Today I welcome Amy S. Cutler, author of the spooky A Shadow of Love. Read more about her view of why ghost stories are popular below. About the Book:
When
Annabelle flees her abusive husband and moves into an 1860's farmhouse, she
soon learns that she is not alone; she shares her home with Christian, the
ghost of a poet who killed himself in 1917. Christian, wanting nothing but
solitude, tries to scare Annabelle away, but once they come together while she
is dreaming, they fall in love. The clock is ticking for Christian, for moments
after his hanging his fiance magically cursed his spirit to be stuck on earth
for one hundred years, and his time is almost up.
With
Annabelle's ex threatening her and the spirit she has fallen in love with on
the verge of disappearing, Annabelle becomes obsessed with staying with
Christian, and will do anything to be with him. Being
in love with a ghost is bad enough, but for Annabelle, discovering that her
true love will be crossing over at any moment pushes her over the edge of
reckless behavior.
* Buy A Shadow of Love on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.
*******
(images: pixabay.com)
Why are ghost stories so popular?
By Amy S Cutler
A good ghost story is like being put under the best sort of
spell. You are transported to a world where you know the answer to the top
question that so many of us have: What happens when we die? When swept away in
a story, we can be delighted to discover the answer, and in the pages of a book
we can find solace in knowing that if there is an afterlife for our beloved
characters, then there is an afterlife for all of us.
I have always loved ghost stories, and horror in general,
although ghost stories certainly do not have to be scary. Part of the reason
that I like the horror genre so much is that I love the adrenaline rush that
being scared gives, along with the safety of knowing that I can shut the book
or turn off the TV if I need a break.
Ghost stories are different. They give me comfort, and if
that comfort only lasts while I’m reading, I’ll still take it because taking a
break from the question of what’s next is a sort of meditation. It
relaxes me, stills my unease. I frequently ponder the purpose of my life – what
is my life purpose? Am I fulfilling it? Does it even matter? It is often while
reading or watching a ghost story when I find myself letting my guard down,
throwing away my analytical thinking, and getting to the bottom of these
questions. Ghost stories allow people to open their minds, and that is where our
answers lie.
Of course, many ghost stories are scary, as that is so often
the point in the telling of them. But even then, there is comfort in the idea
of ghosts as a possibility. Naturally some people may not want to know these
answers, and are not so thrilled with the idea that ghosts could exist outside
of the pages of a book. I happen to know quite a few people who say that they
do not believe in ghosts and do not want ghosts to exist, yet they still love a
good ghost story. I like to think that they are getting some comfort, too, in
knowing that it’s just fiction (or rather, they think it’s just fiction,
wink wink).
To tell the truth, there are some ghost stories that have
scared the daylights out of me, stories like The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson, Hell House by Richard Matheson, and Pet Sematary
by Stephen King.
Naturally I don’t want those stories to be true, and
don’t want an afterlife where it is I who is the terrifying one. I may not want
that reality, but I do know that life cannot be wrapped up in a pretty bow, or
box, just because it’s what I want to believe. I still enjoy these stories,
even if I am not fantasizing about them being true, and I still get a glimmer
of hope that there is something out there besides … nothing.
One can probably guess that October is my favorite month and
Halloween is my favorite day, since ghost story lovers like myself are free to
express to the world how enthralled we are with the afterlife. It is my hope that people get something more
out of the Halloween month than just scary tales and KitKats – something
deeper, something that brings us all closer to the answers we seek.
About the Author:
Amy S. Cutler, author of A Shadow of Love earned her master’s degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Most recently she was published in Slut Vomit: An Anthology of Sex Work and featured in the Tales to Terrify Podcast, among others. Her writing focus is suspense, horror, science fiction, and ghost stories. She can be contacted through AmysHippieHut.com. You can also follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
* Follow the rest of the blog tour: *
October 25th @ Four Moon Reviews
Join
Samantha as she reviews Amy S. Cutler's book A Shadow of Love. You can also win a copy of the book too!
https://fourmoonreviews.blogspot.com/
October 27th @ Girl Zombie Authors
Come
by Chris' blog again and read a review of Amy S. Cutler's book A Shadow of Love. You can also enter to
win a copy of the book too!
https://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com/
October 29th @ Boots, Shoes and
Fashion
Visit
Linda's blog for an in-depth interview with author Amy S. Cutler about her book
A Shadow of Love.
https://bootsshoesandfashion.com
October 31st @ Author Anthony
Avina's Blog
Visit
Anthony's blog for Amy S. Cutler's guest post about finding a publisher.
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com
November 1st @ Choices
Join
Madeline as she features a guest post by Amy S. Cutler about the first draft
process.
http://www.madelinesharples.com/
November 2nd @ Jessica Belmont's
Blog
Jessica
reviews Amy S. Cutler's book A Shadow of
Love.
https://jessicabelmont.com
November 3rd @ Write Advice
Read
Amy's guest post about how she found the idea for Shadow of Love and turned it into a story.
https://writeradvice.com/
November 4th @ Author Anthony
Avina's Blog
Read
Anthony's review of A Shadow of Love
by Amy S. Cutler. A paranormal book you don't want to miss!
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com
