A Thursday Selection from An Unassigned Life

Part of the deposition transcript:

Attorney Green: How do you account for your late-blooming writing talent?

Nick Kenyon: I always dreamed of becoming a writer.

AG: Really? Mrs. Kenyon didn’t mention your aspirations.

NK: Cynthia is an artist. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t capable of supporting her in her work.

AG: So you are saying that you sublimated your talent in favor of supporting her?

NK: Spot on.

AG: How did you come up with the idea for Flooded?

NK: I dreamt about it.

AG: Dreams again. Where do you think these dreams came from?

NK: Timothy Chase.

AG: Are you saying you believe in ghosts, Mr. Kenyon?

NK: Yes, I do.

AG: How long have you believed in ghosts?

NK: About a year or so.

AG: Since you moved into the house where Mr. Chase died?

NK: Yes.

AG: Mr. Kenyon, isn’t your proclaimed belief in the paranormal just an elaborate ruse to cover the fact that you stole the outline for Mr. Chase’s last novel from his personal computer, which was in your possession for the entire time it took for you to write Flooded?

NK: Look…don’t you think at this point it would be better for my reputation to admit stealing the outline? If I had done it, I would willingly admit it. I’m even willing to give Tim posthumous credit on the novel, because I do believe Tim gave me the dreams. However, I’ve been told that doing so will ruin my career. All I can tell you is that I dreamt a series of dreams, from which I wrote Flooded. I never plugged in Tim’s personal computer and I’ve never seen the so-called outline. The only thing that makes sense to me is that Timothy Chase inspired the novel by invading my dreams.

AG: Is he still inspiring you? Will you be giving credit to Mr. Chase for your latest manuscript?

NK: No. My new manuscript is all mine.

AG: Thank you for your time, Mr. Kenyon.

To read more of this novel, visit Amazon.com or Smashwords.

My Book Junkies Interview

Last night, I had the privilege of being interviewed by David Cleinman, the author of Toys in the Attic and the host of Book Junkie Interviews. I had a great conversation with him and a few callers about my writing and literature in general.

I hope you'll set aside some time and listen to the taped conversation.

And don't forget about the autographed copy of An Unassigned Life that I will be giving away at the end of the month. If you would like a chance to win it, just leave a comment on the Novel of the Month post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Novel of the Month: An Unassigned Life

An Unassigned Life combines two of my favorite subjects: writing and the paranormal. If you have a mind that works like mine, you too may have looked at the phrase “ghost writer” and thought, What if…? That’s where this novel came from – that what if moment. So I wrote a novel where I killed my main character in the first chapter.

The best part of writing a ghost story was imagining the rules and regulations – as well as the advantages – of being a ghost. My favorite book when I was a child was a paperback compilation of “true” ghost stories. I read it at least five times, committing many of the stories to heart. As an adult, I am a devoted fan of both Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.

Do I believe in ghosts? Not really. I won’t totally discount the possibility, but I think most hauntings have more to do with the haunted than the dead. Certain types of hauntings always leave me shaking my head. For instance, why is the ghost lady always wearing white? Outside of wedding dresses (which only came into vogue after Queen Victoria wore white to marry Prince Albert), very few dresses are white. And those chills or goosebumps people claim to experience when encountering a ghost? I can give those to myself just by thinking of something frightening!

If you are looking for a funny ghost story, take a look at An Unassigned Life this month. You can buy it at Inknbeans Press (my lovely publisher!), Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and many other e-bookstores across the web. If you would like it in paperback, please visit CreateSpace.

Now, if you would like to win an autographed copy of this book, leave a comment below. On March first, I will put all the entries in a hat and have my husband draw the winner. Best of luck!

Half Off, Today Only: An Unassigned Life

From the paranormal novel, An Unassigned Life:

“What should we do with the old computer?” Cynthia asked as she and Nick wrangled the heavy wooden desk out of the living room and into the spare room they had designated the office.

“It’s not good for much other than parts at this point, but you never know when we might need them. Let’s hold onto it for now. We can stick it in the closet.”

They slid the desk under a window that looked out onto the street, and Nick began setting up his own computer on it.

“No! Don’t do that!” Tim screamed, even though he’d already figured out that screaming was useless – Detective Ramirez and Melissa had certainly not heard him as he complained loudly about the officers removing the computer.

“Did you hear something?” Cynthia asked.

“No.” Nick was on the ground, plugging the cords into the surge protector.

“I think there might be someone here. I’m going to check.”

“Okay. Bring the old computer in here when you get a chance.”

Cynthia walked to the living room and opened the front door. A bum was standing at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the bungalow, staring at it. She moved to close the door.

“Where’s Mr. Tim?” the bum asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Tim. Is he home?”

Realizing that the man was referring to the previous owner, she said, “I’m sorry, sir. Mr. Tim died a few months ago.”

“But I just saw him last week.”

Tim remembered: last week, George had knocked on the door and Tim hadn’t bothered to hide. He’d just stood in the living room and watched the bum pound on the door. He’d been more persistent than usual, but Tim had chalked it up to George being very hungry. Now, he thought there might be another reason. He went to the window and stood where George might see him.

“Maybe you saw my husband. He was working here last weekend.”

“No. I know what Mr. Tim looks like.” George shifted his eyes to the window and said, “See? Right there! Hi, Mr. Tim!” George waved.

Tim waved back, bemused. Why can George see me? he thought. Pulling the El Pad from his pocket, he read the answer:

Some living humans, particularly those suffering from a chemical imbalance of the brain, are able to see and interact with you. Unfortunately, this imbalance frequently leads others to label these individuals as insane. 

Great, he thought. If I want to hang out in an asylum, I can have all the company I want.

Yes, answered the El Pad.

*****

If you enjoyed this snippet of my paranormal novel, I hope you will take advantage of the one-day half-off sale at Smashwords. To get this book for only $1.50, click here and use this coupon code: RH42G.