Today I have an interview with Shannon Mawhiney. She an author, and she’s a librarian. Today I’ll post our interview, and tomorrow I’ll post a snippet of her book. I’d like to begin with this random TV clip about librarians, and then get to the interview.
Bryce: Let’s start with you. Tell me three things about yourself that everyone should know and one thing that almost nobody knows.
Shannon: Let’s see. Everyone should know that I’m a librarian by day, that I have always loved ghost stories, and that I don’t ever expect to write romance. What almost nobody knows is that I became obsessed with genealogy when I was in junior high and discovered that I am (supposedly) a descendant of King Duncan of Scotland. You know, the one Macbeth killed.
Bryce: That’s awesome. I mean, not that your great great great x6 grandpa was murdered, but the whole historic connection and all. Did you see The Shadow with Alec Baldwin? The bad guy claims to be Genghis Kahn’s last living descendant. As it ends up in reality, 1 out of every 200 men in the whole world are descendants of Genghis Kahn. As far as I know, I am not one of them. I do have Scottish ancestry though. Maybe we’re distant cousins.
Enough rambling; back to you…
What are some of your favorite ghost stories? (famous or not)
Shannon: I have not seen The Shadow, but I just added it to my ever-growing Netflix queue. (At this rate they’ll have me as a customer through the 2030s, ha!)
My favorite ghost stories are mostly movies actually (Heart and Souls, Beetlejuice, Sixth Sense, The Ring, Ghost Town, etc.). But for books, one of my favorites when I was growing up was Stonewords by Pam Conrad. It’s about a girl named Zoe whose best friend is a ghostly little girl with the same name. I was also big into the Fear Street Saga books by R.L. Stine. More recently though I read The Dead Father’s Club by Matt Haig and really enjoyed it. Kids and ghosts are always a good combination in my opinion.
Bryce: I’m fascinated with ghost stories. As part of my day job, I occasionally travel to West Yellowstone, Montana where I maintain computer systems. I’ve heard employees of three separate properties claim the hotel where they work is haunted. One of the hotels has a pretty sordid history, too.
So what do you think, are there really ghosts?
Shannon: I still haven’t made up my mind. There are so many ghost investigation shows on tv now, but nothing I’ve ever seen on them has been very convincing. I was however told once by a disembodied voice to "watch your step" when coming out of a room in an old building with uneven floors. And my husband’s deceased great grandmother apparently used to tuck him in when he was an infant. Who knows. Either way, I love the stories.
Bryce: Tell me about The Death of Torberta Turchin.
Shannon: The Death of Torberta Turchin is a YA paranormal novel that I hope also appeals to adults. It’s about a 14-year-old girl, Torberta (or Torby), who communicates with the dead. She can’t see them; she can only hear them. Because of this, her relatives sent her to a boarding school for mentally ill children, after her parents died in a car crash when she was five. Ever since then, her best friend has been a man named Charlie, a ghost who died in the 1930s. Charlie does his best to guide and protect her, acting as an invisible big brother. But he can’t do much for her if he can’t figure out who’s trying to kill her.
Bryce: I did dome googling and found the trailer for your book. Did you make that yourself, or did you get someone to do it for you?
Shannon: I did make that myself, with input from my husband. It’s a first attempt, and it’s not perfect, but I think it gets the general idea across. Without spending a lot of money, it’s tough to actually create what you’re picturing in your head. Since uploading it a few days ago, I’ve been asking for and getting some great ideas, critiques, and tips. I already have plans for making a new one in the (hopefully near) future.
Bryce: How long did it take you to write the novel? What kind of a process did you use? (outline, notecards…)
Shannon: If I condensed the total time, it probably took me around 6 months. But I took a lot of long breaks in between, so I’ve actually been working on it for around five years. The process I used was to keep three binders: one for ideas (jotted on any paper scrap I could find), one for discarded ideas (to keep in case I changed my mind), and one for editing the most recent draft, since I’m better at editing on paper than I am on a screen. Also, when I wasn’t on a "break" from writing, I put myself on a loose schedule of completing a chapter every week, specifically for the first draft of the book.
Bryce: What was your favorite part of the process?
Shannon: My favorite part is probably the planning and plotting stage, figuring out who my characters are, who’s going to get into what kind of trouble, etc. Sometimes writing the actual text is a part of the same stage; I tend to write certain scenes that are already vivid in my head before I necessarily have a place to put them. Getting lost in those scenes, and forgetting that I’m sitting at a computer and typing, is fun.
Bryce: So when can we expect your next book? Are you working on anything now, or are you just concentrating on getting the word out about Torberta?
Shannon: My main focus at the moment is letting people know about Torberta, but I’m also beginning work on a sequel. My hope is to turn The Death of Torberta Turchin into a series of approximately seven books. Torby will remain the main character, but she’s not the only person in history who’s ever heard voices…
Bryce: How can folks learn more about you or your book?
Shannon: I have a blog at http://mawhiney.blogspot.com where I do book reviews and talk about my writing, and I’m also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/torberta. Comments, questions, and videos of hilarious cats are always appreciated on both.
For more information on the book (especially reviews), see GoodReads (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10866235-the-death-of-torberta-turchin) or Amazon, or see the book trailer on YouTube: [edit: just look above –Bryce]. I’m also doing a book giveaway this month on GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/9460-the-death-of-torberta-turchin
Bryce: Okay, before I leave you alone, what should I have asked you? (And then please answer your own question…)
Shannon: Hmm… The only questions coming to mind have to do with favorite foods and the airspeed velocities of swallows, so I think I’ll just leave it at that. Or if you want something like, "Are you excited about your next book?", then the answer would be "Yes. Very."
Bryce: Okay, thanks, Shannon!
Everybody stop by tomorrow to get a peak at Shannon’s writing.
