When I think back on my childhood, it's no secret I find myself writing about ghosts now. My mom was a big believer in spirits, psychics, the power of dreams, basically taking truth from things many people don't give an ounce of credit to.
Then there's my uncle. I don't think there was a weekend visit to his place that didn't involve a movie like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Phantasm, Hellraiser, Puppet Master, Amityville and so on.
My grandmother was a fan of Poltergeist and Unsolved Mysteries, especially the ghostly cases.
See where I'm going with this?
But just as I started working on my ghost hunting tales in January, I discovered a few YA book series that I loved as well. One was the Lily Dale series by Wendy Corsi Staub.
Three Lily Dale books, Awakening, Believing, and Connecting, have already been released with Discovering coming out this fall. They tell the story of Calla Delaney, a teenage girl whose mother dies in their Tampa home. Her father is taking a job in California, but she doesn't want to go. Instead, she moves with her crazy grandma in Lily Dale, New York, a village for registered mediums and clairvoyants.
I'm not going to tell you any more about what happens to Calla, but I would recommend the books. Highly.
When I read them, I wanted to pack my car and drive the simple three and a half hours north to Lily Dale, but they were closed.
Not anymore.
Lily Dale officially opens this weekend, and I'm packing my bags when I finish this post. I'm really excited and promsie to report back any eerie happenings...
Showing posts with label Wendy Corsi Staub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wendy Corsi Staub. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Festival of Mystery - Part I
The parking lot at the Greek Orthodox Social Hall wasn't jam-packed when I arrived at the Festival of Mystery an hour before the doors opened, and I was lucky to snag a space close enough to watch the line grow...in the rain.
It's a festival tradition that the first 100 people receive a bag of free books.
People know this. They've been coming for years. They arrive early and claim their spaces in line (and by claim I mean cut in front of you). Since the rain was pouring down and there were clearly not 100 umbrellas in line, I killed a few minutes in my car.
Then as car after car after car pulled into the parking lot, my heart started beating fast, and I turned into one of those aforementioned "people" rushing from to claim a spot.
Despite the fact that I've painted mystery readers as crazies who cut in front of you (only one woman cut in front of me, and with her eyes, she challenged me to call her on it - I didn't), I had a nice chat with two Pittsburgh natives during the 45-minute wait for the doors to open. They were friendly and fantastic, as most Pittsburghers are.
And the authors were equally awesome. Here are some highlights and shoutouts:
Wendy Corsi Staub
I have it on good authority that I'm Wendy's favorite customer. Okay, maybe not, like top favorite, but I'm up there.
Earlier this year, I discovered her Lily Dale series about Calla Delaney, a teenage girl who loses her mom to a terrible accident and moves to live with her strange grandmother in a town full of psychics and mediums. I loved, loved, loved the series and picked up a few more books with psychic protagonists Monday night.
There's something cool about meeting authors. Until Monday, Wendy was a list of books, a picture on the back cover, but now, she's a beautiful, giggly, friendly, funny woman who pushes antibacterial handy wipes on her customers in the name of swine flu.
And bottom line, she's a great writer.
Jason Pinter
It's official. If I'm Wendy's favorite customer, I'm Jason's safe stalker.
I say safe because it's not creepy or anything. At least I hope not. Of all the authors I've had the pleasure of meeting, it seems I bump into Jason most often.
Last year, when I joined Backspace, I read up on the authors and was interested in Jason's series about Henry Parker, a crime-solving journalist. I ordered one of the books and loved it only to learn Jason would be in Pittsburgh days later for the 2008 Festival of Mystery.
I introduced myself, tried to keep the oh-my-gosh-I'm-talking-to-a-real-life-published-author giggles under control and bought another book in the series. Fast forward three months to the Backspace conference in New York where I said, "Hey, Jason, remember me?"
The first three books in his Henry Parker series are out, so grab them. Two more are on the way this fall and winter.
I seem to be in ramble mode today, so I'm going to cut this off and come back tomorrow to tell you about the other authors I stalked - only in a good way - at the Festival of Mystery.
P.S. C'mon Pens!
It's a festival tradition that the first 100 people receive a bag of free books.
People know this. They've been coming for years. They arrive early and claim their spaces in line (and by claim I mean cut in front of you). Since the rain was pouring down and there were clearly not 100 umbrellas in line, I killed a few minutes in my car.
Then as car after car after car pulled into the parking lot, my heart started beating fast, and I turned into one of those aforementioned "people" rushing from to claim a spot.
Despite the fact that I've painted mystery readers as crazies who cut in front of you (only one woman cut in front of me, and with her eyes, she challenged me to call her on it - I didn't), I had a nice chat with two Pittsburgh natives during the 45-minute wait for the doors to open. They were friendly and fantastic, as most Pittsburghers are.
And the authors were equally awesome. Here are some highlights and shoutouts:
Wendy Corsi Staub
I have it on good authority that I'm Wendy's favorite customer. Okay, maybe not, like top favorite, but I'm up there.
Earlier this year, I discovered her Lily Dale series about Calla Delaney, a teenage girl who loses her mom to a terrible accident and moves to live with her strange grandmother in a town full of psychics and mediums. I loved, loved, loved the series and picked up a few more books with psychic protagonists Monday night.
There's something cool about meeting authors. Until Monday, Wendy was a list of books, a picture on the back cover, but now, she's a beautiful, giggly, friendly, funny woman who pushes antibacterial handy wipes on her customers in the name of swine flu.
And bottom line, she's a great writer.
Jason Pinter
It's official. If I'm Wendy's favorite customer, I'm Jason's safe stalker.
I say safe because it's not creepy or anything. At least I hope not. Of all the authors I've had the pleasure of meeting, it seems I bump into Jason most often.
Last year, when I joined Backspace, I read up on the authors and was interested in Jason's series about Henry Parker, a crime-solving journalist. I ordered one of the books and loved it only to learn Jason would be in Pittsburgh days later for the 2008 Festival of Mystery.
I introduced myself, tried to keep the oh-my-gosh-I'm-talking-to-a-real-life-published-author giggles under control and bought another book in the series. Fast forward three months to the Backspace conference in New York where I said, "Hey, Jason, remember me?"
The first three books in his Henry Parker series are out, so grab them. Two more are on the way this fall and winter.
I seem to be in ramble mode today, so I'm going to cut this off and come back tomorrow to tell you about the other authors I stalked - only in a good way - at the Festival of Mystery.
P.S. C'mon Pens!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
May 1 - Buy Indie Day
My brother Scott has the tendency to make me laugh. Not little giggles. Big, curl your head down toward your toes, hold your stomach, hope you don't pee your pants laughter.
He's younger than me, and we are a bit different. I loved school. He hated it. I've read a few books this month; he's read a few in the last decade. So, this one time (not at band camp) my brother told me a story about something that really troubled him.
He went to the mall with a friend, and the only place to park was outside of a Border's. It was a Saturday night. He entered through the automatic doors and passed by the cafe. According to him, this is what he saw:
"Tam, there were people in there..." he looks both ways as if the FBI is about to pounce, "and they were...reading."
So naturally, I waited for the punchline. What had offended him so?
"And...?" I asked him.
"What do you mean, 'And'? They were just sitting there. Lots of people. Just sitting there...READING! On a Saturday night!"
I said, "This past Saturday? I was there."
We always laugh about the fact that my brother went more than 20 years without knowing what actually goes on inside of a bookstore. And of course he laughs at his geeky older sister who likes to spend her free time there.
My career path might have something to do with that.
Now that I've shared my story, I want to encourage all of you to cause my brother curious frustration by going to your local independent bookstores Friday to buy a book.
No catch.
It's quite simple. May 1st has been declared Buy Indie Day. I'm not really sure who made the declaration, but I'll go along with it. Jason Pinter, who writes a series of thrillers centered around the exploits of reporter Henry Parker, blogged about Buy Indie Day, and ironically, Jason will be in Pittsburgh this week as well.
I should mention my Indie of choice is Mystery Lover's Bookshop in Oakmont. The store's 14th annual Festival of Mystery is on for Monday, May 4th. More than 40 authors will attend (personal favorites are Jason, Nancy Martin, and Wendy Corsi Staub). It's a great event. If you're interested, tickets are available in advance at the store on Allegheny River Boulevard or at the door. Early birds get a free bag of books, and there's usually a line. The event's from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Greek Orthodox Social Hall, 12 Washington Avenue in Oakmont. Don't miss it!
And don't forget to Buy Indie this Friday. To find a independent bookstore near you, click here.
He's younger than me, and we are a bit different. I loved school. He hated it. I've read a few books this month; he's read a few in the last decade. So, this one time (not at band camp) my brother told me a story about something that really troubled him.
He went to the mall with a friend, and the only place to park was outside of a Border's. It was a Saturday night. He entered through the automatic doors and passed by the cafe. According to him, this is what he saw:
"Tam, there were people in there..." he looks both ways as if the FBI is about to pounce, "and they were...reading."
So naturally, I waited for the punchline. What had offended him so?
"And...?" I asked him.
"What do you mean, 'And'? They were just sitting there. Lots of people. Just sitting there...READING! On a Saturday night!"
I said, "This past Saturday? I was there."
We always laugh about the fact that my brother went more than 20 years without knowing what actually goes on inside of a bookstore. And of course he laughs at his geeky older sister who likes to spend her free time there.
My career path might have something to do with that.
Now that I've shared my story, I want to encourage all of you to cause my brother curious frustration by going to your local independent bookstores Friday to buy a book.
No catch.
It's quite simple. May 1st has been declared Buy Indie Day. I'm not really sure who made the declaration, but I'll go along with it. Jason Pinter, who writes a series of thrillers centered around the exploits of reporter Henry Parker, blogged about Buy Indie Day, and ironically, Jason will be in Pittsburgh this week as well.
I should mention my Indie of choice is Mystery Lover's Bookshop in Oakmont. The store's 14th annual Festival of Mystery is on for Monday, May 4th. More than 40 authors will attend (personal favorites are Jason, Nancy Martin, and Wendy Corsi Staub). It's a great event. If you're interested, tickets are available in advance at the store on Allegheny River Boulevard or at the door. Early birds get a free bag of books, and there's usually a line. The event's from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Greek Orthodox Social Hall, 12 Washington Avenue in Oakmont. Don't miss it!
And don't forget to Buy Indie this Friday. To find a independent bookstore near you, click here.
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