The Internet has made it difficult to be a writer.
In the olden days (ie, before the Internet), a person might come up with
ideas for stories and then sit in her garret and write, while making a list of
things to look up, *later*, in the library. And then, no matter how grand the
research institution, the available information on any particular topic was
limited due to shelf space and the librarian’s astute eye.
Not anymore. One of the easiest ways to procrastinate, as a writer, is to
tumble into the abyss of the Internet. And I’m not talking about those known
time-wasters like social media sites or cute films about cats. In this instance,
I’m talking about legitimate research.
Case in point: in GIVE UP
THE GHOST (#6 in the Haunted Home
Renovation series), San Francisco contractor extraordinaire, Mel
Turner, stumbles onto secret passages in the Pacific Heights mansion she’s
renovating. Do you have any idea how much time a person can spend on the subject
“secret passages in old homes”? Try putting the topic into your search engine –
but if you’re anything like me, only do so if you have a few days to spend
reading and checking out the photographs.
There are secret passages used to escape and hide, and others used to spy on
and kill people – don’t miss the “Murder Castle”, if you have a strong stomach.
There are hidden bookcases (seriously, who among us hasn’t always longed for
a secret passage in a bookcase?), trap doors, secret bunkers, smuggling tunnels,
and hidden wine cellars. (here's
one or this one)
*Honestly*. How is an author supposed to decide which kind of secret passage
to use for her novel? The possibilities are endless. Finally, I turned to the
architectural era of the house Mel was working on, built in the late 1800s.
Fancy Victorian homes built at that time often had simple “secret” panels that
led to narrow interior hallways. Usually these stretched between ballrooms or
reception areas and quiet reading rooms or cigar parlors, presumably so the
owners of the home (the men, mostly) could slip away from dull gatherings or
noisy soirees and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
Of course, sometimes the passages were built “to confuse the spirits”, as in
the case of the Winchester Mystery House . But that’s a whole different web
search, and another full day lost to pictures and articles, plus –in my case – a
day trip to San Jose for a visit!
How about you – anyone secretly longing to stumble on secret passages every
time you visit an old home? Have you ever seen – and dared to walk through—an
actual secret passage?
If so, I’d love to hear about it. And if not – check out the Winchester
Mystery House. They’ve got several!
Juliet Blackwell is the New York Times bestselling author of the
Witchcraft Mystery series, featuring a powerful witch with a vintage
clothes store in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. She also writes the Haunted
Home Renovation Mystery series, about a failed anthropologist who
reluctantly takes over her father’s high-end construction company…and finds
ghosts behind the walls. As Hailey Lind, Blackwell wrote the Agatha-nominated
Art Lover’s Mystery series, in which an ex-art forger attempts to go straight as
a faux finisher. She is currently working on a novel about a woman who takes
over her uncle’s locksmith shop in Paris, entitled The Paris Key. A
former anthropologist and social worker, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain,
Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France.
TWITTER | FACEBOOK | BLOG
From the New York Times bestselling author
of Keeper of the Castle, San Francisco
contractor and ghost whisperer Mel Turner must solve a
murder mystery at a haunted mansion in the Pacific
Heights...
San Francisco millionaire Andrew Flynt
wants to sell his Victorian mansion, but ghostly music, the
squeaking of a long-disappeared weathervane, and an angry
ghost keep running off potential buyers. After a famous
psychic is called in, she informs the Flynts that their
multi-million-dollar renovations to “update” the home have
left its resident ghost extremely agitated. So contractor
Mel Turner is engaged to track down and replace some of the
original features of the house.
But when the
beautiful psychic is found stabbed, it appears someone had a
very human motive for murder. Now Mel must use her ghost
whispering gift to uncover the secrets of the haunted house
on the hill, and her sleuthing skills to catch a killer.
Buy GIVE UP THE GHOST
Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
iTunes |
Kobo
No comments posted.