Romance Lives Forever

Effrosyni Moschoudi, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about Running Haunted — and the ghost.

Running Haunted by Effrosyni Moschoudi

Genre paranormal romantic comedy (with a ghost!)

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): G

Kelly ran a marathon… and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it.

Kelly Mellios is a stunning, athletic woman, who has learned–the hard way–to value herself. Having just finished her first marathon in the alluring Greek town of Nafplio, she bumps into Alex, a gorgeous widower with three underage children, who is desperately looking for a housekeeper.

The timing seems perfect, seeing that Kelly aches to start a new life, and Nafplio seems like the ideal place to settle down. She accepts the position on the spot, but little does she know that Alex’s house has an extra inhabitant that not even the family knows about…

The house is haunted by Alex’s late wife, who has unfinished business to tend to. By using the family pet, a quirky pug named Charlie, the ghost is able to communicate with Kelly and asks her for help. She claims she wants to ensure her loved ones are happy before she departs, but offers very little information about her plans.

Kelly freaks out at first, but gradually finds herself itching to help. It is evident there’s room for improvement in this family… Plus, her growing attraction towards Alex is overpowering.

Will Kelly do as the ghost bids? How will it affect her? And just how strange is this pug?

“Another charming book from Effrosyni. Read it, and you’ll be transported to Greece & never look at a dog the same way again!” ~Just Me.Mo, Amazon UK reviewer

“A fast-paced original story with attention to detail and engaging dialog. A heartfelt emotional read, with family love, romance and a lovable ghost. I highly recommend it.” ~Sheri Wilkinson, Amazon US reviewer

Meet Charlie (not the ghost) from Running Haunted

Full name: Charlie
Nickname: None
Gender: Male
Species: Pug
Physical description: Young, agile, playful, but quirky. Known to freeze occasionally, eyes glazing over, when his deceased Mommy speaks to him…
Relationship to main character: Kelly is hired to run the house Charlie lives in.

Relationship to the villain/antagonist: The antagonist, Stella, lives next door. She doesn’t care for dogs!

Where this furbaby came from: Charlie has been with the family since he was a baby.

What inspired you to create this character?

I wanted Lauren, the spirit in the story, to have some kind of medium at her disposal so she can communicate with Kelly. When I thought that her beloved dog (from when she was alive in the house) could play that part, I quickly decided on a pug, because I wanted the dog to be both goofy and quirky. Pugs have such unique faces that could easily be imagined by the reader as cute and hilarious when needed, plus, they’re great with children too. It was an easy choice!

What does the main character think about this furbaby?

At first, Kelly is cautious because Charlie barks at her and generally is difficult to handle seeing that he has never been walked or properly trained. Soon, though, the two become inseparable, especially since the pug proves very effective in helping her communicate with the ghost spirit that haunts the house!

How do other characters react to or interact with this furbaby?

Alex, Kelly’s boss and love interest, has a soft spot for Charlie because his deceased wife used to adore him from when he was a puppy. His three underage boys also love Charlie, and he makes everyone laugh with his antics. The youngest of the boys, Tommy, has a special bond with the dog. The two of them are always together in the house, and even at night, Charlie never leaves the boy’s bedroom. Secretly from the others, the pug brings him fashion jewelry items that belonged to Tommy’s mother, and the boy puts them on the pug when they play together in his room.

What does this furbaby add to the story?

Charlie is haunted by the spirit of Lauren and his character is key for the spirit’s communication with the heroine, Kelly. Kelly is able to hear the spirit’s voice and even see her face in the mirror sometimes, but only when the pug is around! That’s why she likes to keep the dog close to her. As the story unfolds, Kelly becomes determined to help everyone with their individual problems by following the spirit’s advice to the letter. And this could never be possible without good old Charlie tagging along!

What about this furbaby will readers like, and why?

His goofiness, his playfulness, and his occasional naughtiness. In one scene, he even gives Kelly a little bite but he has a good reason! I also think the readers will love Charlie’s fondness for Kelly, which grows as the story progresses, reflecting the gradual strengthening of the bond of friendship between Kelly and the ghost.

Please share an interesting fact or tidbit about this furbaby.

Since Lauren died, Charlie doesn’t let anyone sit at the head of the dining table. He growls and barks whenever someone makes a move to sit on it. When Lauren was alive, she used to sit there holding Charlie in her lap as she ate her meals with the family…

Describe a humorous incident involving the animal character.

During the early days of Kelly’s presence in the house, she was carrying the washing in the laundry basket one morning to take it outside and hang the clothes on the line. Charlie followed her to the front gate and started barking loudly and jumping about. When she opened the door, house keys in hand, he caused a fuss trying to follow her outside and as she tried to stop him, the keys slipped off her hand. Quick as a flash, and presumably thinking this was a game, Charlie took the keys and bolted indoors. With Kelly standing outside at the time, the door slammed shut out of the blue, leaving her locked out and feeling quite miserable for a while (until a kindly neighbor came to the rescue!)

About Loulou

Which, if any of the pets in your writing are modeled after your own pets? In what way?

I used to be a dog person and thus wound up featuring only dogs in my novels so far. That changed last year when I saved a female young cat from the street which I named Loulou (short for ‘louloudi’, which is Greek for ‘flower’). She’s such a gentle soul, all paws and not a claw in sight when I interact with her, and she made me a cat person in no time. This means I will inevitably start featuring her in many ways in my future heroines’ lives.

What do your pets do when you are writing?

Loulou loves to doze off, always in the warmest/sunniest spots, naturally. She had a litter of four kittens three months ago, and I found loving homes for the three, keeping the fourth one as I fell in love with it. So now I have two cats and the little one (haven’t named it yet!) keeps Loulou entertained and busy all day. Loulou trains her baby in big and small ways every day, and they also wrestle a lot for fun. Sometimes, I can hear Loulou’s high-pitched protestations as I work, because the kitten likes to bite her ear and won’t let go. They’re both very playful seeing that Loulou is still very young herself – not even one year old yet, from what I can gather.

What’s the most unusual pet you ever had?

The most unusual pet I’ve ever had was a hamster, Romeo, who was very cuddly. I am sorry to say he passed away after just a few months of having him, quite suddenly too, and it was most upsetting. It put me right off getting another hamster, otherwise I’d definitely get another. I loved to place him flat on my outstretched palm and stroke his back as I watched TV on the sofa in the evenings. He would always fall asleep in no time, back legs stretched out hanging over the sides of my hand, and snoring loudly. He made me laugh so much, bless his little soul, and I still laugh when I think of the happy times. I always found the sight of him having a boiled pea absolutely delightful for some reason (I boiled a lot of peas at the time because of that, LOL)

Where did you find your pet?

My cat Loulou showed up in my garden one day and decided to stay. Later, I found out she had been born in the garden of a house nearby. At first, she was timid and very fearful. After feeding her a couple times, she let me touch her and pet her, and she never left the house ever since. She’s very vocal, which is so much fun, and we have the most hilarious conversations.

What do you feed your pet?

Kibble, and cat treats for extra vitamins. Occasionally, a tin of cat food, or leftovers that are safe for her to eat.

Describe a toy or favorite item your pet loves.

Loulou has no favorite item. All she seems to do whenever I see her is seek my hand. She’ll look up and meow, then sway her head from side to side until I pet her on the top of her head. It’s hilarious. Neediest cat in the world, and a little loopy, but I certainly don’t mind. I love her to bits! J

Where to buy Running Haunted

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0853CMP1V

Effrosyni Moschoudi Social Media

Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. As a child, she loved to sit alone in her garden scribbling rhymes about flowers, butterflies and ants. Today, she writes books for the romantic at heart. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with her husband Andy. Her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.
Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, has won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. The Ebb, her romance set in Corfu that’s inspired from her summers there in the 1980s, is an ABNA Q-Finalist.
Her novels are Amazon bestsellers, having hit #1 several times, and are available in kindle and paperback format.
Go here to grab FREE books by this author: https://effrosyniwrites.com/free-stuff/
Visit Effrosyni’s website for more info on her work, delicious Greek recipes, and to check out her current free offers: https://effrosyniwrites.com/
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Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues

Shout out to CARE-Corfu Animal Rescue Establishment

The charity started in 2003 when 8 puppies were found close to death in a dustbin. All were nursed back to health and subsequently, literally thousands of animals have been re-homed either in Greece, Germany, Austria and the UK.
CARE presently has a small shelter near Sidari, situated in the north of the Greek island of Corfu. With limited space and facilities, this means we sadly cannot take in all the reported strays but CARE has a mobile unit and along with groups of volunteers, CARE has set up feeding stations and the sterilization of these animals wherever possible.

https://www.carecorfu.com/