Today, as part of her blog tour to promote her latest novel, Spirit Shapes, Marilyn Meredith is visiting with us. I've asked her to tell us where she got the idea for her novel. Welcome, Marilyn!
As with all my
books, the idea came from several different places. I’d been reading about
different ghost hunters on Facebook. We have one that advertises tours in
nearby Porterville and another I see who visits haunted places around Ventura
County. I was privileged to go on one with the ghost hunter from Ventura.
Along with a
small group of friends we toured the old Ventura Court House in the evening and
in one section without any lights on. We were told tales about many of the
ghosts who resided there but didn’t see any. The ghost hunter led us all around
the old part of Ventura pointing out various ghostly hangouts and telling us
about the ghosts when they were alive.
Hubby and I
stayed twice in one of the places that he pointed out, a remodeled bed and
breakfast that once had been a residential hotel and a flophouse. The first
time we stayed, we had a large room that had obviously been an apartment at one
time. The closet probably had once held a Murphy bed. The bathroom was big
enough to be a kitchen—which I bet it was back in the day when everyone shared
the bathroom down the hall. On this trip we learned that one of the rooms in
the B & B was haunted—Room 17.
The next time we
made a reservation we asked for Room 17—and were warned it was haunted. This
room was tiny compared to the first one we’d stayed in—and much to our
disappointment, no ghostly visitation. Our daughter informed us hubby would have
had a better chance if he’d stayed there alone, as the ghost was a prostitute
during her lifetime. Frankly, the room we stayed in previously felt more like
it might have some ghostly residents.
Though there are
many other elements in Spirit Shapes, ghost hunters and
spirits play a bit part in the story.
Blurb for Spirit
Shapes: Ghost hunters stumble upon a murdered teen in a haunted house.
Deputy Tempe Crabtree's investigation pulls her into a whirlwind of restless
spirits, good and evil, intertwined with the past and the present, and demons
and angels at war.
To buy directly from the publisher in all formats:
Also available directly from Amazon.
Marilyn at the Library
Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published
novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She
borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear
Creek and the surrounding area, including the nearby Tule River Indian
Reservation. She does like to remind everyone that she is writing fiction.
Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery
Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America.
Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
Contest:
The person who
comments on the most blogs on this blog tour will have the opportunity to have
a character named after him or her in the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.
Tomorrow I’ll be
visiting at: http://crimewriters.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much, Patricia, for inviting me to visit today. This is fun for me because I'm always surprised about what I wrote because it's been awhile since I did it. I think it's time I stayed in another haunted hotel.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, Marilyn, for visiting with us today. I love your books - both series - and I'm looking so forward to reading "Spirit Shapes."
DeleteTaking a ghost tour or a ghost-hunting tour is a great way to learn about a place or location, not just about spirits who still linger, but about the history surrounding the area. I recently took a ghost tour in Galveston and was amazed by what I had learned. I also stayed in the haunted Galvez Hotel, but the spirits left me alone, too. I enjoyed reading about your adventure, Marilyn. What fun!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kathleen, one place that has an abundance of ghost is the old Queen Mary in Long Beach. We've stayed there a couple of times, and you can really tell it's haunted.
DeleteGreat premise, Marilyn. When we bought our then almost 100 year old house we would often smell perfume in one of the bedrooms and baking in the kitchen. We learned the original owners were sisters who loved this house and we guess never left! Enjoyed reading this post.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, the house I live in is haunted too--though I have no idea by whom. Doors open and shut, I can hear people on the stairs. Only the cats seem to see them and freak out.
DeleteThis is the time of year for it, we have all sorts of ghost tours around Providence and Newport.
ReplyDeleteAh, Kate, I wondered where you were. We have a tour going on down Main Street in Porterville, but I think I'll pass.
DeleteUp all night writing and this didn't post at midnight... Have to sleep sometime ;)
DeletePeople have always had a fascination with ghosts. We have friends who just moved into a house that the neighbors think is haunted. Whether a person believes in them or not, it's still fun to think about them. Great post, Marilyn! Wish I'd been on one of those tours with you.
ReplyDeleteMarja McGraw
Ghosts make a great addition to any story, Marja. Who knows, maybe one day we can do a ghost tour together.
DeleteI suspect the ghost didn't show because she didn't want to be trapped in a book. Her loss. You would have done a great job of portraying her.
ReplyDeleteI would love to tell that ghost's story--and maybe I will one day. Thanks for stopping by, J.R.
DeleteMarilyn, I particularly LOVED Spirit Shapes because I am a huge ghost hunting fan-- in fact, if I could get around like I could before the accident, I think I would have looked into doing that. I am a fan of all things scary--I just watched The Conjuring last night. Pretty scary, although more about demonic possession than ghosts, but still a really good haunted house movie.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Conjuring--I thought it was one of the better horror movies that's come along these last few years. I love scary stuff, too, Holli. There's some kind of ghost tour in Las Vegas that might be fun to do one day-- or I should say one night.
DeleteI became interested in ghosts when we moved into our 1874 cottage which we believe is inhabited by Fred, a ghost and my literary muse. He's friendly with an insane sense of humor. He likes to play tricks on us. Just when I think he may have left the house, he engages in another trick to let us know he's still around. I think I'm lucky to have him. I've never had any contact with a serious ghost.
ReplyDeleteHow, fun, Lesley, to have a ghost as a literary must.
DeleteOf course I meant muse--but perhaps he reminds you that you must write. ha ha!
Delete