Tea & Talismans by Elle Wren Burke


Alara Beatty never thought her life would change so fast.

She’s only just begun to use her psychic abilities, and she’s already being met with a slew of truths and challenges. In a short span of time, she’s met her biological aunt, solved a murder, and discovered that she was given up for adoption due to a mysterious prophecy.

But that’s certainly not all that’s in store for Alara. Suddenly, her biological family members are flocking to her small town of Prickly Pear, Arizona to meet her…and evaluate her psychic strength.

As Alara begins to get used to her new situation, her cousin Todd receives a mysterious death threat…one that she knows to take seriously. Together, she and Todd must investigate the threats and try to determine who they’re coming from—before it’s far too late.

Not only must Alara learn to use her psychic abilities, she also needs to determine who she can trust. Her newfound family? And what about Rudi Rivera, her charming, handsome police officer friend who has no idea that Alara is psychic?

Author Elle Wren Burke offers this stunning sequel, “Tea & Talismans”, the second book in her cozy yet captivating paranormal mystery series.

Excerpt

“Alara, wake up honey.”

I could feel someone lightly shaking my arm, but I was caught in that sublime space between dreams and reality where all thoughts and sensations slip away like vapor, and I wanted to allow myself to be pulled back into slumber.

“Come on, sweetheart. It is time to get up.”

The shaking increased a bit and I found myself being dragged into the world of the living. I gently opened my eyes. “Mom?” I asked, my voice scratchy and weak.

“Yes, it’s me. I know you’re still tired, but you need to start getting ready.”

Getting ready? I couldn’t make sense of her words in my clouded mind. “Why?”

“Because we have the picnic today, Alara. I brought you some water. You went to sleep without bringing any into your room like you usually do. I brought coffee too.”

I could hear everything she said, but it was all foggy. It had to be very early if my brain was this muddled. “Too early for picnics,” I managed to wriggle out of my mouth.

My mom reached down to run her fingers through my hair, just like she did when I was little. “Honey, it is eleven fifteen in the morning. The picnic is at noon.”

As she stroked my hair, I became more aware of my body. I was tired. Everything felt heavy like someone had piled several weighted blankets on top of me. I tried to move my arm, but it resisted.

“No picnic. Can’t move. Need sleep.”

My mom laughed, reaching down to cup my face in her hand. “Alara, I know you’re exhausted. You looked awful when you came home last night—like you’d been on a five-day drinking binge. But you’ve been asleep for fourteen hours. I let the boys out of your room hours ago. Blueberry really had to pee, and he almost never wants to go out to pee! I know the psychic activities you all did yesterday drained you, but this picnic is all about you, sweetie. Everyone will be so disappointed if you don’t show up. We need to find a way to get you up and moving. I looked it up on the internet. It said to give you four ounces of pickle juice mixed with a pinch of cardamom, but you don’t have any pickles!”

I groaned. She was right that I couldn’t miss the picnic, but thank god she couldn’t try to get me there by shoving pickle juice down my throat. I had a better idea. “Are there brownies?”

“You know it, kiddo. Lots of brownies.”

“Can I have one now, pretty please?” I asked, sounding like a five-year-old.

“Of course you can, baby girl,” my mom crooned.

“Okay, can you put it in my mouth for me right now?”

My mom laughed as she pulled away from me and headed towards the bedroom door. “I’ll go get you one, but you’ll have to feed it to yourself. Go ahead and sit up.”

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About the Author


Elle Wren Burke is a paranormal cozy mystery author who writes witty, fun books with strong females as protagonists.

Elle has Master’s degrees in Geography and Business. She lives in Arizona with her husband and fur baby. She enjoys puzzles, baking, and bubble baths.

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