INTERVIEW:
Hey Loretta!! First I want to say welcome to
Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! STORM OF SECRETS sounds
AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
Thank
you so much for inviting me to discuss my newest book. What a fun interview!
For
the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the STORM OF SECRETS and the
characters?
I think Kirkus
Reviews summed it up best: Historic and modern mysteries collide. The
book interweaves two stories, one historic and one taking place in present time.
The present-day mystery is told through the perspective of Cassandra Mitchell,
the main protagonist of the Haunted Bluffs Mystery Series. The historic mystery
is told through the memories of Renée, whose story
will at some point connect to Cassie’s.
When a powerful storm descends upon
Cape Cod's Whale Rock, Cassie’s wedding to
Daniel Benjamin must be postponed. In
the wake of the storm's destruction, three-
year-old Lucas Kleister goes missing
and the body of small-time drug dealer Lee
Chambers is found in an alley dumpster…leaving the Whale Rock PD with a
murder
to solve, a missing child to find, and the aftermath of one of the worst
storms in
recent memory.
While aiding with the clean-up and helping the
displaced, Cassie has been receiving
cryptic messages from the spirits of her
great-grandparents, Percy and Celeste
Mitchell, the original residents of The
Bluffs – the
magnificent Victorian Cassie
inherited from her family. At first, the messages
are benign, but soon, they begin to
point to something more sinister. As Cassie
works to decipher their meaning, the
specter of a mysterious local legend
surfaces. The tale of Barnacle Boy--and what
happened to him during another
destructive storm decades earlier--will weave
through the desperate search to
find Lucas and the identity of a killer.
Cassandra (Cassie) Mitchell is the
principle character and I’m pleased with how she has evolved. She started out
as a bit of a doormat in House of Ashes – her sister once referred to her
as a spineless Raggedy Ann Doll (ouch!) – but she’s grown to be more
confident and comfortable in her own skin. Not without her flaws, Cassie does
push the lines sometimes when she’s in sleuthing mode. It’s her relationship
with, or rather acceptance of, the spirits in the house that makes her most interesting
and fun.
In addition to
Cassie, the cast of characters includes fiancé and former FBI agent, Daniel
Benjamin, who has left the force to take over the Mitchell family whale
watching and boat touring business. What I like most about Daniel is that I’m never sure
what he’s thinking…even though it’s me who’s
doing his thinking! Long-time family friend and police chief,
Brooks Kincaid, is both annoyed by Cassie’s interference in the investigation
and appreciative when her notions end up helping the case. Brooks is tough and tenderhearted
at the same time, which to me is irresistible. Close friend Laura Prince is a reporter for the local newspaper and
Cassie’s partner in sleuthing. But she walks a fine line with her husband Jason
as the newest deputy on the Whale Rock police force. Other carry overs from House
of Ashes include the charming Edgar Faust and Jimmy Collins. Also along for
the adventure are Lu Ketchner and Evelyn Hilliard, lifelong friends of Cassies’
sister Zoe, who fled Whale Rock years ago for mysterious reasons of her own.
We can’t forget Percy and Celeste,
the spirits of The Bluffs, who both assist and confound Cassie with their
signals. The town of Whale Rock is itself a character in the Haunted Bluffs
Mysteries. One reviewer said that she now wanted to live there. That was the
ultimate compliment!
New characters
introduced in Storm of Secrets include the Kleister family, whose
three-year-old son, Lucas, goes missing during the storm, and the inscrutable
Christopher Savage, a first timer on the Cape who has formed an odd friendship
with the missing boy’s six-year-old brother, Nicholas. The historic mystery
involves Renée and her siblings who emigrated to America from
Italy in the 1960s after the tragic death of their parents. It was a rough
landing for the three teenagers, leading to even more tragedy after they
arrived.
What
are you working on now?
I’ve written two new mysteries; one is out on
submission with my agent. The second book was co-written with my husband and is
now in the editing phase. I’m
contemplating bringing back to life the very first manuscript I wrote. My agent
and I both love the book but never found the right home for it. It needs a good
polish and I’m hoping to find the time to do that between other projects.
Were
any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
My characters
are purely fictional. That being said, it’s possible that some characteristics – especially the more quirky
or distinguishing – may have been borrowed from people I know or those whom I’ve observed.
Who
was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
This is a difficult
question to answer because I love spending time with all my characters…even the wicked ones. I try
to challenge myself by creating characters that are so unlike me. I must admit,
it’s fun to slip into the skin of fictional personalities that do and say
things I never could or would myself.
What
is your favorite passages/scenes in STORM OF SECRETS?
It’s not easy to
select a favorite, but the first passage below is taken from the present-day
story and discusses the mysterious legend of Barnacle Boy as well as the real-life
mystery that inspired this aspect of the novel. This is followed by a scene
from the historic portion of the book.
“I have this hunger to learn who Barnacle
Boy was, where he came from, why nobody ever came looking for him,” Laura told
me.
“It’s your reporter’s instincts shifting
into high gear.”
“Haven’t you been curious? I mean all
these years, and nobody knows who he is or where he came from.”
“Sure, I’m curious. I’m also a little
protective of him.” Deep down, I felt I already knew him.
“Protective? I don’t get that.”
“I’m not certain I can explain it.” I
paused to consider. “It’s just that the mystery has made him a Whale Rock
legend.” A Mitchell legend. “Whenever Granny Fi took me to the graveyard
to visit the other family members, we always stopped at Barnacle Boy’s
gravesite too. Only we never called him that. To us, he was always the lost
boy. My Granny would tell me made-up stories about the lost boy and his life.”
I knew that no matter what real-life story
was uncovered, it would never measure up to the ones she told me.
Laura was reflective a moment before
offering her own perspective. “When I was in college, I came across a true
crime story from the 1950s, about a little boy whose body had been found in a
large cardboard box in Philadelphia. Although he was badly bruised, someone had
taken the time to clean the body, trim his nails and cut his hair, and then
carefully wrap him in a blanket and fold his arms across his stomach. But the
investigation went nowhere. No leads, no clues— nothing. To this day the Boy in a Box mystery
remains unsolved.”
“That is such a tragic story.”
“No more tragic than Barnacle Boy’s
story,” Laura pointed out.
She’s right, I thought as we pulled up to
The Bluffs and got out of the car. When you lived your entire life with a
tragedy woven into your own town’s folklore, you must become inured to it.
Granny Fi’s stories created a character that had in a way diminished the lost
boy’s terribly sad fate.
“I wrote something about it for one of my
creative writing classes. The shadow of sadness still clings to me. Then we
came here, and when I first saw Barnacle Boy’s grave in your family’s cemetery?
It made me want to solve at least one of the mysteries.” She held my gaze a
moment before asking, “Is that crazy?”
“Not at all.” Certainly no more crazy than
the overwhelming burning sugar scent that enveloped me as we walked inside my
home.
Here
is a scene from the historic mystery. I love the analogy of the hummingbird as
Renée
reflects on her life.
Renée nodded as she
watched a hummingbird at the feeder on their balcony, though she wasn’t shaking
from the cold. No, it was fear. But of what? Was death coming for her? Would
she be punished for her sins?
Not long afterward the doorbell chimed,
followed by the murmurings of her husband and best friend. She supposed Michael
was preparing Brandan for the condition he would find her in.
“There’s my girl,” Brandan said, leaning
down to kiss her sunken cheek. “I brought you cinnamon brioche from Levains.
Your favorite.” He opened the white pastry box to display the baked goodies. “Take a whiff.”
“Yum,” Renée said, pretending enthusiasm.
The truth was, she had no appetite for sweets—hardly any appetite at all. And there would be no
point in asking what Levains was. Even if he told her, she wouldn’t be able to
remember.
For the next few minutes Brandan brought
her up to date on what was happening at the business.
“Everyone sends their best to you. Some
would like to visit.”
“No visitors.” She’d been adamant. “Only
you.”
“What do you want me to do with this?” he
asked, pulling the age-worn manila envelope from the inside pocket of his
sports jacket.
“What is that?” She narrowed her eyes.
“The envelope you kept in a secret
compartment of your jewelry box. You gave it to me last time I visited.”
“Did I?” She was focused on the
hummingbirds. “Did you know that hummingbirds almost never stop moving? It’s
how they survive.”
“Just like you, huh?” She’d said something
similar to him on the day she’d told him about her life before. When he’d urged
her to tell her family, she’d said, “There’s no going back. If I don’t keep
moving forward, that’s when my world will fall apart.”
She nodded as the ghost of a smile played
on her lips.
What
kind of research did you have to do for the story?
Writers do a
great deal of research. In the Haunted Bluffs Mystery series there are many
sailing details, and not being a sailor myself I had to do a great deal of
research of sailing terms and practices. It was also through my research that I
found the real-life inspiration for the story of Barnacle Boy which figures
prominently in STORM OF SECRETS. I was so moved by this unclaimed boy’s true
story that I knew I needed to find a way to include it in some way in one of my
books. The quote from the above passage is how I truly feel: “The shadow of
sadness still clings to me.”
Who
is your ultimate book villain?
I could name a
few: Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes books, Nurse Ratched in ONE
FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, Hannibal Lecter in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Annie
Wilkes from MISERY
What inspired you
to write paranormal suspense?
When I came up with the concept for the first book in what became
the Haunted Bluffs Mystery series, a paranormal element was not in the mix. I
knew I wanted to weave together a present-day story with a related historic
tale, however bringing Percy and Celeste Mitchell back to their beloved
Battersea Bluffs as spirits didn’t come to me until after I’d completed the
outline. I had the mystery plotted out and was pleased with the characters and
their backstories, but as I began to rough out a draft, it just felt like more
spice was needed to bring a unique richness to the story.
I turned to my go-to resource: writing journals I’ve kept for
years. I flipped through the pages of jotted notes, some so hastily written I
could barely make them out, searching for another little gem to add. I was
about to give up when in the back of one of my oldest writing notebooks I found
a section where I had documented my experiences with a friendly but mischievous
spirit who resided within the bones of our rural Connecticut home. My husband
and I had just moved into our first home together; a rustic farmhouse property
that abutted a 300-year-old cemetery, when the strange happenings began. Over
time we became accustomed to the ghostly presence.
Had I not come across my documentations of the experience with our
otherworldly visitor, I may not have been inspired to include a paranormal
element into the first book. Now, I can’t imagine the books without that
special ghostly aspect.
Lightning
Round Questions
What
are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to
read?
I just finished
AFTERWARDS by Rosamund Lupton. What an incredible premise! I wish I had thought
of it.
I’ve been
waiting to read Simone ST. James’s THE BROKEN GIRLS. It’s been on my nightstand
for a while, but I’ve been so busy with the book launch that I decided to save
it for holiday reading when I have some uninterrupted time.
What
Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?
Probably a
toss-up between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. In my life I’ve always seemed to
straddle different groups, never quite fitting squarely into any one faction.
Twitter
or Facebook?
Facebook
Favorite
Superhero?
Wonder Woman!
Favorite
TV show?
Seinfeld (I will
forever watch the reruns) and Jeopardy
Sweet
or Salty?
Both…together!
Any
Phobias?
I’m not crazy
about heights, especially high bridges.
Song
you can’t get enough of right now?
Because of the
season, I’d have to say Christmas songs. My all-time favorites are the rock
classics: John Lennon’s Happy Christmas, Dan Folgelberg’s Same Auld
Lang Syne and Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?
2019/2020
Movie you’re most looking forward to?
AVATAR 2
Thanks so much Loretta for answering my
questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read STORM OF SECRETS!
I hope you will enjoy it as much as I
enjoyed creating Whale Rock and Cassie’s adventures!
