Hi Kim,
Thanks so much for having me on your blog today. It’s always fun to talk about my older books. Of course my older books aren’t really that old since I’m still relatively new to being a published author.
Haunted was my first published work, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It came out in July of 2013 and is available only in eBook format.
Oddly enough, it started out life as fanfiction.
I had been writing fanfiction and posting online for a long time, mostly writing AUs (Alternate Universes), basically original fiction with just a few identifying characteristics of the main characters here and there. I wrote Haunted and a friend of mine convinced me to strip it of the very few references to fandom, fleshing it out a little, and submitting it. I enjoy writing, so didn’t mind rewriting it. I was really surprised when it was accepted. I had my first contract!
Editing was a unique experience. But even that was enjoyable in its own way because hey…the book was going to be published! And the artwork, wow. Paul Richmond is amazing. I gave him a roughly sketched idea of how I’d like it to look and he created a gorgeous cover.
I got really good reviews on it. Lots of people liked the unique twist on the ghost story. Jason is a lovable ghost. One reviewer likened the story more to “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” than a scary ghost story. The love is improbable because it’s between a ghost and human. But I saw it more as a fun story than anything that was supposed to be realistic.
I learned a lot from the whole process of writing and getting this book published and now have published two more (Living Again, and Through the Years) and have a new book coming out in March called Ray of Sunlight.
And it all began with Haunted.
When Lenard Blake is forced to leave his wife, he divorces not just her but her influential family, who makes it impossible for him to keep his job as a Denver police officer, never mind to find another one anywhere in Colorado. But a rural police force in Virginia has an opening, and the move could be just the change he needs, so Lenard buys a house based on an Internet ad. But when he arrives, he finds that the house looks nothing like the ad… and it’s haunted as well. Lenard doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but he decides to research his supposed ghost anyway. Soon he learns that fifteen years ago, Jason Miller was murdered in the house, and his entire family died under suspicious circumstances. As he makes friends with his ghostly companion, they join forces to try to solve the old murders. Along the way, they find there are some things that conquer even death.
Buy Links
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4006
I live in Virginia. My two grown daughters support my writing and sometimes act as proof readers. My eldest daughter writes fan fiction and my youngest dabbles. They’re both on their own now, but they’re still close and still encourage me in my writing as much as they do in other aspects of my life. I’m a teacher by profession, because writing doesn’t quite pay the bills. I work in special education with children with emotional disabilities. It’s challenging but rewarding work and sometimes I think I learn as much from them as they do from me. When I’m not working or writing, though I must admit there isn’t much time that doesn’t fall into those two categories, I draw and paint. I also get outside as often as I can, and pretty much read anything that stands still long enough.
Look me up on my websites:
http://brynnstein2.wix.com/books-and-thoughts https://twitter.com/BrynnStein http://brynnstein2.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/brynn.stein