When practical Morgan buys a journal in a small-town antique shop, she doesn’t expect it to stir echoes of a life she never lived. Written by a woman named Matilda, who died in a fire a hundred years ago, the diary seems to be guiding Morgan on an unexpected adventure, unlocking a century-old mystery.
As Morgan unravels Mattie’s story, she finds herself tangled in a web of family secrets, missing heirlooms, and a tragedy that still lingers in the town’s bones. But the deeper she digs, the more she discovers about herself—and an old flame she thought had long since burned out.
Ashes and Other Inheritances is a soulful blend of mystery, memory, and sweet romance, where a supernatural bond and relics of a long-gone time spark a journey of self-discovery, second chances, and the kind of love that rises from the ashes.
Can the tug of déjà vu lead Morgan to her happy ending?
Tropes
Second-Chance Romance
Small Town Secrets
Mysterious Diary
Cozy Vibes
Haunted by History
No Spice
Reader Review
“Ashes and Other Inheritances was an engaging and well-crafted novel. Cori effectively immerses the reader in the characters and their experiences, while the community setting is vividly developed through detailed descriptions and historical context. Her writing consistently demonstrates strong storytelling skill and an ability to draw readers into a meaningful and immersive experience.”
~Heather
Behind the Story
The story of a little-known tragedy in Canonsburg, Pa., inspired Ashes, and I have my hairdresser, Holly North, to thank for telling me about it! In 1911, there was a theater on the main drag, and one evening, someone saw a spark from the projector, thought it was a fire, and yelled for everyone to get out. Sadly, many people were trampled in the exodus, so despite the absence of an actual fire, a couple dozen people passed in this tragedy. As Holly snipped and shaped my tresses, she told me about how the shop owners on that street had noticed odd things over the years—flickering lights, radio stations randomly changing, strange sounds when no one was there—and attributed them to those who passed in the theater tragedy. On a couple of my visits to her salon, I had witnessed the lights flickering in time to the music. The shop owners thought that maybe those wandering spirits were still trying to get attention.
These activities inspired me to write about the Lanternites, including Mattie with her desire to solve the mystery of the strange activities in Hawthorne. At canonsburgoperahouse.com, you’ll find information about the story of the tragedy in the theater, and if you walk through the main part of the business district, you’ll find a historical marker where the incident happened on the corner of East Pike Street and Central Avenue. Coincidentally, the building in Canonsburg is also called the Morgan Building. It wasn’t until I had started writing the book and already knew we would be focusing on Morgan, Lacey’s sister from Good in Theory, that I found out the name of the building.