I’m thrilled to introduce
author, Alison Stuart. Lawyer by day, writer by night, a fantastic volunteer at
all other times, and a woman with a penchant for men in uniform, she
loves losing herself in the world of historical romance. She’s here today
to talk about her latest novel, Gather the Bones which is a fantastic story
about a house, a ghost and two people trying to rebuild their lives.
Hello! A huge thank you
to Lee and the girls of Tote Bags n Blogs for inviting me to blog this Sunday.
I’m not Fiona
Lowe (for those that were expecting her) but she is a very dear friend of mine
and I had all the excitement of being her ‘date’ at the RITAs in Anaheim. The
mad Australian screaming like a teenager at a Bieber concert when Fiona’s name
was announced...yes, that was me (the photo is of Fiona Lowe (left) and myself at the
RITAs). If you haven’t read BOOMERANG BRIDE yet, do yourself a favour. It’s a lovely read.
I was recently
tidying my bookshelves (actually it is still a major work in progress) and as I
started to sort my books into categories, I noticed that the “ghosts” pile was
looking alarmingly high. I had no idea I had accumulated so many “real life”
ghost stories. From York in England to New Orleans, I have tramped the dark
streets of many an old town behind someone in costume carrying a lantern and
while I haven’t, to my knowledge, ever encountered a ghost face to face (as it
were), I have been in places where I have felt extremely uncomfortable. Nothing,
but nothing, will induce me back into the dungeons of Warwick Castle and the
arches in Edinburgh was a dark, evil place.
My interest in
ghosts probably stems from one of my mother’s stories. As a young woman she
toured the Youth Hostels of Wales by bicyle. In one old castle she was woken in
the night by the sensation of someone brushing her cheek. She opened her eyes
in time to see, quite clearly, a woman vanish through the wall next to her bed.
Now my mother is not a superstitious woman (as long as you don’t have peacock
feathers in the house, spill salt on the table or wear an opal), at least
certainly not given to flights of fancy.
I have worked in
two very well documented haunted buildings. Both buildings had originally been fine 19th
century homes but had been occupied by the Australian Army for many, many
years. “Esmerelda” the ghost of Grosvenor, reputedly the ghost of an unhappy
servant girl murdered by the butler, wafted around the corridors of Brigade
Headquarters. Her nightly prowling had reduced the Brigade Regimental Sergeant
Major (a grizzled British Army veteran who had seen active service in Northern
Ireland) to the point where nothing would induce him to spend a night in the
building. She satisfied herself by keeping my little office permanently cold
and switching my computer on and off. My
offsider (a man of no imagination who certainly was not acquainted with her
story) is the only person who actually
saw Esmerelda-- to the fury of the regular staff who had been secretly hanging
out for a sighting.
My own little
town is one of the oldest settled sites in Victoria and in its day was a rough
port area. Convicts were housed in rotting hulks off the point and laboured in
the blue stone quarry. The ghost of the
cruel overseer murdered by the convicts is often sensed by visitors on our own
Lantern Ghost Tours (which I have
yet to go on!). Every pub (and in its
heyday there were hundreds of them) has its own ghost story and, according to
my friend who runs the Lantern Tours, not all of them are Casper the friendly
ghost. I often think it is quite a good
thing that I’ve never actually seen a ghost!
I have also lived
in Singapore and in the Chinese tradition August is Hungry Ghost Month. During this month, it is believed the
king of hell opens the gates of hell to allow ghosts to visit the living world.
It is the only time of year that ghosts are released to freely roam the Earth.
They have to pacified with offerings and during that month, the scent of
burning incense papers hangs over the island like a pall. Not surprisingly,
even for a tiny island, Singapore has enough ghost stories to fill several
books with a few local vampires (the bomoh) thrown in for good measure!
There is
something about the story surrounding the unrequited spirit that cannot find
rest that really appeals to the writer in me. I have published a couple of
short stories but never tried a full length novel and the first seed of Gather the Bones was sown. I already had the setting, a wonderful old medieval moated
manor house called Baddesley Clinton (in Warwickshire) and I invested it with its spectral inhabitants (although I’m
sure it has plenty of its own).
The terrible
impact of the Great War gave me the time period and although my story was
written long before Downton Abbey hit the screens, there are resonances of the
fading glory of the British Empire. I deliberately set it in 1923, just on the
cusp of change when the “bright young things” (of which my grandmother was one)
changed English society forever.
So we have GATHER THE BONES - a “Downtonesque” novel with ghosts,
romance and a mystery to be solved...
I have a giveaway
of one of my earlier books, the award winning BY THE SWORD . To be in with a chance to win, tell me about a ghostly experience or, if you prefer, talk about your favourite fictional
ghosts.
To read one of my
short stories THE PROMISE (and it is only short) click HERE.
Alison Stuart is an award winning
Australian writer of historicals with heart. Whether duelling with
dashing cavaliers or wayward ghosts, her books provide a reader with a meaty
plot and characters who strive against adversity to find their happy-ever-after.
Alison is a lapsed lawyer who has worked in the military and fire service, which may explain a predisposition to soldier heroes. She lives with her own personal hero and two needy cats and likes nothing more than a stiff gin and tonic and a walk along the sea front of her home town. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found at her website, facebook, twitter and Goodreads. Gather The Bones (Lyrical Press) is available now at Amazon, Nook and all other eBook retailers.
Alison is a lapsed lawyer who has worked in the military and fire service, which may explain a predisposition to soldier heroes. She lives with her own personal hero and two needy cats and likes nothing more than a stiff gin and tonic and a walk along the sea front of her home town. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found at her website, facebook, twitter and Goodreads. Gather The Bones (Lyrical Press) is available now at Amazon, Nook and all other eBook retailers.
27 comments:
The only ghostly experience I can remember having is waking up once around midnight and someone was standing in my bedroom doorway. When I flipped the light on, there was nobody there. Talk about being freaked out. I didn't sleep the rest of the night. It never happened again but I was glad to move out of that house.
When we once rented a country house for a week in the summer a strange ghostly experience happened. We locked the screen door at night and during the night I heard some sounds and in the early morning the door was unlocked.
When I was young I used to watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I loved that show and the ghost was wonderful.He was my favorite ghost and still is.
Beautiful cover on Gather The Bones. Don't know if I would care for a really chilly room and the computer going on and off. LOL. I worked in both a hospital and assisted living and of course both does have some death. At the hospital I always felt like I was being watched in the old business office. Was in a bathroom cleaning and heard my name plain as day. Answered cause I thought it was the boss and no one there. Happened more than once. Had many other things like that too. The asisted living you would see shadows at night and hear noises while everyone was sleeping. Even some of the elderly people living there would mention seeing things in their room.
Sue B
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for a great post :) I don't really believe in ghosts but I do like reading about them. I can't think of any time that I had a "paranormal" event.
My sister was taken from us by breast
cancer in the mid-70s. Some years later,
while sitting at my desk,I was surround-
ed by a cloud of scent. After the sur-
prise of the incident, I realized that
the scent was my sister's favorite Nina
Ricci perfume. She would visit every so
often for years. We theorised that she
was stopping by to visit her daughter who
lived with us. This happened for years
until Shan was an adult with a son of her
own. Then Audry moved on to visit Shan
occasionally.
Pat C.
I bet you were, Linda! That's why I'm kind of glad I've never actually met one "face to face". Not sure how I would react! Much more fun to write about them.
Goosebumps! Did you stay the whole week?
We were discussing fictional ghosts at my book launch and nearly everyone nominated the Ghost and Mrs. Muir. For me it will always be the old black and white movie with Rex Harrison and the beautiful Gene Tierney. If you've never seen it, do try and track it down!
Thanks, Erin. Glad you enjoyed the post :-) Writing about them is just as much fun.
Thank you for sharing that story, Pat <3. It sounds like the visits from your sister brought you and you niece great comfort.
I thank my publisher for the lovely cover :-) It was probably not what I had in mind when I wrote the book but I have grown to love it!
I can imagine hospitals and care homes where death is a daily occurrence would have their share of unrequited spirits. Hearing your name would have been quite unnerving! You don't often hear stories of vocalising.
It was unnerving after I figured out I was alone. LOL.
I feel my mother's presence quite often. She just passed away in March. During her illness she would say that she wanted to be free as a bird. The night she died, there was a bird singing in a tree outside her window around 1 AM. It then flew away and I took comfort from that.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
We live in an old house and the doorknobs are all porcelain. I was sitting in the living room one night and the doorknob to the basement door started jiggling. My cat jumped down and ran over to the door and sat there looking up while my heart beat out of my chest. Two hours later, my DH came home from work and we walked around the basement and found no windows broken and the door was locked so there is no explanation other than something ghostly. I know the man who lived here before us died in our dining room so maybe it was him, LOL! I didn't feel any sense of unease, it just scared me to death.
I am such a medieval lover and Baddesley Clinton looks absolutely wonderful! I haven't read anything by you yet but am looking forward to delving into them now. They are on my wishlist. I love when I find "new to me" authors! :)
Thank you for the chance in the giveaway.
That's a wonderful story. When my father was dying the cat who was resident in the home where he lived never left the garden outside his window. They say animals are very empathetic.
Thank you, Leah. Most of my ideas for stories come from old buildings first. I think it began when my grandfather took me to Harvington Hall near where he lived in Worcestshire when I was 11. It stuck with me and became Seven Ways in By the Sword.
I must do a blog on the real life love story of Baddesley Clinton. It's a wonderful tale of Victorian devotion.
Jiggling door handles would freak me out! Again animals can be very empathetic to supernatural activity. In one of the old buildings I worked in, a dog who had been sleeping quite peacefully, jumped up and started growling at a pillar.
Hi Alison
We had the best time on a Ghost Tour of The Rocks in Sydney. When we were in the last building the guide was telling us the story of a child who had died and I felt a cold touch on my hand which felt like someone patting me on the hand. It wasn't scary but quite comforting. Each time we visit Sydney I am drawn to the Rocks - maybe there is a reason!
Kerry
Thanks for calling by, Kerry. I have heard the Rocks tour is particularly atmospheric. I have done the Quarantine Station at Manly which was not pleasant...one of those places that made me feel decidedly uncomfortable.
There is supposed to be the ghost of a large, motherly figure in of our local, deserted pubs - a woman who used to take in the homeless or lonely seafarers. People have reported feeling comforted by her presence.
Alison, you must have had such a wonderful time researching this story. It sounds terrific. No ghostly experiences for me - I don't know whether to be disappointed or pleased.
Hi Allison, congratulations on the launch of GATHER THE BONES--it sounds like a wonderful read.
I haven't seen a ghost or even a hint of one! Thank heavens as I think I would be terrified. However I do like to read ghost stories!
It wasn't really my experience but my mom's, it occurred when I was still a kid. One night, my mom suddenly woke up and she saw my grandmother (she already passed away during that time) sitting in our bed looking at me (I was her favorite grandchild). But she wasn't scared, because she knows, she won't do anything harmful towards me. :D
i never saw ghost and i hope i will never see ghost but mostly i heard sound : people bath, washing plate in middle of the night
Thank you to two wonderful Aussie friends, Kandy and Annie, for dropping by. I can't imagine any ghost messing with two such wonderful people!
Another "comfort" ghost, Lory? We think of ghosts as having unrequited reasons for hanging around but love is just as powerful an emotion.
I think even hearing ghostly activity is unnerving, Eli! (particularly if they are using your bathtub!)
Thank you to everyone who dropped in on my first Totes Bags 'n Blogs post. I had fun.
The winner of a copy of BY THE SWORD is 'traveler'. If the prize is not claimed by Friday, I will draw again.
Post a Comment