Gather 'round, kids. I've got a story to tell...

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen my posts about watching movies on the rooftop of our house in Okinawa. We had our first successful movie night about 10 days ago. We watched WICKED and it was AMAZING!

We enjoyed it so much, we're planning all sorts of movie nights on our roof. Wind and rain are a factor, and with typhoon season starting on June 1st, we don't want to waste a single opportunity to enjoy the perfect home movie theater, so last Friday evening, when there was almost no wind and the forecast was clear, we jumped at the chance to watch the latest episode of Murderbot on the roof.

I was busy making dinner, so my husband set up the screen and projector while it was still light out. Usually, this is my job, so he doesn't necessarily know which things plug in where on the projector. After dinner, he was busy so I went to the roof to check the setup. The sun had set at this point, but I had my phone for light if I needed it (I didn't dare turn on the light by the rooftop door because it attracts bugs), and I'm used to working with the projector in the dark.

I quickly switched out the DVD player with the Firestick--Murderbot is streaming only--and cued up the show. That's when I realized the speaker wasn't set up properly. I turned it on, and the speaker promptly said (in the familiar setup voice), "Bluetooth mode," indicating it was searching for bluetooth and not connecting to the projector with the already plugged in AUX cord.

The projector doesn't have bluetooth, but my phone does, and I know I paired it with my phone a long time ago, but it's been more than a year (probably more like two) since I used it, so when the speaker said, "Paired," I assumed it meant it had paired with my phone automatically.

Just as I was reaching for the speaker to find the button to tell it to switch out of bluetooth mode, I heard a voice whisper, "Hello?"

I looked at my phone. Had someone called me and it was somehow automatically answered when the phone paired?

I never get phone calls. I have trained everyone I know to text me instead. Plus anyone likely to call me lives in a vastly different time zone.

Also, my phone doesn't answer calls without my permission. All unknown numbers are muted and roll to voicemail.

Then the voice said in the same creepy, super-quiet whisper, "Are you there? Can you hear me?"

I picked up the speaker bar and held it to my ear. The voice was definitely coming from the speaker. It said, "Hello? Are you there?"

Nothing/no one else was close enough for a bluetooth link. And there was no way this was a phone call projecting from my speaker. (My call log confirms this, by the way.)

At this point, I turned off the speaker, unplugged it from the projector, and pulled the cord from the speaker itself. Then I reconnected everything and braced myself, but the speaker set up voice said, "Audio link mode," and I knew I was back in business and could safely watch Murderbot without a whispering voice demanding attention.

Was this a mistake? Should I have kept the connection to the whispering voice open, to see what else they had to tell me?

Here is a photo of the setup (taken after the whispered-voice incident):

It has crossed my mind more than once that this is something someone set up in the speaker programming, in which case, my hat is off to them on pulling a fabulous prank. I hope someone brings this newsletter to their attention. 😂

I told my husband about the incident right before we watched the show. And now, whenever we're sitting in silence (preferably in the dark) one of us will whisper to the other, "Hello? Are you there?"

I did receive one unexpected call this weekend that I answered... I was notified by the contest coordinator for the Daphne du Maurier Award that DON'T LOOK BACK is a finalist!

Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense

And in other exciting contest news, bestie Toni Anderson and I are both finalists in the National Excellence in Story Telling Contest! 😍

2025 NERFA

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Cold Spite by Toni Anderson
Don’t Look Back by Rachel Grant
False Evidence by Rachel Grant

If you are looking for a hot summer read, now is the perfect time to grab DON'T LOOK BACK.

Travel to Malta with an art historian seeking the truth her father has been hiding for decades. But when digging into the past unearths an unexpected enemy, she’ll need help from the Navy SEAL who saved her once before.

Or, if you want to escape the heat and enjoy a winter getaway with all the holiday feels (plus a side of murder) FALSE EVIDENCE is for you!

Suspected of killing a cop, Alexandra flees to a cabin owned by her ex-fiancé. When JT learns the love of his life’s daughter could be used as a pawn by those hunting her, he whisks the child to safety—which just so happens to be the very same cabin where her mother is hiding…

Be sure to check out this month's BUY ONE GET ONE sale at Kobo.

Toni Anderson and I both have books in the romantic suspense category:

AU: https://kobo.com/p/june-romance-bogo-au

CA: https://kobo.com/p/june-romance-bogo-ca

NZ: https://kobo.com/p/june-romance-bogo-nz

UK: https://kobo.com/p/june-romance-bogo-uk

US: https://kobo.com/p/june-romance-bogo-us​

Happy reading!

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