AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNALEISE THE GHOST

Today we sit down for a chat with Annaleise, who happens to be a ghost in author Jessica Dale’s (aka mystery author Kassandra Lamb) The Unintended Consequences Romantic Suspense trilogy. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

Well for one thing, I was still alive! And it was a good life. I was happily married, and I had a tight group of good friends. My best friend, going way back to our college days, was and is James Fitzgerald.

 

We all lived in Washington, DC, but James also owns a house in the Virginia backwoods, which he inherited from his parents. It is, or rather was, the getaway haven for our group of friends.

 

Until one fateful autumn evening when my husband Charles and I got to the house before James. We’d left DC early so we could be the ones, for a change, to open up the house and get things set up for a relaxing Friday evening.

 

Only Ms. Dale had other plans. Someone was waiting in the house. I think they had planned to kill James, but we showed up first.

 

And that’s how I ended up being a ghost residing in James’s house.

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

That I can sense danger now and warn those who are in its path. I can spread out this sort of energy radar, if you will, and there’s like an energy shift in the air when evil is nearby. 

 

What do you like least about yourself?

That it’s so hard for me to talk. I can move objects, although that takes some effort, too. So I can type out the answers to your questions for this interview.

 

But mostly I can only communicate through my laughter. Somehow, it’s easy for me to laugh, but to form words out loud, that’s a real strain.

 

James always said my laughter sounded like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. And that’s how I sound now when I’m just trying to say, “Hey, I’m here,” or if I’m amused by whatever’s going on. 

 

But if I’m trying to warn people, I imagine a strong wind like in a storm, and then the wind chimes kind of clatter.

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

Well, I think making me dead and then turning me into a ghost was mighty strange.

 

But there was another thing that happened because of my death. Not really strange but ironic. You see, James and his next-door neighbor, Carrie, they had been dancing around each other for a while. It was obvious to me and all of our friends that they liked each other, but they both had a lot of baggage from the past.

 

But when this horrible thing happen—Charles’s and my murders—it broke down some of those barriers. James needed Carrie emotionally, and I think that she just couldn’t resist that.

 

Then later, when her abusive husband tracked her down (that’s why she was in the Virginia backwoods to begin with, to hide from him), James helped her deal with that situation.

 

Sometimes facing adversity together can become the glue in a relationship, and facing down killers together did that for them. 

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Well, if I’d had a clue what was coming, I would have definitely argued against being killed.

 

But with that as given, I’d say the only other time I really objected to what Jessica was doing was when she sicced a stalker/rapist on poor Mary, who’s a friend of mine and James.

 

I really objected to that idea! Mary’s so sweet and gentle that we all assumed she was fragile. But turns out she’s got more backbone than we gave her credit for. She’s a survivor, like James and Carrie.

 

What is your greatest fear?

That something will happen to James. I’ve loved him for decades; not the same way I loved Charles, of course. But he was the brother I never had.

 

I couldn’t stop what happened to Charles, and it’s haunted me ever since (no pun intended). I’ve been terrified that James might end up having a similar fate. But now that he has Carrie, and they are so strong together, I’m not as afraid for him.

 

What makes you happy?

Seeing James and Carrie together; they’ve been through so much. I mean, I know from my own marriage that love isn’t always easy, but I think they’ll make it for the long haul. I sure hope so.

 

And now Mary has found someone, or at least it looks promising—that is if it turns out that he’s not the guy who assaulted her and is now stalking her. Every time she thinks it’s not him, something else happens that makes her doubt again.

 

You don’t know if it was him?

No, I wasn’t there. It happened in DC, and I can only go about a half mile from James’s house. James is trying to help Mary figured it all out.

 

And I help when I can, when I sense the guy is nearby, but he’s always wearing a ski mask, so no, I can’t tell who it is. I don’t have superpowers, after all.

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

Ha! Maybe I’d give myself superpowers, so I would not just know when danger was near but who was behind it.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Hmm, I guess I’d have to say the local sheriff. I mean, I have a lot of respect for him, too. He pretends he’s this good ol’ boy hick sheriff, but he’s actually quite bright.

 

However, he initially thought James was my killer, which was ridiculous. And then he thought Carrie had committed a horrible crime, when she hadn’t.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

I guess it would be Carrie. She’s a strong woman, and yet loving. I think if I’d lived, she and I would have become close friends.

 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Well, Jessica Dale is the alter ego of a mystery writer named Kassandra Lamb. She was first conceived when Kassandra woke up one morning and the entire story of my murder and James’s subsequent struggle to clear himself of it was laid out in her head.

 

And then a few months later, she woke up again with another entire story laid out in her head, this time a steamy romantic thriller. And that was the point when Kassandra knew she needed a pen name for these romantic suspense stories, because they were so different from the mysteries she usually writes.

 

All of Jessica’s books can be found on a special page on Kassandra’s website. 

 

What's next for you?

Well, Jessica says the trilogy is finished, but we’ll see. She also says she’s not planning on writing any romantic suspense in the near future. She’s said that before, however.

 

There was supposed to be a second book in a duet with Bartered Innocence (currently a stand-alone thriller). I was looking over Jessica’s shoulder while she was writing the book, and I really loved it. So I hope she gets inspired someday soon to write that second story.

 

In the meantime, Kassandra has started a new police procedural mystery series called the C.o.P. on the Scene Mysteries. I love that series too, especially the main character, a female Chief of Police who likes to be hands-on at crime scenes. I guess I’m just a sucker for strong female characters!  

 

Hey, thanks so much for having me on your blog to do this interview. It feels so good to have a “voice” again, other than just wind chimes!

 

Backfire

An Unintended Consequences Romantic Suspense, Book 3

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. ~ Divorcée Mary Hanson’s first date in years culminates with a toe-curling kiss that fills her with hope...until the middle of the night when a masked rapist, smelling of her date’s aftershave, breaks into her apartment. Frantic, she flees to the home of friends in the Virginia woods, not realizing she’s putting them in harm’s way—for her stalker is intent on possessing her, no matter what it takes. And even her best friend’s ghost may not be able to stop him...

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AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON'S NEWEST ADDICTION--CROSSWORD PUZZLES

Author Lois Winston, she who writes about me, stops by today to talk about her latest addiction. Maybe she’ll write me an addiction like this and forget about dumping dead bodies at my feet? A reluctant amateur sleuth can only hope…

I’ve recently become hooked on crossword puzzles. With everything else I have to squeeze into the twenty-four hours of each day, this seems rather puzzling to me—pun intended! After all, I have a book to finish writing, and contrary to Anastasia’s hopes, I have no intention of refraining from dumping dead bodies at her feet. My readers would be extremely upset.

I also have a staggering number of unread books piling up on my bookshelves and in my Kindle. At this rate I’ll need to live well past the century mark before I get to them all. And yet, I keep buying more books! Then there’s life in general, including family responsibilities, and of course, the need to sleep at least several hours a night.

So why am I devoting nearly an hour each day to the crossword puzzles in my two daily newspapers? (Yes, I still read newspapers. It’s where I get many of my ideas for my novels and all those dead bodies Anastasia complains about.)

I think my new addiction must be attributed to my dear friend Janice. She passed away recently after an eight-month battle with Stage 4 cancer. I spent much of that time taking her to doctor appointments and chemo and visiting with her during her many hospitalizations. Janice always carried around crossword puzzles with her. As a retired R.N., she knew the importance of keeping her mind sharp, and she did so by exercising her brain in two ways: She was a voracious reader of mysteries and romances and a diehard crossword puzzle fan.

Having sat with her during hours of chemo, I know how difficult it is to concentrate on a book during these sessions, given the constant chatter from fifteen other chemo patients, their accompanying friends or family members, and the nursing staff, all filling one fairly small room. In addition, a TV was always blaring in the background. So Janice passed the time working her crossword puzzles when she tired of conversation.

I sat down to work my first crossword puzzle after returning from her memorial service. It had been an extremely emotional day, especially since, as her oldest friend, I was one of the speakers. Perhaps she was somehow sending me a subliminal message from Heaven that day. She had always believed in angels, ghosts, and premonitions. I’ve always pooh-poohed the supernatural. Was this her way of telling me she was right and I was wrong? Maybe. Because now I’m working crossword puzzles each day to honor her memory and our lifelong friendship. Hopefully, it will help keep my mind sharp. After all, there are more Anastasia books to write and all those books to read, especially if it’s going to take me decades to do so.

How about you? Have you ever had an experience that caused you to rethink how you felt about something?

GUEST AUTHOR MARGO BOND COLLINS ON RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE

photo by Peter van der Sluijs

Multi-published author Margo Bond Collins teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other monsters. Learn more about Margo and her books at her website and blog.

Running for Your Life

A few years ago, I started running as part of my exercise routine. I don’t really like it, exactly. I’m not especially good at it. I tend to be better at the stretchier kinds of exercise—yoga and such. But I’ve discovered that running is kind of addictive. I like the meditative state I can reach when I finally hit my stride, and the way that running gives me time to let my body do its thing while I spend some quality time up in my head. Many of my plot problems get worked out when I’m running. So it’s perhaps not surprising that Elle, the heroine of my latest release, Legally Undead, would also take up running.  In her case, though, she is literally running for her life:

Graduate courses in history don’t prepare one for running away from a vampire. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to the gym. “Out of shape” was an understatement. He caught up with me easily, just as I reached the corner of the nearest building. I felt his hand brush the back of my neck, felt his fingernails--claws? something sharp--dig into the top of my back.

With a final burst of speed I didn’t know I had in me, I rounded the corner into a pool of light. And ran smack into a man walking out the door.

I think “bowled him over” might be an accurate description. He’d been carrying a stack of books, and they went flying everywhere as he and I went down. I think I skidded across him and rolled to a stop--I know I ended up flat on my back on the concrete apron in front of the door, staring up at the sky, just in time to see Greg do some complicated flip over me.

And like many of us who come to running out of a desire to live a longer, healthier life, she overdoes it a bit at first, and has to come to terms with the fact that becoming a real runner takes time—especially for people who begin life as exercise-phobes:

I turned over, ready to spring out of bed, and instead rolled up into a groaning ball. I hurt all over. Every single muscle. My arms felt like they’d been pulled halfway out of their sockets. My neck was stiff, my calves felt like they were contracting up into my stomach somewhere. The sheets scraped against my battered knees like sandpaper.

From now on, I vowed, I was going to hit the gym every single day. If I was really going to continue to live, I needed to be able to get away from vampires that attacked me, and that meant being able to move. Quickly. And reliably. If I couldn’t trust my body not to go into the fetal position when I tried to move it, I wouldn’t survive long.

Although she doesn’t keep her vow to go to the gym every single day, she does manage to survive—even if she has to keep running longer than she ever anticipated!

So what do other exercise-phobes do to overcome a reluctance to hit the gym (or the track)?

Legally Undead

A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.

But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs--not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.

As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.

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DECORATING WITH JEANIE--GUEST AUTHOR E. F. WATKINS

Award-winning author E. F. Watkins specializes in paranormal mystery and suspense. She’s also a founding member of the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers. Today she’s here to discuss decorating with us. Seem like an odd combination? Read on. Learn more about E. F. at her website and more about Dark Music here. -- AP

Quinn Matthews, the heroine/sleuth of my new paranormal mystery Dark Music, writes about architecture and interior design for a living. She buys the Victorian house of her dreams in a quiet New Jersey suburb, only to discover it is haunted. The ghosts awaken latent psychic abilities Quinn didn't know she possessed, turn her life upside down and even thwart her attempts to sell the place. The only way she can lay them to rest is to solve a 100-year-old crime—the murder of the house's first owner, whose love life was far from "Victorian"!

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All of this should be enough to keep any single 30-something busy, but Quinn graciously has taken time out from both her journalistic career and her sideline as a psychic sleuth to offer a few tips on decorating a 19th-century house on a slim budget:

The basic care and feeding of a Victorian home can strain anyone's finances, before you even think of furnishing it to suit the period. Good antiques from more than 100 years ago don't come cheap! If you weren't lucky enough to find a stash of these in your attic, here are a few ways to “cheat” with style:

* Scour vintage shops for pieces from the 1940s, which often had a neo-Victorian look. You should be able to find plenty of solid wooden furniture with curves, carving, inlay and other ornate touches. The pieces may be a bit more simplified than high Victorian, but that just makes them easier to dust—and much cheaper!

* If you love the lines of a piece but not the finish, you can strip it and refinish it—which calls for some real skill and elbow grease—or you can just prime and paint it. For the "shabby chic" effect, paint it white or a light pastel shade, change the knobs to cut-glass or flowered ceramic, and maybe add an old-fashioned floral decal in a key spot.

* Want the effect of dramatic Victorian wall treatments without spending a lot on wallpaper? Get a deep wallpaper border in a style you like, apply it near the ceiling and paint the rest of the wall to coordinate. Rich shades like rose, rust and gold are true to the period, though you may want to go lighter if your rooms are small.

* Intact throw pillows from 100 years ago are hard to come by, so try 1940s barkcloth in a romantic floral. The full drapery panels can be pricey, but all you need for a pillow or two is a remnant. Center a partial landscape or big burst of flowers on a round or square pillow form, and trim it in satiny braid or fringe for a Victorian look.

    

* If you like to needlepoint or crochet, you can make your own pillow covers in Victorian styles. Sometimes you can find an old needlepointed pillow “front” among the linens in an antique shop—just use a sturdy, solid-colored cotton or velvet for the back. Tack an old, crocheted doily onto a plain or calico pillow to give it that turn-of-the-century look.

* Have any old photos of your ancestors from that period? Display them—or copies if the originals are too frail—in antique or antique-looking frames. They'll add a touch of your own, personal past to your decor.

* Found a battered old trunk in the basement or attic? Clean it up yourself, or let a professional restore it, then display it as a coffee table or a funky storage piece. Finally, be sure to hang onto any contents of the trunk—such as period clothing, keys, a scrapbook or a journal—that provide clues to the history of your house. They might come in handy, just in case it turns out to be haunted! (Trust me on this…)