Michelle Scott's Blog, page 8
November 5, 2020
Dealing with Stress
I’ll admit it. I’m stressed. This isn’t a surprise given the world-wide pandemic, but here in the U.S., the election rages on. It’s hard to ignore the news, especially when friends and family call/text with updates and opinions. Anyway, I’ve been doing what I can to lower my stress by turning away from the Internet and Twitter and turning towards more relaxing pursuits.
O[image error]ne of my favorite things, especially this time of year when there’s a chill in the air, is a nice-smelling candle. I like spicy scents, so I bought a candle called ‘oak and amber’ and another called ‘bonfire’. I recently watched a YouTube video about home decorating, and the Youtuber recommended candles to set a cozy mood.
Okay, now that the cozy mood has been set, I’m ready to knit. I knit a lot. I like the zen-like state that the activity puts me in. It keeps my hands busy so that I can mull over trouble spots in my latest WIP (work-in-progress), or even plot out a new novel.
[image error]My birdfeeders supply me with calm entertainment. I have several and I like watching them almost as much as my cat, Yoshi, does. Currently, we have a thieving squirrel who goes after the suet. I admire his acrobatics. Boy, that squirrel can jump!
When all else fails, I go for a walk. Lola is a great walking companion, and the weather has been perfect. Now that I’m in the country, I have plenty of wooded trails to choose from. When I’m in nature, I feel like everything is going to be okay. The sun will rise tomorrow. [image error]
October 23, 2020
Meet Lola – the Newest Member of Our Family
[image error]We’ve been wanting a dog for a while, but whenever we made plans to get one, something would get in the way. Finally, two weeks ago, we got serious and my daughter and I went to the local animal control to see who we could find.
That’s when my daughter found Lola. Lola was brought in as a stray, so we don’t know anything about her. Not even her real name! The best guess is that she’s a five-year-old collie/Samoyed mix. What we do know is that she’s the sweetest girl ever and she plays well with cats (Yoshi is quite happy about this.)
When you know nothing about a pet, it’s interesting to become acquainted with their habits. So far, we’ve learned that Lola loves ice cubes…almost as much as traditional dog treats. She’s also fond of hiding in corners, as if small spaces make her feel safe. She loves neck scratches and belly rubs and her favorite toy is a stuffed moose.
We’re so delighted to have her!
October 2, 2020
Broken Spirits – First Look at this Supernatural Suspense Sequel
Ethan cannot let a cry for help go unanswered. Even that plea comes from beyond the grave.
October is here, and with it comes all of my favorite things: cooler weather, pumpkin spice, and binge-watching scary movies. This year, however, October is even more exciting! I’m happy to announce the first look at the next book in the Restless Spirits series: Broken Spirits.
You can download a FREE copy of the sneak peek of Broken Spirits and read the first two chapters.
Even better, you can pre-order Broken Spirits at the limited-time price of $.99.
September 15, 2020
Cover Reveal – Broken Spirits, book three in the Restless Spirits series
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A fateful night in a cemetery ends with Ethan’s worst nightmare – a trip to the mental hospital. Locked inside that terrible place, Ethan struggles to find someone who will believe his stories about seeing ghosts. Then he meets Dr. Noel Evans.
Noel not only accepts Ethan’s story, he makes him a deal. If Ethan will work alongside Noel, he will get everything he needs to study necromancy. But as Ethan pushes himself to produce greater and greater feats, his friends worry that he’s taking things too far. Soon, Ethan has to choose: should he stick with Noel and everything the doctor can offer him, or should he listen to his friends and give up on his new abilities?
Then the world splits in two as Ethan is dragged off to the realm between the living and the dead. The in-between offers more questions than answers, but one thing becomes clear: Noel is not the man he claims to be. In fact, he represents a danger that could very well destroy dozens of lives.
Ethan has one chance to set things right. Failure is not an option.
I feel like I’ve been waiting to reveal this cover for ages, and I’m so excited to do it now.
Notice the mirror? Ethan is going to find out that mirrors are more than just looking glasses. In fact, mirrors can be used for all kinds of magic. Some of it good, some of it deadly.
Broken Spirits will be available for pre-order on October 1.
[image error]There’s still time to read the Restless Spirits series! Get your copies at Amazon now.
August 12, 2020
Broken Spirits Playlist
[image error]Big news! The latest installment in the Restless Spirits series, Broken Spirits, will soon be released. It’s been a fun, but long, project and I’m very excited to soon be launching a new book.
Which brings me to today’s post.
Like many writers, I listen to music while I work. Music is a great way to set the mood for a scene or a character. I have a few favorites that I play over and over (see my post on music for a horror writer) but I love discovering new music, and I’m always adding to my playlists.
I wanted the Broken Spirits playlist to have plenty of energy. After all, fighting ghosts is a high-energy activity. There are also songs for Ethan, who is suffering growing pains from his foray into necromancy. Some of the songs reflect friendship between Christian and Ethan, while others show the romance between Ethan and David.
So give it a listen, and see what you think!
If you haven’t read the Restless Spirits series yet, give it a try!
July 22, 2020
Review – Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell — Coffee Shop Book Reviews
LONDON:On a fine avenue of grand houses, big cars and electronic gates, lies a neglected urban wasteland It is nearly midnight, and very cold. Yet in this dark place of long grass and tall trees where cats hunt and foxes shriek, a girl is waiting… When Saffyre Maddox was ten something terrible happened and she’s…
via Review – Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell — Coffee Shop Book Reviews
July 19, 2020
Sasquatch Sighting in Michigan
Last week, my husband and I took a mini vacation to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Luckily, we are both avid campers, and didn’t mind staying at a rustic, state park. I’m not a huge fan of pit toilets, but I do want to social distance as much as possible, so this isolated spot fit us perfectly.
One place we visited was the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I can’t believe that I’ve lived in Michigan and had never once been there! Lake Superior was icy cold, but calm and deceptively tame-looking.
If you ever get to the upper peninsula, you’ll find these three things in great plenitude: smoked fish, fudge, and pasties. Pasties, a traditional miner’s meal of ground meat inside a pastry crust, is one of my favorite delicacies. When we went into town to buy some, we were astonished by the number of Bigfoot statues and signs we saw.
Of course, I had to find out what the Bigfoot hoopla was all about! Turns out, Sasquatch was spotted in Munising five years ago by a couple of guys coming home from the bar. They swore to everyone that they’d watched the legendary creature cross the road right in front of them. A crew from Animal Planet even came to the town to shoot an episode of a Bigfoot-related show they were airing. The TV crew’s conclusion: it might have been a Bigfoot.
Is it possible?
The clerk at the pasty shop shrugged when we asked if she believed the rumor. “I can’t say that it didn’t happen,” she said. Although, to be honest, I think she was just humoring a couple of tourists.
Want to read stories that take place in Michigan’s beautiful, secluded Upper Peninsula? Check out these suspenseful titles.
Moving Target and Restless Spirits are available in the Kindle Store.
June 26, 2020
Cursed Michigan – The Shoe Tree
Steve and I were exploring the local countryside when he spotted it. “Holy cow!” he said. “Look at all of the shoes in that tree.”
I was over the moon. “We found it! The cursed shoe tree of Belding!”
Steve thought I’d lost my marbles. “What’s a shoe tree?”
So I told him the story. According to local lore, a youth who worked in the field during the Great Depression went several winters without shoes, a situation which led to frostbite and then to infection. Just before he died, the youth cursed the fact that something as important as shoes didn’t grow on trees. On the anniversary of his death, a pair of shoes appeared on one of the tree’s branches. Since then, more have appeared every year.
The place is supposed to be cursed, but the locals don’t seem to worry about it. Most people say the shoes have been there for as long as they can remember, but the number of shoes waxes and wanes according to the whim of some unknown force.
I’ve said it before – I’m a skeptic when it comes to the supernatural. However, this sad legend intrigues me. I want to know more about the youth who died because he couldn’t afford shoes. I want to know who or what put that first pair of shoes in the tree. And since I won’t ever know for certain, what I am sure of is that this will probably end up being more inspiration for another one of my scary stories.
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[image error]All her life, Claire has searched for the supernatural world she knows exists behind the mundane one, but she’s never been able to find it. Then she meets Barry, a handsome, fiery-tempered man whose passion for the paranormal equals her own. When Barry finds a way into the hidden, mystical world, Claire is desperate to learn his secret. No matter what it might cost her to get it.
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June 18, 2020
Covid 19 Will Forever Change How I Write
[image error]Like a lot of people, the corona pandemic has changed my life. I’ve been very fortunate in that my loved ones who caught the virus were spared the truly horrible effects. However, my own habits have changed quite a bit. For example, I have become a crazy hand-washing, mask-wearing person who steers clear of all crowded places (even thought Michigan has lifted most of its regulations.) In the future, I plan to remain just as vigilant.
As I said in my last post, I’m nearly finished with the third book in the Restless Spirits series. The other two books, Restless Spirits and Deadly Spirits, both took place long before we’d even heard the word Covid. But as I’m editing this third book, I’m cringing each time my characters shake hands or go to a restaurant or kiss. All the carefree things we used to take for granted no longer seem so safe.
I’m not making any post-pandemic stylistic changes to Broken Spirits, but I’m in the pre-planning stages for my next stand-alone horror novel and I can assure you that all these mid and post pandemic concerns will play a part in it. It won’t be a book about the pandemic, but it will have a post-pandemic sensibility.
I won’t be afraid forever, but I will be cautious from here on out. Much more cautious than I ever was before. However, my future books will no doubt reflect the fear I’ve felt over the past year. Like it or not, things in this world have changed.
June 17, 2020
The Hero’s Journey in Broken Spirits by Michelle Scott
[image error]Whether its Frodo making the trek to Mount Doom or Stephen King’s gunslinger pursuing the Man in Black across the ravaged earth, the hero’s journey has always been one of my favorite tropes in fiction.
Of course, not all journeys are physical. Sometimes, a hero must make a metaphysical trek such as moving from childhood to adulthood. But the basics of the journey, even when they’re not tangible, must still be met. That is, the hero of the story must go through trials that result in enlightenment.
I had these ideas in mind when I started writing the latest installment of the Restless Spirits series. Throughout this series, Ethan has been coming to terms with his ability to see ghosts. After spending years ignoring the spirits, he has finally decided to embrace his skills. Not only that, Death has made him a necromancer which means he has even more powers than he did before.
In the third installment of the series, Broken Spirits, Ethan finds himself juggling his power and his responsibility to use that power in the right way. After a lifetime of being ashamed of his psychic abilities, he now has the opportunity to shine. But should he? And how far should he take it?
I really enjoyed playing around with these ideas, and I especially liked finding trials for Ethan to prove himself – and, at times to stumble along the way. Whether its chasing off an entire cemetery’s worth of ghosts or facing down a demi-god, Ethan proves himself to be a strong character. Still, even strong characters have occasional doubts. Broken Spirits is all about growing – about making that journey in order to come to enlightenment.
I’m extremely excited about this book, and over the next few months until its release, I will be talking more and more about it. My hope is that you will enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it.
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If you haven’t been introduced to the Restless Spirits series, here’s your chance! Each book in the series is on sale for only $.99 from now until the end of summer. Get your copy now!
