Marketing Challenge Continued

Okay, okay, yes, I suq. I was supposed to be doing a whole week’s worth of blah blah marketing things, buuuuut I work full-time, so, that didn’t happen this week.

But I had fun looking at the writing prompts. The second prompt was “What’s your favorite book about ghosts?”

Well, I thought at first that would be a pop fly, an easy question to answer. My favorite book about ghosts? Pfft — all of them! I’ve been reading true ghost story books, and filling my porous little brain with ghost stories, ever since I was a little kid. When our cousins would make a summer visit down from Madison, Wisconsin, as soon as we giggled over my cousin Karl’s latest batch of dirty jokes, we’d get down to the serious business … scaring each other silly with ghost stories. I read (and loved) them all: The Thing at the Foot of the Bed, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, all the lovely dark books the library and Scholastic Magazine had to offer.

But then I grew up, and Scholastic Magazine just wouldn’t cut it anymore. Luckily, I have met and become friends with many wonderful authors of ghost stories. So I can, with complete confidence, recommend books by Troy Taylor, Michael Kleen, Dale Kaczmarek, Jamie Davis, David Youngquist, Ursula Bielski — because I KNOW these people. I know their integrity. And I know that if their name is on the cover of a book, what’s inside those covers is going to be a great story.

And then — and then! — I discover new authors day by day. (That’s the totally awesome part of working at a library. I’m surrounded by books. Plus they PAY me to be there!) I recently discovered a new author (well, new to me), Stephen Lancaster.

I’ve been reading ghost tales for YEARS. And nothing has spooked me more than Stephen Lancaster’s writing. If you’re looking for good spooky stories, his books fill that craving admirably. And if you’re a paranormal investigator yourself, or if you just believe solidly in supernatural phenomena, then Lancaster’s books are a real treat. They’ll either have you cowering in bed with the covers pulled up over your head, or yelling out loud, “DANG, I wish I could go ghost hunting with this guy!” There was a bit in his second book, Dark Spirits, where I actually yelped out loud with surprise and terrified delight. Marvelous stuff!

I’m pleased to say that Lancaster has a new book coming out in April 2018. It’ll be called Norman: The Doll Who Needed to be Locked Away. (Now, how could I possibly resist a title like that? I ask you…) And for fans of Lights Out, be on the lookout for an episode early next year where Stephen and I will be talking ghosts, paranormal investigation, and hopefully, this doll Norman!