Sneak Peek 1 of Before the Guide, Book 1 of the User-Friendly Guide to Ghosts Series by Mia Smantz
- Mia Smantz
- Apr 16
- 8 min read
#userfriendlyguidetoghosts #miasmantz #willawalker #alpha #reverseharem #reverseharemseries #beforetheguide #ghosts #reverseharemghosts
Hello all!
Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown. With the first book of the new series, Before the Guide, releasing on April 22nd, I'll be posting some snippets from the story to whet your whistles :)
Some housekeeping notes before we get to the good stuff... my first series, The Cardinal Series is all completed and available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free. It's also available for purchase. If you're interested in purchasing a hardcopy set of the first two books, The Cardinal Bird and Cardinal Caged, you can buy the first volume here. This volume is also available in the Kindle Unlimited store if you want to purchase or add to your ten-book Unlimited list to help free up a slot for another great book. I know I always have a hard time trying to cull my book limit. Get the Kindle version here. I've also bundled the second volume of the series to include Cardinal of Hope and The Cardinal Sin. That volume is available here for the Kindle version and the hardcopy version. The third and final volume with Cardinal Rose and The Red Cardinal are also online.
Also the second, completed series, The Stillwind Series is all completed and available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free. It's also available for purchase. If you're interested in purchasing them the links are here:
And, if you've already read the books through Kindle Unlimited and are looking to reread, consider downloading the 6-book anthology. You can free up some space in your Kindle Library and also support me, since authors only get paid the first time you read a book on your account. The 6-book link is here with some awesome new artwork.
Also--almost there, I promise--the second book of the User Friendly Guide to Ghosts, Tentatively Prewritten, is available for preorder. Order your copy today!
And now, on to the sneak peek of the new series.
Before the Guide, Book 1
SNEAK PEEK
He grinned. “You did well, Willy.”
“Yeah, Willy,” Nick chimed in. “You haven’t killed us yet, so…”
The force of my wide smile fought any annoyance that might have risen at his provocative comment, and I chirped, “Don’t relax too soon. There’s still time yet, baby brother.”
“I’m not a baby.” He scowled as I thwarted his plan to rile me up. “Dad, can I have some cash? I didn’t get anything for breakfast, and I’m starving.”
“Sure thing, kiddo.”
I grinned. Nick hated “kiddo” as much as I despised “Willy.”
Sure enough, Nick hesitated to take the proffered bill, warring with his willingness to accept a handout from the man who had just emasculated him.
Don’t like Dad’s nickname for you? Welcome to the club.
Ultimately, his hunger prevailed as he swiped the money from Dad’s hand and muttered a quick, “Thanks,” before darting off into the station.
“Well, time to fill her up.” Dad climbed out.
The moment of reprieve helped loosen the tension in my shoulders, and I sank into the backrest with a sigh that melted my form into a spineless curl.
Oh, yeah.
I stretched up but jumped when a dark figure caught my attention in the rearview mirror. Goosebumps erupted over my skin, and I whirled, studying the backseat.
It’d looked like someone was sitting right there, looming over the middle. My arm ached with residual chills from the fright, and though I couldn’t see the person in the reflection anymore, it still felt as if tension was building.
My breath sped up, synchronized with my pounding heart.
A knock on my window sent me whirling in the opposite direction, and this time, I couldn’t restrain the gasp that slipped free.
If I’d had enough air in my lungs, I would have screamed. Preoccupied as I was with breathing and preparing for fight or flight, emphasis on the flight, I didn’t make a peep.
My dad’s face peered through the glass.
I blinked in fear, frozen like a headlight startled deer, but eventually, I scrambled for the window button when he knocked again and mimed for me to roll it down.
I licked my dry, trembling lips, searching for a tone a little lower than high-pitched terror. “You rang?”
“Sure did, Willy. If you’re driving, you’re pumping. Hop out. I want you to get in the habit of filling the tank anytime you borrow the vehicles.”
“Okay, Dad,” I agreed easily, eager to leave the dark, looming feeling inside the truck.
Despite the shadow figure no longer being around, my frayed nerves still set my teeth on edge, and each shout, laugh, or car door slamming had me glancing sharply in every direction like a loon.
“Willa?”
I jumped, nearly spraying my dad with fuel. “Oops, sorry about that, Dad. Probably not a smart idea to sneak up on me when I’m armed.”
He crossed his arms. “I’ve been here the whole time. Would I leave a teenager and my poor, defenseless little credit card alone? Fat chance.”
“Pfft. I’m not Mom. She’s the one who buys all the shoes.”
“Sure, but she doesn’t use my credit card to do it.” Dad fluffed my ponytail. “Why are you so jumpy?”
“I’m not jumpy, and how much debt could I rack up at a Seven Elev—”
“Boo!”
“Shiiii—oot!” I screamed, glaring at my brother’s smirking expression, his arms laden with goodies. “What’s wrong with you?”
A jerky stick hung halfway out of his mouth, though how he’d opened it with his hands so full was a total mystery. “Dad’s right. You’re twitchier than normal, sis.”
Dad frowned down at the heaping pile of snacks. “Speaking of Dad being right, how did you buy all that? I handed you a ten.”
Nick shrugged, the action causing the shifting junk food to rattle and squeak. “Used my allowance.”
The laissez-aller explanation brought consternation to Dad’s face. “If you had your allowance, then why the, ahem. I mean, why did you bug me for money?”
The Slim Jim bobbed like a cigar as Nick chewed over his response, literally and figuratively. “Well, I’m still a kid, so it’s your responsibility to feed me.”
Dad’s eyebrow arched. “Uh-huh, so you figured it was my God-given duty to provide you with breakfast. Am I hitting in the ballpark here?”
“Yup.”
“Tell me something, Nicklaus Robert Walker.” Nick and I both stilled at the use of his full name. Mom tossed them out like candy at a parade, but Dad kept them on reserve for truly special occasions, and the way Dad crossed his arms and set his jaw promised that this would be a doozy of a special occasion. “In all your infinite wisdom, did you forget how to open a milk jug?”
Eyes rounded and a beef stick hanging from his slackened mouth, Nick shook his head.
“Interesting. And did you forget how to pour cereal into a bowl? No? How about adding milk on top? Right, I didn’t think so.” Dad was on a roll. “Last I checked, your mom and I hadn’t installed locks on cabinets, so what stopped you from eating at home? You spent all that time pestering your sister when you could have been eating breakfast.”
Nick’s bottom lip wobbled. Dad rarely raised his voice at us.
Catching the micro-movement, Dad swiped a hand over his face. “Nick, you’re aware that we’re well off. Between the doubles your mom swings and my blog, money isn’t the issue here. Do you know what is?”
Silent as a scared little lamb, Nick shook his head.
“While I agree wholeheartedly that children are the parents’ responsibility, that doesn’t mean you can take your parents for granted. Think on that, son.”
Nick nodded.
Feeling blowby embarrassment from Dad’s lecture, I didn’t give my brother a hard time for scaring me before, just opened the door for him so he could crawl inside and lick his wounds in peace. He didn’t slam the door shut. He didn’t shut it at all, staring down at the floorboard like a lost lamb.
The latch clicked in place gently, and I glanced in Dad’s direction.
The kicked puppy look? Yeah, Dad resembled that if someone had also stolen said puppy’s favorite squeak toy on top of the kicking.
Despite the tinted window, Nick wasn’t much better.
Mentally, I groaned and asked, Why me?
Apparently driving and swiping the card for gas had rocketed me into the bizarre position of adulting. “Don’t sweat it, Dad. Nick will bounce back in no time.”
As if I’d tossed him a lifeline, his attention flew to me. “Really? You don’t think I was too hard on him?”
I waved his concerns off, removing the nozzle from the truck when it clicked and returning it to the holder. “Of course not, it’s character building.”
Dad bobbed his head. “It’s just… there are so many entitled people in the world, and I didn’t want… Well, that doesn’t matter.”
Oh, we were still discussing it.
Okay.
“No—I mean, I agree. We didn’t have much money when I was his age. Your car blog only really took off these last five years, so he doesn’t realize how insane it is to buy every single snack that tickles his fancy.”
Dad arched a brow, some of his good mood returning. “Tickles his fancy? What are you, seventeen going on eighty?”
I groaned. “The dad jokes… Don’t tell me you’re starting the dad jokes this early in the weekend.”
“Obviously, I am.” He paused a beat, putting his arm out to block me when I went to climb back in.
“Am I not driving?”
“No, you can, but do me a favor, yeah? Look busy for a minute while I talk to your brother?”
“Sure thing, Dad.”
“Nick,” Dad began before he shut the door and cut off the rest of their private conversation.
Birds chirped. The sun shone. There was a piece of dull green gum in a flattened pancake by the pump.
I barely stopped myself before shoving my hands in my pockets and whistling a jaunty tune.
Despite my boredom, this still beat going into the truck and catching more of Dad’s parenting.
Hands down.
I cleared my throat.
Glanced at the gas prices, eyes bugging a bit at the total.
Scuffed my toe against the base of the curb…
Okay.
That was it.
After a second incident of awkward, accidental eye contact with a total stranger, I slipped my phone from my pocket and started scrolling. A loud truck rolled up behind us and idled, obviously wanting the pump we’d parked at despite there being two free spots for both diesel and gasoline.
The hair on my neck stood on end beneath the weight of the driver’s impatient stare.
At least, I assumed so until he peeled away and circled to the far side of the station where an empty pump sat. The feeling of being watched remained, and the air grew heavy, my breathing speeding up.
Before I delved further into what was setting me off, I caught Dad gesturing from the cab.
Thank goodness.
I rushed inside, fastened the seat belt, and then we were on the road once more.
Distance seemed to soothe the unease. The farther we traveled from the gas station, the less oppressive the air felt. The Walker men had overcome their rift, and Nick wasted no time gorging himself on the armload of snacks.
His loud chewing drowned out the radio, and it was becoming distractingly annoying. I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror to snap at him and jolted when I saw the dark figure so close that my skin registered a whisper of a breeze trailing over my neck.
Before I could scream, the form blinked away.
Furiously, I scanned every corner and crevice of the cab, ignoring Dad’s increasingly concerned array of questions.
Whatever it’d been, it was gone. The air had returned to its cheery atmosphere.
I released my breath. “Nothing’s wrong, Dad, but… I thought—” I cut myself off with a scream, slamming both feet on the brake pedal.
END EXCERPT
I hope you enjoyed it!!
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