Castle Gate — the book … in print on November 30, 2023

Available now.

Castle Gate, by Lisa Bonnice, is Book 1 in the Maxwell Curse Trilogy. It’s the true and tragic saga of the Garroch and Littlejohn families, related by marriage. The Littlejohn family is descended from a lineage that was cursed during a witch trial in 1600s Scotland, but they are unaware of it. The Garrochs are just unfortunate enough to have married into this nightmare.

The curse assures that the descendants of the accusers — who caused five souls to be arrested, tried and executed — suffer as the accused suffered. That includes having their families torn apart, watching helplessly as their loved ones struggle, or even horrific death by fire.

Book 1, Castle Gate, uses robust and extensive genealogical research to tell the tale of the families who emigrate to the United States from Scotland during the WWI and Prohibition eras, only to have the curse follow them there. The Littlejohns and Garrochs, and over a hundred others, are devastated by one of the biggest mine explosions in American history — the Castle Gate Mine Disaster of 1924 — where families are torn apart and almost two hundred men die by fire in a mine that the Littlejohns run.

Book 2, A Curse by Fire ,will tell the story of the witch trial and the origin of the curse. Book 3, Kind Miss, will wrap it up in modern-day America where the curse is discovered and dismantled by descendants of the original accusers.