Scroll down for a spine-tingling excerpt!

Ashby Overton has everything to look forward to, including a promising writing career and her wedding at summer’s end. But, Overhome, her beloved historic family estate in Southern Virginia, is in financial peril and it is up to Ashby to find a solution.

Interfering with Ashby’s plans is a dark paranormal force that thwarts her every effort to save Overhome.  Supernatural attacks emanate from an old stone cottage on the property rumored to be a slave overseer’s abode, prior to the Civil War. As the violence escalates, Ashby begins to fear for her life. Who is this angry spirit and why is his fury focused on Ashby?

Mystery, suspense and romance flourish against a backdrop of Civil War turmoil and ancestral strife--where immortality infiltrates the ancient air breathed by all who inhabit Overhome Estate.

Author Susan Coryell returns today with her new book, Beneath The Stones, the recently released sequel to A Red, Red Rose, both from The Wild Rose Press. Welcome back, Susan!

Tell us about Beneath The Stones. Did you plan on writing a sequel? Will there be more? How is writing a sequel different from writing the original book?
    Beneath the Stones,  a standalone sequel,  picks up Ashby Overton’s life five years after the ending of A Red, Red Rose. She and Luke plan to be married at summer’s end, she has her college writing degree and a free-lance career on the uptick and her parents are retiring from educator jobs in New Jersey and moving to Overhome Estate to help with wedding plans. Everything in Ashby’s young life is in order—except—Overhome is in financial trouble and it’s up to Ashby to fix the problem. Of course, there’s a complication: Someone or something mean and powerful is doing its best to prevent Ashby from initiating her solution to the financial problem--selling off the back acreage for a housing development. 

     I thought when I finished A Red, Red Rose that I was done with Ashby and Overhome. But reader after reader in review after review expressed an interest in a sequel: “Eagerly awaiting the sequel!” was how one reader put it. It was then I realized there truly was more to the story...so I got busy with Beneath the Stones. I’m already thinking through a third book—five years after the end of Beneath the Stones.

     Writing a sequel is tricky! The author needs to allude to certain events in the original without spoiling the plot for those who read the sequel first. Now that I have the hang of it, I think writing the third volume will be easier.

I thought the same after I finished my first novel. However, my characters had other ideas and insisted on a sequel or three. Do you have a favorite character? Why? 
Other than my protag, Ashby Overton, I dearly love the old, long-time housekeeper Miss Emma Coleville. She is what I call the conscience of the novel as well as the archivist of Overton family history. Miss Emma will never die in my books! 

Who/what influences or inspires your writing? 
     I do need an inspiration to write. For A Red, Red Rose, the inspiration was an actual historic estate in Virginia rumored to be haunted. One tour of the place and I was hooked. My inspiration for Beneath the Stones was the compelling characters who still had a lot of life left to explore. When I read in the local paper about the financial woes of a Civil War estate, I knew I had the perfect conflict for Ashby Overton and Overhome.

What authors do you return to again and again, if any? Where do you find new authors to read? 
     I am hooked on the classical mystery writers Daphne Du Maurier, Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart. I also love the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. Classics only get better with age! I haunt libraries!

Libraries are the light of civilization. Do you have a writing routine/ritual? What distracts you when you’re writing? 
     A morning person, I create best before noon. Everything distracts me! My writer’s loft looks out on beautiful Smith Mountain Lake and I sometimes find myself paddling around in the water (figuratively) rather than concentrating on my writing.

Favorite non-writing activities?
     My husband and I have an active social life here at our lake. We both golf and boat and entertain family and friends regularly. I enjoy yoga, my book clubs and writing group. Each winter we travel to Hawaii to visit our youngest son and his family and we tool around from Virginia to South Carolina checking in with our other two children and our five grandkids. 

Advice for newbies? 
     Don’t get discouraged. Keep reading. Keep writing, Keep critiquing and submitting and eventually something will happen!

Where has writing taken you that you never expected to go? 
     The real surprise has been the collegiality with other writers all over the world. Electronic social media, blogs, writers’ loops have introduced me to so many interesting, intelligent and creative folks I’d never have imagined “meeting” before I was published. We’ve become true friends.

Pantser/plotter? 
     Oh, I am such a plotter. I know the beginning, middle and end of my books before I ever write the first word. The in-between parts may fluctuate, but I never change the basic three.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers? How do they help? 
     I belong to a writers group here at Smith Mt. Lake. An eclectic group (well, we ARE all writers), they offer excellent constructive criticism. However, I am looking for an individual CP, if anyone wants to “apply.”

It's been a joy having you here today, Susan. Thanks for taking the time to answer all my nosey questions! Anything else you'd like to say?
     I’d like to thank Nikki for inviting me to guest on her awesome blog. This is what I mean about author collegiality!

Excerpt:
     Luke climbed down cautiously, the old boards of the steps groaning and creaking under his weight. When he reached the bottom, he turned, held out his arms and said, “Come on down, Ashby. Just go slow.”
     “Not to worry. I’ve done this before,” I told him, reaching for the first step with my foot. Carefully, I moved toward the bottom, one step at a time, leaning against the wall for support. I was half-way there when it happened—so suddenly that I had no time to react. Frigid air swooshed down on me from behind, freezing my face so that I screwed my eyes tight shut at the same time something strong and determined pushed against my back violently—so violently that I stumbled, then tumbled forward, to be caught in Luke’s outstretched arms from several stairs below.
     “Whoa!” Luke exhaled from the impact of my body on his. “My God, Ashby. What happened?” 
     I slumped against him, unable to utter a single word, my breathing shallow and rapid. At last I found my voice. “Something pushed me, Luke. I don’t know what—or who—but it was powerful and deliberate.”
     Luke glanced up to the top of the stairs. “Nothing there. I’m going back to the loft to look.”
     I stopped him. “I doubt you’ll find anything.” I sniffed the air, expecting 
a new infusion of foul odor. “And what would you do if you did find anything?”
     Just then we both heard it. Hollow, chilling, trailing away from us with 

every syllable: “Go away. He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead....”

Available now at Amazon.com http://amzn.com/B00UF1YM6M
The Wild Rose Press: http://www.addthis.com/?utm_source=hm&utm_medium=img&utm_content=AT_main_WT&utm_campaign=AT_main

Susan Coryell--A Red, Red Rose

Please welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author Susan Coryell.

Thanks to Nikki for inviting me to be a guest on your wonderful blogspot. 

It's great to have you here, Susan. Take it away!

Somewhere out there, I’m pretty sure, is a ghost in search of an author. See, I have never actually experienced the spirit world, though Lord knows I’ve tried. When my realtor husband listed a supposedly-haunted historic estate for sale, he said he was planning to sell the ghost and throw in the estate for free, though neither he nor I ever saw, heard, tasted, smelled or felt the spirit’s presence.

Still, the haunted estate inspired my latest book, A Red, Red Rose, a cozy mystery/Southern Gothic , published by The Wild Rose Press, 2013.  Twenty-year-old Ashby Overton travels to Moore Mountain Lake in Southwestern Virginia (based on Smith Mountain Lake, where I now live) to be an au pair to her 7-year old cousin, Jeff. Ashby has an ulterior motive: revealing family secrets and searching out her roots at the historic family estate, Overhome. Her first night in her room in the oldest wing of the house, Ashby is “greeted” by what turns out to be Rosabelle, an ancient family ghost. Ashby’s search for answers elicits more than she ever dreamed and she finds that some secrets, no matter how deeply-held, are meant to be revealed. She also finds a confidant in Luke, the stable boy. My novel involves mystery, history, romance and a ghost. I’m proud to report that A Red, Red Rose was nominated for a literary award by the Library of Virginia.

I would definitely choose Rosabelle, the spirit, as a favorite character because she was so much fun to create! Never having experienced a ghost, I relied on trusted friends who have successfully delved into the spirit world. With some advice from them, and a lot of imagination, I created Rosabelle. Amazingly, my dear spirit turned out to fit the exact definition of a family ghost, according to a certified paranormal expert who reviewed A Red, Red Rose after publication. Wow! That was a pleasant surprise; I thought I had mostly made up everything about my ancestral spirit.

To answer some of Nikki’s questions:

What authors do you return to and where do you find new authors?

For personal reading, I return again and again to an old favorite mystery author, Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, among others. I also enjoy reading new books written by my writing colleagues at L&L Dreamspell and The Wild Rose Press, as well as works authored by Lake Writers, my critique group, which I could not live without when it comes to revising and editing.

What do you like best/least about writing?

One great thing about writing is I can work wherever and whenever I find inspiration—love my laptop! I even take it to the dock in nice weather, and it always goes on trips with me. I find writing isolating when I am composing, and noise and interruptions make me cranky. The unexpected bonus I’ve discovered with my writing is meeting other writers—in person and online—through blogs and websites, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter. Technology affords writers infinite ways to bond. Another definite plus is the opportunity to speak about my books and writing.  I lead workshops, hold signings, prepare panel discussions and do other presentations, from Virginia to Hawaii. A personal favorite was my participation in the Virginia Paraquest last spring. Among the witches, psychics, ghost busters and hypnotists, I mingled, somewhat out of my comfort zone, holding a fake long-stemmed red rose, and talking about writing paranormal fiction. I am delighted that they’ve invited me to return again to this year’s Paraquest. 

What else are you working on?

I’m excited about my next book—just sent the manuscript to my editor. Entitled Beneath the Stones, the novel picks up where A Red, Red Rose left off. Five years later Ashby is planning her wedding to Luke, her love interest in the first book. But, there’s a big problem: Overhome is in financial distress and it’s up to Ashby to save the estate from bankruptcy. While most of the original characters appear, a host of new ones become involved as a Civil War ghost tries to disrupt Ashby’s plans. I’m hoping The Wild Rose Press will pick up Beneath the Stones. Many of my lovely readers have clamored for a sequel. Of course, I am still waiting to meet my first ghost in person.

Talk about the first story you wrote:

My first attempt at novel-writing elicited a somewhat Disneyesque young adult mystery called Doubleheader. I never seriously tried to publish it—but I did prove to myself that I could carry out a long work with a beginning, middle and end. Loosely based on my twin brothers when they were teens, the novel involves a pitcher-catcher twin duo who telepathize their signals to one another. My “success” led me to write another YA novel, Eaglebait, about school bullies from the victim’s perspective. Eaglebait won two major awards: The NY Public Library’s “Books for the Teen Age” and the International Reading Association’s “Young Adult Choice.” I’m currently revising and updating the novel to include cyber-bullying and planning to publish it through Amazon within the next few months.

What are your favorite non-writing activities?

When I’m not writing, I enjoy all that my beautiful lake home offers—kayaking, cruising, swimming and just dock-sitting-sunset-watching leisure. I also play at golf and stay fit with yoga and walking. My husband and I love to travel, especially when our grandchildren are involved.

Advice for Newbies:

Just keep reading and writing. Writers have to write—curse or blessing? I know not which.

It's been a delight having you here, Susan. Best of luck with your fascinating book!

Thanks, Nikki. It’s been fun blogging and I’d love to respond to any comments. Ghost-busters, welcome!

Susan Coryell

Contact Susan at:

www.susancoryellauthor.com

www.susancoryell.blogspot.com

Buy links:

To purchase A Red, Red Rose, use the links below.

http://amzn.com/B00GVKMG0K

The Wild Rose Press:  http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1146