Sneak Peek 3 of Before the Guide, Book 1 of the User-Friendly Guide to Ghosts Series by Mia Smantz
- Mia Smantz
- Apr 20
- 7 min read
#userfriendlyguidetoghosts #miasmantz #willawalker #alpha #reverseharem #reverseharemseries #beforetheguide #ghosts #reverseharemghosts
Hello all!
Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown for Before the Guide, Book 1 of the User-Friendly Guide to Ghosts series, by Mia Smantz. 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
“Hey, I see your house. I’ll be out in a minute,” Ben’s smooth, deep voice informed me, rolling around my ear.
I shivered.
Nah, if this wasn’t real, then I’d died and gone to heaven. No coma spawned from my weak imagination would be this pleasant.
I raced out of the room and down the stairs, pausing halfway to the first floor before hurrying up.
“Wait,” I began as the meaning of his words registered. “What do you mean—”
A knock sounded on the other side of the door I’d been fully prepared to open and march straight out of.
Oh no, oh no.
What was he thinking?
Why’d he get out of the truck?
“Is that Ben?” Dad called, already on his way. He caught sight of me standing there, frozen, with my hand on the knob. I’d been so close. “Well, don’t just stand there, Willa. Let the boy in.”
Okay, this was happening. Ben Pierce was going to see my house. On the plus side, he’d already met my dad. A special prayer of thanks went out for the fact that Mom had called an hour ago to inform us she’d been roped into another double shift, so at least Ben would be spared her particular brand of crazy this round.
With a deep breath, I opened the door. The suction of air pulled inside had a whiff of whatever cologne Ben applied tickling my senses—or maybe it was just his shampoo… or deodorant… or just him, because it smelled like the hoodie, my guilty, cherished treasure stuffed beneath a lily-shaped pillow upstairs. Only this scent was a fresh, primary source, and it took all I had not to swoon.
Dad’s—and Nick’s, I noted, since the little snoop had materialized by the couch—presence helped keep me in check.
To my brother’s credit, he hadn’t said a word when I upended my entire wardrobe and turned our bedroom into a war zone in my quest for the perfect outfit, only to settle on my normal go-to for comfort.
An awkward silence stretched out as I debated how to handle a reintroduction introduction. Was that even a thing? It certainly felt like a thing at the moment as words sat on the tip of my tongue and my eyes bounced between Ben’s shifting stance, Dad’s cross-armed stern mien, and Nick’s ever-increasing, ill-concealed glee.
“Ben,” Dad greeted after a lengthy pause, as if Ben passed some unspoken test. He stepped forward, offering his hand. “You came to the door to pick up my daughter, and I respect that. Don’t lose that very fragile, very fledgling respect. You’ll have her home by ten. No country road detours.”
Country road detours?
It didn’t matter that my dad’s meaning slipped past me, because Ben seemed to get it, accepting his terms with an easy nod. “Of course, sir. I have nothing but the utmost respect for women.”
“Hmm. We’ll see.” Dad turned to me. “Willa, have fun, and to quote a pair of famous twins, remember, ‘no’ is a complete sentence.”
Okay, that time I understood his implications, and my cheeks warmed. “Got it, Dad. Can we go now?”
Now all of them were grinning, but Dad answered, “Sure thing. Bye, sweetheart.”
Ben gestured for me to go, tossing out a, “See you, Nick,” as cool as that. Nick chin bobbed in response like some cheesy gangster from a B-movie, and then before I knew it, we were buckled in and on our way.
“Nice truck,” I complimented after he reversed from his parking spot near the porch.
“Oh, it’s not much.”
“Hey, I meant it. There’s a lot of maintenance in keeping classics looking this good. You take good care of it.”
Classic was a bit of an overexaggeration, but Ben beamed at me. The maintenance part wasn’t a lie though. No cracks lined the dashboard, and it gleamed with a soft shine. Paired with the lemony fresh scent, he’d probably Armor All’ed it to within an inch of its life recently—likewise with the leather seats.
“Thanks,” Ben replied. “Do you want to listen to music?”
I tucked my hands together between my legs for warmth as goosebumps erupted over me. A quick check of my watch said it was just nerves.
“Ah, you look nice,” Ben added in the quiet cab as he navigated. After a minute of nothing but the sound of his truck’s squeaky suspension getting a workout over the potholed terrain, Ben commented, “You know, your driveway is actually creepy. You might have to hold my hand later on the ride back when it’s dark out.”
“Is it?” I glanced around through the trees, trying to see it through a new perspective.
“You don’t think so?”
“Well, I walk it every day to and from the bus, so I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Bus rider, huh?” he asked, and I worried for half a second that I’d just stamped “geek” in big letters across my forehead. “Sometimes I miss that. My simulated farm has suffered without that daily half-hour of dedicated play time.”
“Huh.”
He glanced at me as the driveway finally spit us out on the highway. “What?”
“I just pictured you as a Football Tycoon sort of guy, not a Farmtown fan.”
“Okay, first off, I’m ninety percent sure that’s not even a thing, and, secondly, it’s Farmville. Get it right.”
“But you’re friends with Ralph Buchanan.”
“Uh, yes? I’m friends with many people.”
“Yeah, but Ralph’s family owns probably fifty percent of the farmland around here.”
“Your point being?”
“If you want to try your hand at farming, just go to his house.”
He laughed. “For your information, I have before, but with my schedule, I spend most of my summer training.”
That made sense. “Did Kolton and Hunter do that too? Spend their summers working for the Buchanans?”
He frowned. “Yeah, but how did you know?”
“It’s just that you four make an unlikely bunch. I know you aren’t all neighbors because I’ve never seen the three of you ride the same bus as Ralph and me.”
Ben gasped and put his hand on his chest. “Willa—what’s your last name again?”
“Walker.”
“—Walker! Are you stereotyping me?” He shook his head. “As a girl who spends the majority of her time camping and getting muddy, I figured you would be above such labels!”
“Hey, if it walks like a jock and talks like a jock…”
“Alright, tomboy.”
“Yeah, probably.”
He huffed. “Well, that backfired.”
I grinned. “You should get used to that if we’re going to be seeing each other more.”
The presumptuousness of the offhanded comment sunk in too late, and I yearned to snatch my words back from the ether, worried I’d overstepped.
What felt like miles of highway passed before Ben, in a more serious tone than I’d heard from him before, replied, “Yeah, I should. I mean, I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but I feel like we get along well. Is that just me?”
My heart exploded into fireworks within my chest, forcing up emotions that clogged my throat. My voice came out hoarse even after clearing my throat. “No, it’s not just you.”
Ben nodded and adopted a light tone. “Well, at the risk of tempting fate, I think I’d like a chance to go on a second date with you. There’s surely more to learn about this supposed tomboy who stuck a pink princess decal on her helmet that would require more than one date to uncover.”
My cheeks ignited, but I stuttered out some form of agreement.
END EXCERPT
I hope you enjoyed it!!
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