Not long after their move into Blackstone, married couple Mitch and Buck begin to witness strange sightings of shadowy figures, physical manifestations and inexplicable events taking place in the former Sheppard family estate nestled in the Northern Poconos of Pennsylvania.
Welcome to the May 19th stop on the blog tour for Servant by Patrick R. Field with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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About the Book
Servant
by Patrick R. Field
Published 8 May 2023
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Page Count: 279
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Not long after their move into Blackstone, married couple Mitch and Buck begin to witness strange sightings of shadowy figures, physical manifestations and inexplicable events taking place in the former Sheppard family estate nestled in the Northern Poconos of Pennsylvania. Through séances, they learn from the spirit of Jedidiah Sheppard that he has not been able to cross over into the afterlife because the truth behind his sudden disappearance in 1965 has never been solved. During this journey, Mitch and Buck and an eccentric psychic, Gladys Munch aka Madame Fortunesta, encounter interference from the spirit of a Lenape medicine man, Mesingwe Medeu, who protects Jedidiah’s spirit. Mitch and Buck eventually realize that they must find Jedidiah’s remains and let the authorities discover through modern detective work the evidence needed to try and convict the murderer. But is it too late for Jedidiah’s spirit to find eternal peace?
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Excerpt
My curiosity finally getting the better of me, I ask, “What’s in your ‘concoction’?”
“Snaps and snails and puppy dog tails,” she chortles, a devilish smile beaming across her face as she continues uninterrupted. “I’m teasing. It’s your typical combination of magical plants…Mug wort, Wormwood, Mandrake, Sage oil, and a little Belladonna. Don’t want too much of that—we don’t need a hallucinogenic tonight. I have a feeling we’re going to see quite a show.”
“We’re not gonna eat that, are we?” I exclaim, after hearing the list of ingredients.
“No, silly, we’re going to wear it, on our faces. To trick anything nasty we might find down there that we’re not part of the living,”
Gladys explains.
Instantly, Buck and I look at each other, our faces reflecting the same thought: “What the hell did we get ourselves into?” “All right, that should do it,” Gladys states as she finishes molding her paste. She then opens the three velvet-covered boxes and pulls out three identical necklaces made of fine silver chains, with a round globe-like cage at the end that’s about three inches in diameter. Picking up one of the necklaces, she springs a catch on the cage, and it opens via delicate, simple hinges. Opening another box, she extracts what looks like a light brown carrot. The root looks like the body of a miniature person. “This is Mandrake root, a very powerful plant we will wear around our necks in these necklaces to protect us,” Gladys explains.
About the Author
After twenty-five years in higher education, Patrick Field traded in teaching and textbooks to pursue his passion of writing spine-chilling fiction. Holding a Ph.D. in Anatomical Sciences and Neuroscience, his experience informs his writing, a unique blend of scientific knowledge with supernatural storytelling.
His non-scientific writing career began with Prince Patrick, a memoir of his precocious childhood that he wrote for his mother as she battled pancreatic cancer. This process was not only healing but helpful in stirring his creativity and marked the moment he was bitten by the writing bug.
An avid fan of Anne Rice, Edgar Allen Poe, and Joe Hill, Patrick’s subsequent novels were inspired by his favorite authors. His first fiction novel, The Malevolent, and his two latest novels, The Bedfordshire Warlock (release date in early 2024) and Servant were written throughout the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His latest novel Servant was inspired by the supernatural events that happened to the author, his husband, and friends that have stayed in their home in northeastern Pennsylvania. Taking a page from his teaching philosophy that those who teach must never cease to learn, Patrick found himself hungry to discover all he could about the area’s diverse cultures, including the Anthracite coal mining community and the indigenous tribe of the Lenape.
Patrick’s writing process is a mix between walking meditation and meticulous research. His novels form while he walks alone with his dogs, imagining plot lines and characters. Once he’s home, he quickly types notes on his computer before fleshing them out later. Research is a considerable part of his process- the scientist in him abhors “alternative facts.” When he encounters an idea or a historical thread unfamiliar to him, he researches all he can about it. While he writes about a world where the supernatural realm is prominent, the real world is always based on facts.
When developing characters, he usually has an idea of the destination he wants for each character but the journey to get there is often written by the character and the environment. Of all the characters he’s written, Gladys Munch in Servant is his favorite, as she’s an amalgam of delightful, humorous “mature” ladies in his life and physically inspired by British actresses Margaret Rutherford and Angela Lansbury. In addition to writing, Patrick appears on the stage of his community theater and sings in the chorus of a local opera company each summer. He enjoys spending time with his husband, Matthew, and their dogs and exploring new destinations around the world, especially those that have a supernatural history. Haunted buildings and structures associated with the occult fascinate Patrick. His idea of a perfect day: drinking pints of Guinness draught with friends and family over scintillating and humorous conversation.
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Giveaway Alert!
Patrick R. Field will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| May 8 | Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read | May 9 | Fabulous and Brunette |
| May 10 | All the Ups and Downs | May 11 | The Avid Reader |
| May 12 | Sandra’s Book Club | May 15 | Literary Gold |
| May 16 | Adriana Kraft | May 17 | Rogue’s Angels |
| May 18 | Kit ‘n Kabookle | May 19 | Westveil Publishing |
| May 22 | Dawn’s Reading Nook | May 23 | Andi’s Book Reviews |
| May 23 | Travel the Ages | May 24 | The Key of Love |
| May 25 | The TBR Pile | May 26 | Long and Short Reviews |
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Hello everyone, Patrick R. Field here, and thank you for stopping by on this stop of the Servant tour! Here is your Servant-related question for the day: As it states in my bio, Gladys Munch is inspired by a British actress named Margaret Rutherford: What are her two most famous roles in British cinema that lend to Gladys’ character in Servant?
Thanks for hosting!
I enjoyed the excerpt. Sounds good.
Happy Friday, Patrick! The only role that comes to mind of Ms. Rutherford was that of Miss Marple from some of the film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novels Have a great weekend!
Hey Bea! Right again. But she also played the medium Madame Arcati in the original Blithe Spirit with Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert. Gladys, aka Madame Fortunesta, as you learned is also a psychic. So she is sleuthing psychic!
I like the cover and think the excerpt sounds really good.
Great! I hope the excerpts and the blurb will convince everyone to give Servant a chance and then maybe a review!