Paranormal Women's Fiction ~ Supernatural Suspense
A child’s ghost. A mother’s impossible choice.
A truth buried for more than fifty years.
Marnie Putnam thought accepting her psychic gift would be the hard part. Then her young son begins talking to the ghost of Johnny Moon, a ten-year-old boy whose tragic story has been buried since the summer of 1969. When Johnny also begins haunting Marnie’s mother-in-law, Pearl, Marnie realizes this isn’t a random visit. Johnny’s unfinished story is tangled with Pearl’s buried memories and her son’s burgeoning psychic gift.
Following a trail of hazy recollections and unsettling psychic echoes, Marnie reconstructs Johnny’s final days. Yet each step forward circles back to a question that terrifies her far more than any ghost: Can she help her son understand and accept his special gift without leading him toward a danger she can’t protect him from?
As Marnie guides her son to understand the gift they share, together they help Pearl remember a childhood friendship shattered by ignorance, shame, and silence. While Johnny’s life ended too soon, learning and sharing the truth, even fifty years later, lets him be seen, understood, and finally set free.
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Ode to Johnny Moon is Book No. 2 in the Marnie Putnam ~ Lake Gardner cozy-dark Southern mystery series. Blending family secrets, suspense, and whispers of the supernatural, it’s set in a quaint Georgia town called Lake Gardner. Perfect for fans of Karen White, Barbara Davis, and Diane Chamberlain.
A haunted past. A marriage at a crossroads.
A blue moon that refuses to let old secrets stay buried.
Marnie Putnam came to Lake Gardner hoping for something she desperately needed: space. Space from a marriage quietly unraveling. Space to figure out what comes next.
Instead, a seemingly simple assignment documenting the town's haunted history pulls her into a decade-old mystery—and forces her to confront things she's grasped to believe:
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Ghosts are real.
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So are the truths she's been avoiding.
As a rare Halloween blue moon approaches, unsettling encounters draw Marnie deeper into the stories of two women who died under sinister circumstances a decade earlier, also under a blue moon. The closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her questions become.
Soon, Marnie faces a choice that reaches far beyond solving a haunting mystery: Retreat to the safety of the life she knows, or risk everything for the chance to discover the life she still wants.
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Secrets of the Blue Moon is Book One of the Marnie Putnam – Lake Gardner cozy-dark Southern mystery series. Blending family secrets, suspense, and whispers of the supernatural, it’s set in a quaint Georgia town called Lake Gardner. Perfect for fans of Karen White, Barbara Davis, and Diane Chamberlain, it was recognized as an Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in Women’s Fiction (2026) and an American Book Fest Finalist for Cross-Genre Fiction (2025).
Nonfiction ~ Memoir ~ Travel Humor
Imagine a road trip where
wrong turns aren't mistakes ~
they're the entire point of the journey.
Picture two people, two hearts, and one beat-up map, all crammed into a car that's seen more miles and adventures than most marriages see years.
One Wrong Turn at a Time isn't just a travel memoir—it's a love letter written in road dust, laugh lines, and unexpected detours.
He lives for the open road. She tolerates it with a raised eyebrow and a well-packed emergency snack kit. Together, they transform ordinary pit stops into extraordinary memories, transforming life's potholes and detours into a hilarious, heart-warming tapestry of connection.
From roadside diners to unexpected encounters, their story proves that the most remarkable journeys aren't measured in miles, but in moments of unexpected magic and shared laughter.
This isn't a guidebook. This is real life—messy, unpredictable, and beautifully imperfect. It's about growing older together, finding humor in the wrong turns, and discovering that the most spectacular view is often right beside you, riding shotgun.
A fun selection for readers who appreciate stories shaped by detours and reinvention and who tend to find perfection boring, One Wrong Turn at a Time was recognized as a Global Book Awards 2006 Silver Winner.