SPELLBOUNDýOn the Bay

by Mimi M. Heitzmann

Living in seclusion near the bay shores of a small Mississippi Gulf Coast town, famous musician, Rick Clayton begins to have nightmares about an enchanting woman from his past, and shares his anxieties with his new wife, Abby. Although puzzled by her husband's memories of the mysterious woman, Abby is more intrigued than threatened. As time passes, she believes this woman from Rick's past and her illusive aunt are one and the same. But she knows this could not be because the woman would have to be over a hundred years old. In 1898 New Orleans a nineteen-year-old Creole socialite, Marcelite LeBlanc, who is the secret daughter of a voodooiene priestess, falls in love with a prominent European artist. They are forced to part because of the times, their conflicting backgrounds, and a voodoo curse. Three small rings keep the hope that they will one day be together. Their destinies become intertwined with individuals from the future when Abby and her three middle-aged friends, Anakarin, Charleen and Jonyne-characters from the author's two previous books, Fantastic Stranger and No More Tears in Heaven-find old letters kept by Jonyne's deceased grandmother. Realizing Marcelite may still be alive, the four women dig further to solve the bittersweet mystery.

286 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2006

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spellbound is a charming story filled with mystery and intrigue about a woman named Marcelite - a Creole growing
up in the late 1800s in New Orleans who meets the love of her
life. In a twist of events, a spell is cast upon her by a
Voodoo priestess which causes her to be separated from her
true love and survive throughout the next century searching
for him, all while aging very little. She lives unaware of her past and under another spell of a man who turns out to be the son of the voodoo priestess. Upon his death, her memories start to come back.
The story takes place during the distant past, recent past and present but remains easy to follow as the story and lives of the characters go from past to present. The characters from all eras are somehow intertwined and to what degree is revealed toward the end.