Welcome, Julie! Always nice to have you again.
What drew you to writing?
Like a lot of authors, I fell in love with reading early on. As a child, I always had a book in hand and even had one hidden on my lap at dinner. I usually could quick-read a chapter before one of my parents caught me and I had to put the book down. Stories and how an author could transport me anywhere in space and time – or even to fantasy worlds – intrigued me. I was seven years old when I tried writing my first book, and then kept writing from then on.
Tell us about Spirt in Time.
Time is not on her side
Time travel isn't real. It can't be real. But ghost-blogger Jillian Winchester discovers otherwise when an enigmatic spirit conveys her to 1872 to do his bidding.
Jillian finds herself employed as a maid in Sacramento, in an elegant mansion with a famous painting. The artwork reveals another mystery: Why does the man within look exactly like her boyfriend, Mason Chandler?
Morality and sin live side by side, not only in the picture, but also within her. As her transgressions escalate, she races the clock to find the man in the painting, and hunt down a spirit with a disconcerting gift.
But will time be her friend or foe?
What was the most unusual part of the story to write?
Spirit in Time is set in a real mansion/museum in 1872 Sacramento, California. The mansion was built by E.B. Crocker, a former state supreme court justice and lawyer for the Big Four Railroad group. My character, Jillian, is catapulted through time and meets his young daughter, Amy. This young girl is actually the real person who inspired my story because she later claimed to have met a ghost in her house and later grew up to be a fascinating character and wealthy heiress. Amy Crocker, who changed her first name to Aimee, married at least four European princes and threw wild parties, complete with elephants and snakes. I liked the idea of my character meeting a very young Amy.
Find it online:
Amazon ~ iBooks ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Bookbub ~ Goodreads
Any new projects on the horizon? (or previous works to highlight)
I’m currently writing a historical fiction set in 1882 in the American West. It follows three women who each have complicated pasts and secrets to hide. They are on the run when they meet up and must rely on each other to get to safety.
Excerpt:
“Are you a ghost?” A young girl stood where the guard had been only minutes before. She spoke matter- of-factly, her dark eyes alive with curiosity.
The house was still whole, she was alive, and the world hadn’t ended. Jillian scanned the room for damage, then blinked. This must be a dream. The long dining table—bare just moments ago—was now laid for a meal. Glasses sat upright, forks and spoons lined up in perfect order, and a tall flower arrangement appeared unscathed. A crystal chandelier above the table remained perfectly still.
The guard and Asian man were nowhere in sight.
The girl, dressed neatly in a calf-length white pinafore embellished with pink ribbons, didn’t appear rattled by the cataclysmic jolt.
“What happened?” Jillian asked, still crouched on her knees. “Are you okay?”
“You don’t belong here. Mother will be angry.”
Even though the floor had ceased to shake, the roiling continued in her head. Might this very real looking girl be a spirit? Most apparitions wavered in some manner, their appearances paler and less there than the tangible world around them. This child appeared solid in every way, from the tips of her shiny chestnut hair to the toes of her lace-up black shoes.
