Disturbing the Dead

Did you feel the earth move last week during the earth quake? Many might have experienced a little rocking and rolling as it  affected at least 22 states. I live in Pittsburgh, so you can imagine my shock. As most days, I was seated at my computer, typing away, totally amerced in what I was writing, blocking out the world.

As an author, character development is key in making a story come to life on paper. I spend so much time inside my characters’ heads, working out their personality traits, their likes and dislikes, solving their problems, they become as real to me as dear friends and I get attached to them. When I’m having trouble working out a scene or character flaw, I literally place it in the hands of my muse and wait. Sometimes the problem will be resolved through a dream. I spend so much time with them, they often star in my dreams. Or in the case of Michael DeVeccio from MASK OF THE BETRAYER My nightmares.

Setting the scene is equally as vital to the story. It sets the mood and tone of the book after all. For the last several months, I’ve lost myself in research for a romantic suspense starring Detective Oliver. In this book, he works quite closely with a mediator in trying to catch a killer. So last week, there I was, deep in the throws of a murder scene at a cemetery. My characters were tramping through a creepy cemetery rumored to be haunted. Just when they were running past the tomb of a voodoo queen, my computer chair rolled on its wheels and my screen trembled. The hardwood floor beneath me shook and vibrated for a minute. Not knowing we were in the midst of an earth quake, for a fleeting minute, I was convinced that I’d roused the ghost of Marie Laveau!

Have a ghost story? Did you feel the earth move during an earth quake? Tell me whilst Oliver mixes your favorite drink with a wink and a smile.