Ghosts, Spirits, and The Afterlife: A Panel Discussion and Reading

I've survived going back to work--and back to school. All of this weeks reading is done, one assignment complete and submitted and the second one well on its way. I have to admit I'm enjoying the scholarly environment--a lot more since I figured out a way for MS Word to put all my references into APA style and import them into my documents. Even the footnotes need to be footnoted.

I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, but humor me. This weekend will be devoted to writing fiction. Next will be dedicated to meeting and greeting and discussing metaphysics--coincidentaly or not so coincidently, a subject in many of the research papers I've been reading.

You all know I do believe in ghosts, and write about them. And that witches are real. If you're in the Northeast, consider stopping by (or sending your friends) to this discussion at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Library.

I may not be a New England author at present, but I did my residency on the North Shore of Massachusetts, very close to Salem (and Portsmouth). Another synchronicity, I suppose. So I've lived  and worked in that very special corridor of lovely towns with interesting history, interesting places to visit, and very interesting people.

Pass the word along! 

Here's the official press release. Permission to forward granted and encouraged.

Join four New England authors for an informative and fun panel discussion of the challenges and opportunities of writing about ghosts, both real and imagined. We’ll explore a variety of approaches, beliefs, and customs ranging from the lighthearted to the downright scary, from real-life encounters to those that are completely fictitious.

The presentation will be followed by a book signing and informal reception in which audience members will have a chance to chat with the authors. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to tbruce@terribruce.net

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Presentation: 11 am – 1 pm

Reception and Book Signing: 1 pm – 3 pm

Portsmouth Public Library,

165 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, NH

More information:http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/ 

Terri Bruce (terribruce.net) has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her debut novel, Hereafter, is about a woman stuck on earth as a ghost, searching for a way to cross over to the afterlife.

Chelsea M. Cameron (leftandwrite.com) is a YA/NA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is. Her latest novel, Whisper, is about a girl who can communicate with ghosts.

Renee Mallett (reneemallet.com) is the author of several non-fiction books about folklore and the paranormal. She has written a series of books about New Hampshire’s local legends and haunted history, including Strange New Hampshire and Haunted Portsmouth. She has appeared on Fearnet.com’s Streets of Fear series and on radio programs across the country to talk about ghostly phenomena and the power of myth. Much of Renee Mallett’s work is influenced by her love of nature, mythology, and history. You can visit this author on the web or in person at her workspace in Western Ave Studios in Lowell, MA the first Saturday of every month during Open Studios.

Carole Ann Moleti (caroleannmoleti.com) lives and works as a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with all things paranormal, urban fantasy, and space opera. Though she's never seen any, ghosts swirl around her all the time--and she has incorporated those experiences into her Cape Cod paranormal romance novels as well as her award winning non-fiction. Her work has appeared in a variety of speculative fiction venues including Lightspeed, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, Tangent Online, The Portal, and The Fix. Her short stories set in the world of her novels are featured in Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts and Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires and Beltane:Ten Tales of Magic.