Wonder Woman Only Sleepier
A narcoleptic
ghost hunter walks into a bar…wait, no, that sounds like a joke. In fact,
narcolepsy is a serious and debilitating autoimmune disorder. A quarter of the
population has the genetic marker for narcolepsy, but only a few of us will
actually develop it. Unfortunately, I drew the short straw. Even though I’ve
had narcolepsy since I was a child, I didn’t receive a diagnosis until I was an
adult with children of my own. Imagine my surprise when I realized that not
everyone has nightmares every night or wakes up paralyzed with a terrifying
entity looming over them. I had to seriously adjust my idea of what was normal
and what wasn’t.Nevertheless,
they say write what you know so A Glimmer of Ghosts follows the adventures of a
team of ghost hunters, one of which is a narcoleptic. The main character,
Melisande Bythe, has learned to prolong her time in the hypnagogic and
hypnopompic states- the stages between sleeping and waking. This allows her to
see, hear and feel ghosts. Finding ghosts is so easy for her that it’s like
shooting fish in a barrel, until Mel runs into a secret society of corporeal
spirits with a dark agenda.Crafting
Mel’s ‘super power’ from my own sad sack of medical symptoms was the best
therapy in the world. I’ve changed a few things about Mel’s disorder to fit the
story, but the clinical features are clearly represented. My hope was to create
a heroine with a disability who perseveres anyway. We all have our weaknesses.
We all can’t be Superman or Wonder Woman. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a pair
of brightly colored leotards or magically imbued bracelets with our name on
them. We just have to dig a little deeper to find that strength.
One night of filming in the wrong cemetery changes everything for a celebrity ghost-hunter with a half dead brain. When Melisande Blythe discovers that a secret society of wraiths wants her killed or worse, Mel will have to do the one thing she promised she would never do… trust a ghost.
But does the corporeal spirit of her dreams really want her heart or does he want her newfound ability to enslave souls? With Hell on the horizon, Mel is running out of time. She has to stop the fiery invasion or face the darkness warring in her soul.
Hunter J. Skye is a high-functioning square peg, which turns out to be a prerequisite for writing quirky urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
Her debut novel, A Glimmer of Ghosts, has won four Romance Writers of America awards.
When not typing away on her next novel, Hunter can be found cracking nerdy jokes or waxing existential over a bowl of spaghetti.
She firmly believes this world is ready for a narcoleptic heroine.
One thing about the story:
Many of the spirits appearing in A Glimmer of Ghosts are based on actual ghost stories from the Olde Towne district of Portsmouth, Virginia. Once a year, these stories are told on the city’s annual Halloween Ghost Walk. These apparitions are well known to the residents of Olde Towne, Portsmouth and the city considers them ambassadors of a sort. One such ghost, Colonel William Crawford, founded the town three hundred years ago and is the inspiration for Grayford- Melisande’s haunting lover.
One thing about me:
In 2016 Hunter Skye was diagnosed with a rare REM sleep disorder that mimics the presence of other-worldly entities. In her search for a coping mechanism, Hunter adopted a new life plan- “when life gives you ghosts, write a ghost story.” Now that those specters are on the payroll, everyone is much happier.
Hunter has a Bachelor of the Fine Arts and has won four Romance Writers of America awards pre-publication for her debut novel, A Glimmer of Ghosts. Worldwide release is 2/19/20.
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