An Interview with Carol J. Perry by E. B. Davis

 

Christmas lights on palm trees and Santa hats on plastic pink flamingoes are far from the snowy landscape Maureen and her beloved golden retriever, Finn, are used to. But Maureen is determined to make this a holiday to remember—which means finding a way to promote Haven House on a shoestring. Fortunately, Haven’s vintage movie theater, the Paramount, has come up with a great “Twelve Days of Christmas” idea. They’ll feature an impressive list of the best classic Christmas movies ever made—shown by one-time movie actor-turned-projectionist Decklin Monroe . . .
 
But nobody bothered to tell Maureen that the Paramount is haunted by the ghost of a man who was murdered a few years back. Haven’s top cop Frank Hubbard doesn’t believe in ghosts but, believing that Decklin Monroe was somehow involved, he wants a reluctant Maureen’s help. 
 
That plan is derailed when, on the first day of the festival, a fresh murder victim is found at the theater. Now Maureen has to defend her staff and guests, while trying to keep her high-spirited resident ghosts out of the picture—before they have company for the holidays . . .

Amazon.com

 

High Spirits is Carol J. Perry’s second book in the Haunted Haven series. It is set in a Florida Gulf town, and Maureen, the main character, never believed in ghosts, but as she settles into her new home, a historic inn, she starts to see ghosts, and then communicates with them. Carol also writes the Witch City mysteries, set in Salem, MA, featuring a main character who is a scryer—someone who can divine knowledge or future events via crystal or glass reflections.

 

Amid living with ghosts, Maureen must use marketing skills from her past life as a department store buyer to bring in business and do so on a shoe string as the former owner allowed mismanagement to erode the inn’s capital base. Her creativity is aided by the horde of decorations the previous owner stockpiled. Christmas decorations and marketing lead her to murder.

 

Please welcome Carol J. Perry back to WWK.              E. B. Davis

What draws you to write books within the paranormal mystery genre?

This one was mainly because the publisher asked me if I could write a paranormal series!  I’ve been drawn to the spooky stuff all along I guess, and have a fondness for “ghost stories.” My Witch City series isn’t classified as “paranormal,” but some weird stuff happens in all of them too.

 

Is the Mediterranean Revival Hotel real, or is it the style that is real? The 1887 Casa Monica hotel in St. Augustine where ghosts Lorna and Reggie go dancing is a real place. People have reported hearing waltz music late at night, and seeing a roomful of ghosts dancing gracefully in the lobby!

 

Maureen is using the hotel’s old guest registers and the tales of ghosts to renovate the hotel suites, naming them after famous guests like Humphrey Bogart and Babe Ruth. The townspeople prefer to keep their ghosts secret. Isn’t it a temptation for Maureen to use the ghost angle to market the inn, especially when she knows the ghosts are real? Nope. The people in Haven don’t want the ghost hunter TV shows or the amateur ghost hunters showing up with their recorders and special cameras trying to get ghostly images and such. They’re afraid it would spoil the town so locals vehemently deny that the ghosts exist.

 

Can Maureen wear clothing simultaneously when her ghost roommate, Lorna, borrows an item? I think she probably could, but I haven’t let her try it yet. I know when Lorna borrows a dress from Macy’s window, the mannequin is still wearing it.

 

The old Paramount Theater is showing old two-reel movies during the holidays. But they also have newer films that are run on one-reel film or digital imaging. Why did the owners ask Decklin Monroe to oversee the holiday showings?  Decklin is one of the few projectionists who can still operate the old two-reel projectors—tricky things to time and operate.

 

Annoying Officer Frank Hubbard questions Maureen about her spending time with Monroe in the movie theater. Why does he do so? Frank is investigating a cold case that involved Decklin many years ago. Maureen has also been in contact with a local business involving another person who was involved in that case. He wonders what Maureen’s connection is.

In the first book, Be My Ghost, Maureen receives a message from Zoltar, a fortune machine at the South of the Border Motor Inn. Where does she find the second message from Zoltar, who always seems to have messages from the dead? Is Maureen creeped out? Maureen is surely creeped out! Who wouldn’t be? But the previous message was so accurate, she feels that she must pay attention to it. She keeps both messages in her bureau drawer.

 

As much as Maureen’s dog Finn likes Lorna the ghost, the old owner’s cats, Bogie and Bacall, who Maureen inherited, don’t like Lorna. Why such a different response? Beats me.  But as Lorna says, “Cats are weird.” Bogie ignores her and Bacall seems to be amused by walking through her.

 

I had to laugh. Lorna embraces new technology. Has she mastered Alexa?  I’m not sure. I think she’d be suspicious about all that knowledge coming out of a machine. I don’t think she likes Siri either.

 

Ted, the inn’s chef, and Maureen decide on a “dinner and a movie” promotion using the Paramount’s Twelve Days of Holiday Films. What type of patron does the promotion attract?

Both Haven residents and the Inn’s patrons were targets of the advertising, which had to be done in a hurry. Ted produced a relatively inexpensive dinner followed by a popular wassail drink that everybody clearly enjoyed.

 

What was the relationship among the first victim, Buddy Putnam, who was murdered in the theater in 1975, Decklin Monroe, the second victim, and Harry Henshaw? Why were they in Haven? Harry and Decklin were involved in some crooked operations some fifty years ago. Buddy was a small-time hood who helped them out and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Maureen has a running list of all the renovations she’d like to make at the inn. What are the two biggest on her list? Why? The dining room takes priority. It is dingy and dated, yet it is an important part of the business. She has ideas for a gift shop too, and keeps thinking of other improvements she cannot afford yet.

 

I was surprised that Hubbard didn’t question the older staff members of the inn, who were around during the 70s when Putnam was killed. Wouldn’t they have more information than Maureen? Gert and George had information about Mrs. Henshaw, Molly was in Las Vegas at the time, and none of them traveled in the same circles as Decklin—who was in the movies, and Henshaw, who was wealthy.

 

Maureen yells at a ghost who is dating Lorna for smoking on the elevator. Wasn’t she afraid he might be angry? She runs a no-smoking establishment. She’d be angry with anyone who smoked there, especially a non-paying guest like Reggie!

 

What is the Greater Haven Improvement Fund and how did it relate to the inn? The town of Haven needed some places to attract visitors. The Greater Haven Improvement Fund was established to fund not only the inn, but the movie theater and the casino as well.

 

Why does Hubbard bug Maureen’s inn phone? Nosy, isn’t he? He’s looking for phone numbers called from the inn which might match up with some certain numbers he has.

 

What are Highwaymen paintings?  I love the story of the Highwaymen. When I was writing non-fiction articles for magazines before I became a fiction writer, I learned the story of these young black men (and one woman), who learned to paint fast, quite primitive paintings of Florida scenery, which they sold out of the backs of trucks along the highway for about $35 each. The inn, as well as many motels found them good for inexpensive décor. I’ve personally met quite a few of the Highwaymen and have written about them often. Now a Highwayman painting will cost many hundreds of dollars and one hangs in the governor’s office.

 

What is a “straw buyer?” A straw buyer is a person who will purchase something for another person who might not want his/her name attached to the transaction.

 

What’s next for Maureen, Ted, and Finn? I’m just now finishing up Book #13 in my Witch City series. I alternate between the two series. I’ll start Book #3 in the Haunted Haven books—working title is “Haunting License,” and since I’m a total “pantser”—I write by the seat of my pants—I don’t know what comes next. I love my characters. They help me a lot with the plots. Sometimes I feel as if I’m taking dictation from them! I think there’ll be some more improvements on the inn, and there may be some more ghosts. There’ll surely be a murder.

 

An Interview with Carol J. Perry by E. B. Davis

 

With a message from the dead

On a journey you’ve been led.

Another message from a stranger

Holds an answer, comes with danger.

A riddle, a puzzle in plain sight.

An answer, a vision in black and white.

You’ll know the where but not the why.

Beware the place one comes to die.

ZOLTAR KNOWS ALL

Carol J. Perry, Be My Ghost, Kindle Loc. 222

 

Maureen Doherty and her golden retriever Finn have taken possession of a charming old inn—only to discover that it’s already possessed by tenants whose lease on life already ran out . . .
 
Maureen’s career as a sportswear buyer hits a snag just before Halloween, when the department store declares bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Finn’s lost his way as a guide dog after flunking his test for being too friendly and easily distracted. Sadly, only one of them can earn unemployment, so Maureen’s facing a winter of discontent in Boston—when she realizes she can’t afford her apartment.
 
Salvation comes when she receives a mysterious inheritance: an inn in Haven, Florida. A quaint, scenic town on the Gulf of Mexico hidden away from the theme parks, Maureen believes it’s a good place to make a fresh start with a new business venture. But she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a dead body on her property—and meets some of the inn’s everlasting tenants in the form of ghosts who offer their otherworldly talents in order to help her solve the mystery . . .

Amazon.com

 

My unexpected interview with Carol J. Perry started when I downloaded Be My Ghost on a whim. By the third chapter, I was underlining sections of the text, knowing that I’d interview the author. It’s the type of book that puts me in my happy place.

 

It’s a mystery, but with enough fantasy that my own reality fades with the turn of the page. The supernatural elements (ghosts, of course) are more droll than scary, and it’s a cozy mystery, set in a beach town. I liked the main character, Maureen, and her dog, Finn—a golden retriever. Who wouldn’t? I wish I had a backlog of this series to binge read. But—this is the first book in the series. So, I’ll have to wait, and I hope there will be many more to follow.

 

Please welcome Carol J. Perry to WWK.                              E. B. Davis

   

Losing her job at a big Boston department store must have been quite a shock to Maureen. Did she know it was coming? Did she have any back-up plans?

She should have known it, shouldn’t she? Big stores are closing all over the country. Maureen was kind of cruising along in her comfortable life until the store was actually closing down, having going-out-of-business sales—selling the store fixtures. By then it was a little late to do much about it except look out the window at the winter-is-coming weather and wonder what the heck she’s going to do about it. Happened to me once. I was ad manager for a big N.E. store. Kept on writing though. I wrote articles for magazines and newspapers until I figured out that writing mysteries were more fun!

 

Although Haven, Florida in the book is located near St. Petersburg, it’s not near the major attractions or major highways. Did you pattern Haven after other towns?

I sure did. Several of them. There are quite a few “Haven-like” cities and towns in Florida. Readers of Be My Ghost who’ve visited Florida might recognize bits and pieces of Gulfport, Safety Harbor, Cedar Key, Sanford, Fernandina Beach and a few others. All of these places still retain their old-fashioned charm, and lots of travelers like to visit them because they’ve avoided too much change.

 

We learn early in the book that Maureen and her parents have been to Haven before. What connection does that visit have to her return visit as an adult?

When Maureen was 12, they made a trip (to Disney World, of course) and stopped in Haven. They
went out on a fishing boat and Maureen caught a fish. There was a nearby restaurant where visitors could get their catch cooked, so she and her parents ate there. She found out when she took over the inn that the bartender’s mother had owned such a place back then and who knows? He might even have cooked her fish. To add to the plot, Penelope Josephine Gray, her mysterious benefactor had a photo of 12-year-old Maureen posing with that fish!

 

Ms. Gray’s lawyer, who contacts Maureen to tell her she’s inherited a century-old inn in Florida, mentions that it’s supposed to be haunted. How does Maureen react to this information?

She (politely) scoffs at it, insisting she doesn’t believe in ghosts. He says that, of course, he doesn’t either. She’s in for a surprise—actually more than one. She and her dog Finn have been in their new home a very short time when they both meet up with a shocking one—I loved writing about that ghost, and you can be sure you’ll meet her again in future Haunted Haven mysteries.

 

Readers meet four residents of the inn early in the book. They are colorful characters whom Ms. Gray allowed to live there in exchange for their help in operating the place. How do they contribute to the inn’s operation once Maureen takes over?

George and Sam and Molly and Gert are elderly and occupy rooms in exchange for their housekeeping and handy-man work. Maureen could easily rent the rooms for much more than she’s realizing from their help, but being soft-hearted, she can’t very well throw them out, can she? Anyway, they come in quite handy in many ways Maureen hadn’t expected they might. (They’re pretty funny too, and you’ll definitely see them in future books.)

 

Maureen discovers a dead man in a rocking chair on her front porch the very day she arrives at the inn. Actually, Finn discovers him and rocks him out of his chair. Did Finn think the man was alive?

Finn had flunked his guide dog test for being too curious and too easily distracted. This was a case of Finn being too curious. He pressed his nose against the man’s knee—probably just sniffing like nosey dogs do—and the guy pitched forward and onto the floor—quite dead.

 

When Maureen meets Elizabeth, the inn’s manager, the woman seems passive-aggressive toward the new owner. Maureen discovers early on that Elizabeth is a really poor manager of the inn’s expenses and that Elizabeth doesn’t seem to care that she’s put the place on the verge of bankruptcy. How does Maureen plan to handle this oncoming crisis?

Penelope Josephine Gray inherited the inn from an anonymous donor—same as Maureen did. She inherited a pile of money along with it. According to the lawyer, the money is due to run out shortly, and he advises Maureen to sell the place. Ms. Gray apparently didn’t know anything about running an inn and allowed Elizabeth to do whatever she wanted. (We learn that Elizabeth thought SHE would inherit the place and planned to sell it as soon as the money was gone.)  Maureen has other plans, and although she has no experience as a hotelier, she is determined to learn and to restore the inn to its former glory when the rich and famous used to stay there.

 

The inn is run down and needs maintenance and renovation if its ever going to be restored. Maureen uses her business planning skills to develop money-making ideas to keep the inn afloat. How does she plan to do that?

She has both long-term and short-term plans. Short term—she just has to bring in enough to keep up with current expenses. She puts bartender Ted in charge of menus for the restaurant and buying from wholesalers instead of the local market. (She makes him “Executive Chef.”) They begin to advertise lunch specials with simple paper flyers and begin to attract new business. Ms. Gray was a hoarder—the hoard was in a warehouse, and Maureen plans a giant yard sale. Long term—she has plans to name rooms after famous guests who once stayed in them—along with some serious re-decorating. First, she needs to get rid of a ghost who has taken up residence in one of the suites!

 

Why are the ghost hunters a double-edged sword to Haven?

The ghost hunters bring a certain kind of clientele to town. They bring TV cameras and all kinds of recording gadgets and special cameras. Townspeople like their privacy. They keep quiet about their ghosts—and there are plenty of them in Haven! They fear that the boulevard will be full of magic shops and ghost stores—sort of like Roswell is all about flying saucers and Salem is chock full of witch stores.

 

Maureen has kept the fortune card she got from an old Zoltar machine. The predictions on the card seem to be coming true. How does Maureen react?

She has mixed feelings about this card. Should she just throw it away and forget about it? It’s tempting, but sometimes the words on the card seem to make perfect sense. Sometimes she convinces herself that these are simply coincidences. After all, it’s just a silly card out of a machine from a fun house arcade. How can it be anything more? She wonders. We wonder. Keep reading.

Lorna Dubois was an old-time movie starlet, who looked (too much) like Jean Harlow to ever be a star. Now she haunts Maureen’s penthouse apartment at the inn. She’s always seen in black and white. Why is that?

Lorna was at her most beautiful back in those days, so she chooses to appear as she did in the films—in black and white. She’s very interested in fashion, and likes the fact that Maureen was once a sportswear buyer. She frequently “borrows” Maureen’s clothes—and is not adverse to visiting hotel guest’s closets to borrow theirs too.

 

Suite 27 has a horrible reputation. Maureen doesn’t know until after she’s situated her office there. Why is everyone so afraid of the suite when Maureen seems not to be?

Maureen learns that there is a supposed ghost there everyone calls “John Smith” because that’s how he signed the guest register back in the 1970s. People who rented Suite 27 say he came out of the closet and sat on their beds, crying pitifully for his Mother. Although Maureen has experienced drops in temperature in her office, and has even seen dents in a box as though someone had sat on it, she has not really experienced seeing or hearing John Smith. She does eventually have reason to believe the stories are true—and then she must figure out how to send John Smith away!

 

Bogie and Bacall, Ms. Gray’s cats, make peace with Finn, but they don’t seem to like ghosts. How do they treat Lorna?

They tolerate her. Bacall thinks it’s funny to walk right through Lorna. Bogie pretends she isn’t there.

 

Maureen talks to Finn and even sometimes explains idioms to him. Does Finn understand her?

I think he does and so does Maureen—even though all he ever says is “woof.”

 

When Maureen becomes a suspect in the murder, she is represented by Nora, another lawyer in the practice that handles Ms. Gray’s will. Tell readers about Nora and her defense approach.

Nora is well acquainted with Frank Hubbard, the officer who is so suspicious of Maureen. She says he’s a “bulldog” once he gets an idea about a case. (Maureen explains to Finn that “It’s not that kind of bulldog.”) Nora painstakingly proves step-by-step that Maureen had no motive. They have to come up with a suspect who HAS motive and they find more than one—which adds to the mystery but clears Maureen.

 

What kind of research did you have to do to write about ghosts?

I learned a lot about ghosts—but most particularly about ghosts who haunt hotels in Florida! I was amazed at the number of “haunted hotels” I found. Some of that research shows up in the book. For instance, over in Fernandina Beach there’s a saloon called the Palace. It’s haunted by a bartender called “Uncle Charlie” who worked there before he died. Some nights, they say he still plays the piano—even though the piano’s keys have been encased in Plexiglas for years. Uncle Charlie inspired Billy-be-doggoned-Bailey who plays the old player piano in the restaurant at the Haven House Inn. (Billy was even once photographed by a ghost hunter, but nobody is talking about that.)  Also, in Fernandina Beach at the Florida House there’s a sad-looking man who sits on beds—just like John Smith. The hotel that inspired the inn in my books is the Peninsula Inn in Gulfport, Florida. I was surprised and delighted to learn that the Peninsula is haunted too—by a friendly ghost called Isabel. She is a bed-bumper ghost and has a little ghost cat who wanders around the hotel at will.

 

What’s next for Maureen and Finn?

Well, we’ve got to get that old place fixed up somehow, and raise the money to do it on a budget. Maureen is having photos made of some of the famous people who signed the guest registers and will post them in the suites that bear their names. She already has reservations for the Babe Ruth Suite. (The registers themselves are going to an autograph dealer for big bucks after she gets copies made.) She’s met a couple of interior designers who have become friends. They’ll be back to help with the do-over. It’s Maureen’s first Christmas in Florida and Christmas lights on palm trees are a big change from New England’s snowy winter scenery. There may be a bit of romance in the air, too, with handsome chef Ted. I can hardly wait to write the next book—working title is High Spirits—and we’ll meet some new ghosts in the town’s old movie theater. Hope to see you there!