restored to its former beauty. Jason is a main character that most people can identify with on some level, and I found myself drawn into the story, cheering him on and wanting what was best for him. A charming read, and very much recommended.
Sample
He wandered through the house, straightening the odd lamp, rifling through a book left open on the spindly legged table. Once, before hard times had befallen him, this house had been rich, bright, full of dresses and women that shone like jewels simpering on the perfectly-tailored arms of perfectly-bred men.
Dinner parties and intimate dances -- they weren't the Lincolns or the Jeffersons or the Saint-Benets, but they were proper society. Old money. The right sort.
He sighed, wandering alone down the dark halls, admiring the fine weave of the carpet, the delicate woodwork, the high ceilings. His step was light, his grey-green eyes fond as he explored the space he knew better than his own visage.
Things changed, of course, as they often did. War was hard on business, cholera and consumption harder. So much lost, so much changed from those happy, light-hearted days. Still, he had the house.
Samuel grinned suddenly, the look changing his face from genteel and stable to wickedly mischievous. He turned and slipped through a secret door in the main dining hall, suddenly cloaked in the deepest shadows.
Of course, the very best thing about being old money was breaking the rules and playing with the wrong sort.
No one knew Violet House as he did. No one had played here so well, so long. No one had made love in the secret rooms, terrorized the servants and horrified the governesses. No one else had brought a bat in from the attic and set it loose in the kitchen.
Danced above the well in the yard.
Seduced the stable hand in the tack room.
His laughter, light and airy, echoed for him as he left the dark hall for the bright warmth that was his own room.
Things changed, of course. They always did. Still, the house was his.
Violet House belonged to the Ogletrees and with the Ogletrees it would stay.