Shadows in the Mist

When Suzanna Dirkston, daughter of wealthy shipping tycoon Leopald Dirkston, is told her father is dead, only she believes it cannot have been an accident. Reluctantly forced to return to the family homestead, Beacon, a huge, ostentatious mansion set high atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, Suzanna is quick to sense the air of mystery and intrigue that hangs over the house and its inhabitants.

But her first shock comes when she discovers that her father, true to form, is still trying to manipulate her life even from the grave. His will stipulates that she must marry Grant Fenton, the dark, handsome, brooding man Leo rescued as a child from poverty and groomed to replace him at Dirkston Shipping. If she does not accede to the conditions of the will, Suzanna, her half-brother Colin, Colin's wife, Alicia, and Grant will be left penniless.

As if this is not enough she is suddenly plagued by strange dreams, mysterious apparitions and ghostly visitations. Suzanna begins to fear not only for her sanity, but for her life as she unravels bit by bit the gruesome reality that lies hidden amid the shadows in the mist.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maureen was born and raised in Niles, Michigan. She pursued her education in English and creative writing, first at Niles High School and later at Western Michigan University, from which she earned an English Major/Creative Writing Emphasis and teaching certification.

Fascinated with her mother's country of birth, Maureen traveled to Australia in 1981 to visit relatives. She met and married her husband, Peter, in 1983.

Maureen has been publishing short stories and articles in Australia and the U.S. for many years. She was a staff writer for Australian Runner Magazine for three years. She is a regular contributor to Shyflower's Garden, ezine. Besides Shadows In The Mist, Return Of The Gulls, also a romantic suspense, is tentatively slated for release in 2001. Other novels under consideration are The Sea, The South, The Storm, an historical romance, and Apollo Moon, another romantic suspense. She also has a creative writing teacher's manual under consideration.

Maureen is a member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW), the Victorian Writer's Centre, ANZ Authors, the Australian Branch of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Sisters in Crime (SINC), The Australian Society of Authors (ASA), the Electronicly Published Internet Connection (EPIC) and Peninsula Writers.

Maureen now resides on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia with Peter, her two teenaged children, James and KatyAnne, two labradors, two cats, a cockatoo -- who she claims to be the reincarnation of a much-loved cat -- and a dozen or so chickens.