A
Few Ghostly Queries
by
the author of Ghost Club, a new
series for kids, Deborah
Abela
Would
you have liked to have been part of a ghost club?
Absolutely! Alongside my nanna, most likely. My nanna
wasn’t your regular cake-baking, round, hugging kind of grandmother, she was
feisty, no-nonsense and used to tell me stories about ghosts. True stories,
that were passed down through the family and this sparked a life-long love of
all things ghostly.
So
how did your ghost club come about?
Partly because of Nanna but also because this year was
the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, who not only claimed to have
seen ghosts but also was the founding member of the Ghost Club 150 years ago.
(The club still meets today to investigate ghostly sightings.) I decided to
create my own club where two of the most successful catchers are 11-year-old
twins, Angeline and Edgar Usher. Like the real clubsters, they investigate
haunted sites and try to convince the ghosts to stop their pesky ways.
How
does your ghost club work?
It is run from a ramshackle mansion in Gravesend and is
headed by Grandmaster Fleischmann. Regular meetings are held to discuss
upcoming conferences, welcome new members and discuss the latest ghostly
sightings. Professor Grandma Rose is the chief inventor and in charge of the
Spectorium, where all the equipment is
kept and Endora Spright is the Head of Spectral research and looks after the
archives, museum and investigating the history of haunted sites.
Do
you have a favorite character?
I never start out with one but the more I get to know my
characters, one always stands out and this time it’s Mr Roderick Gloom, former
ghost catcher and groundsman of the club. He keeps unusual pets like piranhas
and tarantulas and fancies himself a bit of a poet, where, to the dislike of
newest member Dylan, the characters always seem to meet a dismal end.
Do
you believe in ghosts?
Yes, but I have only seen one. It was late at night when
I was climbing into bed. I reached to close the curtains when, outside the
window, I saw the face of my nanna. After a few moments she faded away. I drew
the curtains, had a strong feeling that Nanna was looking out for me and had a
very calm, restful sleep.
What
kind of kid do you think will enjoy Ghost Club?
Kids who are about 8-12, enjoy adventure, mystery and a
bit of fun, ghostly peskiness.
Thank you, Deborah, for including my blog in your blog tour. All the best with Ghost Club.
Thank you so much for being involved, Robyn. It's been great fun.
Visit
the next stop on Deborah’s blog tour:
Did
you miss the previous stop? See:
To
see all the stops on the tour, go to:
www.deborahabela.com
About Deborah Abela
Deb knew she wanted to be a writer when she was 7 years old. Her first
story was about a man made out of cheese. It wasn’t very good. She’s
had much more practice writing since then and strangely enough her first
writing job was for a kids’ show on channel Ten called Cheez TV.
After 7 years of writing scripts about everything from llamas to bungy
jumping and how to go to the toilet in outer space, Deb wrote her first
novel - Max Remy Superspy Part 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.
4 comments:
It must be great to know your nanna is looking out for you. My Dad looks out for our family.
Jeff
www.papermagicbook.com
Thanks for your comment, Jeff.
I agree that it's great to know our relatives still care and look out for us. I'm glad your dad looks out for your family. My dad and Nana look out for me. My two dogs are around when I need them, too. Love never dies.
All the best,
Robyn
This series sounds like just the thing for my 10 year-old! And for me--I'll be honest :-)
This series sounds like just the thing for me too! :)
Thanks for visiting, F.T. and all the best,
Robyn
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