I’m deep into my next book, a ghost story. “Do you believe in ghosts?” I can hear someone asking. No, I don’t, but I believe in ghost stories. I have written a few, such as Something Upstairs, Book without Words, and Seer of Shadows. There are a couple of short ghost stories, too.
I find ghost stories interesting, and a challenge to write, making what I don’t believe believable. Along the way I’ve learned that a lot of young readers like to be scared. I often ask them why and. although I don’t get exact answers, I get the impression that young people enjoy the intense emotions such stories generate, emotions, moreover, wrapped in the safe blanket of a book. Ghost stories are a reminder that not knowing everything means that there is much in the world and beyond that has yet to be discovered. For young people who have not taught themselves (or who have been taught) to be completely rational, ghosts hover on the fuzzy edge of reality, a place of endless possibilities.
