Book Title: THE COAT CHECK GIRL
Character Name: Josie Gray
What’s your full name?
Josephine Olivia Gray. Yep, it spells JOG, which is the epitome of irony.
What is your hometown?
I was born in Vermont and grew up in the booming metropolis of Keene, New Hampshire.
How would you describe your childhood?
Confusing. There were ghosts involved. And lonely—my parents split when I was really young, hence the move. My dad left my mom for the hot neighborhood widow, who is now my step-monster. Nearly twenty-five years later, in 1999, my mom’s still bitter—you can imagine how much fun she was in the 70’s and 80’s. Thank God for my grandmother, Nanette, who is the source of every single warm memory I have from those years.
What is your current state of mind?
Compartmentalized. I’m grieving Nanette, whom we lost quite recently. It seems impossible the world still spins without her. And yet it does, so I’m also trying to stay focused at work—I’m a hostess at Bistrot in the West Village and we’re having a busy season, a lot of changes. I’m learning those stages of grief don’t care that you’re in the middle of something, they’ll come at you without warning, so I have to be prepared. At the same time, I’m feeling gratitude‚ that I have a job and that I have such an excellent support system there. And I’m feeling gratitude wrapped up in my grief, which I would never have expected. I am so incredibly lucky that I had Nanette in my life. However, all of this is complicated by the fact that my place of employment is haunted. The ghosts of my childhood have returned.
What’s your current relationship status?
I am in a deeply committed relationship with my aversion to commitment. Next question.
What is the worst moment of your life thus far?
The realization Nanette’s time on earth was winding down. In many ways that moment was harder than when she took her last breath, because by then I’d done so much pre-emptive grieving there was almost none left. Of course I found some.
What’s the best moment?
I hope it’s yet to come but if I have to pick one from my first 32 years - probably the moment when I was 12 years old and Nanette and I stood on the observation deck of the World Trade Center. That was when I realized the world was so much bigger than I knew. That my little life didn’t need to stay as it was in Keene, New Hampshire, surrounded by people who thought I was weird. That moment, looking out on everything we could see, I felt I could one day be happy. Those towers symbolize my freedom and my indelible connection to my grandmother. They will always be my link to her.
What are a few of your favorite things?
Usually I’d say food, but since Nanette died, I’ve been on the grief diet. Normally though, I love it… spicy food from New Orleans, comfort food from Italy—I’ve never met a Bolognese sauce I didn’t love. Desserts… chocolate… now I’m getting hungry, this is a good sign.
Reading, though I don’t do enough of it. I can’t wander into an independent bookstore and NOT buy something. But by the time I get home from work every night I’m too tired. Or too tipsy. Or both.
Old movies. Nanette and I watched a lot of TCM in her final years. Love anything noir—Double Indemnity, Laura, Mildred Pierce. Nanette had a thing for Jimmy Stewart. I’m more of a Cary Grant gal, ever since I saw North by Northwest. Oh yeah, I also love Hitchcock.
Music. I gravitate toward what my friend Curtis calls my “sad girl music”—Billie Holiday, Nina Simone… but happy music too, like Ella and Louie. I’m a bit of a dinosaur with my tastes.
What is something you’d like to do more of?
Travel. I could hardly do less. So many places I want to visit, top of that list being New Orleans. That was Nanette’s favorite place, and we were supposed to visit together one day.
What is something you’d like to do less of?
I’d like to feel less responsible for the well-being and comfort of everyone else on this planet. I know empathy is a good trait, but mine can be so extreme it’s distracting.
What do you think of the state of the world these days?
I wish I could say I’m a news junkie, but I’m not. I know I should follow things more closely than I do. In April, there was a horrible incident, a mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, which happened on my grandmother’s last birthday. I am optimistic that from that terrible tragedy there will be a silver lining in the form of gun laws that prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands. That’s the only way for something like that to make sense. Other than that, the thing I keep hearing about is this Y2K bug, how the whole world’s going to go haywire when the clock strikes midnight on January 1 because computers won’t be able to handle it. So banks will lose our money and airplanes will fall out of the sky and all that knowledge out there on the information superhighway will be lost forever. I don’t buy into that. This has been a shite year, I’m looking forward to a new millennium.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Not sure where I see myself, but I can tell you where I want to be. If I’m being perfectly honest, and my mom’s not going to read this, I want to still be living in New York City—preferably Manhattan, because that would mean I can afford it—owning a restaurant. That’s the part I don’t want my mom to see, because she thinks this world is frivolous, so I may have led her to believe my current job is a stopgap on the way to a totally different career. It’s not, I love this industry. I love the idea of providing a place for people to gather and celebrate life and all the reasons people dine out—first dates, last dates, anniversaries, birthdays, engagements, reunions with friends. I guess I’d want to own something similar to Bistrot—a friendly neighborhood spot. With a sane chef, though, which we don’t currently have. I don’t know that I want it to be haunted, but I don’t have much say in the matter.
The Ghost Table
Sometimes, it's in confronting the shadows that we find the brightest light.
Embark on a touching journey with Josie Gray as she navigates the turbulent waters of loss, love, and the supernatural. After bidding farewell to her cherished grandmother, Josie finds herself adrift in a sea of grief, compounded by the complexities of an ambiguous romantic entanglement and the return of her unsettling "gift"-the ability to sense and communicate with spirits. A presence haunts the restaurant where she works, dredging up long-buried memories from her childhood.
But amidst the shadows, a luminous figure emerges-the restaurant's new coat check girl. Mia is a beacon of understanding and solidarity, offering solace in shared experiences and a determination to unravel the mystery shrouding the restless spirit. Bolstered by a vibrant ensemble of characters, from restaurant comrades to familiar faces in the neighborhood, Mia keeps Josie afloat during one of the most difficult seasons of her life, helping her to embrace her unique talents and confront the ghostly enigma looming over them.
Set against the backdrop of the bustling restaurant scenes of New York City and New Orleans, The Coat Check Girl is a compelling tale weaving together threads of sorrow, redemption, and the enduring power of connection. Join Josie as she discovers that sometimes, it's in confronting the shadows that we find the brightest light.
Paranormal | Fantasy [Radiance, On Sale: October 22, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781633739437 / ]
Laura Buchwald is a writer and editor based in New York City. Her strong belief in the afterlife has led her to consult with multiple spiritual mediums, to convincing results. She has spent significant time in New Orleans researching ghosts and restaurant culture-two of her favorite things. She is co-host of the podcast People Who Do Things, a series of conversations about the creative process. Laura lives in Manhattan with her husband and dog.
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