Page 54 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper March/April 2018 Edition
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54                                 From Out of the Woodwork








                           From Out of the Woodwork





                            A Tale of Ghostly Proportions


                                                                             by




                                                    William S Peckham




                                                                                29 Livery Lane, a century house, once a house of some
                                                                                distinction and class now, fallen into disrepair, is purchased by
                                                                                Sean Kennedy. Sean, a contractor in Toronto, buys old houses,
                                                                                guts them and turns them into multi- family monstrosities...
                                                                                slums waiting to happen.  When he starts work on his latest
                                                                                project, 29 Livery Lane, he encounters visions of former owners.
                                                                                At first, he is stunned by these apparitions, but as time moves on
                                                                                he welcomes them. Through these visions he learns about the
                                                                                house and some of the nine former owners. As a result of what
                                                                                he learns he decides to restore the old house not destroy it for
                                                                                profit.
                                                                                       The apparitions come to him when he touches books,
                                                                                reads letters, rummages through old boxes, finds a locket or
                                                                                reads a manuscript of a murder mystery.  Through his many
                                                                                visions Sean gradually learns about the house, the way it looked
                                                                                in grander days and the fate of nine former owners, who left their
                                                                                indelible marks upon the house. The Phillips family, the original
                                                                                owners, left a story of love, closeness of family and a sea
                                                                                voyage, also the story of Stanley Renton, best-selling author,
                                                                                arrested for a murder which took place in the old house.
                                                                                       The story of the Kennedys, the present owners, is also one
                                                                                of love and family closeness and the deadly days of the terrorist's
                                                                                attacks on the Trade Centre Towers in New York, September 11,
                                                                                2001.
                                                                                       Sean, through his research, meets Stanley Renton the only
                                                                                living, former owner. Sean and his family become very close
                                                                                friends with Stanley, during the restoration period.
                                                                                       When an apparition of a young mother and her daughter
                                                                                appears to Sean he figures that the daughter, Angelina Weston,
                                                                                could still be living and she might be able to shed some light
                                                                                upon the house and the way it looked. His meeting with Angelina
                                                                                turns into a warm friendship with this woman, now in her late
              Some Of William’s Many Reviews:                                   eighties. The friendship blossoms and grows to include Stanley
                                                                                Renton as well.
              From Out of the Woodwork begins with a bang. The first line              The tales of the former owners lead Sean down many
              is an attention getter.  The story is lively with action and      paths over a one-hundred-year period... from a trip on the St.
              colourful characters. One of the most tragic events of the
                                                                                Lawrence River in a small boat in the early 1900s to the
              1900s is linked with one from the 2000s. It's a good read,
                                                                                recapture of a violent murderer in Niagara-on-the Lake, in 2001.
              with sprinkles of fun woven into some historic events that
                                                                                       The closing chapter of the book connects the Kennedys,
              were not so fun.
                                                                                the new owners, to the Phillips, the first owners. Stephen Phillips
                            - Dorothy Brotherton, Journalist, Kelowna BC.
                                                                                sends his wife and two children to Ireland to visit her mother and
                                                                                books their return on a cruise ship,  April 10, 1912. Sean
              I enjoyed the original way the author wove history into the
                                                                                Kennedy also books a holiday for his wife and two children to
              story through the apparitions and his years in the home
                                                                                visit her mother and father in England and then meet him in
              improvement field lends an air of authenticity to the story. It's
                                                                                Boston, on September 10, 2001. Where they plan to continue on
              for anyone who enjoyes a story with a touch of the
                                                                                to Los Angeles and Disney Land the next day, September 11,
              paranormal and a mystery.
                                                                                2001. Available on CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com.
                   - Lisa Brandt, Broadcaster and Author of Venus Rising.




                          www.WilliamSPeckham.com
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