I’ve always loved ghost stories and tales about haunted places, ever since I was a kid. Now I write books about ghosts, haunted locations, magic, and supernatural goings-on. I research real world locations that people say are haunted and stories of paranormal stuff and ghost sightings. Whether or not they are ‘true’ in the literal sense, they resonate deeply with me.
New Orleans is one of my favorite haunted locations because there’s practically a ghost on every corner. I’ve enjoyed visiting the city and going on tours of houses and cemeteries said to be haunted and listening to master storytellers share a history of the city that is interlaced with the supernatural. (Plus, the food and music are amazing!)
Charleston and Savannah are more of my favorite haunted locations, ones I use in my Deadly Curiosities and Witchbane series. They are beautiful cities built on a tragic and bloody history that has never fully reached resolution, and that’s fertile ground for ghosts. Whenever I visit, I love taking ghost tours and going through historic homes that are said to be haunted.
Cemeteries are some of my other favorite haunted locations. That includes the beautiful one in my hometown as well as famous ones like St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, where Marie Leveau, the ‘Voodoo queen’ is buried. Cemeteries are fascinating to me because you get tantalizing tidbits about who the people were who are buried there from the fragments of information on their headstones and their epitaphs. I love the combination of serene gardens with flowers, trees and statuary with the pensive reminder of mortality.
I enjoy watching YouTube videos of people who explore abandoned mines. I’m amazed at the equipment that was left behind, and at the sheer size of the mines. Mining was very dangerous work, and many people died—making mines prime territory for ghosts. In Pennsylvania, where I’m from and where several of my series are set, there were once so many coal mines that no one now truly knows where they all are. Hundreds of miles of tunnels underneath the ground, and no complete maps. Now and again, the tunnels collapse and take some buildings down with them.
Old hospitals are fascinating, like the now-destroyed Dixmont State Hospital outside of Pittsburgh and the Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts, or the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. These were all Kirkbride hospitals with massive, sprawling brick buildings built in the 1880s, with a very distinctive architecture style designed to maximize sunlight and fresh air. Unfortunately, overcrowding, underfunding and mistaken beliefs about mental illness often resulted in horrific conditions, which creates a perfect combination to result in restless spirits.
I read books about local and regional ghost stories, follow the exploits of paranormal investigators on video, and watch urban explorers delve into abandoned locations. Not only do I get good ideas for new books, but I love finding out about all the spooky stuff!
Joe Mack Shadow Council Files
Book Five
Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Falstaff Books
Date of Publication: July 23, 2025
ISBN: 979-8293995790
ASIN: B0DFDZ4S4T
Number of pages: 122
Word Count: 30,000
Cover Artist: GetCovers.com
Tagline: When you ask a god for favors, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
Book Description:
Joe Mack is back, solving cold cases that eluded Eliot Ness and kicking demon butt.
Josef Magarac was a brave man, a strong man, a hard-working immigrant who only wanted a better life for his family. Then he was murdered, and an ancient Slavic god brought him back to life, gave him new abilities, and a mission to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Now he's Joe Mack, immortal thanks to the Slavic god, and a champion against dark magic, demons, and things that go bump in the night.
Joe's previous collection of adventures spanned the Roaring Twenties and Prohibition. Now he's in the modern era, working with new partners and adjusting to a whole new century. But old cases have resurfaced, and demons never die. A supernatural serial killer has returned, and some of the evil Joe thought was done and dusted has returned to wreak havoc. It will take all of the supernatural abilities, wit, and will of Joe and his partners—past and present—to stop the dark forces once and for all. If they fail, it will unleash a wave of demonic vengeance, blood, and death unlike anything Cleveland has ever seen.
Times Change is a non-stop thrill ride full of paranormal action, found family, dark magic, and loyal friends.
Excerpt
1:
I’d
burned her bones, but she was back again.
And
now she was pissed.
I
fired my shotgun filled with salt rounds, but she vanished between when I
pulled the trigger and when the shells fired. Then she materialized behind me
and gave me a shove that sent me sprawling.
I’m
a big guy, and thanks to a favor from a Slavic god, I’m immortal and pretty
damned hard to injure. That doesn’t mean I like being tossed around by
ill-tempered ghosts who have overstayed their welcome.
I
rolled and came up with the shotgun locked and loaded, firing into the ghost’s
midsection. That bought me a moment or two since salt fritzes ghosts’ ability
to manifest, but I knew she wouldn’t be gone long.
I
walked to where the tracks had been and stopped when the toe of my boot struck
an old spike left from the long-ago rails. A scream reverberated through the
forest. I pumped my shotgun and blasted her again before she could fully
re-form. Then I set a salt circle around myself to keep her from knocking me
around, dumped lighter fluid on the spike, and dropped a match on it.
People
called the ghost the Lavender Lady. The stories said that she had been
gathering the flowers back in the early 1900s when she was struck by a
train—back before the tracks had been pulled up when trains still ran.
The
town of Moonville was nothing but ruins now; the railroad was long gone, and
the tunnel had fallen into disrepair, but the Lavender Lady still wandered the
forest, surprising hikers and scaring thrill-seekers.
The
Lady’s real name was Henrietta Austin, and while her body was found amid the
flowers for which she was nicknamed, the evidence suggested foul play, covered
up by the train accident story. Since the culprit was long dead, I couldn’t
give Henrietta justice, but I might be able to give her peace.
But
first, she would try her best to kill me.
Henrietta’s
ghost hurled herself against the salt circle’s iridescent barrier, angry at
fate and desperate to take it out on someone. Her corpse-pale face, marred by
fury and decomposition, pressed against the scrim, and a terrible screech
threatened to make my ears bleed.
“Depart
from here, Henrietta Austin, and trouble the living no more,” I commanded.
“Your time is long past, and your killer is dead. Let go and move on.”
The
fire flared around the old rail spike, and I could see Henrietta’s spirit
fading. The accelerant I’d poured on the metal stake wouldn’t melt iron, but I
took the chance that flames would burn away enough of the coating to drive her
off. Then I could pull the stake out of the ground, put it in the lead and iron
box I’d brought, and make sure Henrietta never bothered anyone again.
Henrietta
gave one last blood-curdling scream and vanished. I wasn’t foolish enough to
believe her energy had dissipated that quickly after haunting these woods for a
century, but perhaps she needed to recharge before attacking again.
By
that time, I intended to have her anchor—the spike—out of her reach forever.
About the Authors:
Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy, steampunk and more for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria.
Together with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron and Blood, Storm and Fury (both Steampunk/alternate history), the Spells Salt and Steel comedic horror series, the Roaring Twenties monster hunter Joe Mack Shadow Council series, and the Wasteland Marshals near-future post-apocalyptic series. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow series. Gail is also a con-runner for ConTinual, the online, ongoing multi-genre convention that never ends.
Larry N. Martin is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat, and the new portal fantasy series, The Splintered Crown, A Tankards and Heroes novel. He is the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and Steel: New Templar Knights series; the Steampunk series Iron and Blood; and a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm and Fury Adventures set in the Iron and Blood universe. He is also the co-author (with Gail) of the Wasteland Marshals series and the Joe Mack - Shadow Council series from Falstaff Books.
No comments:
Post a Comment