Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Elizabeth de Veer | On Ghosts…
Author Guest / September 17, 2021

My debut novel, THE OCEAN IN WINTER, was published by Blackstone Publishing this past July. It’s a story about three adult sisters whose mother died by suicide when they were children. It’s a story about loss and grief, but it’s also a story about ghosts. My first impulse in writing this book was, I wanted to create a ghost story where the ghosts reveal something important about the characters, where the ghosts have some meaning. Here’s the thing: I love a good ghost story. I love them told around campfires or unfolding – even reenacted! – on television, I love it (LOVE IT!) when people tell me about creepy things happening in their houses. I have never actually seen a ghost myself, but I have had a few experiences of inanimate things moving in strange ways at strange times. (Ask me about that later.) Side note: My ten-year-old daughter is obsessed with ghost stories. She’s too young for horror movies, but we have brought her to several places purported to be haunted, like, very haunted. I am sad to report that unlike a New England whale watch, when, if you don’t see a whale, they give you a voucher to…

James S. Murray | Q&A: DON’T MOVE
Author Guest / October 30, 2020

You’ve written a whole trilogy about underground monsters, and now DON’T MOVE is bringing us a terrifying giant arachnid–where do you think your passion for creepy creatures comes from? It’s definitely an interest that started at a young age. I grew up reading lots of horror novels. Particularly, I remember tearing through Time Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown book series and being obsessed with all things Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the Jersey Devil. On top of that, add watching and re-watching classic creature movies like Alien and The Thing and you’ve got a lifelong monster lover. Even without the prehistoric arachnid, the experience of being lost in the woods is pretty scary! Have you ever had any unsettling camping experiences? Not necessarily a bad camping experience, but I once had to run through the woods of Staten Island dressed as a centaur while being pelted with paintballs. Certainly wasn’t a highlight of my life. Now that I think about it, that experience must’ve left some lasting impact considering DON’T MOVE and another project I’m working on–a new thriller that follows an uncle and his nephews on a camping trip at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Stay tuned for…