Read an E-Book Week is March 2nd through the 8th this year. Do you wonder how this event got started? Or perhaps you know. I had no idea, but I found this wonderful article at the Huffington Post that tells all about Rita Toews, the lady who came up with the idea. I think the article was written in a past year, but it still gives us the Story Behind “Read an E-Book Week.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker/the-story-behind-read-an_b_487343.html
Another interesting article “How do E-Books Change the Reading Experience?” is found in the New York Times. Mohsin Hamid and Anna Holmes discuss how technology affects the way we read.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/books/review/how-do-e-books-change-the-reading-experience.html?_r=0
What’s your opinion? Do you enjoy reading E-Books, or do you prefer print books?
Print books, paperback or hardback, are still my favorites. There’s just something about curling up on the sofa or bed with a book in my hands and escaping into another time and place with delightful characters.
I also enjoy reading an E-Book on my iPad. The thing I like best about the E-Book is the fact they’re easier on my eyes than the print is. My vision is growing worse each day. I have cataracts, floaters, and I see flashes of light sometimes. The eReader is clearer because the print is larger and there is the lighted background.
Face Book has a page to join for Read an E-Book Week.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Read-an-E-Book-Week/193882590629749
To get in the spirit of the week, I’m gifting a copy of one of my E-Books on Amazon to all that are interested. Your choice.
Listen to the Ghost: http://www.amazon.com/Listen-Ghost-Beverly-Stowe-McClure-ebook/dp/B008KFNWWK/ref=sr_1_10_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-10&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
Rebel in Blue Jeans: http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-Jeans-Beverly-Stowe-McClure-ebook/dp/B008KFXNL0/ref=sr_1_9_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-9&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
Secrets I Have Kept: http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Have-Beverly-Stowe-McClure-ebook/dp/B003F76VSK/ref=sr_1_12_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-12&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
Just Breeze: http://www.amazon.com/Just-Breeze-Beverly-Stowe-McClure-ebook/dp/B004LGTI5W/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-7&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
Caves. Cannons, and Crinolines: http://www.amazon.com/Caves-Cannons-Crinolines-Beverly-McClure-ebook/dp/B003T0HACO/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-1&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
Life on Hold: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Hold-Beverly-Stowe-McClure-ebook/dp/B00IIAT4WO/ref=sr_1_5_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-5&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat: http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Blockade-Runner-Cat-ebook/dp/B00AZ9JRR8/ref=sr_1_3_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393359114&sr=1-3&keywords=beverly+stowe+mcclure
All you have to do is email me at Beverlysmcclure(at)aol(dot)com
Put free E-Book in the subject line. Tell me which book you want and your email, and the book will be on its way.
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR
Hi, Everyone. The Virtual Book Tour for my Tween Paranormal novel A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT started on Monday. If you have a chance, please stop by some of the awesome blogs that are hosting me and join in the fun. I enjoy reading your comments and will answer as best I can. The schedule is below. Thanks. See you there.
A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat VBT Schedule
October 7th
First chapter review at The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection
October 8th
Author interview at Blogcritics
October 9th
Author interview at As the Pages Turn
October 10th
Author interview at Between the Covers
October 11th
Author interview at The Dark Phantom Review
October 14th
Guest post at Authors and Appetizers
October 15th
Author interview at Broowaha
October 16th
Guest post at The Crypto-Capers Review
October 17th
Author interview at Examiner
October 18th
Guest post at Literarily Speaking
October 21st
Guest post at Tribute Books Reviews and Giveaways
October 22nd
Book spotlight at The Writer’s Life
October 23rd
Guest post at Penny’s Tales
October 24th
Book spotlight at Cheryl’s Book Nook
October 25th
Book spotlight at Review from Here
October 28th
Book review at This Kid Reviews Books
October 29th
Book review at Cheryl’s Book Nook
October 31st
Book review at The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection
Book tour highlights at The Book Rack
Thanks for your visit.
Happy Reading
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
WHY DO I WRITE?
Sometimes I ask myself that question. Many people, before they become writers, think they’ll write a book, become a New York Times best seller, and make a fortune. Most of them never write a book, and the ones that do wake up to reality before very long.
So, obviously, I don’t write for the money. If I did I’d have quit years ago. Maybe someday, my stories will earn enough to buy a new car or fancy clothes or to take a vacation to Hawaii. Until that day arrives, I’ll buy a couple of books with my royalties and read.
Some people dream of writing a novel that Hollywood will snap up and turn into a top box office movie. Interviews, spotlight, celebrities, and trips around the world, every viewer gushing over the characters, the story, and waiting for the sequel.
Ah, yes, to see one of my novels on the big screen, or the little screen for that matter, would be awesome. I could get into that scene for sure. Successful book. Successful movie. A dream come true. No one has mentioned making a movie for my work. (I think they’re passing up a marvelous opportunity.) So I’ll just enjoy watching the success of other writers and imagining what their world is like, seeing their characters come to life. I’m truly happy for each of their successes.
Authors often write to send a message to friends, family, and the world. Perhaps something happy or sad, frightening or fulfilling in his or her life demands to be told, so others might learn from his or her experience. We see many stories written about special children or a traumatic even in one’s life or a story about making choices, based on personal experiences.
I believe my personal experiences influence much of my writing. A magazine article I read about advances in medicine and science prompted the idea for Secrets I Have Kept. A twilight ghost tour of the historic district of Charleston, SC, resulted in Listen to the Ghost. Life on Hold was born from a newspaper article I read about a boy and girl that found the son they had given up for adoption eighteen years earlier. My picture book, Frankie’s Perfect Home, was born when a young armadillo made his/her home in our pasture.
So why do I write? I write to share my world, or my view of the world, with others. I write because I find people and animals, whether contemporary or make believe, fascinating. I write to satisfy a need inside me that I really can’t explain, but it’s there. I write, hoping to give readers, both young and older, an escape from every day life to another place, another time, if only for a while.
Why do you write?
So, obviously, I don’t write for the money. If I did I’d have quit years ago. Maybe someday, my stories will earn enough to buy a new car or fancy clothes or to take a vacation to Hawaii. Until that day arrives, I’ll buy a couple of books with my royalties and read.
Some people dream of writing a novel that Hollywood will snap up and turn into a top box office movie. Interviews, spotlight, celebrities, and trips around the world, every viewer gushing over the characters, the story, and waiting for the sequel.
Ah, yes, to see one of my novels on the big screen, or the little screen for that matter, would be awesome. I could get into that scene for sure. Successful book. Successful movie. A dream come true. No one has mentioned making a movie for my work. (I think they’re passing up a marvelous opportunity.) So I’ll just enjoy watching the success of other writers and imagining what their world is like, seeing their characters come to life. I’m truly happy for each of their successes.
Authors often write to send a message to friends, family, and the world. Perhaps something happy or sad, frightening or fulfilling in his or her life demands to be told, so others might learn from his or her experience. We see many stories written about special children or a traumatic even in one’s life or a story about making choices, based on personal experiences.
I believe my personal experiences influence much of my writing. A magazine article I read about advances in medicine and science prompted the idea for Secrets I Have Kept. A twilight ghost tour of the historic district of Charleston, SC, resulted in Listen to the Ghost. Life on Hold was born from a newspaper article I read about a boy and girl that found the son they had given up for adoption eighteen years earlier. My picture book, Frankie’s Perfect Home, was born when a young armadillo made his/her home in our pasture.
So why do I write? I write to share my world, or my view of the world, with others. I write because I find people and animals, whether contemporary or make believe, fascinating. I write to satisfy a need inside me that I really can’t explain, but it’s there. I write, hoping to give readers, both young and older, an escape from every day life to another place, another time, if only for a while.
Why do you write?
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Ghosts + History = Magic
Some years ago, I was in a college class and the subject of THE BIG earthquake in Missouri came up. Most of the class had never heard about it and the instructor herself was not sure of the year, but I knew it. 1812. (Actually, it was December, 1811 through January, 1812 since it was a series of upheavals, but I was close enough.) And why did I know that date? Because of a ghost story I had read during childhood.
Recently, while doing my "research" and immersing myself in the paranormal reality shows on SyFy, Biography, A & E, TLC, and the History Channel, I started taking notes simply because I was learning not only history, but lots of little factoids that tend to stimulate the writer in me. For instance:
- Casket plates were metal plates that were attached the tops of caskets as identifiers during the winter when the ground was too frozen to dig graves. Since the caskets were stored in a community location, the plates were helpful in keeping the remains of loved ones organized. (Some people collect these things- would you???)
- In the 19th century, there was such a thing as a "baby farm", where illegitimate and otherwise unwanted babies and youngsters were placed. As is so often the tragic case with this sort of thing, the babies were sometimes killed and the poison of choice was arsenic, because its symptoms mimic cholera.
- I now know of at least two man-made lakes, Norfork Lake in Arkansas, and Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Creating Norfork Lake entailed flooding 400 farms, numerous small towns, and also required moving 26 cemeteries. I have been to Table Rock Lake: when the water is still, you can see some of the buildings down at the bottom. Very eerie.
- Phenobarbitol was used to treat epilepsy in the 1930's and '40's.
- James Thurber lived in a haunted house at one time and wrote about it in his book of short stories, My Life and Hard Times.
I could go on much longer, but I'm sure you all get the idea. It's amazing how much history you can pick up reading and watching ghost stories! When I was a kid, I loved tales of haunted locations, and learned smatterings of history along the way. As an adult, I've also learned to love history. When the two come together - for me, it's positively magic.
Recently, while doing my "research" and immersing myself in the paranormal reality shows on SyFy, Biography, A & E, TLC, and the History Channel, I started taking notes simply because I was learning not only history, but lots of little factoids that tend to stimulate the writer in me. For instance:
- Casket plates were metal plates that were attached the tops of caskets as identifiers during the winter when the ground was too frozen to dig graves. Since the caskets were stored in a community location, the plates were helpful in keeping the remains of loved ones organized. (Some people collect these things- would you???)
- In the 19th century, there was such a thing as a "baby farm", where illegitimate and otherwise unwanted babies and youngsters were placed. As is so often the tragic case with this sort of thing, the babies were sometimes killed and the poison of choice was arsenic, because its symptoms mimic cholera.
- I now know of at least two man-made lakes, Norfork Lake in Arkansas, and Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Creating Norfork Lake entailed flooding 400 farms, numerous small towns, and also required moving 26 cemeteries. I have been to Table Rock Lake: when the water is still, you can see some of the buildings down at the bottom. Very eerie.
- Phenobarbitol was used to treat epilepsy in the 1930's and '40's.
- James Thurber lived in a haunted house at one time and wrote about it in his book of short stories, My Life and Hard Times.
I could go on much longer, but I'm sure you all get the idea. It's amazing how much history you can pick up reading and watching ghost stories! When I was a kid, I loved tales of haunted locations, and learned smatterings of history along the way. As an adult, I've also learned to love history. When the two come together - for me, it's positively magic.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
A NICE START TO THE NEW YEAR
Well, here it is, a new year. I don't make resolutions because I never keep them. But I welcome 2013 with a new book, so that's good news. Yes, my mg/tween paranormal eBook, A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT, is scheduled for a January 4th release as an eBook.
Blurb:
Thirteen-year-old Erik Burks’ life is falling apart. When he discovers a lace bra in the glove compartment of his dad’s car, his mom leaves his father and drags Erik from being king of the hill in Texas to the bottom of the pits in South Carolina. No Dad, no baseball, no friends, just Starry Knight (a girl who reads minds) and her equally weird brother, Stormy, the twins that live down the block.
Just when Erik thinks life can’t get any worse, while hanging out at the beach one evening, he and the twins notice lights radiating from the lighthouse. The only problem is the lighthouse was deactivated years ago. Stranger still, a ship materializes in the moonlit harbor. Curious, the twins and a reluctant Erik investigate and discover the ghost of a blockade runner, a phantom cat, and a pirate who prowls Charleston Harbor, all searching for rest.
A former nonbeliever in the existence of ghosts, Erik cannot deny the proof before him. And he has a revelation: The ghosts may be the answer to his desire to return home. Erik soon makes a deal with the ghosts. He’ll help them find what they’re looking for so their spirits can rest in peace. In return, the ghosts will scare Erik’s mother so she’ll be on the next flight back to Texas. Star thinks his plan stinks, but Erik wants his life back, even at the cost of his mother’s sanity.
###
You can read an excerpt at the publishers and even pre-order if you enjoy ghost stories, MuseItUp Publishing. It's available for all different kinds of eReaders.
HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!
The talented artist that did this great cover is Nika Dixon.
Blurb:
Thirteen-year-old Erik Burks’ life is falling apart. When he discovers a lace bra in the glove compartment of his dad’s car, his mom leaves his father and drags Erik from being king of the hill in Texas to the bottom of the pits in South Carolina. No Dad, no baseball, no friends, just Starry Knight (a girl who reads minds) and her equally weird brother, Stormy, the twins that live down the block.
Just when Erik thinks life can’t get any worse, while hanging out at the beach one evening, he and the twins notice lights radiating from the lighthouse. The only problem is the lighthouse was deactivated years ago. Stranger still, a ship materializes in the moonlit harbor. Curious, the twins and a reluctant Erik investigate and discover the ghost of a blockade runner, a phantom cat, and a pirate who prowls Charleston Harbor, all searching for rest.
A former nonbeliever in the existence of ghosts, Erik cannot deny the proof before him. And he has a revelation: The ghosts may be the answer to his desire to return home. Erik soon makes a deal with the ghosts. He’ll help them find what they’re looking for so their spirits can rest in peace. In return, the ghosts will scare Erik’s mother so she’ll be on the next flight back to Texas. Star thinks his plan stinks, but Erik wants his life back, even at the cost of his mother’s sanity.
###
You can read an excerpt at the publishers and even pre-order if you enjoy ghost stories, MuseItUp Publishing. It's available for all different kinds of eReaders.
HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT
Today, my post is short. I’m in the middle of edits for my forthcoming MG/Tween novel A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT. I used to hate history. Who cared who discovered what and where and when? So all through school, I cruised, learning what was necessary, forgetting most of it afterwards. Then, as an adult, I started researching my family. And history suddenly came alive. These were not just names who lived in different time periods. They were real live people who breathed, loved, and worked hard, like we do today. When I could place my ancestors in different time periods, that part of history came alive for me. They sailed across the sea to establish new homes and families. They fought for their rights and to make America the grand country it is today. History soon became my passion.
My YA historical novel CAVES, CANNONS, AND CRINOLINES is set during the Civil War, one of my favorite time periods. Another of my forthcoming stories for Tweens, SCATTERED TO THE WINDS, is set in the 1920s and deals with the Orphan Trains.
I discovered I got carried away with ellipses and dashes. What was I thinking? Now, I’m deleting most of them. Using the tracking on my computer is driving me crazy, but I’m learning. Delete. Accept. Reject. Oh, boy. What happened to the old-fashioned way of editing?
So, from Erik, Star, and Storm, the characters in my story, along with the ghosts, James (blockade runner), Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard (pirates), and Dixie the ghost cat goodbye for now. See you soon.
Thanks to Chris and Lea at MuseItUp Publishing for giving my characters a chance to share their story with you.
http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=412&category_id=197&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
###
My YA historical novel CAVES, CANNONS, AND CRINOLINES is set during the Civil War, one of my favorite time periods. Another of my forthcoming stories for Tweens, SCATTERED TO THE WINDS, is set in the 1920s and deals with the Orphan Trains.
My mother and aunt - Orphan Train Riders
The story due out in January 2013, about the pirates and blockade runners, is set during the present, but the ghosts lived in the past. Yes, the pirates, the blockade runner, and the cat are all ghosts. It was a fun story to write. The editing is not so much fun. But necessary. I discovered I got carried away with ellipses and dashes. What was I thinking? Now, I’m deleting most of them. Using the tracking on my computer is driving me crazy, but I’m learning. Delete. Accept. Reject. Oh, boy. What happened to the old-fashioned way of editing?
So, from Erik, Star, and Storm, the characters in my story, along with the ghosts, James (blockade runner), Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard (pirates), and Dixie the ghost cat goodbye for now. See you soon.
Thanks to Chris and Lea at MuseItUp Publishing for giving my characters a chance to share their story with you.
http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=412&category_id=197&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
###
Monday, March 5, 2012
Saving Jake will haunt you
Fellow YAAYNHO Ophelia Julien and I recently did a book review exchange. I had the privilege of reading and reviewing her novel, Saving Jake. Ophelia is a remarkably talented author with a gift for writing paranormal suspense. I loved this book. Find out more about Ophelia at her website.
Saving Jake
By Ophelia Julien
New Leaf Books
192 pages
Jake suddenly reappears after a three-year absence with a shocking request that could cost Corts his life.
Ever since he was a kid, Corts (Philip Corts) has had an unusual ability to find lost things – keys, driver’s license, wallets – with his mind. His family thinks that’s all there is to it. But Jake, his best friend since seventh grade, knows better. Corts can hold onto an object, or person, and read its energy, see where it came from. Jake thinks it’s a gift. He calls it tracking. But Corts isn’t so sure. There are also terrifying nightmares and visions that make his ability unbearable at times until he learns to block it. As a first semester college freshman with his whole life and the chance at a journalism scholarship ahead of him, Corts thought he could leave all that peculiarity behind and chalk it up to his reckless childhood. Until Jake showed up.
Saving Jake is a spellbinding journey into the mysteries of the human mind. Ophelia Julien expertly weaves an intriguing tale of suspense that will haunt you far beyond the final page. ~ Copyright (c) 2012 by Peggy Tibbetts
Click here for Ophelia Julien’s review of my novel, PFC Liberty Stryker.
Discover the awesome authors at YAAYNHO!
Peggy Tibbetts
Now available at Amazon!
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper
Become a Facebook fan
Saving Jake
By Ophelia Julien
New Leaf Books
192 pages
Jake suddenly reappears after a three-year absence with a shocking request that could cost Corts his life.
Ever since he was a kid, Corts (Philip Corts) has had an unusual ability to find lost things – keys, driver’s license, wallets – with his mind. His family thinks that’s all there is to it. But Jake, his best friend since seventh grade, knows better. Corts can hold onto an object, or person, and read its energy, see where it came from. Jake thinks it’s a gift. He calls it tracking. But Corts isn’t so sure. There are also terrifying nightmares and visions that make his ability unbearable at times until he learns to block it. As a first semester college freshman with his whole life and the chance at a journalism scholarship ahead of him, Corts thought he could leave all that peculiarity behind and chalk it up to his reckless childhood. Until Jake showed up.
Saving Jake is a spellbinding journey into the mysteries of the human mind. Ophelia Julien expertly weaves an intriguing tale of suspense that will haunt you far beyond the final page. ~ Copyright (c) 2012 by Peggy Tibbetts
Click here for Ophelia Julien’s review of my novel, PFC Liberty Stryker.
Discover the awesome authors at YAAYNHO!
Peggy Tibbetts
Now available at Amazon!
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper
Become a Facebook fan
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Ghosts and New Adult Fiction: A Match Made in Ectoplasm
Recently, I was quoted in Barbara Binn's blog about YA and New Adult fiction. (Here's the link if you're curious http://romancingthegenres.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-year-new-adult.html ) The article was fascinating to me, and not just because she used my name! It was because she raised the idea of a "New Adult" sub-genre within the YA genre. I'd never heard of the category before, although I sure know about the stories. New Adult, as defined in her article, features young people who are older than the traditional YA protagonists: NA stories are concerned with kids in college or even just after college, and their transition into adult society. I had no idea I was writing New Adult: I thought I was just writing stories of the paranormal.
But it made me stop and think. Yes, my stories tend to involve ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. And yes, my characters tend to be older than the high-school ages of most YA books. And wow, suddenly I find that I am not alone.
I thought about the sort of television show I am likely to watch on TV: Celebrity Ghost Stories, Paranormal Kids, My Ghostly Encounter, and when I can, Ghost Hunters International. And I wondered who their target audience is. People like me, who can't get enough ghosts into their lives? Or kids? From listing what I like to watch, I then went to listing what's being offered out there for the YA audience. Sure, there are things like Gossip Girl, but there are also The Vampire Diaries, Being Human, Lost Girl (new), Supernatural (my fave!), and Fringe. In almost all of these shows, the characters are in college, or just graduated. Aha! New Adult.
Remember back in the '80's when stories about that age group were things like Less Than Zero, St. Elmo's Fire, and Bright Lights, Big City? Lots of older young adult angst, very little paranormal. Apparently, the target audience in this day and age cut their teeth on Harry Potter, was offered Twilight, and we've all progressed from there. Paranormal is on the collective brain.
And the kid in me says, AWESOME! All of my life I've looked for the paranormal in fiction. A true ghost story aficionado, I went through some hard times as a writer trying to get published when ghost stories went slasher (i.e., Freddie Kruger) and every possible spirit was not only malevolent, but violently murderous. I blessed the day M. Night Shyamalan's Sixth Sense started breaking box office records because his was a true ghost story and a good one. After that, I found people (read: editors) were more open to ghost stories that did not involve severing someone's carotid artery or ripping out another's intestines.
I guess the bottom line in this is a celebration, on my part, of all this fun ghostly material available across the board. I love a good ghost story, and the current popularity of the ghost story as New Adult fiction is like frosting on my supernatural cake.
But it made me stop and think. Yes, my stories tend to involve ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. And yes, my characters tend to be older than the high-school ages of most YA books. And wow, suddenly I find that I am not alone.
I thought about the sort of television show I am likely to watch on TV: Celebrity Ghost Stories, Paranormal Kids, My Ghostly Encounter, and when I can, Ghost Hunters International. And I wondered who their target audience is. People like me, who can't get enough ghosts into their lives? Or kids? From listing what I like to watch, I then went to listing what's being offered out there for the YA audience. Sure, there are things like Gossip Girl, but there are also The Vampire Diaries, Being Human, Lost Girl (new), Supernatural (my fave!), and Fringe. In almost all of these shows, the characters are in college, or just graduated. Aha! New Adult.
Remember back in the '80's when stories about that age group were things like Less Than Zero, St. Elmo's Fire, and Bright Lights, Big City? Lots of older young adult angst, very little paranormal. Apparently, the target audience in this day and age cut their teeth on Harry Potter, was offered Twilight, and we've all progressed from there. Paranormal is on the collective brain.
And the kid in me says, AWESOME! All of my life I've looked for the paranormal in fiction. A true ghost story aficionado, I went through some hard times as a writer trying to get published when ghost stories went slasher (i.e., Freddie Kruger) and every possible spirit was not only malevolent, but violently murderous. I blessed the day M. Night Shyamalan's Sixth Sense started breaking box office records because his was a true ghost story and a good one. After that, I found people (read: editors) were more open to ghost stories that did not involve severing someone's carotid artery or ripping out another's intestines.
I guess the bottom line in this is a celebration, on my part, of all this fun ghostly material available across the board. I love a good ghost story, and the current popularity of the ghost story as New Adult fiction is like frosting on my supernatural cake.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Ghosts Among Us
“Of all ghosts, the ghosts of our old loves are the worst.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Ghosts are some of my favorite characters. There’s just something about them that’s appealing. Friendly ghosts, evil ghosts, ghosts with an attitude, and ghosts that simply want to rest in peace make for great reading. What is their unfinished business on earth? Why can’t they go to the land beyond?
I became interested in ghosts one summer when we visited our son and daughter-in-law in Charleston, SC, where history and spirits ooze out of almost every house and building in the city. We, of course, took in the sights, plantation houses, the old dungeon, the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen, and Fort Sumter. Our son and daughter also took us on a twilight ghost tour of the historic district. As we and the other tourists in the group strolled down the streets lined with Victorian mansions, some dating back to the 1700s, our guide told stories of ghosts that resided in many of the old houses. I was fascinated and wondered what it would be like to discover you had a resident ghost living in your attic or even in your bedroom. Something to think about.
One story in particular intrigued me. (OK. I admit I’m a hopeless romantic.) Anyway, this one house had a sad story to tell. On the wedding day of the daughter of the family that lived there the bride was descending the stairs, her groom waiting below, when an arrow sailed through the open window, striking her. She died in the arms of the man she was to marry. A jealous suitor had stood outside the window and, rather than let her marry another, he had killed her. It was a sad yet beautiful story, and you know what writers do when they run across something that really touches them.
Inspired, I bought a bunch of books about ghosts and Charleston, and when we got home I did a lot of Internet research, as well as taking notes about places we went to while we were there, so my scenes would be authentic to the city. Then my characters came to life, and I started writing my ghost story. In 2003, Listen to the Ghost was published as a YA novel, first as an eBook and then in 2005 in trade paperback, by Twilight Times Books.
Although Phoebe is my ghost, she isn’t the main character. She informed me in a hurry what she wanted, however, and also that she liked to make mischief. And she does, plenty of it to keep the main character, Jade, and the other teens busy.
I had so much fun with Phoebe I’ve recently finished a MG ghost story that I hope to find a publisher for soon. Three ghosts, oops, make that four though one doesn’t appear until near the end, make for a lively story, also set in Charleston then moving along the coast to North Carolina. I’ve added my love of lighthouses in this one. Haunted lighthouses and phantom ships. And even a ghost cat.
A couple of years ago I attended a convention about paranormal activity. They showed pictures of what appeared to be apparitions or ghosts and we listened to recordings of the ghosts contacting people. The attendees were serious about their ghosts, no make believe for them.
So tell us about your favorite ghost stories. Here are a few if mine:
Crossed Out by our own Kim Baccellia
Linda Joy Singleton’s Don’t Die Dragonfly series
I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
Save the Last Dance for Me, by Dyan Sheldon
Saundra Mitchell’s Shadowed Summer
Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
And others I can’t think of at the moment.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What We're Given to Write
I heard an anecdote some years back that someone once approached Stephen King and asked him, with a sneer of contempt, why he wrote horror. Stephen King's answer was, "What makes you think I have a choice?"
And I agree. I don't know that I set out to write stories about the paranormal, particularly ghosts and ESP-type phenomena, but I do know that even when I try to write something that is mainstream, down-to-earth, and, well, normal, it isn't very long before a ghost pops up or a character develops psychic abilities that I had never planned.
I remember being in a workshop with a very nice young man who was trying to write a best seller. The workshop was called "How to Get Your Romance Novel Published." I don't write romance, either, it was the "Published" part of the workshop that brought me to it. But this particular student told the group that he was working on a romance, really slaving away at it, and on page 40, "the terrorists broke in." The instructors smiled at him and told that perhaps romance was not really his natural genre.
Does this always happen? Is Danielle Steele forever slated to write romance, and Jerry Spinelli books for the young? Can Neil Gaimann abandon his fantastic and shimmering worlds for a novel that doesn't involve gods, magic, or disembodied entities? I wonder.
I know that successful authors have found ways to buck their own trends. Judy Blume went on to write adult books, although I never met anyone who read any of them. I know one horror writer who occasionally writes YA books but I've never seen any of those, either.
Maybe we really are slated to express the stories and the magic that we have within us in a particular way. Dan Fogelberg, one of my favorite Illinois songwriters/musicians, always wanted to do heavy metal. The thought of that is nearly too strange to wrap my head around. When he made music things like "Part of the Plan" and "Longer" were what came out. His tunes didn't invite head-banging so much as soul-searching and he accepted that, although he still yearned for a screaming guitar.
I'd love to write an adult murder mystery and have been playing with something along those lines. Of course, when I gave my hero a love interest, she turned out to be psychic.
I guess paranormal is wired somewhere into my writing DNA and that's just how I define my writing world. And maybe that's just part of the magic that I call writing.
And I agree. I don't know that I set out to write stories about the paranormal, particularly ghosts and ESP-type phenomena, but I do know that even when I try to write something that is mainstream, down-to-earth, and, well, normal, it isn't very long before a ghost pops up or a character develops psychic abilities that I had never planned.
I remember being in a workshop with a very nice young man who was trying to write a best seller. The workshop was called "How to Get Your Romance Novel Published." I don't write romance, either, it was the "Published" part of the workshop that brought me to it. But this particular student told the group that he was working on a romance, really slaving away at it, and on page 40, "the terrorists broke in." The instructors smiled at him and told that perhaps romance was not really his natural genre.
Does this always happen? Is Danielle Steele forever slated to write romance, and Jerry Spinelli books for the young? Can Neil Gaimann abandon his fantastic and shimmering worlds for a novel that doesn't involve gods, magic, or disembodied entities? I wonder.
I know that successful authors have found ways to buck their own trends. Judy Blume went on to write adult books, although I never met anyone who read any of them. I know one horror writer who occasionally writes YA books but I've never seen any of those, either.
Maybe we really are slated to express the stories and the magic that we have within us in a particular way. Dan Fogelberg, one of my favorite Illinois songwriters/musicians, always wanted to do heavy metal. The thought of that is nearly too strange to wrap my head around. When he made music things like "Part of the Plan" and "Longer" were what came out. His tunes didn't invite head-banging so much as soul-searching and he accepted that, although he still yearned for a screaming guitar.
I'd love to write an adult murder mystery and have been playing with something along those lines. Of course, when I gave my hero a love interest, she turned out to be psychic.
I guess paranormal is wired somewhere into my writing DNA and that's just how I define my writing world. And maybe that's just part of the magic that I call writing.
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