Book Tour #Giveaway: Terri Bruce's New Novel, WHEREAFTER

I know Terri Bruce as a fellow member of Broad Universe, a society that supports women authors of speculative fiction. As a comrade in literary arms, I was delighted to host Terri's blog tour for her new novel, Whereafter.

And be sure to scroll down to the giveaway!

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Making Believable Ghosts

by Terri Bruce

I’m so thrilled to be here today, celebrating the release of my third novel, Whereafter (Afterlife #3). This is the third book in my Afterlife series, which tells the story of a woman named Irene Dunphy who dies and must learn to navigate the afterlife as a ghost.

I love mythology and the origins of myths, and one day while driving to work, I started thinking about afterlife mythology. I wondered why there were so many different and disparate descriptions of the afterlife if they were all describing the same thing. I mean, realistically, if there is an afterlife, we’re probably all going to the same place. So why is it described so differently by different cultures? I started thinking maybe it was like “The Blind Men and the Elephant”—that is, that all the stories were only describing a part of it. So I tried to imagine what the afterlife would like if all the afterlife stories were true. How would all these very different and sometimes competing places exist together? When I read one myth that said the dead travel to the afterlife via a tunnel of light but another that said it was via a bridge, I tried to imagine a way in which that was possible. Well… maybe different people saw different things—maybe it’s all based on perception. Maybe they weren’t all crossing at the same place. After all, having lived on the North Shore of Massachusetts for many years, I can tell you that sometimes I traveled to work in Boston via a bridge (the Tobin Bridge) and sometimes by tunnel (the Sumner and Callahan Tunnels). It depended on which road/route I was traveling. It was also dependent on my mode of transportation—when I drove, I took the bridge and when I took the bus/public transportation, we went through the tunnel. So maybe that’s how it is for the dead.

When it came to reconciling the many different descriptions of the physical landscape—especially the more strange/outlandish elements—I realized that this could be explained as being different places within the same world and also through the idea of higher planes of consciousness. This is where I borrowed heavily from the Buddhist state of Bardo—an intermediate stage between the physical realm and enlightenment where the person wrestles with demons and visions that are a manifestation of the person’s subconscious. As the person learns and becomes wiser/more enlightened, he/she is able to see through the outward appearance of the demons to their true meaning. If we thought of the afterlife as a place where people gain enlightenment, then things might appear confusing or unexplainable at first. But as the person gains more knowledge and insight—and ascends to a higher and higher planes of being—then they can see more clearly. So, for instance, in the second book of the series, Irene meets a cat that seems to be leading her through the afterlife. To her, it looks like a cat, even though she’s pretty sure it’s not an ordinary cat. Because she isn’t enlightened enough/ascended to a high enough level, she can’t see its true form.

While I was trying to find a way to make all of the various descriptions of the physical landscape work together, I also wanted to write a world that was believable. I didn’t want it to be fantastical fantasy; I wanted the mechanics—the physical rules of it—to be realistic, or, at least, plausible. So I set out to also create realistic explanations for various beliefs and folklore elements. If there really is an afterlife, why do people travel to it through a tunnel of light? Why is it far away and not right here? And why a tunnel of light? What is the function of the light in helping move spirits from the physical realm to the afterlife? Or how about, why do some ghosts see a tunnel, some seem to instantly be transported to the other side, and some get stuck here and can’t cross over? What is the mechanics of that and why it happens?

Another example: how is it that ghosts can walk through walls and yet also move objects? To walk through walls they’d have to have no mass and/or be pure energy. But if they move objects, they have to have mass, right? So how can they both? At times, I began to feel like a physicist trying to describe quantum mechanics (and honestly, after reading all the various mythology, I’m starting to think it could all be plausible at a quantum level!).

I’ve tried very hard to make sure that my world building is realistic and consistent—this has often led to problems that were hard to solve. If ghosts have mass (because they can move things) then how come we can’t see them? But how come we can see them sometimes and other times they are invisible? It’s been really difficult at times being consistent in the world building when the stories are so inconsistent! But once I started thinking of the afterlife as different planes/levels all stacked together and started thinking in terms of different scales – the way that sub-atomic particles and planets exist in the same space—then things began to make more sense… or, at least, be more easily explained

Part of why I’ve loved writing this series is the world-building challenge. Because I created these self-imposed rules (use ALL of the stories and myths and make it all plausible) that I had to adhere to, it really forced me to stretch and grow as a writer. It turns out, coming up with realistic explanations for fantastical things requires MORE creativity than just coming up with the fantastical things themselves. I always thought all of the imagination and fun was in imagining new things, but then getting those things to adhere to a set of rules requires a lot of ingenuity as well. And it’s helped me to develop discipline as well. I could have given up on making the world-building adhere to a strict set of rules (it certainly would have been easier) but I don’t think the books would have been as good. Many readers of the series like how the books feel like they could be real/how the world-building is believable. So, developing that discipline has been a good thing for both me and my readers.

For anyone that loves afterlife mythology or wants to learn more about the Afterlife series, during the month of April I will be participating in the “A to Z Blogging Challenge,” and every day, I will be posting a video blog (at http://www.terribruce.net) in which I reveal all of the hidden references to afterlife mythology and “Easter Eggs” in the series. I encourage everyone to stop by each day and check out the videos! You can also sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date with all my latest news. In addition, I love interacting with readers, so please feel free to email me or connect with me on Twitter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt from Whereafter:

Andras grunted, the sound filled with suspicion. Irene bent down to tie her shoelace, as much to avoid eye contact as anything. When she straightened up, something in the distance caught her eye, shimmering like a mirage. She squinted, not sure she was really seeing what she thought she saw.

“You know, now might be a good time for you to tell me what it was like to live in a castle,” she said.

Andras shook his head, sadly, as if Irene had disappointed him. “You cling too much to the past. Forget the trappings of life. Free your mind from these longings, and so, free your soul. Only then will we be able to escape these shackles and enter Heaven to rest at the side of God.”

Why did he always have to argue about everything? “For God’s sake,” she said, exasperated, “just answer the question!”

“Wherefore?”

Irene pointed to the hulking structure in the distance. “Because,” she said as Andras whirled around to see what she was pointing at, “correct me if I’m wrong, but that looks like a castle.”

“Wow!” Irene said, her eyes roving over the dark, crenellated structure hulking in the far distance. It gleamed dully, the color of burnt blood in a fading afternoon sun. “What the hell do you think that is?”

Andras grunted. “As you said—Hell.”

Irene frowned at him, but her lips quirked in amusement. “Why do you have to be so negative? It could just as easily be Heaven. God is supposed to live in a palace, right—the whole ‘my father’s house has many rooms’ thing? A castle is just a type of palace.”

Andras gave her a dry look. “Does that look like Heaven?”

Irene was on the verge of agreeing that the castle did not in any way look how she imagined Heaven when it shimmered, as if the fading sunlight had been redirected by mirrors. Light rippled across the castle’s surface and the dull, dark, burnt-blood color transformed into gleaming, bright, silver-white. Crisp white pennants flapped from the corners as if whipped by wind. Irene thought she could hear them snapping crisply.

Irene looked at Andras, and he looked at her. His expression made it clear that he had seen the same transformation she had. It was as if the building was trying to trick them into coming closer.

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Learn more about Terri Bruce on her website and Goodreads.

Purchase Whereafter at Amazon and other retailers.

EBENZER'S LOCKER #spooky #kidlit #ebook #giveaway: #Halloween #creepyfreebies

Milo James Fowler was kind and scary enough to invite me to join #creepyfreebies, a circle of authors giving away copies of their spooky books and stories.

I'm giving away three e-copies of EBENEZER'S LOCKER, my middle-grade paranormal mystery novel (more funny-spooky than scary, dear parents!). The entry form is at the bottom of this post, and the winners will be chosen Halloween night!

EBENEZER'S LOCKER synopsis:

A hundred years ago, Corbin Elementary School's building housed Dr. Ebenezer Corbin's School for Psychical Research. It seems that a couple of old spirits are still wandering the halls. It's up to Rhonda Zymler to find out what they want.
Ebenezer's Locker follows the adventures of Rhonda, a sassy sixth-grader who's having trouble finding her place and identity. Getting to know these spirits becomes Rhonda's quest. The more she digs, the more perilous her task becomes, and to complete it she must take two trips back in time. This story blends the realities of an economically challenged modern American town with supernatural elements. What Rhonda finds not only gives her life a sense of purpose but changes the fortunes of her entire town.

EBENEZER'S LOCKER excerpt, in which Rhonda Zymler tries to gather clues by traveling through time. The technique called Semi-Centennial Astral Transport (SCAT) sends her into the past in multiples of fifty years.

One last thought passed through my mind before I was SCAT-ted a hundred years into the past.  I tried to say, “Do we know how I’m going to get back?” But I couldn’t force my mouth to move.

The world went fuzzy. My heart crashed and banged like a rocker’s drum kit. I felt lifted and pressed down at the same time. There were colors, every possible color, swirling everywhere, and then forming sharp-edged shapes, and then sprayed like fireworks. I heard sirens, screaming, a thousand ambulances, and a million dog whistles.

Then silence. What I noticed first were the smells. Men’s cologne. Old wood. Mothballs. Then the sounds. Creaks and scrapes and breathing and talking and wind and plumbing and birds and footsteps and someone slurping a soda. I had superhero hearing.

At last my vision started to clear, but nothing looked right. I saw the little room through a giant magnifying glass. There was too much detail. I could count the stitches on the blanket over the cot and see three layers of varnish painted on the desk. Yet, in the mirror opposite me, I couldn’t see myself. Looking down at where my hand should be, I saw only the floor. I tried to pinch my cheek. I couldn’t feel anything.

Footsteps and floor creaks grew louder, and I heard a deafening CLACK as the lock turned. The door opened inward.

For lots more chances to win ghoulish lit, learn about the other #creepyfreebies participants here.


Of course, you can always buy EBENEZER'S LOCKER (in fact, it's half-price during the month of October!). Find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from MuseItUp Publishing.

Janet Brown deals with a teen's feelings of rejection in VICTORIA AND THE GHOST

Today's guest, Janet Brown, chose to interview the main character of her inspirational YA novel, Victoria and the Ghost, to find out what Victoria's all about. 

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Interviewer: I have a young girl here that’s going through a terrible time. Let’s find out something about her. Okay?

“My name is Victoria Peterson. My life isn’t fair. I never thought that when I was fifteen years old, I would end up away from my mother, my friends, and Dallas.  Dad got this really dumb idea to move my seventeen-year-old sister, Marcy and me away from civilization. He even expects me to tend chickens. Can you believe that? Why, my nail job won’t last a month, at this rate.

Now, Mom, well, I’m her favorite. We both love…love….love shopping. This spring we missed few shops in Dallas before Mom’s beautiful wedding. After she and Sam left on their honeymoon to the Caribbean, well, of course, I had to move in with Dad. I totally understood. It’s only temporary until Mom returns and settles into her new life.”

Interviewer: I see. Tell me, Victoria, what are your beliefs in life?

“Mmmm….what I believe. Well, I believe Mom is the most sophisticated, beautiful woman. This divorce business was all Dad. He ignored her and so pushed her into the arms of a man who appreciated her value. That’s what I think. Oh, and I believe in God. Did I tell you that? And…I believe Dallas is the most wonderful city. That’s about it.”

Interviewer: What is this about a ghost?

Victoria hunched her shoulders. Each of her hands clasped the opposite arm. “I shouldn’t talk about that. I don’t believe in ghosts.”

Interviewer: But I thought –

“I know. Strange things happen in Clara Cemetery, but every time I say something, people think I’m crazy. If I told my dad, he’d have a fit. Christians don’t believe in ghosts.”

Interviewer: But you do?

“I’m not saying.” Victoria stiffened. “Brad believes me, you know? But, I can’t talk about it.”

Interviewer:  Is there anything else about yourself that you don’t want anyone to know?

Victoria glanced around the room but saw no one but she, the interviewer and that woman behind her who followed her everywhere. “Just between you and me, I act all citified and sure of myself. I tell everyone I’ll be going back to Dallas soon, but Mom doesn’t want me, and I don’t want anyone to know that my own mother rejected me. Don’t tell anyone. Okay?”

Interviewer: What are you afraid of?

“Horses. And everyone thinks I should learn to ride a horse. What’s the big deal anyway?”

Interviewer: Is that all?

“Being alone. Having no one that loves me.”

Interviewer: How would you label yourself?

“A good city slicker. (That’s what Brad & Shelley call me.) But a lousy country girl. And,

Lonely

Interviewer: And, who’s that woman behind you?

Victoria sighed. “Her name is Janet K. Brown. She thinks she created me, but it was God, you know.” Victoria stood straight and stretched to her full five foot, two inches. “Okay, Mrs. Brown, introduce yourself.”

The Woman in the background: “I visited Clara Cemetery and learned about the ghost of Colonel Specht, a very sad man who built the town, now a historical ghost town in North Texas. Victoria and Colonel Specht needed each other. God told me so. More about the ghost legend I learned can be found at: http://www.janetkbrown.com/2014/09/the-ghost-of-clara.html

 P. S.  Victoria’s nemesis, Shelley Halverson, stars in her own book, A Ghost for Shelley, soon to be released by 4RV Publishing. The mean old country girl moves to Dallas. Serves her right, Victoria says.

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Learn more about Janet Hope on her website; follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

You can buy Victoria and the Ghost from 4RV Publishing or from Amazon 

Tracy S. Morris and the most haunted hotel in America

A spooky story with a fascinating historical background: that's what you'll find in Bride of Tranquility, a new novel by Tracy S. Morris. She stopped by to give us the scoop.

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Right in the wedding and honeymoon Mecca of America, there sits an unlikely attraction – the most haunted

hotel in America.  This hotel was the inspiration behind the haunted hotel in my novel, Bride of Tranquility.

The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs has been a Victorian Resort and health spa, a private school, a cancer hospital and a women’s college. Once visitors step within the hotel’s walls, they may encounter ghosts from any one of these periods of occupation.

In the early 1880's when the hotel was constructed, visitors came to the Ozark Mountains to ‘take the waters,’ as a form of early alternative healing. The hotel earned its first ghost during construction, when an employee fell from the roof and landed in the second floor area. The place where he landed, now room 218, is said to be the most haunted room in the building.

Though the hotel was initially successful, when the healing waters fad passed, tourism dried up.  Eventually the building became a private school, then a women’s college. Sometime during this span, legend says that a young girl threw herself from one of the hotel’s balconies after being rejected by a beau.

These ghosts were only an encore to the tale of gothic intrigue that was to follow.

In 1937, a man named Norman Baker turned the building into a cancer hospital. Baker was a charismatic inventor and radio personality. He drove a lavender sports car, dressed entirely in purple, and even had the walls of his hospital painted with the color because he believed it had healing properties. On his show, he promised to cure cancer without resorting to invasive procedures.

 Records show that no one died due to Baker's treatments. However, local rumors paint him as a quack at best, and a mad scientist at worst. 

When the current hotel opened, guests and staff alike reported sighting ghosts throughout the building, including the aforementioned girl jumping from the balcony, Dr. Baker and his nurses wandering the halls, and even the cancer patients themselves.

No one is quite sure why the hotel has so many ghosts. Perhaps it’s the mineral water that runs beneath the hotel. Or maybe it’s a form of tourism snake oil peddled by the hotel’s owners to attract guests. But whatever you believe, it makes for a good story. 

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Learn more about Tracy S. Morris on her website.

Purchase Bride of Tranquility on Amazon.

Kelly Hashway on Paranormal for Teens

Kelly Hashway is one of the most prolific fiction writers around. I was honored to have her as my first guest on this blog back when her picture book May the Best Dog Win was released. But Kelly also writes YA paranormal novels. Touch of Death came out last month from Spencer Hill Press. Today Kelly discusses why paranormal stories have a special appeal for teen readers.

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For the Love of Paranormal

by Kelly Hashway

            I grew up with an older sister who loved vampires and anything dark. Who knew she’d rub off on me? But she introduced me to The Phantom of the Opera, Nightmare on Elm Street, and of course Halloween. She and her friends would watch scary movies after school and I’d sneak in to watch from the doorway. I’m still terrified of dolls thanks to Chucky, but I couldn’t get enough of all things paranormal. And soon enough, I was watching shows with everything from vampires to werewolves to ghosts. There’s a part of me that thinks I was born to live in a world of paranormal beings. Maybe that’s why I create them in the books I write.

            The great thing about paranormal (and horror) is that it’s like our world, only intensified. Every feeling, every emotion, is heightened. The genre seems to prey on emotions, and I’m an emotional person. I love being scared because it’s such a strong feeling. The feel of your heart racing, the sound of your pulse in your ears, the chills of goose bumps running down your arms and legs—these are things we can all relate to. So when I write, I aim for that. For something that will grab the reader’s emotions and not let go. I want my characters and story lines to be memorable, and memorable in a way that makes my readers experience the emotions in my books.

            Why do I think teens are drawn to the paranormal? Simple. Teens have emotions like none other. When you’re a teen, everything is intensified. Everything feels like life and death. I envy how strongly teenagers feel. I miss that. Writing YA and especially in the paranormal/horror genre lets me feel that again. I can relive how scared I’d get watching horror movies at night. I remember walking to my car after work late at night and doing double takes at every shadow in the parking lot. I need all those fears and emotions in me in order to convey them in my writing. You can’t show what you’ve never felt, at least not in a way that will make readers feel it, too.

            Paranormal has become extremely popular over the years, and I think it’s made a lot of adults turn to young adult fiction. It unites people of all ages because of the emotions it evokes. And I can’t think of anything better than bringing adults and teens together because who among us really let go of his/her inner teen? I know I haven’t. 

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Learn more about Kelly Hashway on her blog.

You can purchase Touch of Death on Amazon or B&N

Paranormal Fascination is Hardly a New Phenomenon

EBENEZER'S LOCKER, a paranormal mystery for tweens.

A hundred years ago, Corbin Elementary School's building housed Dr. Ebenezer Corbin's School for Psychical Research. It seems that a couple of old spirits are still wandering the halls. It's up to Rhonda Zymler to find out what they want.

Ebenezer's Locker follows the adventures of Rhonda, a sassy sixth-grader who's having trouble finding her place and identity. Getting to know these spirits becomes Rhonda's quest. The more she digs, the more perilous her task becomes, and to complete it she must take two trips back in time. This story blends the realities of an economically-challenged modern American town with supernatural elements. What Rhonda finds not only gives her life a sense of purpose, but changes the fortunes of her entire town.

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Movies, TV dramas, reality shows, novels, non-fiction... Every type of media seems obsessed with the paranormal. But, while this might seem like a new phenomenon, it's only the latest of many times this craze has hit. When I was doing research for Ebenezer's Locker, I learned a lot about a previous period of spectral fascination.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, America was loony for specters. The ghost fans, called the Spiritualists, sought connections with the dead in the parlors of mediums. These were men and women (and even children, sometimes) who seemed or claimed to have the ability to talk to the Summerland, the world beyond this life.

In Ebenzer's Locker, Tallulah Radley is an older lady in the neighborhood who happens to be a psychic medium. The kids go to her for help when they realize that they're facing ghosts.

I had a wonderful time doing research about the old days of American Spiritualism. I filled Tallulah's home with the sort of equipment that would have been used at the turn of the century, as if she might have inherited it from a psychic ancestor. Most important for her is a planchette, a wooden device with a pen in it. Through the planchette, a spirit can write a message for the living.

Although American Spiritualism started because people believed in the afterlife and wanted to communicate with it, it blossomed because of its economic potential. People made a ton of money looking into the future or the past for clients. And, not surprisingly, the industry was rife with cheats. My research uncovered many faked, theatrical ways the so-called mediums made their connections with the other world seem more spectacular.

I packed all of these devices into a single, breathless speech by Tallulah, who would never do any of these disreputable things. In this scene, two of the girls are in a seance with Tallulah, trying to communicate with the ghost of Ebenezer:

            Mica walked over to one of the two floor lamps in the room. “I should turn these off, right?”

            “Whatever for?” said the medium. “We won’t be able to see.” She patted the back of the chair Mica was to sit in.

            Mica didn’t budge, though. “Séances are supposed to be in the dark,” she said stubbornly, “or maybe with just one candle.”

            I was glad she’d brought that up, since I’d been thinking the same thing. But Tallulah was not pleased. She didn’t sound like a cookie-baking grandma now. “Young lady, sit down this instant.”

            Mica, looking as stunned as I was, followed the order.

            “Dark-room séances are the last refuge of charlatans,” Tallulah said.

            I didn’t get it. “The last what?”

            She sighed sharply. “I’ll say it in simple modern words for you young people. Only phonies have to turn out the lights at séances, so they can cheat.”

            “What kind of cheating?” asked Mica in a tiny voice.

            Tallulah stood, her voice full of emotion. “Some cheaters have an assistant hide in a cabinet and tap on the wood, pretending to be a spirit communicating.” She drew her hands above her head in a circling motion. “Some have wire puppets draped in sheets that float across the ceiling.”

I thought she was done, but no.  She seemed near tears. “I’ve seen phonies keep objects in hidden drawers under the table.”

“Why?” whispered Mica.

“So they can sneak them out as if a spirit made them appear. Some will hold a client’s sealed letter to their head and heart and pretend to absorb its meaning.” Tallulah mimed pressing an envelope to her forehead, eyes closed, very dramatic. Then she opened her eyes wide and shouted, “But actually, they drip rubbing alcohol on it so they can read through the envelope. And you know what some fakers do to make it seem like a spirit has appeared in a darkened room?”

            We shook our heads, afraid to speak.

            “Well, I’ll tell you. They dip gauzy white cloth in glow-in-the-dark paint. And they hide the cloth…” She gasped, as if amazed at her own story. “Well, they hide it in their underwear, children! I will not be compared to these razzle-dazzle snake-oil salesmen.” She plopped down in her chair, limp and exhausted.

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You can buy Ebenezer's Locker in any e-book format directly from MuseItUp Publishing

or on Kindle from Amazon.

Welcome to the Ebenezer's Locker Online Launch Party!

Hello! I'm so happy you could come to my e-book e-launch e-party.

Ebenezer's Locker, my paranormal mystery novel for tweens, has been released in all ebook formats from MuseItUp Publishing. At this moment, you can buy  from the publisher's website and at Amazon. It should be showing up on Barnes and Noble's website soon.

Want to be sure you don't miss any updates? Please "like" my Facebook Author page.

Synopsis:

A hundred years ago, Corbin Elementary School's building housed Dr. Ebenezer Corbin's School for Psychical Research. It seems that a couple of old spirits are still wandering the halls. It's up to Rhonda Zymler to find out what they want.

Ebenezer's Locker follows the adventures of Rhonda, a sassy sixth-grader who's having trouble finding her place and identity. Getting to know these spirits becomes Rhonda's quest. The more she digs, the more perilous her task becomes, and to complete it she must take two trips back in time. This story blends the realities of an economically-challenged modern American town with supernatural elements. What Rhonda finds not only gives her life a sense of purpose, but changes the fortunes of her entire town. 

Here's a little secret for ya: A sequel to Ebenezer's Locker is in the works. OoooOOOOoooo, more spirits are haunting the town of Marklebury, and another adventure awaits Rhonda Zymler and her friends!

And look, we have a special guest! My stuffed ghost, Mulder, stopped to show us his favorite book, Ghosts Who Went to School, by Judith Spearing. Oddly enough, this was also one of my favorite books when I was in about fourth grade. In fact, it was an inspiration for the writing of Ebenezer's Locker. (I'm hoping that Ebenezer's Locker will become Mulder's new favorite book.)

Here's a nice, creepy picture of a "spirit hand." In Ebenezer's Locker, Rhonda's neighbor, the psychic medium Tallulah Radley, describes how these were made. There were many interesting items and techniques used by psychics a hundred years ago, when Spiritualism was a favorite hobby in both Europe and America. Everybody and their sisters were having seances. Some psychics really believed they could see the future or speak to the dead. But others were cheats who invented tricks to dupe their clients. Tallulah can't stand those charlatans.

You've stayed at the party this long, so you deserve a reward. If you leave a message below that includes how to reach you by email, you'll be entered in a GIVEAWAY for a copy of Ebenezer's Locker. I'll announce the winner right here on my blog next Friday, June 8. The winner can choose the format he or she would like for the ebook.

But remember, if you can't wait to get your virtual paws on this virtual book, you can get it right away at MuseItUp Publishing or at Amazon.

Want to find out what else I've got coming up, see my calendar of appearances, or enjoy the nicest emerald-green background you're ever likely to see? Please check out my website.

Thanks so much for coming. May you be surrounded only by good spirits!

Guest blogger: MG author C.K. Volnek

We have a special guest today! C.K. Volnek's new novel, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, combines the historical and the paranormal. I asked her to talk about her research process.

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Thanks for allowing me to visit your blog today, Anne.

Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island is a tween ghost story, with a twist of Native American folklore, and based on a true American mystery…the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. In 1587, 117 colonists disappeared from Roanoke Island without a trace.

I don’t remember studying the Lost Colony. For years I thought the first colonists landed at Plymouth. After reading an article on the mystery of Roanoke Island, my muse perked up. What could have happened to them? I had to know the when, where, why and how it all happened. I had to research.

Some may groan. Research means reading, studying, examining facts. I used to hate history. I was awful at it. I could never remember or keep all those dates straight. And besides, what did history have to do with today?

Now I have found research interesting, fascinating, captivating. I can get lost in the past’s events. And I’ve found history has everything to do with today. Every situation has a cause and effect theory. What we do today, can and will determine what happens tomorrow.

As in my research for Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, I found I had to go back a few years before the Lost Colony to understand the full story. Cause and effect…If Queen Elizabeth had not granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter for the colonization of the land she called ‘Virginia,’ none of this would have happened. If

But it did. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh dispatched two men to explore the Eastern coast of North America. It proved fruitful and a second expedition with a hundred men was sent out, headed by Sir Richard Grenville. The men built a fort and a number of small houses but soon abandoned their adventure. Grenville, however, left a very hideous crime behind. In his exploration, a group of Native Americans had been invited on board one of the ships. A silver cup came up missing and the Indians were blamed. Grenville sent his men to destroy the entire village of Aquascogoc.

Despite the mystery of the Lost Colony, without this crucial piece of history, my story of Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island would never have been born. I was so appalled at the intolerance and prejudice my muse grabbed hold of the details and formulated her story. It drove my muse to research even more, even searching to find original manifest of the colonists, digging up pictures and facts of early colonial and Native American life, and details as to why Governor White, after going back to England for supplies, returned to Roanoke Island three years later to find a deserted fort and no clues to the whereabouts of the colonists.

My muse then turned to research the flora and fauna of Roanoke Island. A writer must know details of the area to make the story enchanting and believable. I studied what plants grew in the area, what the terrain looked like, and the layout of the island.

Once I pulled all my research together, added my characters, and threw in a ghost and Native American folklore, the plot of Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island became visible. A story, emphasizing how the pain of intolerance and prejudice affects people, flowed from my fingers.

I hope you’ll check out Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island and find out how research built my tale. Even though my story includes a ghost, the history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island is first-most present and factual.

Thanks again for letting me visit your blog. It’s been fun. I’d love to hear from your readers.

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You can visit C.K. Volnek at her website
and purchase Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island here.