If episode one of a new series doesn’t catch my eye, I write off the title.
So, I can’t expect anything less from my readers. With that promise in mind, I created Monday Mysteries to reflect some crazy good mysteries penned my some of my favorite authors. Beneath the Lake was my debut novel and still one of my favorites. Not only does the story have a magical HEA, like most of my books, a lot of history validates the premise behind the plot. A difficult task with a time travel storyline. But, as most of my readers come to realize, I was defiant when my publishers warned me to never cross genres. How do you make a time travel believable? Easy. By injecting a romantic a suspense that steals your heart from the first page.
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“If time travel was a thing, this is how it would happen.” ––Amazon Customer
And that premise encapsulated my intent. When I heard the eerie stories attached to Atlanta’s Lake Sidney Lanier, a man-made lake located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains, the lore fascinated me. Plagued by mysterious disappearances, freak accidents, strange phenomenon, and ghostly occurrences, the story bubbling to the surface wouldn’t let go. The ideas swirled through my thoughts compelling me to write a story.
What if the construction created more than a lake? What if the excavation triggered a seismic shift, which given enough energy, opens a portal connecting past to future? What better book to launch Monday mysteries?
It’s only fitting to begin my Monday Mysteries
A final thud hurled him backward, flailing through brush and thickets like a rag doll. Grasping at anything to break momentum, Rob’s hand clung to a branch wedged into the face of the precipice. Spiny splinters sliced his skin. Blood oozed and trickled into his palms, and one by one, his fingers slowly slipped.
A sharp crack echoed through the silence of the ravine as the bough succumbed to his weight. He plummeted into free-fall. Clenching his eyes, he drew in a deep breath, terrified of the pain, the mauling that waited on the jagged rocks below. When icy water broke his fall, the chill kept him from losing consciousness. He spun, straining to see, but darkness enveloped him. Soggy clothing pulled him deeper—deeper into the murky, fathomless depths. He wrestled to squirm free from the waterlogged jacket dragging him down to a watery grave, watched the coat disappear into black obscurity.
Panic gripped his stomach, or was it death that snaked around his chest, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing the air, the life from his body? Lack of oxygen burned his lungs, beckoning surrender, and a shard of rage pierced his gut as reality set in. He lunged upward with one last thrust and burst from the water’s deadly grip, gasping for air. A gurgling howl spewed from the depths of his soul and echoed into silence.
Sunlight shimmered across a smooth, indigo lake, but aside from the slight ripples of his own paddling, nothing but stillness surrounded him. He floated toward the shore, sucking deep breaths into his lungs until the pummeling in his chest subsided. When he reached the water’s edge, he hoisted his body onto the soft red clay and collapsed while the sun’s warmth drained the tension from his body.
No one knew he had survived. The rules had shifted. Now he could reinvent himself, become a stealth predator. His target: Lacey Madison Montgomery.
Editorial Reviews
Deb reviewed Beneath the Lake Wow! September 22, 2015I read an amazing tale of love that surpassing time and space. A romantic wholesome whimsical tale about second chances, time travel, and rediscovering true love. This may be a long story (398 pages) but it’s so worth it in the end. You’re in for a big surprise. By the time I finished the story, I was so overwhelmed by happy tears. I couldn’t wipe the tears away fast enough. Please make sure to keep a box of tissue handy before you finish the book.
Read the book to find out what happens in the story.
Beneath the Lake is the first book in the Beneath the Lake Series by Casi McLean. It deserves 4.5 stars!
The full review can be found on the below URL:
nightowlreviews.com/v5/Re…
Deb
Copyright Night Owl Reviews ****Beneath the Lakeby Casi McLeanMy rating: 5 starsPublisher: The Wild Rose Press, IncPublication Date: August 5, 2015Genre: Time Travel | RomancePrint Length: 398 pagesAvailable from: Amazon Tome Tender Review of Beneath the Lake
Sometimes the worst moment of your life can lead you to the future you were meant to live. Lacey was witness to her boyfriend’s infidelity and her flight from the heart breaking will send her careening into the icy bowels of a frigid lake. She awoke in the arms of her future, while discovering she had been hurtled over thirty years into the past.
For Bobby, a successful and well-loved businessman, the woman he found unconscious stole his heart the minute she opened her eyes. Once Lacey realizes she is no longer in the year 2012, she must convince Bobby of events in the future that are about to happen. His huge leap of faith for the intelligent and unusual woman will change his future forever.
For as much as Lacey longs to go home, she realizes home is where her heart is, but there must be a way to return, but how to discover the mystery of the portal is the question. Will she bring devastating changes to the future by being here or was this Fate’s plan all along?
Only time will tell, as two hearts come together across time only to be separated again. Is there a time for Bobby and Lacey to be together? At what cost to those they love? Will their love bring doom to future generations?
Beneath the Lake by Casi McLean is a fantasy of romance, of true love knowing no bounds and she has captured the spirit of love in its purest form, even as her characters must face the bizarre circumstances they met under. From pain to joy, to disbelief to believing in miracles, Ms. McLean has created a finely woven tale that flows like a satiny sheet across the mind and heart. Her writing will make a believer out of even the most skeptical of non-believers in love. Let go of reality and take a stroll back in time.
I received this copy from Casi McLean in exchange for my honest review.The full review can be found on: tometender.blogspot.com/2016/01/beneath-lake-by-casi-mclean.html ***
Beneath the Lake by Casi McLean
Romance4theBeach Reviews
I really do admire these time-traveling heroines who manage to stay strong and in control when they discover that they’ve been transported to a different century. They realize they need to fit in in order to survive. Let’s just say I would definitely be one of those people being pulled away by the men in white coats.
What’s it About?
Reeling from her boyfriend’s indiscretions at a party, Lacey Montgomery escapes into the throes of a torrential storm. Her car spins out of control and hurtles into the depths of an icy, black lake. She awakens in the arms of a handsome stranger, in a place she’s never heard of—thirty-four years before she was born. Bobby Reynolds is smitten the moment the storm-ravaged woman opens her eyes. Learning the truth about her origin does nothing to stop the passion taking root in his heart and leaves him torn between finding a way to return Lacey to her time and convincing her stay with him. Will the couple be able to discover the key to a mysterious portal before time rips them apart? Or will their spirits wander forever through a ghost town buried beneath the lake?
First Impressions
When Lacey finds herself in 1949, she’s inexplicably drawn to her handsome hunk of a rescuer, Bobby. Although he’s her knight in shining armor, she becomes convinced that Bobby is playing her like a fiddle. Not to mention the fact that she could be sucked back to her own time at any moment, and Lacey refuses to give her heart over fully to the young man. Well now isn’t that quite a pickle? Although Lacey was wary of Bobby’s intentions, I absolutely loved him. He’s such a gentleman, and I wish we could have learned more about him. I also wish there would have been a bit more focus on them actually falling love. It seemed like one minute they were trying to find the time travel portal Lacey traveled through, and the next they were smitten like a pair of kittens.
Time Travel Twist
This novel has a unique twist as far as time travel romances go. When Lacey falls back in time the story becomes split between her in the 1950’s, as well as a man in 2012 who is apparently plotting Lacey’s eventual fall through time. Throughout the entire book we question who this man is, and why he’s so set on manipulating Lacey’s future/past …. definitely a unique twist that set it apart from your average time travel book.
*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*
Series: The end definitely implies there will be a sequel following another character.
Should you read it? … I can see how it could keep you guessing until the end … I will admit to staying up until 3 am to finish the toe-curling conclusion of this one.The full review can be found on: romance4thebeach.wordpress.com/ ***Megan S, NetGalley Reviewer ~ 4 StarsBeneath the Lake was my first time travel romance, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. There was something about all the details coming together to form a complete story that hooked me. At the end of the book I was in love.The descriptions are what drew me in at the beginning, but slowly I began to fall in love with the characters.Watching this story unfold over decades and the plot twists that came along with it had me nearly in tears at the end of the book. Early in the story, some of the dialogue felt out of place and pulled me out of the story so it took me a bit longer than expected to finish this book. BUT once I got into the meat of the story I was pulled back in and rewarded with gems like this…”His touch ignited desire in the deepest depths of my soul, a burning, bubbling molten lava flowing through my veins. There was no denying we were two parts of one heart.”Overall, reading this sparked an interest in a genre I previously had no interest in exploring. I’m excited to see where the rest of the books in the series go.
