by Deb Marlowe
- Halloween!
When Ava Stone approached me about taking part in the Regency anthology series, The Haunting of Castle Keyvnor, I was thrilled! I love Halloween! I enjoy the decorations and dressing up and the fun. I love holiday novellas too. And though I do write paranormal in my Young Adult Series , the Eye of the Ninja Chronicles, this gave me a chance to write a bit of supernatural into my Regency Historicals–which was a fun, new experience.
- Long Haired Hero!
My usual Regency Historicals feature dukes and earls, men of the peerage, of government and duty and vast estates. They are witty, intelligent and dressed to the height of Regency fashion. (Oh, la, those boots! Swoon!) But for this story, I got to do a different sort of hero. Mr. Gryffyn Cardew is a wealthy landowner, but he is no Town Buck. He is a man of his land. He fits right in with his tenants and with the wild, mystical land at the edge of Cornwall. He gets his hands dirty. He’s tall, broad and muscular and his hair is too long and he might be a bit unshaven. I vastly enjoyed pitting him against the lovely Lady Tamsyn!
- Pixies!
I admit to a certain fascination with things Fae and Elvish. It’s an area that I have yet to explore in my fiction, so I jumped at the chance to work with Cornish Pixies in Lady Tamsyn and the Pixie’s Curse. I had a mental image of the blue creatures from the Harry Potter series, but when I did the research, I found that Knockers are the most well described sort of pixie in Cornwall. These creatures live in the mines and knock to warn miners of impending danger. Although other pixies are supposed to live in Cornwall, there was not much written of them beyond the fact that they can be mischievous, but they can also be friendly with humans when treated kindly. I had a grand time inventing my own types of Pixies and in creating Tuft, the ancient caretaker of the lands around Castle Keyvnor.
- Camaraderie!
There are four books in the Haunting of Castle Keyvnor series, with twelve authors! That’s a lot of hauntings! And a lot of storylines. We had great fun with it, though, using spreadsheets and message boards to keep track of characters, movements and supernatural creatures. I’ve worked with some of my best friends in the business and grown to know new friends. It’s been a lovely experience!
- Cornwall as Inspiration.
Seriously. Is this not a beautiful scene? While I was working on this story I set up my desktop with breathtaking views of Cornish cliffs and mysterious images of ancient barrows and beautiful woodland glades. Actually, now that they are gone, I miss them! Do yourself a favor and google Cornwall–you’ll want to go there!
BEDEVILED
In regards to the Matter of the un-entailed Estate of the late-Jonathan Hambly, 10th Earl of Banfield, be advised that your attendance is urgently required at the reading of his lordship’s Last Will & Testament, to take place on November 1st of this year at Castle Keyvnor in Bocka Morrow, Cornwall.
Regards,
Mr. Timothy Hunt, Esq.
When the late-Earl of Banfield’s distant relations descend upon Bocka Morrow, they’ll find gypsies, witches, pixies, smugglers, and one very haunted castle. And if they’re lucky, they might just fall in love while they’re there. BEDEVILED, The Haunting of Castle Keyvnor includes: Kate Pearce’s A Ghost of a Chance, Deb Marlowe’s Lady Tamsyn and the Pixie’s Curse, and Michelle Willingham’s A Dance With the Devil.