catherineldf | Entries tagged with haunted hearths

First and foremost, day jobbery changes from contract to FTE on Monday. We'll see how this goes. I think the adjustment may be a tad rocky but I'm trying to keep an open mind. We'll see how it goes.

And today, my entire oeuvre for less than $30.00 on Kindle (Hellebore and Rue is also available on Kindle) - Amazon's Catherine Lundoff Page. Crave and Haunted Hearths are both on sale for $.99. But for $29 and change, you can also get 2 Goldie Award winners, 2 Lesbian Fiction Reader's Choice Winners, 1 Rainbow Award winner and a Spectrum Award winner. Just saying.

We spent yesterday taking a quick road trip to Northfield. Jana's teaching papermaking at Carleton College this semester, and if you're in the area on Thursday, Jan. 10th, there will be an art opening for her binding exhibit at 5PM in the Boilou Gallery on campus. It is, of course, spectacular. :-D
Jana needed to do some processing of paper pulp so I write while she did that. New works are moving along and I'm excited about where the novels in progress are going. And there was some clothes shopping and a trip to an art store where I got a keychain Totoro. Because who doesn't need a keychain Totoro?

In other news, author Rachel Gold and I are plotting a thing. More news when I've got it. Now to go finish a guest blog post, then writing, then errands.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/295690.html

Spontaneous Halloween Book Giveaway: Tell me your favorite supernatural creature by midnight on 10/31 to be entered to win a copy of the anthologies "Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades" or "Bitten by Moonlight: Lesbian Werewolf Novellas."

I edited "Haunted Hearths," which includes stories by many terrific writers (Melissa Scott, Lyn McConchie, Kaite Walsh, Selina Rosen, Lynne Jamneck, M. Christian and others) and I'm a contributor to "Bitten by Moonlight," which includes the original novella version of "Silver Moon."

Good luck! :-)

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/287056.html

Looks like I don't have interview responses from these two authors, but they wrote great stories for the book, just saying. Ka Vang's story features a Hmong-American ghost-fighting shaman and M.E. Cooper wrote a really atmospheric and twisty short story for the antho.
The Table of Contents:

SPIRIT HORSE RANCH by Sacchi Green
THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND by M. Christian
A PATH TO THE WOODS by Marilyn Jaye Lewis
SOME OLD LOVER’S GHOST by Dayle A. Dermatis
A QUIET LOVE by Suzan Tessier
WORDS LIKE CANDY CONVERSATION HEARTS by Kathleen Bradean
OSTRACA by Brenta Blevins
MIDNIGHT CONFESSION by M.E. Cooper
THE DYKE YOU KNOW by Selina Rosen
WAITING TABLES AND TIME by Lyn McConchie
AUTHENTIC by Jean Roberta
CITY OF THE DEAD by Kaite Welsh
AIRTIGHT by L.C. Jordan
FOCUS OF DESIRE by Elise Matthesen
MEETING MR. KRENSHAW by Ka Vang
THE OATH by Lynne Jamneck
ONE HORSE TOWN by Melissa Scott

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/242139.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author Suzan Tessier. See the Sacchi Green post for general info.

Your story "A Quiet Love" in HH is a story about love that transcends all boundaries, including Death - can you talk a bit about your inspiration for this story?
The inspiration for the story comes from the idea that love is at its base spiritual. Even more, because romantic love has a physical side I believe it can be the most intense kind of connection. I think this is because all three areas of self - mind, body, spirit - are involved.
Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?
I've never had an encounter with a ghost - thank goodness! LOL I'm sure I'd run screaming.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?
Two of my favorite ghost stories were turned into movies - Ghost Story by Peter Straub and Girl In a Swing by Richard Adams.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?
I'm currently working on an erotic supernatural novel and shape shifter novella under my pen name, Veronica Arch. The best place to find me are on my web sites at Suzan Tessier website or Veronica Arch website.

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author, editor and publisher Selina Rosen. See the Sacchi Green post for general book info.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "The Dyke You Know"?
I took care of a friend who died of cancer in my home. She was a Cheyenne Arapaho and three of her five brothers were medicine men. One of them came to smoke the house the day after she died. He told me he'd found an evil spirit in my house--not a big bad but a little one. He lived in the wall in the hall way. He said a teenager playing at witchcraft had conjured it and he got rid of it. That's where the idea for the story came from.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?
Maybe. You see things, feel them, and at the time you're sure and then later on your logical mind talks you out of them.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?
Tell Tale Heart by Edger Allen Poe. I'm sure not everyone sees that as a ghost story but I do.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?
I'm working on the sequel to "Bad Lands" titled "Bad City" with Laura J. Underwood, a stand-alone novel on my own with the working title "How I Spent the Apocalypse," I'm co-writing a time-travel book with Claudia Christian tentatively titled "Two Against Time" and of course several short stories. Visit me at my website at Selina Rosen or check out my fan club's site at Selina's fan club.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/241910.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author Kathleen Bradean. See the Sacchi Green post for an overview and book info.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Words Like Candy Conversation Hearts?"

I went to a reading for an anthology at Skylight Books here in LA a few years ago. I won't name her, but one of the writers had the most incredible lips, which I still remember fondly. Later in the reading, the store cat decided the event was all about it and disrupted another writer by knocking over a pile of books and then trying to lay on the microphone while the writer was reading. The audience thought it was funny, but the writer got upset and quit reading. By the time I got home that night the story was all but written.

> Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

When I was in high school, one Sunday the church service didn't start on time. Finally, the preacher came out and said that the organist had a mishap and they would be starting late. As I turned to my best friend, I had a vision of a coffin in front of the altar and flowers everywhere. A film of gray seemed to cover everything. When I blinked, the place was back to normal. I told my friend that the organist was dead. She thought I was nuts, of course. After the service, they announced that the organist suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital and died. Ghost? Vision? Overactive imagination? I have no idea. Even after that experience, I don't believe in the paranormal.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

That's a hard one. Probably the Tell Tale Heart. Or the Canterville Ghost. As for movies, I thought the Sixth Sense was brilliant and I'll watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir every time it's on.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about
you?

My blog Kathleen at Blogspot is kept up to date. I'm working on so many things it's hard to pick out one. My next novel is a mystery that pays homage to my favorite detective duo, Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man. (No ghosts.)

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/241458.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author Kaite Welsh. See the Sacchi Green post for more general information about the book.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "City of the Dead"?

I did my undergraduate degree in Edinburgh, and one of the first things I did there was go on one of the many supposedly haunted tours of the old city - there really is a whole underground city beneath the one I was living in. I heard a lot of stories about some of the weird things that happened on the tours - people passing out, mysterious scratches beneath clothing, someone even died whilst trying to perform an exorcism. I always wanted to put it into a story, but never got around to it until last year.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

No, but I've had an encounter with a ghost tour guide. Does that count?

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?
I scare very easily - I managed to terrify myself writing my own story - so I tend to stay away from creepy films. I suppose my favourite kind of story is something like Sarah Water's Affinity, where the really scary thing is the tricks your mind (or someone else's) plays on you.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm currently working on a Young Adult fantasy novel set in 19th century Wales - the working title is A Tyrant Spell, taken from a poem by Emily Bronte. It weaves together magic, the industrial revolution, madness and love. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel and I'm actually heading off to the Black Mountains to do some research tomorrow.

I haven't gotten around to getting an author's website yet, but I have a blog on wordpress where I geek out about reading and books - Madwomansattic. It has a companion Facebook group as well which is more like a discussion board.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/241294.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author/editor Marilyn Jaye Lewis. See the Sacchi Green post for general book info.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "A Path to the Woods"?

For me, nothing is more haunting than the death of love, especially when it occurs in the fall -- for me, the fall adds an almost unbearable poignancy to almost everything! Since I had never written a ghost story of any kind before, I thought I had better just stick to my own definition of feeling haunted. Hence, I imagined the death of a woman I have loved more than life itself. And I wrote about that.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

If you mean spirits who are no longer among the living -- yes; I've encountered them numerous times over the years. But never as shadowy shapes floating in bed sheets in old dark houses. Rather, they turn on my music boxes, my night-lights and my Christmas tree lights. I also encounter them as voices, sounds, or as the sudden aroma of roses in the house.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

My favorite ghost story is probably Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Not only because the ghost is blended so seamlessly with the idea of autumn nights, but more because autumn is my favorite time of year and Irving describes autumn so exquisitely in the story.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm working on a new novel, Twilight of the Immortal. It's about gays & lesbians working in Hollywood during the Silent Era and how 3 people's lives are changed after the sudden death of the (allegedly) bisexual movie star, Rudolph Valentino.

I'm also working on a short-short story, "Every 60 Seconds." It's a stream-of-conscioussness take on the cliche that men think about sex every 60 seconds. It's for an upcoming neo-feminist antho, Sex from the Other Side.

Readers can visit my website & blog at www.marilynjayelewis.com.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/241053.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades author interview with Lyn McConchie. See the Sacchi Green post for general book info.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Waiting Tables
and Time"?

I lived in the city in my story during the sixties and the "Monet" was a real coffeebar. There are a number of ghost tales about the city from that period so it was natural for me to chose the setting. I've always liked the sort of ghost that isn't really frightening, more poignant and this story just came out of left field, grabbed me by the throat, and that was it. I wrote it.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Yes, or so I believe - and another reliable person saw it too, while a third saw the surrounding effects.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

TRYST by Elswyth Thane. It's beautifully written and the characters are so real. It was written in 1939 but holds up solidly still.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

Um, well, it's been a wonderful year for me thus far. Apart from selling to several dozen magazines, I've had work in anthologies, DESOLATE PLACES, RUINS-TERRA, and HAUNTED HEARTHS, and sold to GHOST TOWN, THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM, andPANTECHNICON. I've had a book accepted by AVALOOK PUBLICATIONS (the fourth in my humorous non-fiction series, DAZE IN THE COUNTRY, scheduled for October this year), a book accepted by CYBERWIZARD PRODUCTIONS, (a western, SOUTH OF RIO
CHAMA, scheduled for later this year), a book accepted by TOR (THE QUESTING ROAD, a fantasy, scheduled for first half of 2009) and a fourth book accepted by DAVERANA ENTERPRISES (VESTIGES OF FLAMES, a post-holocaust novel, publications as yet unscheduled.)

Where can I be found?
Currently all over the place it seems. As for work, I start writing a new fantasy shortly. This is set in the same world as QUESTING ROAD but almost a thousand years earlier.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/240683.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades author interview with author Dayle Dermatis. See the Sacchi Green post for full book information.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for "Some Old Lover's Ghost"?''

Goodness, how much time do you have? :-) My stories are rarely sparked from one particular place or thing...usually several things crash together for that "aha!" moment.

One of manuscripts I'm currently writing is an urban fantasy involving ghosts, so I started watching Ghost Hunters--and I got hooked. Damn, but I adore that show! So when I saw the Haunted Hearths guidelines, it made sense to use my research for the short story, too. I wanted to write about a ghost hunter who used both technology and natural psychic talent. As soon as I started writing, Helena's voice came through loud and clear--and a little snarky--and I was off and running.

There are a lot of layers in this story: the woman getting over the death of a lover, the same woman hooking up with a partner who really isn't right for her, and both the ghost and the ghost hunter seeing this before the other women do. I also love the idea that a dead lover would want only the best for her living partner, to want to see her happy above all.

The title comes from poet John Donne: "I long to talk with some old lover's ghost, / Who died before the god of love was born."" When I'm stuck, I often turn to a book of quotations for ideas.

> Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Depends on what you mean by "ghost," but yes, I have. One of my grandmothers lived with our family from the time I was born until I was in college, when she passed away. One time I woke up because I felt someone sit on the end of my bed--I felt the mattress depress--but nobody was there. Still, I knew it was Grandma, checking up on me. I've also had experiences in various places, including Tara and Kilkenny, Ireland, that felt more as though the veil between different timelines was thinner, rather than "I saw a ghost" or "a ghost saw me." I do believe energy lingers and can imbue a site or object, too.

> What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

Bag of Bones by Stephen King, comes to mind, but there are so many! The Others and The Sixth Sense are great modern ghost tales. As mentioned, I love Ghost Hunters, in large part because they strive to be scientific and, more often than not, they _don't_ conclude that a site is haunted.

> What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm working on an urban fantasy about a former Hollywood starlet who can see ghosts. I've also got a coauthored romance in the works about a woman who gets possessed by a ghost who can communicate with her only at the brink of orgasm. ;-) Yeah, ghosts are obviously my theme right now! Readers interested in finding out more about me and my publications can check out my website (cyvarwydd) or my online journal (Blogspot). I'm also on MySpace and Facebook--stop by and say hi!

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/240630.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades author interview. See the Sacchi Green post for general book information.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for "The One I Left Behind"?

Well I tried to put a different spin on the whole idea of what a ghost could be: we know that it's supposed to be the 'spirit' of a dead
person – but what if what died wasn't a whole person but instead just a part of us? We've all had dreams we've had to let go of, so what we
were haunted by the partial 'self' we had to let go of, or was taken from us? That's what I was playing with – I just hope people like the
result!

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Nope, sorry – not as far as I know. But then who's to say what's out there? Lots of people look like they're sleep-walking … maybe they're
dead and just don't know it. Or maybe I am but I don't … ☺

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

Aside from classics I have a thing for ghost stories from different cultures, particularly Japan. It's lots of fun – and enlightening –
to see how the idea of a ghost or a spirit reflects the values or worldviews of a culture. Like the Kasa Obake: in Japanese mythology
if an object gets to be 100 years old it develops its own spirit – which is what an umbrella gets is called when it gets to be that ripe
old age. Very fun stuff!

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

The main place to look is M. Christian which is my site. Right now I have whole bunch of fun things out: Brushes, an erotic romance novel; Me2, a gay horror/thriller; Filthy, a collection of my gay erotica; and from the fine folks at Lethe Press a reprinting of my gay
horror/comedy The Very Bloody Marys, and my new noir/SF/erotica novel Painted Doll: An Erotist's Tale.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/240224.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview with author Melissa Scott. See the Sacchi Green post for general book info.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "One Horse Town"?

I've always been fascinated by the idea of familial ghosts, the kind that one inherits, and of the equivocal protection/danger they can provide. And I had spent a lot of time around horse people over the last four or five years, so the two seemed to fit well. Plus the scariest ghost story I've every read involves a ghost horse, and I think I was trying to exorcise it!

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Once. I was staying at Lisa's parents' house (Lisa being my late partner), and was sitting in her room doing some embroidery. The room had three doors: one into another bedroom, one into the hall, and one into the bathroom. And as I was sitting there, I heard someone come up the stairs and go into the bathroom. But the door didn't close, so I looked up, and no one was there. I assumed I'd been mistaken, and went back to work. And then I got the feeling that someone was looking at me - that very distinct sense of presence when someone is paying attention to you. I was absolutely sure that there was someone standing in the bathroom door watching me - but there was no one there. I put my embroidery down on Lisa's desk, and went downstairs where the rest of the family was - and they were all there, all accounted for - and explained what had happened. I was more than a little freaked out, but Lisa's mother just nodded and said, "that'll be the ghost." Apparently no one had ever seen it, but it moved things around periodically, so when something disappeared you just had to wait for the ghost to give it back. I waited a while, then Lisa and I went back upstairs. I had pretty much talked myself into believing I'd imagined the whole thing - but my embroidery had been moved from the desk to the bed, and unrolled so that the full pattern was visible. I can't explain that one any other way!

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

William Hope Hodgson's "The Horse of the Invisible." That's the story I was trying to exorcise with "One Horse Town" - but there's nothing like a really well done Victorian ghost story to stick in your subconscious!

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

Currently I'm working on a novel about a bootlegger, his Duesenberg race car, and a lucky "thunderstone" (two pieces of the 1930 Paragould meteor were found, and the third landed in my novel). It's an expansion of a short story, "Mr. Seeley," that I sold to the anthology _So Fey_. As for more information - my website is Melissa-Scott.com.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/240073.html

2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades author interview with L.C. Jordan. See the Sacchi Green post for more general info about the book.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Airtight"?
Airtight is an actual bridge, and I believe it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Bridges as well as on several "haunted Illinois" lists. I've been there a couple of times and thus the inspiration for the story. Unfortunately the most scary things I saw were a turkey buzzard with some sort of road kill dinner and a raccoon the size of a large dog. Oh and the red pickup truck that followed me for miles was a bit unsettling.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?
If I say yes, overly-friendly people won't show up at my door with medication and a new white shirt for me, will they? I've had some unusual things happen that I can't explain, and more than a few friends and family don't like to come out to my place at night. Go figure.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?
Odd choice though it may be, I think Dicken's Scrooge is my favorite.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?
Freelance writing pays my bills right now, so unfortunately I haven't had as much time to write creatively. I've dusted off a couple of projects though, and hopefully can get back into them with the advent of autumn and longer nights. As for finding out more about me, I have a few stories online so if you Google me I expect you'll land in the right place.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/239718.html

From the 2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades author interview series. See the Sacchi Green post for more general info about the book.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Authentic"?

Gladly! Government House, as described in my story, is now a historical site furnished in the style of 1905, when Saskatchewan (where I live) first became a Canadian
province. The building was originally the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, local representative of the reigning British monarch. (The Governor-General of Canada is the
national version.) The wife of the first Lt-Gov of Saskatchewan was a progressive woman for her time. My ghost character is loosely based on her, though I have no evidence that she ever yearned for another woman. (I love writing fiction.)

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

I've seen passers-by in public places who looked stunningly similar to dead people I've known. Coincidence or something else? In summer 1996, Mary Pitawanakwat (locally famous activist for native rights) seemed to appear in the audience of a community play that I
performed in - even though she died of cancer in 1995. Other people who also saw her are convinced that Mary came back to watch our play, and that we performers could
feel honored!

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

"The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde is probably the sweetest. I also like to read and hear supposedly-true ghost stories, especially those set in places where I've lived. Few of these anecdotes are full-fldged stories - mostly just eye-witness accounts of ghostly sightings.

Information about the ghostliness of my local environment is available on the site for the television show, "Creepy Canada" - www.creepy.tv - and in the two volumes of Saskatchewan Ghost Stories edited by Jo-Anne Christensen - www.lonepinepublishing.com.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm always working on pieces for my monthly columns. I am one of five staff reviewers for "Erotica Revealed," edited by D.L. King - www.eroticarevealed.com. I have my own essay column on the website of the Erotic Readers and Writers Association, in the "Smutter's
Lounge" section, named "Sex Is All Metaphors" - www.erotica-readers.com
I also write erotic stories. My mixed-bag erotic story collection, Obsession, is available in e-form here: Eternal Press. It is scheduled to be published in print several months from now.

I also have a story forthcoming in Best Lesbian Erotica 2009. This story, "The Placement of Modifiers," is told by Dr. Athena Chalkdust, my character who also appears in "Splitting the Infinitive" (BLE 2001 and Best of the BLE 2), "My Debut as a Slut" (BLE 2005) and "Down Below" (in Slave to Love, 2006). Approximately 60 of my erotic stories have appeared in print anthologies. Three articles of mine will appear in LGBTQ America Today, an exciting new reference work on all things lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered/queer. It will be available from Greenwood Press in November 2008.

Kayla Kuffs, co-editor of BDSM site, "The Dominant's View" (www.thedomsview.com), where some of my reviews can be found, is currently updating my website, JeanRoberta.com. Go, Kayla!

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/239541.html

Next up from the 2008 Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades interview series was author Brenta Blevins. See the Sacchi Green post for more general info about the book.

This week's HH interview is with author Brenta Blevins.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Ostraca"?

I'd been reading about archaeology and women in Ancient Egypt (and if I were ever forcibly relocated into the past, I'd want to pick Ancient Egypt because women seemed to have comparatively decent lives in that era). From my readings, it struck me that archaeology focuses very much on trying to construct "ghost stories," partial narratives about people from the past. In "Ostraca," I was able to combine my interests in womens' relationships and archaeology and contemplate how our past (recent and ancient) affects us in the here-and-now.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

I don't think so. And I'm happy to keep it that way. I am, however, convinced my grandmother's house is haunted. Let's not talk about her piano.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

Hamlet.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

These days I'm writing short stories. Just in time for my favorite holiday (Halloween), my ghost story "Beyond" will be published in the Oct-Dec issue of ChiZine (ChiZine). Happy hauntings!

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/239356.html

Next up in the 2008 interview series with Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades authors was author and editor Lynne Jamneck. See the Sacchi Green post for general information about the book and the interviews.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for "The Oath"?

I like writing about small towns; they're miniature cosmoses, and have a sense of existing within themselves, separate from the outside world. And gypsies always seem to get a bad deal, so I thought someone needed to make things right for once.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

I don't think so. Sometimes you have experiences that are difficult to explain. That's happened to me. But I am paranoid by nature and highly suggestible. Still…

What's your favourite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

I don't think movies do ghost stories all the justice they deserve, simply because of the medium. Most filmmakers tend to want to show too much. (Although, if I had to pick one it would be The Others with Nicole Kidman) Story wise—I prefer stories that are ambiguous in nature, such as Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. I can never make up my mind about whether the ghosts were real or if the governess was simply going off her rocker.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

For the better part of three years I've been writing drafts and researching, building the world in which my next novel will be set. It's a bizarre blend of fantasy, science fiction and paranormal lit. I'm very excited about it. Just recently I wrote a short story based in this world of mine…and everyone wants me to now work it into a novella! But I already have to write a book! And now for the shameless plug—I have a blog, dedicated mostly to The Book at Strickland Diaries. You can also read two excerpts from the short story there.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/238982.html

Next up in the interview cycle from 2008 (see Sacchi Green post for general info).

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for your story "Focus of Desire"?

Well, Catherine asked me if I was interested in writing something that
might suit the anthology, and I said sure, I'd give it a whirl. A
little while later, I was on a trip to New York, and had my laptop in
the airport waiting area, and was writing. The character of Danise
came to me right away, and I knew she was researching and writing
about the lives of the women who turn out to be the ghosts, but I
wasn't sure exactly how they interacted. Then when I was staying in
Syracuse with a couple of good friends, one of whom is a history
professor, I was handed a book called "The Technology of Orgasm," by
Rachel Maines. I was reading her analysis of the economic and social
factors driving the earliest development of the technology of
vibrators, and all of a sudden, the story came into focus. The
comments about HMOs and the commoditization of women's orgasms in a
male-dominated health care system are directly inspired by the book.
(It's a great book, by the way. I strongly recommend it.) The final
bit that brought it all together was doing the rewrite that gave more
backstory to Danise and explained exactly where she was in her career:
in the difficult and maddening throes of her dissertation, not to
mention still in shock from losing her girlfriend to her dissertation,
essentially. I am very grateful to Sarah Monette, who when asked to
give me a review of the hassles and angst of her own dissertation
process and to help me brainstorm others for Danise, did so in a
splendid and hilarious conversation.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Yes. After my partner of 13 years died, a note from him in his
handwriting appeared in a place that only he and I had access to, in a
spot that had been empty the day before. It was a poem addressed to
me. That's the most serious ghost thing that's ever happened to me.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

Hmmm! It's hard to say, but I think the one I love best right now is
Hex, the British television series. It got very strange, and I don't
like every direction the story went, but I absolutely love Thelma the
ghost.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm currently making a mad effort to finish the manuscript of a
fantasy novel set in 1881 in Oleanna Territory, which is just east of
the Dakotas and just west of Minnesota. Much of the action takes
place at a newspaper in the territorial capital, and I get to mess
around with utopian socialist elves. (Utopian socialism works, if
you're an elf, though I think they're likely to drive Ignatius
Donnelly crazy before they're done.) There's a reporter named Gratia,
who has a rather tangled family background, and a character I love
dearly whose name is Animus Eelbunting Foote.

I have a few other little things out, and am also working through the
stack of finished short pieces and sending them out. (I have a
terrible habit of writing stuff and then not submitting it, so I have
a six-inch stack of manuscripts to prep for submission now.)
Published fiction work includes a story ("The Stone Girl") in the
first Xanada anthology, a poem ("Nettie's Garden") in the third Xanadu
anthology, some vanilla F/M smut in Carol Queen's anthology "Five
Minute Erotica," and a few others I can't recall at the moment,
because my head is so full of the 1881 thing.

In my day job, I make jewelry and have done so for the last ten years.
It's the best day job in the world. My shinies can be seen in the
entries headed ArtLog in my LiveJournal at
http://elisem.livejournal.com/ -- new lists of current shinies
usually go up on Fridays, unless I'm traveling. Some of my work has
inspired fiction; the two that I am most proud of are Sarah Monette's
story "Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland," which won a Spectrum
award and was based on the necklace of the same name, and Elizabeth
Bear's "Tideline," which just won a Hugo award for Best Short Story,
and was inspired by a necklace called "Sinner in the Hands of Mildly
Startled Buddha."

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/238742.html

A few years back, I edited (with assistance from Steve Berman) an anthology called Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories (Lethe Press, 2008). It was and still is, as far as I know, the only anthology of lesbian ghost stories available, which is odd, considering the potential. HHSS finaled for a Goldie in spec fic, produced 3 short fiction finalists for the Spectrum Awards as well as being designated a Spectrum Awards Best Other Work (the anthology/graphic novel category) and had 2 stories final for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards in New Zealand. My sources tell me that these were some of the first stories with LGBT protagonists to final for the Vogel. Despite this reasonable degree of success, it has not yet spawned heirs. Get out there and write some lesbian/bi/queer/trans women ghost stories, people! Like the truth, the audience is out there.

That said, I'm moving a series of author interviews that I did in 2008 on the original HHSS Myspace blog over here for archiving purposes and in hopes of reaching a new audience.

First up is Sacchi Green, aka Connie Wilkins, editor and author extraordinaire.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for "Spirit Horse Ranch"?

I never know quite what makes some of the random thoughts drifting in my mind (or subconscious) coalesce into a story. The first inspiration has to have been the haunted hearth theme itself. Ghost; house; body under house; old house under newer house; and then I thought of pioneer dugout houses, and of Montana, a setting I've researched for several other stories, and visited long ago. Recent news stories about hidden enclaves of retro-Mormon polygamists fleshed out the plot, and by that time the characters had started talking to me, and there was no turning back.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Not that I can be sure about. I don't rule out the possibility, but I really don't know what it would take to convince me that my own loose-cannon imagination wasn't the source of any seemingly ghostly encounter.

What's your favorite ghost story (you can pick a movie if you prefer)?

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Brrr! I read it at the impressionable age of 14 or so, which may have something to do with it.

What are you working on now and where can readers find out more about you?

I'm itching to be writing, but I have three anthologies to finish editing, so my own stuff will have to wait a while. Time Well Bent, queer alternate history from Lethe Press, is almost ready to go to press under my alternate name, Connie Wilkins. Girl Crazy: Coming Out Erotica will come out from Cleis Press in June 09, and Lesbian Cowboy Erotica, co-edited with Rakelle Valencia, will come out from Cleis Press in autumn of 09. You can track me at Sacchi's LJ, although my posting frequency isn't what it
should be.

Crossposts: http://catherineldf.livejournal.com/238582.html

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Kicking off the new year with lots of changes
Halloween Book Giveaway
Last 2 Haunted Hearths authors: Ka Vang and M.E. Cooper
Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Suzan Tessier
Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Selina Rosen
Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Kathleen Bradean
Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Kaite Welsh
Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Marilyn Jaye Lewis
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Lyn McConchie
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Dayle Dermatis
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: M. Christian
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Melissa Scott
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: L.C. Jordan
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Jean Roberta
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Brenta Blevins
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Lynne Jamneck
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Elise Matthesen
Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Sacchi Green

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Dwelling in Probabilities

Catherine Lundoff's blog

Entries tagged with haunted hearths

Kicking off the new year with lots of changes

Halloween Book Giveaway

Last 2 Haunted Hearths authors: Ka Vang and M.E. Cooper

Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Suzan Tessier

Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Selina Rosen

Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Kathleen Bradean

Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Kaite Welsh

Haunted Hearths Author Interview: Marilyn Jaye Lewis

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Lyn McConchie

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Dayle Dermatis

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: M. Christian

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Melissa Scott

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: L.C. Jordan

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Jean Roberta

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Brenta Blevins

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Lynne Jamneck

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Elise Matthesen

Haunted Hearths Author Interviews: Sacchi Green