Welcome Back Susan Santangelo #giveaway

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I’m delighted to welcome back Susan Santangelo! She’s hear to talk about the ninth book in her Every Wife Has A Story mystery series.

Susan: Once upon a time, my husband and I lived in an antique house in the  shoreline town of Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield is a very historic town. In July 1779, British soldiers marched from the beach and burned most of Fairfield’s houses, including the Burr Mansion, home to the wealthy Thaddeus and Eugenie Dennie Burr. The surname Burr should be a familiar one, even to those who haven’t seen the hit musical, Hamilton. Eunice and Thaddeus Burr were Aaron Burr’s aunt and uncle.

Our antique house was built in 1791 by Major William Silliman, a Revolutionary War hero. We’d never lived in a house as old as this one before, but we loved its eight fireplaces and creaky floorboards, and had great fun exploring all its nooks and crannies. One day I discovered a secret the house had been harboring for a two centuries – Eunice Dennie Burr had died in our house.

It was just about the same time that I began to notice items of clothing were disappearing from my closet on a regular basis. Not sweatshirts or jean; fancier duds appropriate for an occasional trip into Manhattan for a formal event. Items would disappear for a week or two, and then show up back in my closet. I finally concluded we had a ghost in our house — Eunice Dennie Burr.  

My rational husband scoffed at my conclusion. But my two dogs backed me up 100 percent. There were many times in the early morning I would see them standing side by side, motionless, staring at something only they could see.

I never believed in ghosts before, but the final proof was the ongoing mystery of what happened to my favorite black full slip. After five years of being AWOL, the day we were moving out of the house, the slip appeared exactly where it should have been all along, folded up neatly in a dresser drawer. Even my husband couldn’t explain that.

The couple in my mysteries, Carol and Jim Andrews, also live in an antique house. When I began writing book 11 of the series, Masquerades Can Be Murder, I decided their house should have a ghost too, and only Carol could see her. I named the ghost Elizabeth, and she became a central character in the book. I had so much fun writing Masquerades, because I could really let my imagination run wild. I’m a “seat of the pants” kind of writer; I don’t outline my plots in advance. I’ve learned that my primary character, Carol Andrews, is definitely in charge of the stories (she’s very bossy). This time, she surprised me by adding Julia Child to the plot, and Martha Washington shares hostessing tips from Mount Vernon.

Readers: Do you believe in ghosts? What about ghosts in cozy mysteries — yay or nay?  Anyone ever had an unusual experience similar to mine??  Let me know in the comments. One commentator (US only) will be randomly selected to receive a copy of Masquerades Can Be Murder. To be entered in the giveaway, please include YES at the end of your comments and include your email address. 

About the book: Carol Andrews is a happy woman. Her retired husband Jim finally has a project that will get him out of the house and out of her hair every day – organizing the reenactment of their town’s 1779 Revolutionary War battle. While Jim’s focused on meetings and marching practices, Carol plans to shop ’til she drops (using her secret credit card) and enjoy frequent lunches out with friends.

The unexpected appearance of Elizabeth Porter, a ghost who’s been hanging out in Carol’s house for over two hundred years, forces her to change her plans. Elizabeth tells Carol that during the battle, she murdered her abusive husband and got away with it. She’s not allowed to pass over to the Other Side until she confesses her crime to someone and receives forgiveness. After two centuries of waiting for the right person, Elizabeth’s picked Carol.

As Carol begins to doubt her own sanity, a member of the reenactment committee is murdered and her best friend, Nancy, becomes the police’s number one suspect. Ignoring Jim’s orders to stay out of the case and let the police do their job, a frantic Carol teams up with her resident ghost to find the real killer before it’s too late.    

Bio: Susan Santangelo is the author of the best-selling Baby Boomer mystery series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Cape Cod Writers Center, and also reviews mysteries for Suspense magazine. She divides her time between Clearwater, Florida and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and shares her life with her husband Joe and two very spoiled English cocker spaniels, Boomer and Lilly. Boomer also serves as the model for the books’ front covers, and Lilly is featured on the back. She is also a proud, lucky two-time breast cancer survivor, and credits early detection by regular mammograms with saving her life twice.   

  

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Published by Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the author of the Agatha Award nominated Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Mystery series.

69 Thoughts

  1. Lived in a building that use to be a hotel converted into apartments. Even in the middle of summer with no A/C you could feel a cold section in a hallway. Everyone believed it was haunted. cheetahthecat1982ATgmailDOTcom

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  2. I got goose bumps reading this, Susan! Congratulations on a great premise for the new book.

    A friend staying overnight reported a woman in white at the end of our guest bed in the middle of the night, just standing there, but I have never seen her.

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    1. It’s really interesting that you never saw the woman in the white dress yourself. Unless your guest was dreaming. No way to know for sure.

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  3. I love ghostly stories! Yes, I’ve had a few ghostly experiences, one when I was babysitting at an old old house in Manchester, Maine – a house next to an old church that has the devils footprint imprinted on a rock at it. I heard footsteps going up and down a wall where there were no stairs (I learned later there had been stairs there years before but the couple remodeled) plus saw shadow shapes moving around. Then my daughter is now living in a 150 year old house in New York and she and I have had experiences there. No scary experiences though thankfully!

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    1. Hearing those footsteps would have scared the you know what out of me! I never heard my ghost, thank goodness.

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    1. My protagonist, Carol Andrews, thought the ghost in Masquerades Can Be Murder, Elizabeth Porter, added a little too much to this mystery. I think she was just jealous, but don’t tell her I said that.

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    2. Carol Andrews, the protagonist in my mysteries, tole me Elizabeth Porter (the ghost) added a little too much to the story. I think she was just jealous!

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    3. Carol Andrews, my protagonist, told me Elizabeth Porter (the ghost) added too much to the story. I think she was just jealous!

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  5. I do believe in ghosts. Several years ago, a specific book that I loaned to a few different friends had a bad habit of disappearing when it was at the friend’s house, only to reappear in strange places. This happened two or three times – same book, different friends. YES. aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com

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  6. Yes. I believe in ghosts and, like my friend and fellow writer Susan, also once lived in a haunted house in Gloucester, Massachusetts! I’m already a fan of her books and can hardly wait to read this new one.

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  8. I do indeed believe in ghosts as I have heard them and seen them. Once, while in Octagon Hall in Franklin Kentucky, while touring with my youngest and shooting a video on my phone, something strange had been recorded. When I went back to watch the video where my youngest was picking up an toy in one of the rooms, I could clearly hear, “That’s mine”, NOT in my daughter’s voice. We were the only ones touring that day so that was quite a catch. I have so many stories about the paranormal and LOVE books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the paranormal. Missing clothing that ghost might be taking to wear, that is amazing! The premise for the book sounds great too. Thanks for this giveaway and I love all the stories in the comments!

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    1. Congratulations on your latest book, Susan! I love a story with a ghost in it. After all, just because I’ve never encountered one doesn’t mean ghosts aren’t real. Cheers!

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  9. Ghosts in cozy mysteries add to the atmosphere. I have never encountered a ghost but know that they do exist from stories told to me.

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  10. I don’t know that I believe in ghosts…but I don’t know that I DON’T believe in them either. How’s that for covering my bases?

    I can go with a ghost in a story as long as it doesn’t become a “cheat” – that is, the supernatural is what solves the crime, not the human detective.

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    1. I agree. I had fun pairing up my protagonist and the ghost as partners to solve the mystery

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  11. I never lived in an old house but reading about ghosts in novels gives me a scary feeling. Yes, they are there since people feel them. I think that they fit in well with mysteries and cozies.

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  12. I’ve never had any ghostly experiences so it’s hard for me to believe in them. But I liked watching Ghost Hunters and I like reading books with ghosts in them. YES ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  13. I look forward to reading Masquerades are Murder and “meeting” your ghost. I have lived and currently live in homes with ghosts, have seen at least one and even had 3 puckwudgies who lived in the swampy land behind our home in Dartmouth, MA. Nice to meet you!

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  14. I believe there is more than we see in this world, but have never really had an experience I can point to for confirmation. Spirits can definitely add an interesting perspective to a story, so yes, I do appreciate a well-developed ghost in a cozy or mystery.

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  15. Hello Susan! You got me hooked right from the cover! I must read Masquerades Can Be Murder! I love reading cozies that have a ghost (or three) participating in the fun! I have never seen a ghost, though often I look in the mirror and am scared by the ghostly person who stares back at me 🙂 You sound like a very happy person, and I admire that since my goal is to have JOY in my heart. I wish you JOY, and thank you for writing such fun mysteries for us to enJOY. JOY! Luis at ole dot travel

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    1. I forgot to write: YES, as instructed. I also want to add that my wife says that our last house was haunted…our cat sensed ghosts upstairs, so whenever she followed us up the stairs, she would run to our bedroom and would act all spooked. We had the house saged, and had to clean our extensive ladies’ vintage hats, per the friend who saged the house…she could also see them. Luis at ole dot travel

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      1. I love the cover too. I never thought of having my house saved. Hope it helped.
        Animals are often more intuitive than humans.

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      2. I once saged our house. I did not know our daughter felt the house was haunted until sometime after I had done it. Then one time when visiting she said she no longer felt it was haunted without knowing I had done it.

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  16. I have never lived in an old house or met a ghost anywhere. I certainly believe strange things happen to people that can’t be explained, so I am open to the possibility of ghosts. This book sounds like great fun! I do enjoy ghosts in stories and movies. I saw The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on TCM recently and thought it was quite charming. YES suemngirl@yahoo.com

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    1. I loved The Ghost and Mrs Muir. Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. My ghost has a sort of romance, too❤️

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  17. I lived in a Victorian 2 flat and I saw a ghost of a Man who I found out died in the basement. I would hear footsteps on the second floor and cooing noises. The kicker was when I awoke and saw a man standing by my curtains. As I turned my head to look directly at him he disappeared. I finally contacted my Aunt and she told me to light a candle at Midnight and to tell him it was alright to move on. I did this and I no longer had any problems with the ghost. Deborah

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  19. Welcome back to the Wickeds, Susan. You know I love this series. On ghosts, I’m more of a time-travel, all time is happening all the time, time is not linear type of person. In other words, ghosts are not specters of dead people, but rather people happily going about their lives in another era. This makes them cheerier guests. However, the Seafarer Inn, my m-i-l’s B&B was rumored to be haunted. Various sightings were made, including one memorable night when Bill & I stayed in the bedroom that was supposed to be haunted and our cocker spaniel could not settle the whole night. I still think there were squirrels in the walls, but…

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments about my series. I wondered if there had been any incidents at your m-I-law’s b & b. Funny your cocker spaniel picked up on something that could have been either a ghost or squirrels. We have two English cockers and I can totally relate!
      I miss your series.😢

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  21. Hi Susan, so good to e-see you here. Of course I believe in ghosts! To the skeptics, I’m happy to explain that life is energy and energy cannot be created or destroyed. To the believers, I suggest keeping your eyes open. I’ve owned three houses in my life. The building owners of two of them were deceased. That didn’t stop them from visiting!

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  22. I love paranormal elements in my stories. I haven’t had any ghostly experiences personally. Yes, I would like to be included in the drawing. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  23. I do believe in ghosts and spirits. We were visiting an old Civil War house that was used as a hospital during the War and we definitely felt a presence in the room that they used for surgeries. I like it when ghosts or spirits are part of the story in a book I’m reading.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  24. I love this story, Susan. While I never met a ghost, I love to include a ghost in many of my books. Can’t wait to read the latest. I’ve ordered it a while ago.

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  27. Can’t honestly say yes or now when it comes to the “Do you believe in ghosts” question. The nearest I’ve come would have been on a trip to visit our clown friend Emmett Kelly Jr. His old historical house was suppose to be haunted by a former owner who was murdered in the house. We were told that late at night if you seat in the dark on the front porch that you can smell the mother’s perfume and the little girl will toss pebbles onto the porch. A group of us stayed late adn went out onto the porch. We could smell a old fashion perfume faintly and we heard some tink noise. When the lights were on there were small pebbles on the porch. My mind wants to believe, but the skeptic wonders if was “helped” so to speak. All in all, I like to thank it was so. Regardless, I love reading stories that have them in it.

    YES I would love the opportunity to read and review if it’s a paperback copy, which is all I read.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  28. YES. I either believe in ghosts or I have an overactive imagination. I have often felt the presence of my very dearly loved daddy who died 50 years ago. But I’ve never seen one. Would love to.

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  32. Hi! I never liked reading paranormal stories until I started reading cozy paranormal stories. Cozy authors sure make the paranormal fun!

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