K.M. Jenkins' Book Nook: October 2026

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Black Cat Devotion

Ghosts of Border House Book 3

by Vanessa Victoria Kilmer

Genre: Paranormal Ghost Romance

I smoothed and adjusted my tartan stole pinned over my shoulder, the green plaid with blue and red lines standing out on my black dress. “Except…” I said with a wink. “Border House really is full of ghosts.”

Sara Mae taped her temple with a fingertip. “I know that. And you know that. But will you be able to prove it to her?” She raised her eyebrows. “If she’s really a she. She might be a fifty-year-old guy.”

We both laughed.

“Well, when you get back, I’ll have a house full of guests that you can teach Scottish history and give Gaelic lessons to while Thomas provides them with period costumes. Oh, movie sets. I bet we could have movies filmed on the estate.” I bounce in my chair.

“Finish your lunch, Morven,” she says automatically. “You need the energy for all your high plans. You are far too thin. It’s like you are trying to take up as little space in this world as possible.

I felt my cheeks heat up. Thank goodness the waiter returned, so I didn’t have to answer. Except it’s not our waiter. It’s the maître d.

“I beg your pardon, Lady Blair.” He clears his throat as he hands me my credit card. “Your payment was not authorized. The card was declined.”

BLURB:

Black cats love sunshine.

Bubbly but lonely Scottish heiress, Morven Blair, connects with Black Kat, a cranky internet pixie with a secret identity and a reputation as a myth buster. Morven asks Black Kat to prove the existence of ghosts and certify Border House, “the most haunted place in the world.” Black Kat intends to prove it’s all a con. Opposites do attract, but do they really know love at all?

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The Brewmaster's Kiss

Ghosts of Border House Book 2

by: Leah Miles

Genre: Paranormal Ghost Romance

“C’mere with me, love,” Donnal said, twining their fingers and tugging her deeper into the garden.

Nova lifted her skirts to avoid tripping as they rushed down the path. “Where are we going?”

He laughed and didn’t answer. Hope filled her down to her toes. Would this be the night he proposed? Nova giggled, and her feet skipped over the grass as he led her to the edge of the orchard.

Today was the anniversary of their first date, and what better occasion to make their union official than right before the Border House costume party? She already wore her authentic Guthrie tartan gown, and he was in his traditional feileadh beag.

She wanted a short engagement—definitely—and to ring in the New Year as husband and wife. Her mother might balk and try to get her to wait, but it was her life and her love. The world had changed, even in the last decade, and women’s options weren’t as limited as they once were. A diamond ring would be splendid, but Donnal was practical, so she didn’t expect more than a simple band. It didn’t matter either way, because she cared more about him than any piece of jewelry.

“We’re here,” he said with a mile-wide smile. He positioned her in front of him and clasped both her hands tightly. “I’m excited.”

Her heart beat like a caged bird, ready to fly away. “Me too, my love,” she whispered, gazing into his azure eyes, the color of a clear summer sky. She was going to spend the rest of her life with this handsome man. Nova held her breath, waiting for him to pop the question.

His cheeks creased in happy lines, and he leaned down to press his forehead against hers. “You’re a bonny lass with yer pink cheeks and bright eyes. I could almost forget why I brought ye here.”

The first hint of confusion caused her to pull back and glance around. “Who else is here?” she asked, surreptitiously looking to glimpse whichever one of their friends was hiding to take a photo of the big moment.

“Just us, my love. You’re the first to know.”

“I don’t understand. Donnal, I thought we were coming here to, you know…” She couldn’t embarrass herself by saying the words.

He wrapped his arms around her and spun them around in a quick circle. “I would dearly love to tumble in the grass with ye, my darlin’. ‘Tis too important. Are ye ready?”

Relief washed through her. “I’ve never been more ready. You’re everything to me.”

“Aye.” He nodded, plucked an apple from the branch over her head, and extended the red and gold fruit to her. “I’m about to become the most famous brewmaster in Scotland.”

“That’s an apple,” she said stupidly.

“Look at it! See the color? The red and lighter yellow spots? The Bloody Ploughman apple is a dark red variety. I spliced it with the yellow-red James Greive apple almost four years ago.” He whipped out a knife and cut off a generous slice. “Taste it. The sweet-crisp-tart flavor is extraordinary. Perfect even, with a hint of—I dinna ken how best to describe it. This apple will make my brew the greatest ever created.”

Nova’s disappointment was sharp enough to have her gulping for breath. “No,” she said, fighting tears as she pushed away his hand and stepped back. “Tell me ye didn’t bring me here only to look at fruit.”

His countenance fell. “Not just any fruit. I’ve waited years for the trees to produce. You’re the first person I’ve told.”

“You brought me here to show me apples you’ve grown for yer beer making?”

Donnal ran a hand through his messy curls, tipping his chin to study her. “Sweetheart, come back to my shed, and I’ll give ye a sample. Tis a perfect blend of spice with the tiniest effervescent bubbles.”

“Ye promised we would go to the Halloween Ball this year. It’s the anniversary of our first date.”

“Alright then. I’ll share it with ye another night. Give me an hour, and I’ll be back to the house for the dancing.”

Her heart ached with self-pity. “No. Tonight, I thought … it doesn’t matter. I’m through with being the second-best thing in yer life. Find me when ye decide which is more important, me or your brews.”

“Nova—”

“Mayhap ye should marry the apple tree.” She spun on her heels and took off at a run lest he see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

That long-ago night, after her flash of anger, she’d hoped Donnal would follow her from the garden. He did not, and that exchange was the last they ever shared. Shortly after nine, the valve on his homemade pressure fermenting device overloaded and blew apart. A jagged piece of metal lodged in Donnal’s heart, killing him instantly.

BLURB:

After fifty-five years, Nova Guthrie has returned to Scotland for the annual Halloween Ball at Border House. Or that is her excuse to return to the home of her youth and bid farewell to memories of her lost lover.

What she doesn’t know is that Donnal Stuart still haunts the grand mansion, along with a few other ghostly characters—one of whom will do everything she can to keep them apart.

This story is about true love and secret ghost powers bundled up in a haunting tale of second chances.

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Love Lost & Found

Ghosts of Border House Book 1

by: Vanessa Victoria Kilmer

Genre: Paranormal Ghost Romance

Sara Mae glanced down at her simple black slacks and black silk T-shirt with the arms of her sweater tied across her chest. “Isn’t it nice enough?”

“The quality is not the issue.” She tucked Sara Mae’s black hair behind her ears. “You look like a nanny, all prim and proper. You’re even wearing pearls. You look nothing like a woman who speaks with dead people.”

Heat rushed to Sara Mae’s cheeks. She still couldn’t get used to Morven’s casual treatment of her and the woman’s genuine affection. She was part of a long line of the nobility, and Sara Mae, on her fifth reincarnation, was an orphan who attended university on a scholarship. While she enjoyed their friendship, she felt uncomfortable, unable to forget her ongoing humble beginnings.

But here she was, back at Border House. Finally. Thanks to her friend.

“We’ll need to make you look more ‘woo-woo’ for later,” Morven said with a giggle. “If you don’t have anything that fits the image, I’m sure we can dig something up in the attics.” She pulled Sara Mae by the hand. “For now, I’ll take you on a tour of the house. It’s easy for people unfamiliar with it to get a bit turned around.”

Chuckling inwardly, Sara Mae let her hostess drag her around the building from the basement cellars and up to the servants’ quarters and attics under the eaves on the fourth floor. Sara Mae took her time, remembering the house as it was in her time and how it had changed since then. Electricity sure made a difference, as did the running water in the bathrooms and toilets. These were her most favorite changes to the building. The many narrow stairs were the same, though, and she did not care for them.

As they went along on their tour, Sara Mae kept an eye out for places where her locket might be hidden. She felt its presence in the house but couldn’t pinpoint the location. “My locket is here somewhere,” Sara Mae said under her breath.

Cold and hot spots dotted rooms on each floor, a sure sign of paranormal activity, and that interfered with her locating spell. She tried to keep in mind where Thomas might have hidden it after he ripped his gift from her neck during their fight and last moment together.

BLURB:

2026 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) - Romance Novella category

In 1566, Thomas Kincaid is murdered at Border House by agents of the Scottish King. Thinking himself betrayed by his soulmate, Sara Mae Stuart, Thomas curses her to a life of reincarnation with his dying breath.

When Sara Mae dies of a broken heart, she is reborn again and again.

After 450 years of reincarnation, Sara Mae returns to Border House to perform a séance and break her curse. She discovers a host of unsettled spirits, each harboring their own hidden agendas, and Thomas, lurking inside her crystal ball.

Can love survive revenge, guilt, and a quirky spiritual divide?

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