Monthly Archives: March 2017

Now available in AudioBook!

HautingDanielle_BOOK2_AUDIOThe second book in the Haunting Danielle series, The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds, is now available in audiobook–as a download or CD version.

If you’ve already purchased the eBook from Amazon, and you’re a member of Audible, you can purchase the audiobook for just $2.99 or use your monthly credit.

I’m excited! Are you?

Character anecdotes borrowed from real life.

Pretty retro Caucasian women gossiping over coffee in kitchen

On a previous blog post, I mentioned my recent experience with Ancestry.com’s DNA test, giving a shout out to readers of the Ghost and the Leprechaun, pointing out how my recent experience having my DNA tested found its way into the story.

Like many other writers, I often weave real life experiences into my stories. In The Ghost and the Leprechaun, remember Danielle telling Walt about a nude dining episode at an Arizona restaurant? Well, that particular anecdote was something that actually happened—about 18 years ago.

Just to be clear, I was not the nude diner—nor was it at the restaurant we once owned. But I, like Danielle, knew the server who stumbled upon the nude diners during her shift.

It became quite titillating gossip back then.

What’s in a name?

Left to right: Gene Glandon, Tillie Bromley, George and Hilda Glandon, Caroline and Margaret (girls in front) Glandon. Abt 1935

Back in September one of my readers asked me how I happened to come up with Boatman as Danielle’s maiden name. She was curious because it’s not a common name, and it happened to be her maiden name.

I explained to her that I snatched the name from my family tree. We then entered into a private email exchange and discovered we are distant cousins!

Well, at least I suspected we were. I had been investigating that particular branch of my family tree—my father’s paternal grandmother’s line—yet I wasn’t quite sure I was on the right track. I knew no family along that branch to share information.

But then after Christmas, I took one of those Ancestry.com DNA tests, and guess what? I discovered I had been on the right track, and I could rightfully claim the Boatman surname—as well as that distant cousin I had met online, after she read Haunting Danielle.

For those who have already read The Ghost and the Leprechaun, you’ll probably now recognize what inspired me in that particular story line, in regards to DNA.

Of course Boatman is not the first name I’ve borrowed from my family tree. Chris and Joanne share a common surname, Johnson—which is my maiden name. Of course, Chris’ real surname is Glandon—my mother’s Maiden name. Even my McIntyre pen name was taken from my family tree.

I like to keep it the family.

(Photos: Some of the Glandon from my family tree.)