Some Thoughts That Maybe a Few Will Read
Ubiquitous Ghosts
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4y ago
Sometimes I feel like we’re entering end-times, here. The planet is reaching the tipping point to no return, with all the glaciers melting, the oceans rising, the climate changing, and species disappearing from existence on a daily basis. As if that weren’t enough, we now have a new illness in our midst, one that no one has immunity to as of yet, and one that has left entire nations scrambling for the best way to keep their citizens safe while taking care of those who have fallen victim to this pandemic. Scary times, to put it mildly. And current headlines, while informative, do nothing ..read more
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Earning My Next Book
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
I write in series, not in parallel, if I can borrow an analogy from physics. When I write a book, that’s the only book I’m working on. Some writers (looking at you, Isaac Asimov) can write multiple books at a time, working on one in the morning, and another in the afternoon, or setting up some kind of alternating schedule. If I did that, the chaos that would ensue from mixed-up plots and worse, mixed-up characters, would be fierce. So I write my books one at a time. This does not mean, however, that ideas from the next book in the series, or even from a completely different story line, don ..read more
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Dream #1
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
Dream #1 Deep in the Amazon jungle, Dr. Beverly Clegg and Dr. Marianne Brooke were hard at work on a highly-classified project. Dr. Clegg was predominantly a microbiologist, although she also had degrees in anatomy and pathophysiology. Dr. Brooke was an epidemiologist. They hadn’t known each other before being hired for their current jobs, but found that they got along well, a lucky break since they were sequestered in what looked like a military camp in the middle of nowhere. The laboratory that had been built for them, to both of their specifications and requirements, was state of the a ..read more
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Running Out of Writing
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
Some years ago when I worked on the Love is Murder Mystery Readers/Writers Conference, I was lucky enough to meet Lee Child and hear him speak. And while he was charming, funny, and generous with his time, the one thing he said that stuck with me the most was when he mentioned running out of writing. Lee Child, if you don't know him, writes the best-selling Jack Reacher series (although I hear he is stepping down after the most recently released Reacher book. So sad, but that's another conversation!)  Now, I have been reading his work since book one and was thrilled to hear him speak abo ..read more
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The Scary List
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
One of the things I have to do during the course of writing one of my Bridgeton Park Cemetery Books is figure out a bunch of scary things to include in each story. So I run down my running list of things that scare me: A face behind me in the mirror. Someone in my house looking out at me while I'm in the yard, even though I know the house is empty. Any appliance or electrical gadget turning itself on, or off, without assistance. (Speaking of which, my washing machine turned itself on four times in a row the other morning. What's up with that???) Disembodied voices. Something moving that ..read more
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Graceful Endings
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
I write a series. In fact, I write a serial series, since reading the Bridgeton Park Cemetery books in order is a good idea in order to make sense of everything. And since I write a series/serial, I pay a great deal of attention to 1) how long other authors keep their own series going and 2) how they end it, if they choose to end it. Everyone who knows me knows that there are particular series I read. There are the Davenport and Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford, there is the Sigma series by James Rollins, and then there is the Reacher series by Lee Child. There are a few others, too ..read more
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Some Thoughts on Music, Ghosts, and Writing
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
I like ghost stories. DUH. I like to read them. I also write them. But the interesting thing about writing, at least for me, is that the ghosts are not actually the vehicles for my story. According to my American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the second definition of “vehicle” is how “…something, as thought, power, or information, or the like, is conveyed, transmitted, expressed, or achieved.” And while I dress up my stories with ghosts, the real story, in the end, is about the characters and how they react with each other as well as the supernatural. When I wrote my first ..read more
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Can You Tell It's Haunted?
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
A few weeks ago, my good friend and fellow writer (who am I kidding? My good friend, fellow writer, and fairy godmother) posted a blog piece asking “how do you know when a place is haunted?” or an inquiry along that line. It’s a good question, especially if you’re the type who can walk into a new place and get that particular feeling. And so I think I have the same question she probably did (Terri, I’m totally stealing your blog topic idea!): What does it feel like to YOU when you walk into a place that’s somehow not quite, well, at peace? Somewhat disturbed? Or flat-out haunted? Barring ac ..read more
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Additonal Tales from the Front Hall
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
I know it has been a while since I wrote about some of the weird things that go on in my house. Don’t think that things have gone quiet here. They haven’t. I just think it makes for a better piece if I have more than one incident to talk about (unless, as sometimes happens, that one incident turns out to be a biggie. Like having a dead Union soldier follow one home from Gettysburg. But that story’s already been told.) What I have today is a short list of strange things. First of all, I think I’ve mentioned that both my grandson and my daughter have been seeing cats in the house. We haven ..read more
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On Resolutions
Ubiquitous Ghosts
by
4y ago
I used to work at a healthcare practice that had an attached health club facility. Not only was this handy for the patients who needed physical therapy, it was also available to employees for use during free hours and even lunch break. And one of the things that made the biggest impression on me was how insanely crowded the health club would become after the first of every year. There would sometimes be lines of people waiting to use the various Stair Masters or elliptical machines, and the exercise classes would all be filled to capacity. The crowds would last for, oh, four to six weeks afte ..read more
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