Please welcome Namemily-Jane Hills Orford author of Mrs. Murray's Ghost
Emily-Jane Hills Orford will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Mrs. Murray's Ghost
by Author Namemily-Jane Hills Orford
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GENRE: Middle Grade fantasy
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INTERVIEW:
1. What or who inspired you to start writing?
My grandmother (Gran) and my mother. Gran was a wonderful storyteller and everything in her life was a story. My mother told and wrote stories. They both encouraged me in different ways.
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre.
Imagination. Gran always claimed I had a vivid imagination. My sister encouraged me to write “The Piccadilly Street” series. Once I started, with Mary, the main character, I was reliving my childhood: my interests, my imaginings, my dreams and, of course, my ghost, Mrs. Murray. Mary is very much me when I was young.
Also, it’s imperative to understand the targeted audience. Middle Graders are very particularly about what they like and don’t like to read. After teaching writing to ten-year-olds, I had a good idea of what works and what doesn’t. Young people have such vivid imaginations and it’s wonderful listening to their stories. They inspired me and gave me some ideas for developing a plot and characters (real and imaginary) that would appeal to young readers.
3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?
My memories. Fond memories of the haunted house where I grew up: the ghost, the bats, the uniqueness of the house itself. I had been writing family stories and memoirs for years and I wanted to try something a little different, something for younger readers. So, in a way, this series, “The Piccadilly Street” series, is a trip down memory lane for me.
4. What expertise did you bring to your writing?
I know the house. I know the ghost. I know my dreams and memories and imaginings. I have worked with young people for years. It just all came together and I had so much fun writing this series.
5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I love what I do. I love writing. When I’m not writing, I’m working in my garden (in the growing season), I’m working on my needleart, I’m playing the piano and composing music, or I’m painting. I’m an artist and a creator in many genres.
6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
I still have to achieve my goal of becoming a best-selling author. I keep hoping. I have lots of books and ideas in the works. The second two books of “The Piccadilly Street” series (“Mrs. Murray’s Hidden Treasure” and “Mrs. Murray’s Home) are with the publisher, going through edits. Book 4 (“Mr. Murray’s Gun”) is still in the writing process. I write every day and every opportunity I get. I carry a notebook with me so that I never have to sit waiting in a doctor’s office with nothing to do.
7. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
Actually, I am one of the characters: Mary. She is very much what I was as a child, so, in writing her story, I’m reliving my past. Great fun.
8. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?
“Did you leave any lights on downstairs?” he asked as he seated himself at the table once again.
“No,” Mom answered. “I turned everything off.”
“She did,” Mary added. “I made sure.”
“The lights were all on in the kitchen,” Dad said. “Some of the cupboard doors were wide open. I closed them.” At that, the banging doors started up again.
“I guess it’s official,” David announced. “We have a ghost.” He made his move and passed ‘Go’. Holding out his hand to the banker (who was always Dad to ensure some modicum of fairness in the game), he demanded, “Two hundred dollars, please.”
“Sounds to me like the ghost is checking us out,” Dad said, handing over the Monopoly money. “It’s not hurting anyone, so let it be.”
“Spoooooky!” David howled, laughing.
Mary didn’t laugh. She wasn’t sure why they thought it was funny, but if no one else was afraid, maybe ghosts weren’t scary.
9. Do you outline your books or just start writing?
A bit of both. I like to jump right into the story, to start writing, but I also write down my ideas of where the story should go. Primarily so I don’t forget my brilliant ideas.
10. How do you maintain your creativity?
By constantly being creative, whether it’s writing, working on my needleart and paintings, composing music, or even working in the garden. Also, by sharing my ideas with other like-minded people. Creative people inspire creative people.
11. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?
Other than Mary, who’s so much me as a child, I would say Granny. I modelled this character after my own grandmother, whom we fondly called Gran. We were very close, Gran and I; we shared a passion for reading, telling stories and travelling. Most of my stories somehow include this very special person in some way.
BLURB:
Mary’s family has moved into a huge Victorian mansion. She loves her gigantic new house, especially her room. But then she begins to meet the house’s other residents. Mrs. Murray was murdered in Mary’s new house. At first she tries to scare the new residents away, but there seems to be a force connecting the ghost to Mary. Even the stranded Brownies, the little people who live between the walls, feel that connection. When Mary becomes deathly ill, the Brownies and the ghost team up to try to rescue her, only to encounter a witch and her evil minions. Time is running out. They must rescue Mary from a fever-induced dream world before she is trapped there forever. As well as being a fun read for young readers, the story gives an historical perspective to childhood, as it dates to the 1960s. It also deals with some very current issues, specifically bullying.
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EXCERPT:
There is a street called Piccadilly in London, England. In fact, there is a place, an intersection, known as Piccadilly Circus. But it is questionable as to whether or not there are any major intersections along the famous Piccadilly Street that have residential houses of some distinction on all four corners, and there is definitely no intersection of Piccadilly Street and Waterloo Street. When I last visited London, England, I was disappointed to note that there wasn’t even a Waterloo Street, just a Waterloo Road, and that was on the other side of the river from Piccadilly Street. So, the intersection of Piccadilly Street and Waterloo Street could only occur in the other London, the one in which Mary grew up. Indeed, the number of her childhood home, had it existed in London, England, could only exist in the middle of the intersection of Piccadilly Street and Regent Street.
There are other cities in the world that bear the auspicious name of London. But only the one in Canada has an intersection of Piccadilly Street and Waterloo Street with an old Victorian mansion on each of the four corners. One, in particular, is a grand Queen Anne style, early twentieth-century building complete with a tower room, a bay window, stained glass windows, mosaic tiled floors and much more. A family moved in to take up residence in 1967. Mary’s family. It was also at this house that others took up residence many years earlier and never left. One died and left her restless spirit to roam the halls and torment those who chose to reside in the house. The other two were little sprites known as Brownies. They lived inside the walls and watched over the house that they also called home.
You see, the Brownies had a mission, something that was going to involve one of the new residents of this old house: a ten-year-old girl by the name of Mary. This is, in fact, Mary’s story, or, at least, the beginning of her story. For there is much more to Mary’s story than this little tale.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
An avid gardener, artist, musician and writer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford has fond memories and lots of stories that evolved from a childhood growing up in a haunted Victorian mansion. Told she had a ‘vivid imagination’, the author used this talent to create stories in her head to pass tedious hours while sick, waiting in a doctor’s office, listening to a teacher drone on about something she already knew, or enduring the long, stuffy family car rides. The author lived her stories in her head, allowing her imagination to lead her into a different world, one of her own making. As the author grew up, these stories, imaginings and fantasies took to the written form and, over the years, she developed a reputation for telling a good story. Emily-Jane can now boast that she is an award-winning author of several books, including Mrs. Murray’s Ghost (Telltale Publishing 2018), Queen Mary’s Daughter (Clean Reads 2018), Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and several other books. A retired teacher of music and creative writing, she writes about the extra-ordinary in life and the fantasies of dreams combined with memories. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca
Author Links:
Website: http://emilyjanebooks.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realpeoplestories
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ejhomusic
Blog: http://beyondtheordinaryincanadianstories.blogspot.ca/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1732544.Emily_Jane_Hills_Orford
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Emily-Jane Hills Orford will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2855
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me and my book, "Mrs. Murray's Ghost".
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Angel's blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
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