Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome the talented authors of the book, Trespassing Time - Ghost Stories from the Prairie. Welcome Barbara J. Baldwin, Linda Madl, Jerri Garretson and Sheri L. McGathy.

How did you meet each other?

Sheri: I like to think it was fate that brought the four of us together. I first met Linda by email, having seen her listed right above my listing in another Kansas author's newsletter. Linda didn't actually state in her listing where she was from, but she did say enough about the area to make me wonder if she lived close. So I wrote her. Turned out we lived in the same town!

After meeting with Linda, I decided I wanted to find other authors in the area. Linda helped me find and invite them to an informal get-together at one of our local coffee houses. Jerri and Barb were two of the authors who attended.

Linda: It began when I was searching a local store for ghost books for my ghost book collection. There on the shelf was Jerri Garretson's THE SECRET OF WHISPERING SPRINGS. The best part was her e-mail addy was in the back. So I contacted her and she responded. In the meantime, Sheri McGathy, having seen my name on a website, called me. I already knew Barbara Baldwin from Kansas Writers Inc. Eventually it seemed only natural that all four of us get together for coffee. So we did--more than once. A collaboration was born.

Jerri: We were fortunate that Linda found us! She and Sheri went looking for more Manhattan, Kansas authors, and the four of us found we were kindred souls. Get us together and we talk for hours. You'd think that living in a small university town, it wouldn't be hard for local authors to find each other, but even though I worked at the library, I hadn't met Barb, Linda and Sheri. We formed Coffeeshop Writers , which also includes some other local authors, and our meetings became a highlight of my life.

How did you ladies decide to collaborate?

Sheri: Jerri was the brainchild for this project, as well as publisher, editor, and artist. Having discovered early on in our relationships that we all had interests in ghosts, though only Jerri had actually written a ghost story, she asked us if we would be interested in doing a ghost book together. There was a concern that working so closely together might harm our friendships, and we discussed this at great length before we agreed to do the book. The idea of creating a book is a wonderful thing, but it's not worth the cost of losing three good friends.

Linda: The topic of ghost stories was an obvious one for us with Jerri’s book and my collection. We all agreed that we like ghost stories. One of us, I don't remember who exactly, said, "Wouldn't it be neat to do a book of ghost stories together?" We agreed. Jerri, who is also a publisher through Ravenstone Press, took the comment seriously. Next thing we knew, she had a publishing calendar in front of us. So we got busy.

Jerri: I wrote The Secret of Whispering Springs and had readers clamoring for more ghost stories. I also had written a strange short story called, Fireball Faye and was looking for a good place to publish it.

At some of our meetings, we discovered that we all shared an interest in ghost stories. Linda had a sizable collection of ghost story books.

None of the others had written ghost stories before, but I had read some of their work and I was sure they could contribute some terrific stories to an anthology, so I made a proposal for the book that would become Trespassing Time - Ghost Stories From the Prairie.

What made you choose ghosts?

Sheri: It was Jerri’s idea to do the book about ghosts, mainly because of our mutual interest in the otherworldly. She also had a few stipulations for the premise of the stories. Each story had to be set on the prairie, a ghost had to make an appearance in the story, and the stories shouldn't be over 5,000 words. With the final product, the word lengths didn't quite stay to the initial guidelines; some went longer and some shorter, but in the end, it evened out.

Barb: We all shared an avid interest in ghosts. Linda and I both collect ghost stories from our travels, and a few of us have also had what some may call “supernatural” experiences.

Linda: Though we all write different things, a love of ghost stories was something we had in common. The other important decision made for the book's content was that the stories be set on the prairie. This is a setting familiar to all of us and a locale that gives the book distinction in the bookstore.

Jerri: The success of The Secret of Whispering Springs, my Fireball Faye story (which found its home in Trespassing Time), and our shared interest in ghosts.

Was it a true collaboration with interaction between the stories, or are the stories all stand-alones?

Sheri: The stories are standalone, but we each critiqued the other three authors’ stories. It was definitely a group effort from start to finish.

Barb: The stories all stand alone, however I do believe there was true collaboration between the authors. We had guidelines as to what the stories needed to have (for example the settings needed to be prairie); we critiqued each others work and brainstormed ideas, and we all discussed the layout, the title, etc that went into getting the product ready for publication.

Linda: Good question. Actually the stories do stand alone. However, after I wrote the Christmas ghost story, I realized I wasn't finished with the setting I used. It seemed to me that if there was a Christmas ghost, there would also be a Halloween ghost. That's how the book came to be framed by Christmas at the Gates of Hell and Halloween at the Gates of Hell with all the other stories in between.

Though the stories are stand alone, the book is a true collaboration in that we all read and edited each other's work--and we're still friends. It was a stimulating, educational process. It helped each of us do her best work. Yes, I'd do it again.

Jerri: The stories are all stand-alones, but they weren't created in a vacuum.

We had guidelines, and we also collaborated on the revisions. When I proposed the book, I had several criteria for the stories. First, each story had to have a real ghost or spirit. I don't like "ghost stories" in which the ghost is explained away at the end. Second, all of the stories had to have a prairie setting. Third, the ghost had to have motivation and be a genuine character in the story, not just an entity who scared someone.

When each of us submitted a story, all of us read it and critiqued it.
Each story went through several rounds of revisions with all of us participating. I think this made the stories much stronger and helped us to pull the anthology together, even with such different stories.

Can you tell us about your favorite story in the anthology?

Sheri: When I agreed to do the stories for the anthology, I wasn't even sure I knew how to write a ghost story. Because of my uncertainty, I found I was a bit at odds with myself on how to begin. I soon realized I needed to find a way to weave the fantasy I normally create into my first story in order to help me make the transition from one genre to the next. The Graveyard Dance helped me make that transition. So, I think The Graveyard Dance is my favorite, not only because it contains the fantasy I love, but it was the story that helped me ease into writing ghost stories.

Barb: My favorite is Dreams of the Dead because that’s the scariest one I wrote. It was one that I felt I was actually in the middle of – in fact I was working on it one night and swore I heard noises upstairs, practically scaring myself silly!

Linda: Tough question. If I pick one, the other collaborators will be after me, LOL. Okay, I'll be brave. Maxie is probably my favorite because I'm a dog lover, and I think it is a really touching story. Dreams of the Dead I think is the most haunting story with Griselda being the most suspenseful.

Jerri: One of the things I like best about our anthology is the variety of the stories. They cover the full range of emotions, and the ghosts are "human" in their uneasy afterlife.

I like all of the stories in the book, but there are certain ones that continue to affect me long after I've read them. I could give you a list of favorites, but if I have to pick one, it would be Forgotten, but Not Gone by Sheri L. McGathy. It is so eerie and so visually compelling. The scene where the mother creates the charm bracelet is unforgettable.

How many of these stories had an element of truth to them? Did any of them?

Sheri: Though fictional, I suppose all of the stories have a small grain of truth in them, though I hope to never encounter any of the ghosts we wrote about.

Barb: Of the 4 stories I wrote, 2 were somewhat based on true stories. Sometimes the line between truth and fiction gets blurred for an author. For example, when writing Dreams of the Dead which has a storm at the lake, there really was a storm at the lake where I live and I was writing this story at that time. A lot of the elements of the story came from that true happening. And too, since I wrote that in first person, it makes it feel much more like a true story.

Linda: My four stories reflect little to no element of truth, however, I believe some of the other stories have some truth at the core--Maxie being one of them.

Jerri: How many? How much of an element? Some are based on true ghost stories we were told by friends or acquaintances, but they have been much embellished. "True" ghost stories are usually fleeting incidents, fascinating, but not fully developed stories with a real plot and developed characters. Then there are some stories that are based on stories about a location, though the stories aren't the ones we are telling, and there are stories based on true stories of other kinds.

For instance, my story, Griselda, is not about a true ghostly cat, but the human monster in the story was inspired by news stories of men like him.

I've noticed that the spectrum of stories runs from creepy and scary to very humorous. What was the inspiration for such a varied group of stories?

Sheri: I took my inspiration for The Graveyard Dance from the Irish who settled here in Kansas and their wonderful myths and legends. The idea for What's Ghost to Do? was born after I read a very serious article from the UK concerning the fact that ghost sightings seemed to be at an all time low while cell phone usage was on the rise. The article itself was suggesting the two were related. Maxie's inspiration came from a friend but the emotion was mine as I had recently lost my dog, Hanna, and inspiration for Forgotten, But Not Gone probably came from all those Saturday nights at the local Drive-In.

Barb: Each of us were “required” to contribute 4 stories and the rest was up to us. As Jerri has probably already told you, story ideas come from everywhere. I sometimes have ideas from a song on the radio or a phrase I hear somewhere, but I can’t say that was the case for these ghost stories. I honestly don’t know where they came from. If I had much control over the writing once I get an idea, I certainly wouldn’t have written Déjà vu the way I did. I don’t like sad stories, even ghost ones.

Linda: History, folklore, and legends served as inspiration for the stories I wrote which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows that I'm a historical romance author. Sheri writes in the Fantasy area, while Barb is a romance author and Jerri usually writes YA. Each of us brought a unique perspective to the world of ghosts. I believe that is the reason for the wide spectrum of stories which makes the book unique and entertaining.

Jerri: The four of us come from very different writing backgrounds and although I think that influenced what we wrote, we also found that writing in a genre different from what we normally write was liberating and challenging. It allowed us to think outside the coffin, so to speak. I think each of us found something new, a new voice, perhaps, in doing these stories.

In some cases, we can point to exactly where the inspiration for a story came from, but in others, the idea is as mysterious as a ghost. I think the guidelines for the anthology helped to inspire, but there is also that creative wellspring that we can't really pinpoint or define.

For instance, I did not sit down at my computer and say to myself,
"Well, I need to write a story for this book, so I think I'll write one about a ghost cat." It wasn't like that at all. I wasn't even thinking about writing, but all of a sudden the story of Griselda came to me, name and all.

As the editor, I was delighted with the wide range and emotional pull of the stories. It was an interesting challenge to put them together in an order and framework that was effective.

Each of the others can tell you where the inspiration for their stories came from. In my case, I'm still puzzled about it. Fireball Faye started out as a story about ghostly lights on the prairie, an idea I got from reading Linda Hefner Heitz' book, "Haunted Kansas," a collection of true ghost stories from our state. But, when I started writing it, Faye appeared and took her own direction.

I have lived in Germany, Japan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and several other
US states, and I've come to believe that in some measure, geography is destiny. The fairy tales that arose in Germany and were collected by the Brothers Grimm are tied to a forested land with farmers and kings. Tales of a nation by the sea reflect the influence of the sea. What I wanted to see in Trespassing Time was stories that came from the land where we live, that arise from it naturally. I think you will see that in many of our stories. Of my four, I think that Lost in the Fog is most clearly tied to the land.

Each of you are published as individual authors, can you give us a small glimpse at your other books?

Sheri: In addition to TRESPASSING TIME - Ghost Stories from the Prairie, my other works include THE BIRTH OF SPRING, my very latest release which is a short story, several fantasy novels, WITHIN THE SHADOW OF STONE, SEASON OF GOLD--ELFEN GOLD Books One and Two, and novellas/audios Thief of Dreams, The Ancient One, and Where Lies Beauty, a novella from the anthology TWILIGHT CROSSINGS II.

Barb: I have a time travel romance out – INDIGO BAY – which does have a ghost buster in it although it wasn’t intended as a ghost book. Currently, I have been writing contemporaries for Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, and have a trilogy – ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYWAY -- starting in April. I also have a single title contemporary out, and have short stories in several of their anthologies.

Linda: My first foray into the paranormal is a story in THE JOURNEY HOME which is available from ImaJinn Books. It is a historical romance set in Illinois at the end of the Great War. A young medium on the verge of running away from home meets a war weary soldier in search of the spirit of his dead sister. I enjoyed writing that story very much. It gave me confidence to go on with writing ghost stories. I've been reading ghost stories for years but had never attempted to write any. This book was a PNR PEARL finalist.

Another recent release of mine is SPEAK OF LOVE, a Scottish historical romance set in the Western Isles involving war, betrayal, and a young woman's discovery of herself and true love available from Hard Shell Word Factory and Fictionwise.

Jerri: My best-known book is my young adult ghost story and mystery, The Secret of Whispering Springs, which seems to have found an audience far beyond the teens. It's very gratifying to get fan mail from people of all ages. The oldest one who wrote to me was 92, and a 14-year-old football player from California told me he was both a jock and intelligent and loved the book. I particularly treasure that letter because the prevailing "wisdom" says that not only do teenage boys not read, but they sure won't read a book with a girl on the cover. Not true!

The Secret of Whispering Springs pits a contemporary fourteen-year-old from Topeka, Kansas against a desperate man and a fourteen-year-old ghost from the 1890s when her family buys a neglected old mansion out on the prairie. I had some creepy experiences while writing it, and I don't know where the idea for it came from. I was having lunch with my husband in Estes Park, Colorado, when Annie was suddenly in my head telling me her story. Sometimes I wonder whether the story had some truth to it.

I am also the author of a middle grade novel, Imagicat, about a sixth grade boy who comes home after yet another humiliating incident at school to discover an invisible (to everyone else) talking cat in his room.

I have written three Kansas tall tales, Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas, Kansas Katie - A Sunflower Tale, and Twister Twyla - The Kansas Cowgirl, as well as a nonfiction book co-authored with my mother, Marion Kundiger, Izzie - Growing Up on the Plains in the 1880s.

Are you planning on collaborating again? Now that Jerri is moving to Florida could there be Everglades stories in the future?

Sheri: We'd sure like to do another anthology. Maybe we could do a book set in Florida, then one in Ohio or Kentucky, then New England and so on, we've certainly got plenty of states to work with.

Barb: We would love to collaborate again. Perhaps with Jerri’s move, we need to think about something “across the miles” with traveling ghosts.

Linda: We are sad that Jerri is leaving three of us behind in Kansas. But we are glad there is e-mail and the internet. We'll be burning up those lines staying in touch. It's just possible that there will be another book of ghost stories. In fact, I've been working on one, set on the prairies once again. We'll have to leave the Everglades to Jerri. What a great setting!
I also suspect there is a trip to Florida in the future for three of us.

Jerri: We are talking about collaborating on another book. We would certainly like to do it, and enjoyed working together on the last one. I don't know whether we would set a story in the Everglades. I firmly believe that in order to write convincingly, an author needs to know the location well. So far, I don't think any of us are ready to write about the Everglades, but you never know.

What the organizing theme of a new anthology would be, I don't yet know. One reviewer of Trespassing Time thought we should choose other geographic locations -- the mountains, the seashore, for instance. I think we will know when the right inspiration strikes. Meanwhile, I won't be writing much of anything until I get this move over with.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Sheri: I'd like to thank you for taking the time to interview us and also say to the readers that I hope you have as much fun reading Trespassing Time - Ghost Stories from the Prairie as we did writing the book.

May the magic always brighten your world!

Barb: Readers and fans can find all four of us at www.coffeeshopwriters.com, which is a website for a group of Manhattan, KS writers who meet, albeit infrequently, at a coffeeshop to discuss writing, books and just about anything else going on in the literary world.

Linda: One of the great things about writing ghost stories is that it provides writers with a wider range of human emotions and reactions to explore. It also puts us in touch with a dimension of good and evil in ways that conventional stories seldom permit. Ghost stories appear to tell us about a world beyond the one we live in while they actually tell us alot about ourselves and the human psyche.

Jerri: I feel extremely fortunate that Linda and Sheri got the four of us
together and that we had the opportunity to do this book. If anyone is
contemplating collaborating, make sure that you respect each other's
work and don't try to remake someone else's story as though you had
written it yourself. And, if you are friends, agree on guidelines at
the outset so that you won't ruin your friendship in the critique
process. On the other side, accept suggestions with grace.

A curious phenomenon I hadn't expected from writing ghost stories is that so many people want to tell me theirs. Reading, or hearing someone read, our stories serves as a catalyst. People tell me about experiences they may not have told anyone else. Like the stories in our book, some are poignant, some are heartwarming, some are tragic, and some are truly frightening. A lot of people have had experiences with ghostly phenomena, but felt they couldn't share the stories because people would either laugh at them or think they are crazy -- or at the very least too gullible. Like Miss Mossman says in The Secret of Whispering Springs, “There are many things in this world that don’t fit tidy explanations."

Thank you again for agreeing to do this. If you're interested in finding out more about either the authors or their book, visit the website at:
http://www.ravenstonepress.com/Trespassing_Time.html

Interviewed by: Serena