{Book Review} THE 2ND BEST HAUNTED HOTEL ON MERCER STREET

 

The Second-Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street

Standalone

Cory Putman Oakes

Middle Grade Paranormal

304 Pages

Blurb:

A family-run haunted hotel’s livelihood is threatened when a bigger haunted hotel opens nearby in this hilarious, spooky story

Twelve-year-old Willow Ivan’s family has run the Hotel Ivan for four hundred years. Through thick and thin, they’ve held on tight to their title as the Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street. That is, until the Hauntery—a corporate chain of haunted hotels—moves in down the street. As the Ivan’s business fades, so do their ghostly staff. And Willow begins to worry that The Ivan’s days are numbered.

Then Willow meets Evie, a Hauntery ghost who’s forced to play the part of a Spooky Little Girl even though she longs to be a Terrifying Phantasm. So when Willow offers her a job at The Ivan, Evie accepts—but she doesn’t tell Willow that she’s still working for The Ivan’s competition, for fear of losing her new job and friend.

Together, the girls come up with a plan to save The Ivan. But with The Ivan ghosts already fading and Evie’s secret threatening to come out, will it be too late?

My Review:

I don't read a lot of middle grade books but I couldn't resist this one after I saw it on bookstagram. I only wish I would have read it during the Halloween season.

Willow's family has run the Ivan Hotel on Mercer Street for 400 years. They've held tight to their title of best haunted hotel until The Hauntery, a corporate chain of haunted hotels moves in down the street - to a Victorian mansion that Willow swears wasn't there before. On top of that, the Ivan has seen better days, Willow's dad is locked in grief after the death of Willow's mother, and some of their resident ghosts are starting to fade and move on. Willow has to think of something before the Ivan is put out of business.

Enter Evie. Evie is a Hauntery ghost stuck forever in the role of "spooky little girl" even though she dreams of being a "terrifying phantasm." When she meets Willow she sees her chance to achieve her dream and help Willow in the process. But The Hauntery has driven other family-run establishments out of business in the past and it won't play fair in the battle of the haunted hotels. 

I loved everything about this book. It was interesting to see world-building where ghosts were the norm and even an essential part of big corporate industry. This book was cute, interesting, and shockingly emotional. Picture me, a 28-year-old woman tearing up over several of the ghosts Moving On. I was a blubbering mess! 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 21 December 2020

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy Monday Bookdragons! I find myself in a bit of a book slump this week. I have plenty of books to read yet I don't really feel like reading. I may start my annual end of the year reread early and set aside everything else. 

What I Read Last Week: 

Mother of Shadows (The Chosen #1) by Meg Anne

I started reading this book last week but I'm just not feeling fantasy right now. I mean the story seemed good, I just couldn't keep my mind on the page. I'm going to set it aside for now and come back later. 

Currently Reading:

In Between Books...

Next Read:

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

I always reread this book around New Year's Eve but I think I'll get an early start on it this year since it's taking me forever to get through books lately.

*** 

What are you currently reading? Anything holiday related? 

50/50 Friday - Favorite/Least Favorite YA Paranormal Book

50/50 Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader.

What is 50/50 Friday?

Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Example: best sequel you've read/worst sequel you've read. So that's what 50/50 Friday is all about. Carrie posts a new topic every Friday so be sure to check out her post to see the topic for the following week!

Topic for the Week

Favorite/Least Favorite YA Paranormal Book

Favorite YA Paranormal Book

This is hard because for a while YA Paranormal Romance was my favorite book genre and there are so many books that I love. But I reread this one every New Year's Eve so I think it's safe to say it's one of my top favorites.

Least Favorite YA Paranormal Book

Least favorite is so much easier than favorite because I really did not like this book and thought it added nothing to the Fallen series.  

Topic For Next Week

Favorite/Least Favorite Book of November

Throwback Thursday Book Edition - 29 November 2013

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to my U.S. Bookdragons! Welcome to Throwback Thursday: Book Edition, a weekly meme hosted by Taylor Fenner's Bookish World.

How It Works:

Each week we'll go through our Goodreads stats and throwback to what book we were reading on that specific date years earlier and what we thought about it then.

Elegy

Hereafter Book 3

by Tara Hudson

Format I Read In: Hardcover

Pages: 386

Published: June 4, 2013 by HarperTeen

Blurb:

A stalker ghost, misguided Seers, and spellbinding wraiths—Amelia Ashley has faced them all. Now her greatest hope is to spend the rest of her afterlife with her living boyfriend, Joshua. But the demonic forces return to give her an ultimatum: turn herself over to the darkness or watch them murder one living person per week until she does.

Amelia fears she might really be doomed, until the forces of light give her another option. She can join them in their quest to gather souls, with a catch: Once she joins them, she can never see Joshua again.

Faced with impossible choices, Amelia decides to take her afterlife into her own hands—and fight back.

Throwback Questions

Started Reading: November 28, 2013

Finished Reading: December 2, 2013

My Rating: 3 Stars

Shelved as on Goodreads: Paranormal, Ghost-Stories

Have You Reread This Book?: No

Would You Reread This Book?: No

Do You Still Own This Book?: No

Have I Read Other Books By This Author Since Reading This Book?: No

Things You Remember Liking About this Book:

From the beginning of the series I loved the ghost-falling-in-love-with-a-living-boy aspect, I liked both Amelia and Joshua as characters.

Favorite Character:

Joshua

Book Review: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Blurb:

Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything. 

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren't your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What's worse, Andie's fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie's dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that's not the only haunting. 

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-in-law, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn't get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them. 

If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she's pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind.... 

My Review:

All Andie (Andromeda) Miller wants is closure from her ex-husband of ten years, North Archer so she can marry her new love Will. But on the day Andie goes to return her un-cashed alimony checks to North he has an unusual proposition for her. 

North has become the guardian of a distant cousin's two children, Carter and Alice. So far the kids have gotten rid of three nannies who all claim the children are incorrigible and that the house is haunted. So North is willing to pay Andie $10,000 a month to go to the house in Southern Ohio, fix things, and bring the children back up to Columbus.

When Andie arrives at the house she finds a crumbling mansion similar to the House of Usher and Hill House combined and the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. 

As she tries to bond with Alice and Carter she finds herself haunted by steamy dreams of her ex-husband and nearly-nightly midnight visits from a mysterious girl who makes her think that maybe there really are ghosts. Especially when she sees another woman dressed in 19th-century garb across the pond in the backyard and a similarly dressed man peering at her from the turret's balcony. 

Things spiral out of control when Andie's ex-brother-in-law Southie shows up with a child-bullying tv reporter and a parapsychologist who doesn't believe in ghosts; followed by her crazy tarot card reading mother, her ex-mother-in-law Lydia, Isolde Hammersmith the supposed best psychic in Ohio, her fiance Will, and finally North Archer himself, the one that everyone has been waiting for. Andie knows she must figure out how to put the ghosts to rest once and for all before somebody else gets killed. And then maybe she will realize that all everyone's been wanting is a second chance; and that MAYBE THIS TIME she and North can work things out.

This book rings true to Miss Crusie's usual witty banter and charm. There is never a dull page to be found and it makes you feel good reading it!

 Yes, I've read this book again. And I still love it. But this time I find myself wishing the author would write a sequel, maybe when Alice and Carter are adults where they return to Archer House and realize that one of the ghosts (won't say which because of spoilers!) is still around. That would be awesome!

The only complaint I have after reading this book so many times is that I've begun to pick up on a few grammatical errors that never got fixed during the publishing process. But maybe I'm just picky.

My Rating:

Forever ★★★★★

5 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Sublime by Christina Lauren

Sublime by Christina Lauren

Blurb:

Love is...

Beautiful,

Dangerous,

Scary.

Sublime.

When Lucy walks out of a frozen forest, wearing only a silk dress and sandals, she isn't sure why she's there, until she sees Colin.

Colin has never been captivated by a girl the way he is by Lucy. With each passing day their lives intertwine, and even as Lucy begins to remember more of her life—and her death—neither of them is willing to give up what they have, no matter how impossible it is. And when Colin finds a way to physically be with Lucy, taking himself to the brink of death where his reality and Lucy’s overlap, the joy of being together for those brief stolen moments drowns out everything in the outside world. But some lines weren’t meant to be crossed…

My Review:

I fell in love with Christina Lauren's novel The House, so picking up Sublime was a no-brainer. 

The book begins with Lucy waking up in the forest with no memory of who or where she is. A strange, insistent pull guides her past a school grounds to the dining hall where she sees him. Without even knowing his name Lucy knows that she's there for him. 

Colin is a daredevil of sorts, he loves extreme sports that get his heart racing and usually land him in the hospital. It's a rush he's never gotten from any of the girls at St. Osanna's Boarding School. Until he meets her. Lucy is captivating and mysterious. But why does he see her physical appearance differently than everyone else (or at least those that bother to notice Lucy at all)?

As the weeks tick by and Lucy and Colin spend more and more time together feelings begin to form, but as Lucy's memories begin to surface and Colin does research of his own they'll be faced with an obstacle that could keep them apart forever. An obstacle that is the difference between life and death. 

Colin finds a way for him to really be able to connect with Lucy, but is it worth risking his life? Or will Colin be forced to let Lucy go? 

I thought the writing style of this book was a little strange but overall I liked the story. At times it gave me the creeps, but it was compelling enough that I didn't want to stop reading. 

I wished the reader could have seen more of Lucy's memories. Really other than her death and a few other minor things about her life we didn't really learn much about her past. I also found it interesting how accepting everyone was about what Lucy was, Lucy and Colin's relationship, and Jay's willingness to help Colin be able to be closer with Lucy. Maybe it was because the school was rumored to be haunted that everyone just accepted it as fact, but it was a little too smooth. 

Jay was another thing that stuck out to me. At times he seemed either afraid of Lucy or the things Colin was doing to be able to spend time with her, yet he went along with it. Was it all a front? 

I admit the ending was what struck me the most. It was sad that Colin made the choice that he did to be with Lucy for seemingly the sole reason that then he'd be able to touch her and have sex with her. 

Overall, I was mesmerized by this story. I think it will stay with me for quite a while just like The House did. Sublime reminds me of a combination of Tara Hudson's Hereafter and the movie Flatliners. If you're looking for a haunting read that you will feel compelled to read in one sitting, Sublime is your book!

My Rating:

4 of 5 Stars!

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #56

2017 is already off to a mostly great year for me reading-wise. I devoured Paper Princess by Erin Watt earlier this week (review to come on Friday) and this "WIR"-Wednesday I'm starting...

The Architect of Song (Haunted Hearts Legacy #1) by A.G. Howard

Blurb:

A lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower - intertwine in this love story that transcends life and death. 

For most of her life, Juliet Emerline has subsisted - isolated by deafness - making hats in the solitude of her home. Now, she's at risk to lose her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name "Hawk" on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form, singing a song only her deaf ears can hear. The ghost remembers nothing of his identity or death, other than the one name that haunts his afterlife: Thornton. 

To avenge her ghostly companion and save her estate, Juliet pushes aside her fear of society and travels to Lord Thornton's secluded holiday resort, posing as a hat maker in one of his boutiques. There, she finds herself questioning who to trust: the architect of flesh and bones who can relate to her through romantic gestures, heartfelt notes, and sensual touches ... or the specter who serenades her with beautiful songs and ardent words, touching her mind and soul like no other man ever can. As sinister truths behind Lord Thornton's interest in her estate and his tie to Hawk come to light, Juliet is lured into a web of secrets. But it's too late for escape, and the tragic love taking seed in her heart will alter her silent world forever. 

Why I Chose This Book / What I Think So Far:

I first heard of this book last summer when Wendy Higgins and AG Howard both released their self-published debut NA novels (Unknown for Wendy Higgins and of course The Architect of Song for AG Howard). At the time I hadn't read anything by AG Howard, then later in the fall I read and loved Splintered and an ARC of RoseBlood, so I decided to add this one to my TBR list. Luckily for me, I received The Architect of Song for Christmas and I've been dying to jump into it. I'm not that far in yet but already I can tell this is a book I'm really going to like. 

Book Review: HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS by Ann M. Noser

            On my last "What I'm Reading" Wednesday post I featured a book I was reading in order to write a review. I've finished the book now and I highly recommend it, you're going to love it! Here's a refresher on the blurb and my review straight off of Amazon...

How To Date Dead Guys by Ann M. Noser

Blurb:

College sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice: “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”. But when charming Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters. 

Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back. Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell. The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury. As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he isn't the only one. 

Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a desperate victim determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand… at first. 

More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows. Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims. 

Inspired by the controversial Smiley Face Murders, HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS will ignite the secret powers hidden deep within each of us.

My Review:

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

UW-Eau Claire student, Emma Roberts, is kind of a geek. Her only friend on campus is her roommate Chrissy. One night Chrissy drags Emma to a party off campus to see the guy Chrissy has been crushing on, Kevin. When they get to the party Emma finds herself instantly attracted to Kevin's younger brother, Mike.

After that night, Emma bumps into Mike a few times around campus but can't stop being tongue-tied around him. Chrissy's witchcraft practicing sister, Angie comes to visit and they perform a love spell to make Kevin fall for Chrissy.

They instantly become inseparable and Emma once again gets dragged to Kevin and Mike's place, this time for Mike's 21st birthday. Unfortunately, Mike gets extremely drunk and decides he and Emma should go swimming in the Chippewa River in the middle of the night. Only Emma makes it out of the river alive. Reviewers note: this sadly actually isn't uncommon here in Wisconsin. A lot of 21-year-olds on their birthday go missing only to be dragged from a lake or river a few days or months later.

Distraught and feeling like it's her fault Mike died Emma finds Angie's Book of Shadows under her bed and decides to try raise him from the dead. More powerful than she realizes she instead raises geeky Sam, then annoying but attractive Jake, and later Bernard, Steve, and Mike himself. Emma is the only one that can see their true selves, to everyone else they all look like the boy they're masquerading in. What do the other four want? And will she be able to help them, keep up with school, and help her new friend Abby?

I really, really loved this book. I probably would have picked this book up even if I hadn't been given a copy to review it. I also really liked that it was set in my home state, Wisconsin. Emma transitions throughout the book, gaining confidence and becoming more outgoing and I loved her as a character. Jake is my favorite of the guys that come from the river. And Officer Charlie Walker is better toward the end. I wonder if the author plans to put Emma and Officer Walker together in the sequel, or might Jake come back? I didn't want to put this book down. I was so wrapped up in the story I didn't stop until I reached the final page and saw it was past two in the morning.

This book easily is one of the best books I've read so far this year! I can't wait to see what's in store for Emma in book 2. If I could rate this book higher than 5 stars I definitely would!

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars!

Dying to read this book? You can find it here: 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble (Paperback)

Goodreads

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #18

             This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm reading an awesome book I received in order to write an honest review. I'm reading...

How to Date Dead Guys (The Witch's Handbook #1) by Ann M. Noser

Blurb:

College sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice: “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”. But when charming Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters. 

Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back. Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell. The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury. As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he isn't the only one. 

Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a desperate victim determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand… at first. 

More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows. Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims. 

Inspired by the controversial Smiley Face Murders, HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS will ignite the secret powers hidden deep within each of us.

Why I Chose This Book / What I Think So Far:

I was asked if I would be interested in reading this book and writing a review by a writer friend of mine, Jordan Elizabeth. This author is, I believe, a writer friend of hers. The title of this book initially intrigued me so I said hell yeah I'll read this book. 

I'm about four or five chapters in so far and this book is so easy to get into. It grabs you right away which is great. HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS is set at UW-Eau Claire here in my home state of Wisconsin. Emma has a crush on fellow student Mike, who has just done what sadly is fairly common here in the drinking state... *cough cough* I mean dairy state... gotten extremely drunk on his twenty-first birthday and decided to go for a moonlit swim in a nearby river. It actually reminds me of something that happened at UW-Stevens Point a few years back. Anyway, I'm anxious to see where this story goes. I'm really enjoying it so far.

While I read and form my review here's a look at what else I read since last week...

Built (Saints of Denver #1) by Jay Crownover

Blurb:

Sometimes a real hero lets you save yourself . . .

Sayer Cole and Zeb Fuller couldn’t be more different. She’s country club and fine-dining, he’s cell-block and sawdust. Sayer spends her days in litigation while Zeb spends his working with his hands. But none of that has stopped Zeb from wanting the stunning blonde since the moment he laid eyes on her—even if the reserved lawyer seems determinedly oblivious to his interest.

Sayer is certain the rough, hard, hot-as-hell Zeb could never want someone as closed off and restrained as she is, which is a shame because something tells her he might be the guy to finally melt her icy exterior. When he shows up at Sayer’s door needing her professional help, she’s both disappointed and relieved that she won’t get the chance to find out just how good he could be.

But as they team up to right a wrong and save a family, the steam created when fire and ice collide cannot be ignored.

What I Thought of This Book:

I loved the beginning of Jay Crownover's spinoff series from the Marked Men, "The Saints of Denver" Series. Zeb is a love-able character even if Sayer is a bit slow to warm up to. The story line is really good and my favorite scene overall is when Hyde meets Remy. So adorable! I can so see something between them when they get older. Plus I liked getting to see a different side of Salem's sister Poppy. I didn't like her before. 

My rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars!

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #4

I didn't get in as much reading time as I'd like since New Year's Day. I'm starting the beginning of a new novel so writing has taken up a bulk of my time. This week for "WIR"-Wednesday I'm reading: 

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Blurb:

Amy Goodnight knows that the world isn't as simple as it seems. She also understands that "normal" doesn't mix with magic, and she's worked hard to build a wall between the two worlds. Not only to protect her family, who are all practicing witches, but to protect any hope of ever having a normal life herself.

Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that: good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren't alone. There's someone else in the house with them--and it's not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door.

It's a ghost, and it's more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back.

This is the summer when the wall between Amy's worlds is going to come crashing down.

Why I love this book / Why I Picked It:

I always try to read this book around the new year. It's one of my favourite books of all time and I love it.

Amy Goodnight always tries to project that she is the normal one in her family of witches. She and her sister Phin are spending the summer at their Aunt's ranch while she is away on vacation. 

Things start going awry when someone discovers a set of remains on the neighbor's land and Amy's sister wants to try out her new invention the "Kirlianometer"* (I can't remember the exact name) and Amy finds herself bound to a ghost that seems to want to freeze her to death. To make matters worse Amy can never seem to act normal around her sexy but grumpy neighbor Ben. 

I love this book (I know I've said that already); as usual Rosemary Clement-Moore has the ability of making witty, hilarious, relatable characters. 

Who this book is for / My Rating:

This book is for teens and anyone that loves a good story. I've read this book at least 5 or 6 times and I keep coming back. If you're a fan of Rosemary Clement-Moore and if you like her Maggie Quinn series or the Splendor Falls, then you will enjoy this book! Haven't read anything by this author before? Give her a try! She's wonderful and her writing style is sort of similar to Meg Cabot, plus her writing is full of humor.

My rating: 5 of 5 Stars!

Finding Elizabeth Cover Reveal

And now to reveal the cover of my upcoming novel Finding Elizabeth! Finding Elizabeth is my upcoming young adult paranormal romance novel set partially during the French Revolution and partially in modern times in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Main themes: ghosts, reincarnation, Wicca. 

Finding Elizabeth will be available September 15, 2015!

Kindle Pre-order Link: ------>Click Here<------

         

Ghosts and The Paranormal

From my weekly blog on my author website: www.taylorfenner.com for the week of Saturday March 7 through Friday March 13, 2015. 

Happy Friday the 13th! Is it supposed to mean something that we've had a Friday the 13th two months in a row? To keep with the eerie mood the topic of this week's blog is: Ghosts and the Paranormal; and why I write about them! 

I can’t honestly say I’ve always been into ghosts or the paranormal. When I was a child I was afraid of everything. There used to be a show on HGTV called “If Walls Could Talk” where people would talk about things they had found in their old houses that once belonged to previous occupants. Part of me thought that was cool while the other part of me thought that with an old house came ghosts of its previous occupants; and that terrified me. I can also remember watching shows like “The Most Haunted Places on Earth” with my great-uncle around Halloween when I was little. When I say I was afraid of everything I mean it; I couldn’t watch 48 Hours or Dateline, the movie Psycho terrified me to no end (along with most other horror movies), and anything that mentioned ghosts scared me.

It wasn’t until I was in middle school that I finally got over my fear and really got into everything paranormal. I credit that to a couple of books I read as well as the movies An American Haunting and The Fog (the remake). I mean who wouldn’t love a movie where vengeful ghosts return from their watery graves to seek revenge against the descendants of the four men that killed them? Throw in a girl with vivid nightmares and a secret connection to said vengeful ghosts? Even better! After that everything was fine, and by fine I mean I developed an obsession with the paranormal and a love of horror movies.

When I started writing The Haunting Love it was more of a way for me to move past and keep myself sane from a few deaths in my family; the paranormal element was just an added bonus. Regardless, I did do a lot of research on ghosts during the course of my writing. Not to the level of Iza’s brother Quinn of course, but I did learn a lot about peoples’ different beliefs when it comes to ghosts as well as the different forms of ghosts that people believe exist.

That was before I even started watching Ghost Adventures. I used to love that show; watching it religiously every Friday and/or Saturday night. Though I didn’t quite believe the “paranormal experiences” the hosts kept claiming to be experiencing I fell in love with the back stories of why people throughout history have believed certain locations were haunted. I stopped watching the show last year after it began giving me nightmares (not because it scared me but because after a while it got kind of morbid) but I still try catching it every now and then when there isn’t anything else on television on a Saturday night but the show has lost something for me after one of the 3 main investigators left. The three of them kind of had a certain way they meshed together and it wasn’t the same after one of the guys left.

I still maintain a strong interest in all aspects of the paranormal. My next novel Finding Elizabeth, a stand-alone novel, will touch upon ghosts, reincarnation, and Wicca (a Pagan nature-based religion). My other upcoming novel Out of Darkness, the first in what I’m aiming to be a duology or a trilogy will include all sorts of paranormal creatures, some of them well heard of before (ghosts, witches, werewolves, zombies to name a few) as well as a few that aren’t as well known.

I hope this shines a better light on why I choose to write about the paranormal. Whether you’re a paranormal fan, or just giving a new author a chance, I thank you for reading The Haunting Love, and I hope you’ll look forward to reading my two upcoming novels!

Have a great weekend and a safe St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday! Don’t forget to wear green and eat some corned beef!

Why I Chose Green Bay for The Haunting Love's Setting

Hello my loyal blog readers. I hope everyone had a nice first week of March and that the weather is treating you decent. (which seems unlikely if you're in certain parts of the country that seem to keep getting either ice or snow storms.) My week has been pretty productive and I've gotten a lot done on the project I'm currently working on.

Since The Haunting Love has been out for a little over three weeks now I'm sure most of you know that the story is set in the Green Bay area here in Wisconsin. I'm sure some of you are wondering what made me decide to set my novel in Green Bay, as opposed to some of the usual novel locations like New York or L.A.; or even why I didn't make up a fictitious city to set The Haunting Love in.

The answer is simple. The first scene of The Haunting Love that came to me was the car accident scene. Truth be told, that scene occurs in my mind in neither Green Bay or De Pere; but in Allouez, Wisconsin which is in between the two. To paint a better picture I will tell you my envisioned location for the car accident scene. Driving along Riverside Drive from Green Bay to De Pere with the Fox River Trail and the Fox River on one side and the guard wall (or whatever it's called) below Minahan's Tomb on the other is where Iza truly gets into her car wreck. 

See Photo Below:

To those who are not familiar with Minahan's Tomb, or those that are not from Wisconsin and have no idea who Dr. William Minahan was I will briefly explain. Dr. William Minahan was a Wisconsin native who parished on the ill-fated Titanic in 1912. His body was recovered and is now interred on a hill in Woodlawn Cemetary in Allouez, Wisconsin overlooking the Fox River Trail and the Fox River. Why is this interesting and why did it strike a nerve with me? Well his back story didn't really, but I remember a story my great-uncle told me once when I was young. In 1987 some vandals broke into Dr. Minahan's Tomb (or Crypt ) and stole his skull. That single sentence is what has stuck with me. As you can imagine, I was horrified as a kid. Who would steal some guy's skull from his tomb? That's sick! What would they even want with his head? Luckily the vandals were quickly apprehended and the tomb is now under heavy lock and key. I can only assume the head was recovered and returned to his final resting place. Talk about giving a spirit a reason to haunt somewhere and not be able to rest in peace! Regardless, to this day everytime I travel along that road I glance up at the crypt and remember the story my great-uncle told me. 

Thus you see, my setting was chosen. I wrote my entire novel around one location. Some places in The Haunting Love are real, while others are things made up from my imagination. Here are a few examples:

The Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary: Yes, this is a real location. Here's a little information from their website www.baybeachwildlife.com:

The Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary is a beautiful 700 acre urban wildlife refuge featuring live animal exhibits, educational displays, miles of hiking/skiing trails and various wildlife viewing opportunities. It is the largest park in the Green Bay Park system and home to the second largest wildlife rehabilitation program in Wisconsin, caring for more than 4,500 orphaned and injured animals annually.

The Sanctuary attracts hundreds of thousands of bird watchers, families and other visitors from across the USA and many foreign countries each year. They come to explore and discover nature while learning the importance of preserving natural landscapes.

First established in 1936 as a site for waterfowl rehabilitation, the Sanctuary has grown to offer environmental education programs to over 10,000 students, nature walks, urban fishing, summer camps, cross country skiing and much more.

I've been to the wildlife sanctuary many times throughout my life, both on school trips and random day outings with my family. It's one of my favorite places in Green Bay. It's relaxing to sit and watch the geese and other birds argue over cracked corn thrown out by people. They're such greedy little critters, but I happen to think they're adorable. 

Custard's Last Stand: I'm sorry to say this place is completely fictional. I was looking for a place for  the Johnny character to work at and after playing around with a couple different ideas this is what I decided to name his workplace. It's a play on words of "Custer's Last Stand" and custard (which is like ice cream). And since Johnn'y workplace is meant to be seen as a burger / ice cream joint comparable to Dairy Queen or Culver's, Custard's Last Stand was born. I can just envision Johnny's work uniform to look like General Custer's uniform covered with an apron of some sort. Can you picture it?

       De Pere, Wisconsin and De Pere High School: Yes, De Pere is an actual city. I wouldn't call it a suburb of Green Bay, but they're both in the same general area. Most notably De Pere is known to be the main location of Seroogy's Chocolates.  There is also obviously a De Pere High School but what I didn't know until later is that there is also a West De Pere High School. Either way, De Pere is the main setting of The Haunting Love. 

I hope this helps give you a bigger picture of some of the setting of The Haunting Love. I'm a Wisconsin native, and I've lived about 30 miles from Green Bay my entire life so it made sense for me to set my first novel in a city that I'm well familiar with. I hope that if you've already read / are reading The Haunting Love that you enjoyed / are enjoying it or if you haven't had a chance to delve into it yet I hope you give it a chance! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Until next Friday!

(You can buy The Haunting Love in eBook format on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00SW1B940

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-haunting-love-taylor-fenner/1121139979?ean=2940150184213 )