When one of my New England Chapter RWA chapter mates popped up on our writers' loop wondering what she should do to promote her debut book, I told her the first thing she had to do was come guest on my blog. (And bless her heart, she listened to me!)
Katie O'Sullivan is here with us today to share her exciting paranormal UNFOLDING THE SHADOWS. As usual when I have a guest, my words will be in bold and my guest will be in regular type. 
Unfolding the Shadows Blurb:
Jillian has worked hard to close the doors on her past and the psychic abilities that defined her youth. For sixteen years, she’s ignored the ghosts who still try to whisper to her. Even her controlling husband Kyle has no idea that his wife can talk to spirits. But on the day after Christmas, her great aunt’s car smashes head-on with a commuter train and Jillian finds herself on a collision course with ghosts who refuse to remain in the shadows any longer.
Long-hidden secrets are coming to light and Jillian’s life has to change to accommodate them. With the help of her friends and a substantial inheritance, she sets her life in a new direction, but Kyle’s not about to lose out on his share of Jillian’s inheritance—even if he has to kill her to get it.
Unfolding the Shadows excerpt:
As she entered the living room, she felt the distinct crackle of psychic energy run through her body. The soothing scent of lavender water wafted through the room and Jillian was enveloped by a familiar sense of ease. She scanned the empty room, searching.
“Grandma?” she whispered with slight disbelief. She felt rather than heard the reply as a comforting energy settled around her. Jillian relaxed slowly onto her mother’s couch, careful not to spill her wine.
As a child she had conversed with spirits easily, an ability her mother had taken advantage of in her holistic healing practice. Her grandmother had been Jillian’s guide, coming to her when she was troubled. That all seemed so far in the past and yet the knowledge came flooding back into Jillian’s mind.
“Grandma,” Jillian repeated, “I know you’re here. Can you show yourself to me? I need you.”
A silvery shadow began to manifest beside her on the couch, gaining strength as Jillian watched. “I’m here, Jill dear. I’ve been here all along,” floated the soft voice that Jillian remembered.
Jillian could make out the outline of a woman’s form, then her grandmother’s features slowly came into focus. Her expression was one of both patience and infinite sadness, so sad that Jillian felt the weight of it as if it were physical.
“What is troubling you, my dear?” asked the shimmering being.
1. Tell us about Unfolding the Shadows. What inspired the story?I’ve been fascinated by ghost stories and mysteries since I was young, from my first Nancy Drew mystery through all the Agatha Christie novels I borrowed from my mom’s shelf. I’m also a big fan of television shows like Medium and True Blood, where the main characters have psychic abilities.
My heroine is Jillian Greene, who had been a psychic and medium when she was a child but decided she wanted to be “normal” teenager. As the story begins, Jillian has been ignoring the spirit world for sixteen years, never even telling her husband about her psychic abilities. Events unfold that force her to reopen that part of herself.
2. Tell us something interesting about you. How long have you been writing? Did you always know you wanted to?Doesn’t every author say “I always wanted to be a writer”?
I’ve been writing on and off since college, and held many different jobs that used my writing talents, from writing press releases for a PR firm to covering high school football for local newspapers. After my second child was born, I wrote a newspaper column titled “Couch Potato Corner,” where I reviewed videos and books. I didn’t get out of the house much that entire year between the new baby and his two-year-old brother, so reading and watching videos were right up my alley!
When we moved to Cape Cod, I got serious about writing fiction. I joined a few writing groups, including the New England chapter of the Romance Writers of America. It’s great to meet fellow writers and be able to ask questions of people who’ve already survived the publishing process. And the most important thing I’ve learned is to keep at it. Don’t let the rejections get you down.
3. Writers always have more than one iron in the fire. What are you working on now?The manuscript I’m polishing right now is a middle-grade story I wrote for my children, about the mermaids who live near Cape Cod. The fate of the Atlantic rests with a farmboy from Oklahoma who can’t even swim, and who doesn’t know his mother is really a mermaid…
I’ve started another suspense story about Jillian and her ghost whispering, and this time I think she and her love interest will have a chance to turn up the heat in their relationship. Gotta put those romance writing classes to good use!
Where can readers find out more about you?My website is at
www.katie-osullivan.com, and I tried to blog as often as possible at
www.katieosullivan.blogspot.com I’m also the Editor of CapeWomenOnline, a magazine by and about the talented and creative women of Cape Cod. Read it at
www.capewomenonline.com .
Thanks for being with us today, Katie!
You can buy Katie's book at http://www.jasminejade.com!
PS.Today we're having the last hurrah of the 12 Days of A CHRISTMAS BALL Blog Tour over at BookReviewsByBobbie. If you leave a comment there you can win a backlist book from Alissa Johnson or me or a copy of A CHRISTMAS BALL!
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