Guest blog: Spirited A Tidewater Novel by Mary Behre

Mystery and Ghosts The Perfect Mix

I love ghost stories. Always have. There’s something about them that gets the senses tingling and the brain running those wonderful “what-if” scenarios. So what is it about ghost stories that make them so appealing?

For me, it’s the mystery. Look at some of my favorite ghost stories that have come out on the big screen. Whether they were scary, like The Others or The Sixth Sense, or funny like High Spirits, or love stories like Ghost, they all shared two things in common. Ghosts were essential to the help the living and there was a mystery to be solved. Sometimes, the mystery was how the ghosts came to be, other times the ghosts were there to help the living solve a mystery of some sort.

So when I started writing the Tidewater series it was only natural for me to blend paranormal world with the mundane. The first thing I considered what was the type of ghost I wanted in my story. The type of ghost affects the tone of the story to a degree that the wrong type of ghost could pull the reader out of the story completely.

For example: all the ghosts in the above movies were Visitants. Ghosts who cannot move on after they’ve died because they still have something to accomplish in the mortal realm. They are sentient and may choose to communicate with the living. But visitants aren’t the only type of ghost out there.

Wraiths are out there too. These are specters that don’t interact with the living. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge traveled back in time with the ghost of Christmas Past. While standing on the school grounds, Scrooge saw boys at play and called out to them but they couldn’t see or hear him. They’re unaware of who and what they are. Essentially, they’re echoes; incapable of conversation or meaningful communication with the living.

Ghost tours are usually filled with stories of wraiths. Old Mrs. Cox rocking in her favorite chair, a Civil War soldier searching for his way out of a prison camp, an old lighthouse keeper wandering the grounds in a storm while keeping the lighthouse lamp burning, are all examples of wraiths. 

And then there are the poltergeists. These ghosts get a bad rep thanks to the movie of the same name. Poltergeist is German and roughly translates to noisy spirit. These spirits may make things books fall off shelves and lights flicker but in all my research, I’ve never heard of any of them doing anything more malevolent than hiding someone’s keys. 

Since ghosts play essential parts in the book, it was imperative that they  been sentient and aware of the fact they’re dead. Once I knew what type of ghost I was working with, the blending of the paranormal element and the mystery fell into place.

Now it’s my turn. Have you ever seen a ghost? What kind was it?

Spirited 
A Tidewater Novel
Mary Behre

She's running from who she is...

All Jules Scott wants is to live a normal, quiet life--preferably one that doesn't include ghosts. Jules's ability for communicating with the dead has brought her nothing but trouble. Despite her best efforts, needy spirits always find her and draw her into their otherworldly drama. When one implicates her in a series of deadly crimes, she may need to entrust her secrets to the person least likely to believe her...

He'll do whatever it takes to catch her.

Detective Seth English can't get distracted from the big case he's working on, not even by his alluring new neighbor. He doesn't believe that Jules had anything to do with the string of robberies-turned-murders that he's investigating, but when she keeps showing up in all the wrong places, his gut tells him she knows more than she's letting on. To solve his case, he'll need to expose what the sexy redhead is hiding--no matter how impossible the truth may be...

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About the Author:

Mary Behre is the lone female in a house full of males and the undisputed queen of her domain. She even has the glittery tiara to prove it. She loves stories with humor, ghosts, mysteries and above all else, a good romance. When not writing, she enjoys reading, gluten-free baking, and hanging out at the beach with the most important men in her life, her family.

Her debut paranormal romance, SPIRITED (Tidewater Novel #1) was an award-winning manuscript before it sold to Berkley Sensation. The Tidewater Series is mix of humor, suspense, and a psychic love-connection. The first three stories are about three sisters separated years before in the foster care system. As they search for love, each other, and a way to live with their psychic abilities, they're tossed into the middle of mysteries that only their unique gifts can help solve.

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